Weapons and Pee-Cups

Yesterday was my birthday. I didn't have a party at the roller skating rink, or McDonalds, but I had a great day with my little family. I have discovered as I get older, birthdays get less exciting. I didn't wake up yelling "I'm 34!" like Thomas did on his birthday, but I did wake up and think to myself...How did I get to be 34? I know it's a cliche (I don't know how to put the little thing over the e so pretend it's there), but I really do feel like I am still 24, except for when I jump on a trampoline.

Here are just a few highlights...

Thomas made me my birthday cake. I helped him a little, but I really tried to be hands-off and let him do most of it. This picture is not posed, this is what he was doing when I turned around to get the camera. I couldn't get mad at him because he has seen me do this time and time again. I figured any germs left behind in the batter would be killed when the cake baked.

It is very hard to get a self-portrait with a SLR.

I have been looking forward to this gift for a while now. For Christmas, my mom made the grandkids blankets made of flannel and minky. After feeling how soft and cozy they were I told her I wanted one for my birthday. I knew I was getting one, I just didn't know what it was going to look like. I have been counting down the days until I could snuggle up on the cold leather couch with this. My mom and I went to lunch yesterday and after we came home I put Clara down for a nap and Thomas and I took a nice little cat nap wrapped in it's softness.

Thomas said I needed a pink cake with candles. I helped him frost it, but he did quite a bit of it on his own. He insisted that the candles be in the shape of the letter L.

We all wore the traditional party hats that I pull out for each birthday.

Steve cut the cake while Thomas licked all the candles.

Clara was having flashbacks and was anxious to get her own piece. This time I fed her because there was no way I was going to clean up another mess like the one before.

Steve knew exactly what I wanted. I told him a while ago I wanted some nice scissors. I always start out with a pair of fiskars that cut nicely for a while, but eventually end up cutting pizza or a nice window in a cardboard box. I needed some that would be my fabric only scissors. I can't believe how sharp and heavy these are. I think I need a weapons permit to use them.

Among the many other gifts, Steve gave me this. A cup hospitals use to measure bodily fluid. When I was pregnant with Clara, there was a night we ended up at the hospital for false labor. The nurse gave me a cup like this and told me to drink all the water and then she would check to see if I was really in true labor. I sat and drank the water in the waiting room and the contractions eventually stopped. I took the cup home and used it forever. I loved it because I enjoy keeping track of how much water I drink every day (I know I'm a nerd). I didn't know it was a cup used to measure pee until Steve told me a few days later. I think I lost it when Thomas ended up using it to dig in the dirt. On Thursday night Steve was talking about hospital supply procedures and I told him I would be thrilled if he got me another pee cup for my birthday. He said there was no way he was going to bring me one, but he did. Now I know for sure that he loves me.