Monday, January 11, 2010

Birthday Week

with Mommy Brain and Supah Mommy!

This week we are talking about birthdays, as it is my good friend Dana's birthday week! I was so happy to hear about someone else that celebrated a birthday week, as I've been doing this for years and some people (namely my husband) think I'm ridiculous. But I guess I'm not the only one that loves birthdays, especially my own!

Our most memorable birthday.... hmm... that's kind of a tough one for me. I would love to say my 21st birthday, but for me... my 21st birthday fell on EASTER SUNDAY. Of all the non-drinking holidays to land on, this one was pretty mellow. Not to say we didn't follow it up later with a completely drunken trip to the bar, but the actual birthday was just ok. I've had some great birthdays over the years, but I think I'll have to say the most memorable one was my 30th - a trip to Vegas with my friends, including this hot new guy I just started dating (who is now my husband). He surprised me with a Tiffany's box (we'd only been dating a few months), which I was NOT expecting, and some beautiful earrings. It was the first time I played poolside blackjack (which was fun at the time, but now that we think about it, you wonder how come some people never had to get up to go to the bathroom even though there were free drinks flowing...). It was a great time to just relax, have fun, and feel "love" in the air!

My friends and my family has done an amazing job of making my birthday as special as I like it to be. Last year my friends surprised me (the first surprise party I've EVER had!), with a dinner out that was a blast, only to be followed by pole dancing lessons (risque... and I hope no one ever sees those pictures). My wonderful hubby has treated me to amazing dinners (which, as a foodie, is a true highlight), and I can still remember all the effort my mom went to on birthday parties for us kids. Whether it was games (throw a dart and pop a balloon, egg races, water balloon toss), or decorating your own cupcakes - it was always a lot of fun.

I hope to be able to continue this tradition with little G and baby to be named later. Now I can understand what a celebration the actual birth is... I will certainly be happy to overly celebrate that for each of my kiddos for years to come. Long live the birthday WEEK! (and happy birthday Dana!).

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Remember me?

I'm sitting here realizing that I've been out of touch with a lot of people, including my few friends on the blog circuit. The holidays, I suppose, have gotten the best of many of us, and the free time I've had has been spent doing other things to keep me busy. But, as I sit here feeling the tiniest of kicks inside my belly, I started thinking that the baby was saying "hi - remember me?". I am reminded of the wonderful feeling of having a little being inside of you moving around, and just saying hello. When I was pregnant with my first, everytime I felt the little kicks, I thought he was saying "hi mom". I don't know... but to me it felt like our first conversations. Now I'm having full blown conversations with G, and I can only imagine what those conversations will become down the road. Now we'll have another one to have those conversations with - whether through the soft (or hard) kicks inside my belly, or through tears and hugs down the road, or during a favorite episode of Caillou. No matter how they come, I can't imagine anything better than being able to communicate with these little beings that love brought into the world. Could I be any more blessed?

I have to share a wonderful moment I had with little G.... unfortunately before the holidays my grandmother passed away. It was hard, and G had met her, but not known her well. However, she still was in our "God Blesses" every night, and when she got sick, every time we'd say "God Bless Great Grandma Pearl" - G would say "yeah, she's sick". After she passed away and I flew to California, I briefly tried to explain that GG Pearl was up in heaven with Jesus. A few weeks later, we were home and talking about another one of G's great grandmas. And he said he wanted to see GG Pearl. My husband said, "Oh buddy, we can't go see GG Pearl". And G says (like a boy beyond his years)... "yeah, cause GG Pearl is sick. But she's not sick anymore because she's in heaven with Jesus.". My eyes welled, my heart surged, and I realized this little boy knows more than I could have imagined, and is possibly the sweetest little boy I've ever met. My cup certainly runneth over.