My 35th Birthday

I have a very sweet husband.

The day before my 35th birthday, he arranged to go hiking with the four of us (no Noah-sorry buddy, did not feel like carrying you and fishing you out of every pond that you most certainly would fall into)...on a Sunday afternoon...during the Bengals game.

Gasp.

Okay, so we have a DVR and it is a lovely thing.  But, still, my husband has come a looooong way.  This never would have happened a few years ago.  Heck, even last year.

We had a lovely time and I loved our time in the fresh air, in nature, with two kids and a husband who made me believe they loved it, too. 

Favorite line of the day, by Caleb:  "Wow, this is a lot of walking!  It's like walking at King's Island, but there are never any rides, just more walking!"

We went out to eat that night with family and I chose Max and Erma's, simply because they bring you warm chocolate chip cookies for free on your birthday.  Between the eight free cookies (yes, I shared...some) and the delicious pretzel appetizer (um, I think I ate an actual meal somewhere in there, but all I remember are the pretzels and the cookies), it was a lovely evening.

I figured Nick was done, since my actual birthday was on a Monday, in which real life came back.  School, carpool, cleaning, work, soccer, golf...

However, he had yet another plan.

He canceled his golf practice and brought the kids home from school.  He kept texting me while at school, telling me to go get a massage.  The poor guy just does not understand the concept of needing to book an appointment way in advance for such a thing.  I came to realize that he was trying to get me out of the house because he had invited a few friends over to surprise me.

Such a sweet idea.  There were a few hick-ups in the plan.

#1-I had already put dinner in the crockpot for dinner, along with making pepperoni puffs.  I had even texted him earlier in the day saying what I was making (just hinting to see if I was really expected to cook dinner on my birthday) and he said that was fine.  Actually, he only saw the words "pepperoni puffs" and thought, "Great!  Our guests can eat them!"

#2-The house was still in disrray from the weekend.  Every mom knows that when everyone is home for the weekend, the house quickly falls apart.  Once they all head back to school and work, Monday is recovery day.

#3-Because I usually host the parties while Nick enjoys them, there were no party food preparations on hand.

You know what?  Who cares?  My husband just invited some friends over to celebrate me and it was a very sweet idea.  And all of those "problems" listed above had solutions.

#1-I put dinner in the fridge and we ate it the next day.  And the pepperoni puffs were a hit and were quickly eaten up by our guests.

#2-Everyone that came over has been in my house enough to have seen it at its worst.  And they all brought kids who further destroyed it anyway.

#3-The boys made a beer run, my neighbor brought over some wine, Nick bought a cake and ice cream and we all survived.

It was a lovely time of turning 35, an age that I was really not looking forward to.  There is something about that number 35 and how close it is to 40...

Enough about the age-I have an amazing husband and three pretty awesome kids.  And I still feel 22 in my heart.  Looking forward to what this coming year brings.