The Birthday Review

Today, I am going to tell you all about the fabulousness that was this year's awesome birthday, as a mommy.

First thing in the morning, my little punkin doo hops into my bedroom with all of her, cannot keep quiet one minute longer, bursting excitement over the loot that the Tooth Fairy left her! Yes people she lost her first tooth the day before my birthday(except for the one that doesn't really count because it was extracted due to the roller skating incident).  The Tooth Fairy was most generous in the monetary exchange.  In quarters.  The Tooth Fairy did not think through the fact that sixteen quarters and one dollar would be counted endless times in her presence, the next morning on her birthday.  Very early on her birthday. The very birthday she was hoping to sleep in on, because of her very late Fairy duty the night before.

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 Hubbie the dearest asks our little punkin doo if she remembered it was mommy's birthday.  She remembered, but oh you know, priorities in the almost 5yo set. Gotta count the cash! So daddy and the LPD go to make mommy breakfast in bed. Peanut butter, blueberry, French bread! So cute! And guess what they looked like? Here, you take a gander....

                                                Yep! You guessed it! PB blueberry boobies!

After breakfast in bed, I dared to dreamed in my wildest of dreams, that I would enjoy a morning solo bathroom visit.  Instead I got an impossibly giggly almost 5yo pressing on an  imaginary button embedded in the top of my head.  Why you ask? To make all the poo come out at once, so I could hurry up and get out of the bathroom. Motherhood.  At it's finest!

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Next up, snuggling on the couch to watch LPD's morning cocktail of cartoons.
4yo-"Mommy, I want to give you this jewel to remember me by, in case you die soon!"
Mommy-"I am not going to die soon!"
4yo-"But Momma, your momma died."
Mommy-"Yeah, but...aah ...she was old!"
4yo-"Well your getting there ya know!"

Almost 5yo keepin' it real...even on my birthday!

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Now my husband and I lucked into a babysitter six days before my birthday.  So we celebrated me and the third anniversary of my thirty sixth birthday early! The HTD sent me for a much needed hair pampering afternonon! We had a much needed dinner(Indian-yummo!) and cocktail date, he dressed me up, took me out, and then we went to see Wolverine on opening night! Did I tell you I love, love, love Hugh Jackman? Well I do, I adore Hugh Jackman, almost as much as I adore Ed Harris.  So Hubbie the Dearest gave it up, and took me to see my man!(Of course there has been much Salma Hayek watching in the week since, to even the ogling field...)

                                                              See? No white or grey!

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An old friend called me on the morning of my birthday and asked if I had plans. Since my afternoon was free, I was informed that I was being taken to lunch at the eatery of my choosing. My choosing was of course, Mexican.  Always choose Mexican.  So after driving three hours, we drove another half hour to a favorite little Mexican place that HTD and I discovered! We had the best time catching up and lunch was excellent. We then went to hang out with HTD.  HTD is in sales, and my friend was needing to but what HTD sells, so I spent the rest of the afternoon assisting in the feature benefitting of sales items! Awesome surprise though!

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My Nana called me while I was getting my child out the door to my husband's grandmother, who was keeping her overnight and simultaneously getting ready for my lunch date.  We talked for over an hour and had a good cry.  You see she is the only one in the world who knows how it feels to be missing 1/3 of us.  My Momma, Nana, and I were best friends my entire life.  We three had a relationship that others envied and we cherished.  We were all extremely close, best friends. We did everything together. We lost my mother 21 months ago, and this was my second birthday without her.  I knew my grandmother would call, and was super excited to talk to her.  But I also knew I would cry.
 Those tears came when she was telling me a story about when my mother found out her due date, at her first doctor's appointment.. She had moved out of state when she found out she was pregnant.Her gynecologist was a good 'ol WV boy, so he whipped out his farmer's almanac when he found out she was a WV gal, and told her that she was going to have her baby on the 1st of August.  My mother panicked a little, and asked the doctor if he couldn't be wrong.  She just could not have her baby on the first of August because that was the day that her mother had had her first baby.  Her father already swore up and down that she did everything exactly like her mother.  She just couldn't have her first baby on the exact same day as her mother! Her Daddy would never let her live it down! And lo and behold, I was born on my Uncle's birthday, August the 1st. And my PawPaw never let my mommy live down the fact that she was exactly like her mother!

