My Birthday 2014

My birthday got an early start- 1:00 A.M. to be exact!  I had told Cruz the night before when he woke up the next morning and crawled into our bed to be sure and tell me "Happy Birthday".  I should have known it would have him hyped up.  He did just as I told him.  He jumped into our bed at 1:00 and was so very excited.  He tossed and turned for hours and kept saying things like, "wake up Mommy- it's your birthday", "Happy birthday, mommy", "mommy, we need to go into the kitchen and see your presents", "mommy, we got you balloons".....  It was sweet but I was dog tired!  He finally settled down and I got back to sleep around 4:30.  Well, Ben was up at 6:00.  Needless to say it was a LONG, SLEEPLESS night.  Not the best way to start a birthday. 

 

When we did get up I walked into the kitchen to find presents and balloons.  Cruz was squealing with excitement!

 

The boys always make me homemade cards for my birthday and Mother's Day.  Seeing them always makes me smile!

David and I don't normally do presents for our birthdays but Cruz insisted that I have something to open.  So on Monday afternoon he and David ran over to Wal-Mart and picked me up a few things.  One of those was a "Mama's Family" Season 1 DVD.  Who doesn't love Mama's Family!!!

They also picked me up some balloons.  Balloons just make me happy!  Cruz has been saying for weeks that he wanted me to have a princess party.  David tried to find a princess balloon but they were sold out.   They also picked up some fresh strawberries and blueberries.  I love fruit.  I used those blueberries in our pancakes for breakfast and they were delicious.

My birthday breakfast- blueberry pancakes, bacon, strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.  And might I also add LOTS of coffee, ha.

It's a tradition to take a photo with my boys on my birthday.   We took this one before I took Cruz to preschool.  I thought I had better go ahead and take it before the day got too busy. 

me and my Cruzy Man on the way to preschool

I love our morning drives to preschool.  It's a favorite part of my day.  In addition to praying we also sing songs and talk about the day.  It's just a special time that I enjoy just me and him.

Here is my sweet boy singing "Happy Birthday" to me in the car on the way to school.  It's also a tradition I started last year of videoing him singing to me.  These will be precious to me in the years to come!

 

After dropping him off I ran through the McDonald's drive-thru for a White Chocolate Mocha.  It was a delicious treat to myself.

One of my mom's gifts to me was a pedicure.  Oh I love those!  So my next stop was the nail salon to get my feet pampered.  I sat back, drank my coffee, and just had a relaxing time.

The color I picked was Cajun Shrimp.  Not only did it look pretty but it sounded good too, ha.

 

I returned home for a few minutes and spent some time playing with Ben.  Below you'll see him playing inside one of my gifts from David and the boys.  They got me a rolling duffel bag (red, of course).  David is laughing at me because I am already talking about how I plan to get all 40 pounds squeezed into it when we return to Guatemala.  I am just a little OCD about wanting to get every ounce of allowed weight squeezed into my bags when I fly.

sweet Ben playing in my new bag

 

When lunch time rolled around I headed to Porches to meet my family.  I was greeted by a table decorated with balloons, cards, and presents.  It was a very welcome surprise.

Birthday lunch at Porches- my very favorite thing!  The last time I got to celebrate there was back in 2010.  I was 6 months pregnant with Cruz.   Who knows when I'll get to return for another birthday celebration- it will be several years for sure.

I got lots of candles, soaps, body wash and lotions.  Many things to pamper myself.  One of my very favorite lotions is a Canus brand Goat's Milk lotion that is sold at Allred's (pharmacy/ gift shop) in Hazlehurst.  My Aunt Nita got me a whole gift set of it.  Love!!!

My birthday lunch- fried oysters, baked potato casserole, and turnip green soup.  My favorites!  Dessert comes with your meal there but we all got ours to go because my mom brought a birthday cake for us to enjoy instead.  She hid it in the back and then had the waitresses come out and sing to me while presenting it to me.

Happy Birthday to me

me and my mom

One thing I love about my mom is that over the years she has always done her very best to make my birthday a special day.  She knows how to celebrate big!  I am certain that I get my birthday obsession from her and I'm doing my best to pass it down to my boys.

my birthday cake

My birthday lunch celebration crew- my dad, Aunt Nita, me, and my mom

 

After a much needed nap time we spent the afternoon playing outdoors.  It was a beautiful afternoon!

wild man Ben

 

My mom, dad, and Aunt Nita drove back down to visit and kept the boys that night.  My mom made us reservations to the Dixie Springs Cafe at Lake Dixie Springs.   She has been planning to do that for us since our Christmas date to Porches got cancelled.  It was a nice treat and we loved the time alone!

me and David on a birthday date

Our meal was delicious but our one-on-one time together was priceless. 

I was still terribly full from lunch so I didn't want anything heavy.  I ordered broiled shrimp, baked potato, broccoli, and a salad.  It was one of the yummiest meals I have had in a while.

David ordered Crawfish Enchiladas (oh my they were good!), baked potato, steamed carrots, and a salad.  We ate good!

We returned home to relieve our exhausted help and said our goodbyes to them.  They had fed the boys supper, bathed them, and had them dressed for bed (ahhh....).  We were all ready for an early bedtime.  I took one last photo of Cruz before our day ended holding my princess balloon and princess figurine that my mom brought down that night.  She knew how badly Cruz wanted me to have something "princess" so she brought those to me.  He was over the moon excited about them and thought they were perfect for his mama.  I love how he loves me!

Overall I did feel like a princess on my day.  I was spoiled and given the royal treatment.  I crawled into bed that night feeling very blessed and loved.  It was a wonderful birthday and I loved every minute of it!