Superb September!! Reasons to Love Turning 40

It's my BiRtHdAy!!!!  When I was younger, the count down to my birthday, began sometime in August.  And I was very good about reminding anyone who would listen, of exactly how many more days until my birthday.  I even had one year, that I went around singing, "It's my birthday!  Me, me, me! Me, me, me!"  Sounds cute, except I think I was 19....  I don't get as excited anymore.  Maybe, I just don't want to get my hopes up.  Maybe, I am just too tired.  Maybe it's because I turned 40.  I was determined to treat this as just any other day, but my family and friends came through for me and made it wonderful, once again! 

   1.     My husband called and wished me happy birthday this morning.  He often works out of state and I have to admit, that I was a little bummed that he would be in Kansas on my birthday.  It was good to hear his voice, but even better when I found out he would be home tonight.  That is exactly what I wanted for my birthday!!                                                            

Jalapeno cheddar smoked sausage, spicy brown mustard
and cheese

2. My girls, Abbi and Alli made me breakfast in bed.  This plate full of protein proves I am raising them right.  Or maybe they are raising me, as they know how cranky I get when my blood sugar gets low.

3.  My son made me a card all by him self.

4. And my grandmothers sent me some great cards.

 5. My mother in law stopped by in person to bring me a birthday card and a birthday gift.  She did a great job!  Especially since she had already given me a scarf and this gift came with a bag full of cookies.

6. My Mom is taking me out to lunch today for my birthday.  I generally expect a gift on my children's birthdays because I actually did all of the work on the day that they were born, but today I have a different outlook.  Let's not tell Mom about that and just let her spoil me a little bit. Okay?

7.These balloons arrived around 10:00 this morning.  Until that moment, no one realized that this was my 40th birthday. (Probably because I look so young and vivacious.....or maybe because I rarely act my age).  The question is, who sent them??  The card says, "From the gang".  I am personally affiliated with so many gangs, I am not sure who to thank for the card.  My co-workers, my family, my friends, my kiddos......Or is it actually my gang?  They are very cordial ya know, but I can't tell you their name. It goes against initiation rules. Blood in ~ blood out and all that...

8. Today is payday at work!

9. My kiddos all come home today!  There are several Volcko's and a couple of Harper's that have been away too long.  I can't wait to have all my little birdies back in their nests.

10.  Tonight is Homecoming at the school.  My daughter is in the parade and marching during halftime.  How exciting.  And it was so very nice to plan a whole parade and football game just because I turned 40. Thank you Liberators!

11.  The girls at work told me I didn't have to collect blood for hemoglobin tests today.  They know how much I just hate doing hemoglobins.  It's not the blood, it's the tears.  I just really hate hurting people.

12.  My hair looks really good today.

13.  I get to share my birthday month with some really awesome people.  My nephew, two nieces, two of my daughters, my brother, and several of my friends also have September birthdays. Happy birthday, Clayton, Anna, Riley, Sydney, Olivia, Curtis, Ronda, Erin, Karen and all of the rest.

14.  When my Mom came to collect me for lunch, she delivered a beautiful wreath that my sister made.  As you look closer at the wreath you will notice that it is full of suckers and the card says,  "40 sucks".

15.  Mom and Dad also gave me some goodies.  Including a pair of pants, a mushy card and this pretty picture frame.  I can't wait to go home and put pictures in all of my new frames.

16.  All of the well wishes from friends and family through text and Facebook, have been really nice.

 Thank you all for the wonderful birthday, well wishes, gifts, smiles and giggles.

Here's to happy, healthy, and whole~

T

I Run a Tightly Wound Ship....

The girls making sure Mama is keeping her cool

I Run A Tightly Wound Ship....  

Right now you may be thinking, "What did she say?   I thought the saying is 'They operate a tightly run ship' ".  Well, you are correct, that is how the saying goes, but that is not how my boat floats!!  You see, as much as I would like for everyone to believe that I am this calm, cool, collected, queen bee of a mama, the truth is most of the time I am a mess.  In past blogs I have mentioned how much I adore organization and structure. But without it I get this wide-eyed yet glazed over expression on my face.  I stutter, and frown, and find it hard to think. Sometimes, I dread reaching that frazzled point so much, that I will be reduced to tears at the very thought of the chaos that might ensue.  I am what my husband calls a nervous person.  I tend to fidget....a lot.  When you are this concerned or tightly wound, sometimes the only cure is to get goofy.  Sometimes you just have to let go and realize that if things are not perfect, you can still survive and learn to laugh.  And in my opinion laughter is even better than being organized.
     That being said, I would like to share some pictures of our family being goofy.  Most of these instances are situations that would normally have me nervous and worried about what could go wrong.  But the kids came through for me and helped me end my day with a smile.  Take a look at the funny photos of the potentially stressful situations below:

This picture is of my nephew Tate.  He was so excited to go swimming with his cousins. You all know a day at the pool is so much fun for the kids, but often exhausting for Mom.  The day begins with,"He's splashing me!" and ends with, "I'm hungry... I'm tired... my sunburn hurts...." and you get to hear it all while washing a load of towels.   Pictures like these remind me to smile.

Charlie's Angels recreated for the family Christmas
 dinner at Great Grandmas.

Sometimes it is as simple as bath time before bed.  There are times when the bath time fight takes more strength than I have, but Hayden was in rare form that night and I got this goofy pic.

Finding the perfect pose so you can send out beautiful Christmas pictures, can sometimes take a lot of time and energy.   Now the rule for taking Christmas pictures is: If you give me one good one, you can take as many goofy ones as you need. 

 The first day of school is always bittersweet for this mama.  I love the quiet that comes with the first day of school.  And as you all know, I love the structure and schedule of the day that comes with the first day of school. 
      I always take that first day of school picture. 
      I always cry as the school bus pulls away because I am reminded of how fast they grow up. 
      In this picture Hayden is in kindergarten, Hannah is in second, Alli is in fourth and Abbi is in the sixth.  Just looking at this picture gives me mixed feelings.  Love to see their playful nature ~ hate to see them growing up so fast.

 What happens at the St. Louis Zoo, stays at the St. Louis Zoo..... No, that is not a real cobra that my son is hanging on too, but it still gives me the shivers.  

This trip had me biting my fingernails before we ever left the house. The questions in my head were crazily spinning  around, all the way there.  "It is such a long drive, will it be expensive?  What will we eat?  What if someone follows us around the park? What if we have car trouble? What if someone gets sick? What if there aren't any available rooms at the local motel? What if we get lost?....."

It took a little while for me to relax, but Hayden certainly found the way to get me there.  What a nut!! (The puddle you see behind him came from a nearby waterfall, not from the act that it appears he is committing!) 



 My son and nephews having fun at Grandpa's 60th birthday dinner at church.   If you are ever gonna worry about your kids being on their best behavior, it is at a church dinner around your church family.

Sydney and Olivia trying on glasses at the eye doctors.  Glasses are expensive.  Eye exams are expensive.  I don't like to spend money.   You can probably imagine me wringing my hands and the frown on my face as we stepped into the office.  But turning around and seeing these faces certainly put a new twist in my day.  Aren't they pretty??

Even my husband got in on the goofiness of life.  This picture was taken during a garage sale we were having earlier this Spring.  I was busy worrying about parking, displaying stuff, the money coming out alright, whether it would rain.....and here comes my handsome husband out to help me get organized.  Proudly sporting his peacock pants.  The story on how he acquired these pants is a whole other blog post.  This is not normal attire for my guy, but I think he pulls it off pretty well........  But then he always makes me smile!