my birthday. in a nutshell

my 35th birthday

I got more than was on my birthday list.
I asked for short socks, like normal athletic socks. I said I needed new work shoes and new running shoes b/c both of them have worn our inside heel areas which are ruining my socks which I have had since before I moved to Florida.
I asked for expensive pillows for my neck, a boat, and for a day alone in the house, but didn't get those. But I did get a blog book from my sister and my mom! Amazing. We went on a surf trip with a two night hotel stay and got to spend the day at the Kennedy Space Center the weekend before. Steven sent me out alone to go buy myself some shoes and socks the on my birthday eve. I got 4 pairs of shoes, socks, and a shirt for $100. I got running shoes, work shoes, heels, and wedges for the shoes. They were all from Burlington. Since I went shopping for myself, I went all out and spoiled my feet :)
He made me breakfast in bed but I was already up brushing my teeth so he went back downstairs with my plate and juice. He had the kids each make me cards. Adorable. he got me a huge bouquet of colorful flowers, he did the dishes, and did more dishes, and more. He made me a daisy chain birthday crown from fresh maroon daisys (and I edited/finished it.) And he spoiled me.

Dylan made me a paperclip necklace that I need to put on a chain, or clip to my shirt. Tyler gave me the earring he had found at the hotel pool. 

My work remembered even though Dr. Brayer is on her European vacation. They got me balloons, a card, a camera with candy and a gift card inside, Olive Garden soup, salad, breadsticks, and cheesecake! 

 Clara painted me a birthday card too! 

Ivy gave me her crown to borrow for the day. They gave me silver and turquoise-colored circle ear rings, a shirt, and athletic socks too! And my kids were at their house all day. That's a gift in itself! 

My parents came over for dinner, Greek salad and a huge carrot cake and a variety of gelato ice creams. My mom brought me the bowl of cherries saying that when I'm around, it's like a bowl of cherries. So thoughtful. And she told me the story of the day I was born. Here it is for all posterity: 

My mom drove herself to the doctor's office to be checked. They did the internal check and said it could still be days even though I was already 4 days late. On the way home, my mom was in full labor. She passed by their health food store where my dad was, but instead of stopping to go in there, she went right home to her mom who tried calling my dad. The phone wasn't working so Grandma drove to go get him. He drove my mom to the hospital, past their store again, and the bumps were so miserable. 12 hours after labor started, I was born, on a Monday night. Oh, and the doctor came in right at the end when it was pushing time and got out the epesiotomy kit. My dad said that my mom might not need it, so why not try without it. The doctor argued back and was rude like "all right, let's just see her tear." My mom was annoyed at the contention. She didn't tear, so perhaps it was worth the fight. My dad eventually had to go home to call people and spread the good news, after they wrapped me in a scratchy blanket. The nurses brought me in in a bassinet and told my mom to leave me alone so I could regulate my temperature. But after a while I cried. And my mom said I was hers, and she could pick me up if she wanted to. And we lived happily ever after :)

The day after my birthday, I went on a temple trip with my friend Linda Hinton. I picked up two of my young women came over to babysit my kids. I actually asked for a back up b/c I was hoping my friend Jolyn would use them for a babysitter too. But she never committed. My cousin and other friend Katie Pavone had initially said they could go but things came up. It's always a pain planning to go to the temple. I want to inconvenience the least amount of people. I did it on a day when I'm not working or babysitting. Then I did it near my birthday so people will feel sorry for me and not let me know how much I'm putting them out. I did it during work hours, or so I tried. I wanted the kids to be able to sleep and didn't want to wake them up since they stay up so late in the summers. So I didn't leave until about 8:10 am to go pick up each of the girls. Then I didn't leave Linda's house until about 9:30 then had to get gas. It rained on the way so we would've gotten to the temple at about 11:15. I wondered if we should eat lunch first so we didn't have to wait 45 minutes. Well we went inside of Burger King to eat. We rushed but still were going to only have about 20 minutes to get ready. I said we could meet in the chapel to see if we could make it to the noon session since they were only on the hour on week days. But Linda thought that would be silly to try to make it. It takes more time to park, get changed, etc, so we U-turned and went to the book store. I got Isaac some things for his baptism this February and bought myself and Linda new CTR rings. Hers got stolen from her house. Mine got lost on the side of my house. They were only like $7 normally but were half price. cool! So we had a nice non-rushed morning, we were full from lunch and the peanut butter cookies she had made me for my birthday, and the granola snacks from Publix that Steven had given me. The session had technical difficulties so it ran long. I was not irritated or annoyed at all. I felt bad for others, but it was a memorable experience. It was good and I felt like my birthday was complete because I got to go.

We didn't end up getting back to Linda's until 5:45 at night! I was a little stressed on the way home b/c I was not getting home before Steven, Tyler wasn't wanting to nap, I did not have dinner ready, and was being an inconvenience again. But Linda was calming and nobody seemed upset and it all worked out. We got home and I paid the two babysitters who had fun with the boys and playing with Eirit and her dogs.

Steven ordered pizza. We went to church for youth night and I got to go home early so I took Julia for a jog. What a good birthday weekend/week :)