In Which I Finally Update on the 1/4 Centennial

I'm so happy to be blogging here today. I can't tell you how much I've been missing posting here. I was just writing at Sustainable Life about how much I miss the me time that writing on my personal blog affords me.

My birthday, which passed nearly a week and a half ago, was absolutely fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a more fun filled weekend. I received two awesome packages on Friday to kick the festivities off; and then Saturday was fantastic. Papajama had a few tricks up his sleeve to get everything off to a great start. We spent a leisurely morning filled with sugary sweet pastries at home, and got to visit with my fun-loving sister-in-law. I enjoy the time that we get to spend with her, especially because she's single and it's kind of like being friends with the bachelorette. She's extremely picky about men (and yes she once broke up with one because she thought he walked like a duck), but she also wears her heart on her sleeve and wants to give all of herself in a relationship. It's fun to live vicariously through the quintessential single gal...while at the same time being very very very glad about where I am.

After our visit, we got ready for a mysterious outting that papajama had planned. He then drove me around for 20 minutes in all kinds of directions. Which forced me to ask repeatedly "Where are we going?" "Are we going to Kansas?" "Are we going to my folks' house?" "Do I need a swimsuit?" "Are we going skiing?...because I don't think I can ski while pregnant...and did you call the midwife to check if this was safe???" "Where are we going??!!??!!??"

He would reply to all of this with "No....maybe?". It was infuriatingly amusing. The infuriation was mostly me...the amusement was mostly him. I absolutely love surprises, but they do drive me a little mad as well.

Turns out, that he was taking me to get a much needed massage. It was divine. I loved every second of it. There's nothing like getting greased up and having strong hands work those aching muscles while candles burn and enya plays in the background. My therapist worked out quite a few kinks in my neck that have been pestering me FOREVER, but alas I think they are back already. The kinks probably have something to do with the way that I sleep curved around a small kicking child, or on the nights when she stays asleep in her own bed, sprawled out spread diagonally across the bed twisted with my upper back lying flat on the bed, and my hip pivoted so that I'm not technically lying on my back while pregnant (that's probably also why my left arm goes numb at night...I'm pretty sure that I'm sleep impaired).

But back to the birthday, Papajama also gave me a second certificate that I can redeem at a time of my choosing. At the end of the massage, papajama came to pick me up and had dropped babyjama off with my parents. He then took me home, and in the house he had set up the Scrabble board (one of my very favoritist games) and gotten some of my favorite snacks. The "healthy" kind of root beer and dark chocolate peanut butter cups. We spent the next couple of hours playing...and I would have kicked his butt if I hadn't taken the opportunity to teach him a little Scrabble strategy. So even though he ended up winning, I'm claiming the victory.

We picked up babyjama after our Scrabble match to go out for Italian food. Our dinner was fantastic. We went to a restaurant near our house that seems like something straight out of the Sopranos. I'm pretty sure that some connected people came in after us...and they were definitely seated first (they probably were just family...but it's more exciting to think of it the other way).

Sunday we had the celebration with my family. It started off with my Dad's special recipe for French toast with oven fried potatoes. We did presents, which were a lovely mother-child necklace from one of my sisters, a really cute and kitchy apron and canvas bag from another sister, and new towels, bath mats, maternity clothes, and cookbooks from my parents.

We spent the day hanging out and watching movies, and then ordered from our favorite Indian restaurant. My only complaint is that the baby seems to be taking up space so I can't seem to eat as much at a sitting as I would normally like to, but I think that's not a bad problem to have afterall.

So that was the birthday extravaganza. It was so fun. I'm so glad that I got to spend it with my favorite people, and I think they had some fun too.