On the day that I was born

I always forget how GREAT it is to be the birthday girl! This was a couple of weeks ago - but I still feel all warm inside from it. Here's the rundown. I lingered in bed pretending to be asleep until I heard giggling and shuffling outside the door. Mike and the girls came in singing "Happy Birthday to Mommy!" and gave me my breakfast tray. (Cookie sheet covered with a dishcloth; plate with scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, toast, fruit, orange juice and a fruit smoothie. All made by Mike and the girls - I'm very proud of them. It was delicious!) While I ate, Mike played a video of himself interviewing the girls that morning about mommy's birthday.

Mike to Chloe: How old is Mommy?

Chloe: 40!

Mike: (whispering) No, she's 32. (Asking aloud, again) How old is mommy?

Chloe: 2!

I got my first present: a dirt devil hand vac. Yes! Seriously, I'm excited, I chose this. It's for my job. Then Mike left for work, but came back after about 20 minutes with a bag of precious peppermint bark from Xocolate. He'd forgotten his laptop, so swung by the treat store on his way back home.
In a couple of hours, I got the girls down for their afternoon nap, and my sister Jenny came by to babysit. Sweet freedom! So I met Mike at work, and we walked to Takashi for birthday lunch. (See eating out blog.) It was so super yummy! The best things (though everything was great) were Mike's flank steak, the rainbow rolls, and the chocolate tort dessert from heaven. With coconut ice cream, I should add.
Then, home I went. Mike followed soon after and we all went to the zoo for a lovely stroll. (Except we let Jenny go home.) And it was a lovely, sunny (rare) day. We were watching the tiger and trying to spy the pallas cats (my favorite) when I got a call from my mom and dad, who are on a mission in Mexico. Hooray! (Then I dropped my phone somewhere at the zoo, but they found it - a birthday miracle - and that trusty piece of scotch tape on the back was still holding it together.)
For dinner we picked up pizza so I wouldn't have to cook. I'd already had my cake (Takashi's chocolate tort desert from heaven) but we felt the girls would like to participate in some more b-day celebration. So we made a piece of cinnamon toast and put a candle in it. We dimmed the lights, I carefully chose my birthday wish, and blew out the candle. We divided the toast into four pieces and gobbled it up. I got some more presents, including a metronome. (I'm trying to pull my talents out from under the bushel - they seem to be stuck down there, and smaller than I remembered, but I'm trying.) Our girls behaved suprisingly well the whole day, another birthday present.
The next day, my mother-in-law Linda and Mike's sister Erin watched the girls for us so Mike and I could go out for a birthday dinner. We went to Monsoon Thai Bistro, which is one of our very favorite restaurants here in Salt Lake.




So it was a fabulous birthday. Sometimes getting a lot of attention - cards and calls and presents and good food - is great. It's good for the soul. Only 350 days 'til my next birthday!