I know my grandmother was trying to tell me the story my mother told me every year on my birthday, to remind me so I did not forget, to share with me what she and my mother shared before I came along, because she was trying to fill in for my mother, and because she loves me like a third daughter.  My grandfather's nickname for me was their "third daughter". She wanted to remind me of happy memories of my mother, and make me smile on my birthday.  I ended up in tears missing my mommy, and in turn we both had a good cry, together.  This year was easier then the first year without her.  It was still hard, but not as hard  as the first birthday.  The first birthday without the woman who brought me into this world, and stood by my side as she guided me through life, was one of the hardest days I have ever been through.  The first year full of firsts without her was the worst. I am a survivor.

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Next up was picking up my 21yo at work.  After a wild goose chase around her store, I finally was greeted with a bleeding child.  She was ok, it was a minor scrape, but blood none the less. Boo boos suck no matter the age.  Now I do not drink often.  Not often at all.  But on my birthday, with a babysitter, it was on. Plus this was a special year, it marked the first time I ever drank with my eldest.  In public! Yeah! So we were able to talk and play catch up while waiting on HTD and MIL.  I love my eldest dearly and do not get to see her nearly enough! We finally got our table and were breaking into bottle of wine #2 when the rest of our party arrived.  We ordered, ate, drank, ordered more wine, ate more food, enjoyed free dessert(yummo) and I got a rocking new set of Tommy Hilfiger Sheets and new Clinique makeup from my MIL. Awesome sauce! Addicted to Clinique!

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Next up was dinner with my Daddy two days after my birthday. In the morning, before lunch, my  daughter and I received two sets of the most beautiful roses from my Daddy.  When I was four years old, I asked my Daddy why mommy got pretty flowers, and I didn't.  So starting on my fourth birthday, my Daddy started sending both of his girls flowers every year on our birthdays, and on Valentine's Day .  When my parents found out I was pregnant, they sent me flowers for Valentine's Day with one white rose for the baby.  When my daughter turned four, he started sending her flowers on her birthday, continuing the tradition.  He sends her one rose for every year, so she received five gorgeous red roses.  She asked me this year if we could trade roses.  When I asked her why, she told me because mine were "more and bigger".  When I explained the significance of her five roses, and explained that we could both smell all the roses, she was so excited! I told her she was a very lucky and special little girl to have a Grandpa that sent her roses every year on her birthday! I love my daddy!

So I chose the Outback for dinner.  We had to wait an hour for a table, and once we ordered dinner, my Daddy gave me several presents, my favorite of which was my dual 80's movies DVD of Eddie and the Cruisers, and Eddie and the Cruisers 2; Eddie Lives! Epic present right there! These were two of mine and my mother's favorite cult classics from the 80's. Cheesy music movies. Yaay! So when dinner came, my steak was so very scrumptious! I was just finished cutting my steak, and had just taken the second delicious bite relishing the flavor of the meat and the fact that it was my birthday dinner, surrounded by those most impotant to me, when my daughter had to go to the bathroom.  Of course she did!  I don't know about your kids, but mine little punkin doo must have her during dinner nightly constitutional, or all would not be right with the world. She proceeded to have a twenty minute poop, while my dinner was getting cold.  I tried to hurry her along to no avail.  She then couldn't find the toilet paper in the wall holder.  So while I should be eating my yummy hot steak while out to dinner to celebrate my birthday, I find myself cracking up as I am instead bending over, as$ in the air, handing rolls of toilet paper under the stall next to my almost  five year old daughter. I was also thinking how thankful and blessed  I was to have her, after our infertility struggles. Nothing like kids to keep it real!

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 I was happily surprised at all the birthday wishes on my blog and personal FaceBook pages.  Several of my favorite bloggers surprised me by pimping me out for the day!  Thanks to everyone who took a moment to wish me a Happy Birthday. It means a lot to know that I have such special family, friends, and blogger buddies to love me so! I am feeling very blessed.  I am a lucky girl!

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Even though some family is no longer with us, and there are some other who choose not to be with us, I have the best most loving family in the whole world! I am blessed beyond belief.  In this post, I gave those of you new to this blog, a teensy taste of my life, the players in it, and the hilarity, the wild, and the wonderful!  I am a happy go lucky gal, and always try to find the positive. Even though my momma is no longer with us, I think of her everyday.  She was there with us at dinner, and in the details we will always remember her by.  The purple bag with yellow tissue, and the butterfly birthday wrapping paper from my daddy, our favorite cheesy 80's band movies, and even down to my taste in music.  She is with me always, and this year I decided to let her look down on our special day and participate in joy, not tears. I love you momma, you are with me always, shining through me and in everything that I do.

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