And by today, I really mean yesterday.  Yesterday was my birthday - my 38th birthday.

Hayden told me I still look 29.  My sweetheart. Roy told me I was beautiful, and Addi told me I was the best mom. Corey and Joe wished me a happy birthday, and then Joe texted me from school to ask me to bring him his sneakers (Woohoo!).  

I had to run to Target to get some things, and Roy came along.  He slipped a few things in the cart for my birthday.

Let’s see - he bought me a beautiful spring outfit to wear (a khaki pencil skirt [sexy], and a pretty moss green blouse), two books from a series I love (J.D. Robb’s In Death series - one of my guilty pleasures), and some lotion that I have been wanting (Dean says, “It smells like Orange Juice, Mama.” He helped Roy pick it out.) Things I will use, read, and love to wear.

Roy and I made my birthday dinner - Cincinnati Chili.  YUM!  I admit it… I LOVE pasta, and I love chili. So why wouldn’t I love the two together?

But the real surprise was my birthday cake. The boys have been after us to make cake pops for a while, and a few weeks ago Roy decided to give it a shot.  They turned out great!  He made “real” cake pops. We didn’t use a little machine.  You bake a cake, let it cool, and then rip it up and mix some frosting into it.  You then form it into little balls, chill to firm them up a bit, pop in the sticks, and dip in chocolate (or melted candies of your choice).  They were so good!  The perfect size for a little sweet treat for me.

So, yesterday in Target, Roy got the idea to make me the biggest cake pop ever for my cake!  And he did!  He took pictures, so I will try to get him to post one.  The kids got a big kick out of it, and I loved it.  And boy was it tasty! Yellow cake on top of chocolate cake. MmmMmm!

I’m 38 years old, pretty darn close to 40.  I have a few gray hairs, and I’m pretty sure I’m getting some hints of crow’s feet, but I earned them… so I’ll take ‘em.

This was a rather quiet, but productive, weekend in the household.  

Friday was Addi’s birthday, and since it was a Friday, we just made it a joint celebration and celebrated my birthday as well. Mine was actually on Monday, March 14th. For the kids’ birthdays I let them choose whatever they want for dinner - no matter how weird it is.  One year Joe had Pumpkin pancakes and blueberry pancakes. This year Addi wanted buffalo chicken strips and tater tots.  I chose steak with roasted red potatoes, and Roy did up a few scallops for me.  (LOVE scallops!) And then it was time for the cake. Roy coaches for the youth football league in our town, and we know a local baker from the team. She does specialized cakes and cupcakes. The first one she did for us was Dean’s birthday cake based on Ni Hao, Kai Lan, a preschool show on Nick that he used to be in love with - he has moved on to the Power Rangers now. As shown in the picture posted here, it came out beautifully and Dean still talks about it. So for our joint celebration, Addi and I decided on a Zombie-themed cake. Since I didn’t want oozing brains, I asked our friend if she could look to the tv show, The Walking Dead, for inspiration. We weren’t disappointed, and you can see the finished product already posted here.  We got Addi a new mountain bike for his birthday, and he loves it!  Roy and I are just glad to see him getting out more and wanting to be active.

Saturday we were going to head down to Busch Gardens, but I just wasn’t up to it.  Addi’s allergies were going crazy, and truth be told, Roy seemed a bit out of sorts as well.  But the night before, I got it in my head that we would start our spring cleaning.  We decided, or rather I did and I made everyone help me, that we would tackle the family room first.  And as I sit here now, it looks great, if not a little empty, but more on that later.  So, we moved furniture, we dusted, we vacuumed, we repaired couch cushions - we cleaned.  And then we just relaxed.  Roy puttered around with the four wheeler - which he got working again. Addi and Hayden rode their bikes, I did laundry, and the older boys caught up on some homework.  That night we had family movie night - though the pick this time wasn’t really a family movie - Ninja Assassin.  My first thought was, this is a very bloody movie - and I have no problem with gore! But the more I watched the more I realized how cartoonish and over the top it was.  It was a fun, cheesy movie.

Sunday was tough, well for Roy at least. We got rid of our saltwater fish tank.  I told Roy it just seemed to come out of the blue, but I am sure it was something he had been thinking about for awhile. At least I hope it was, because we spent thousands of dollars collecting all of that stuff, and I don’t want to go through with it again.  Anyways, it was a beautiful tank.  Flowing corals, beautiful fish, but it was a lot of work. And truth be told, Roy was the only one that did anything.  Corey would take care of little things (feedings and water top offs) when Roy was out of town, and I helped (grudgingly) when asked, but for the most part the cleaning, the water changing, and the upkeep fell to Roy.  We have a lot going on, and I think he just got to the point where it was a lot for him to deal with (even with all the automation he added to the tank), and he felt it would be better off with someone that could enjoy it.  So he put up an ad and someone jumped on it - as they should because it was really a beautiful tank at a low price.  Yesterday, Roy spent a couple of hours helping the new owners break it down and pack it up.  Now, we have a big blank spot where the tank used to sit, and the family room seems really empty. 

See, like I said, a quiet, but productive weekend.

We posted a photo of Dean’s cake, and I just want to say, it was great!

We got it from a local source, so if you live near us and need a birthday cake, USE this great small local business!

Dean loves Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, and is particularly found of HoHo, the little monkey friend of Kai-Lan.  We asked if a HoHo cake could be done, and sure enough… at 1 pm that’s exactly what we got!  We ordered the rainbow cake with cream cheese icing, and the cake was really so cool looking - inside and out.

Now, all the boys are trying to decide what kind of cake they want for their birthday!  Corey is pushing for a Zombie cake, and Hayden watched Blade on TV the other day and says he wants a vampire cake.

Roy and I used today as our splurge day, and we ordered pizza from another local place… lunch rocked today in our house! Or maybe we are just super hungry because of our diet.