So You Say It's Your Birthday?

It's my birthday, too!

But really. It is actually my birthday today! I can't decide if I'm happy about turning 28, but....there it is, anyway. {Insert insecurities about being so close to turning 30.} Not much I can do about that ticking clock, so I might as well accept it, right? :)

We spent the past weekend in NC celebrating our freedom and my birthday. It went by super fast, but we had a blast! When we went up for Charlotte's birthday in March, I was still swamped by Millie's itty-bittyness and I feel like I didn't totally enjoy myself. This time I felt much more....equipped to handle all of the busyness with family around. 

I think Charlotte may have thought it was her birthday...again. LOL!

Friday evening, we had a combination birthday/Independence Day swim party, dinner, and fireworks. Truth be told, I don't mind having my birthday party on the 4th. Fireworks on my birthday? Yes, please!

So much more excited about fireworks this year! I love it!

 Uncle Jason handing out 'snap dragons'.

Charlotte's first sparkler! *proud mama*

I have been totally spoiled by all of our family this year. My mom sent money, with which I ordered some brand spanking new TOMS and a few other things that haven't come in yet. 

Joe also bought me a pair of TOMS. (I seriously want all the TOMS!) My in-laws got me a little mini-purse (toss it in the diaper bag!) and some moo-la. Sister-in-law #1 (aka Sarabeth) got me a gift card to my favorite fast food place....Chic-Fil-A! I had planned on using it on our way home but, alas, it was Sunday. *sigh* Sister-in-law #2 (aka Anna) gave me a monogrammed cosmetic bag full of my must-have Mary Kay products!!! She also made me brownies. And took Charlotte to her house for a sleepover (post about this to come). So basically, she wins. ;-)

On Saturday we just hung out, enjoyed time with family, and relaxed. It was really nice to spend the 4th/my birthday with family this year. It's a rare treat since the Army always likes to interfere with our plans!

Today, I'm not sure what we'll do. It's smack in the middle of the week, so we may just hang out at home. That's okay, though. I don't really mind all that much. I am hosting my Jamberry Nails launch party on Facebook tonight, so that's something! I'm really excited about being a Jamberry Nails consultant and starting this little business. It has great potential! If you'd like to join my party, leave a comment or send me an email with your email address/FB name so I can add you! Or you can just do some good old fashioned online shopping on my website. ;-)

Happy Birthday to me!

Hope ya'll have a great day!

The Birthday That Wasn't

So, my birthday was last Tuesday. I was already kinda weirded out about turning 27 {the whole one year closer to 30 thing, I think}, and I really just wanted to have a good day. Some phone calls from family, some texts, maybe a card or two... You know. Instead, I got the worst birthday ever. 

I never thought I'd find something that beat the year I had my tonsils out the week before my birthday, the year one girl showed up to my party, my 16th birthday where I failed my driver's test, and my 20th which was in the midst of a rough breakup. Alas, it had to happen at some point. 

That morning, I woke up to a crying baby girl - not totally unusual, though it is rare for her to actually cry upon waking. As I took my sweet time peeling myself off my comfy bed, I couldn't imagine what was waiting for me.... The beginnings of a stomach virus. On the morning of my 27th birthday, I cleaned up vomit and a really gross diaper. As I was in the middle of cleaning up, I gave silent thanks that I was no longer in the I-feel-like-vomiting-all-the-time portion of pregnancy. 

Fortunately, she wasn't really sick the rest of the day - just very clingy and not wanting to eat. And really, who could blame her? We cuddled and watched cartoons all day. While not productive, it was definitely tiring for me. {I also changed far too many diapers that day... I'll spare you the details.} 

I had asked Joe a few times what he'd gotten me for my birthday and he swore that he got me nothing. I really thought he was kidding until after Charlotte was in bed that night. By this point, I'm tired and slightly hormonal. So obviously I cried. I mean... Birthdays aren't really the biggest deal. But life isn't all about me anymore. It's all about the baby (and soon to be, babies). So the fact that I got nothing more than a "happy birthday" from him was really upsetting. Especially factoring in all the grossness I had cleaned up on my birthday (because kids are nothing if not respectful of time... ;)), the fact that we hadn't done anything the weekend before, and it was my birthday and the middle of the week when nothing can ever get done because of the Army. So, cue all the tears. And of course the tears made him feel bad, so he promised we'd do something the following weekend. And the next day he brought me an I'm-sorry-I-was-dumb brownie and card. LOL

I washed bedding, clothes, and bunnies (thank God - and my mother - we have 2) throughout the rest of the week. The best part of this birthday week was that my sweet baby girl shared her virus with me! By Thursday, baby girl and I were taking naps together (at the same time, definitely not in the same bed since she has a tendency to be sick upon waking) and sharing popsicles. I'll spare you the grossness, but we spent the better part of the day in the bathroom. The worst part about me being sick was that Joe couldn't get off work (thanks, Army!) and I still had Charlotte to take care of. I don't think it gets much worse than that hearing your baby cry while you're busy....being sick...and unable to move even though you want to. *sigh*

The "just in case" bucket.

That's how you know it's bad.

My appetite didn't return until Sunday, and Charlotte was still sick. Needless to say my "weekend makeup birthday celebration" didn't happen. *sigh* I know she can't help it, though. Considering I've had the virus, I know she'd much rather go out with us than be sick. Anything is better than a stomach virus. Thankfully, I have recovered and Charlotte is feeling much better. She's not fully recovered yet, but I figure she'll be back to normal in another day or two. Hallelujah!

The extent of our weekend activities.

So far, 27 isn't looking all that hot. Maybe 28 will be better. Here's hoping...

4th of July = Fireworks for my Birthday?

So it feels like this 4 day weekend was really long... Anyone else feel that way? Maybe it's because it's the first 4 day we've had since we've been here that we haven't been traveling or booked solid with things. It was kinda nice! We did do a few things on the 4th, which was pretty nice. :)

First, we headed out to Chick-fil-a for lunch. I took a picture of the cutest person there! 

Some things about my kid? 1) Holy cow, I have the cutest kid ever. 2) She totally left those sunglasses on her head (which I put there ;)) until after she was finished eating. 3) She eats more than a 2 year old and is STILL smaller than an "average" 9 month old. *sigh* Anyways.....

After our much-needed CFA date, the three of us went to Target for diapers and proceeded to spend way more money than we needed to. It's funny how Target can not only suck me in, but also my husband. Especially that little "dollar" section at the very front of the store. Oh, this is only $1? Hey, this is only $3! Sign me up! After we spent all the moneys at Target, Joe decided he needed ammo from Academy during a rainstorm. We gladly let him do that while we stayed in the car, keeping our hair and clothes dry. ;-)

Basically, we had a really, really rainy 4th. The post had their fireworks show on the 3rd, and they all but got rained out. I think they shot off the fireworks despite the weather because there wasn't another event planned for a few months. Kudos to all the nuts who stayed out in the rain to see some fireworks. Anyway, for the 4th I decided I'd make dinner and cupcakes and have Amanda and her hubby over. We also bought a few small-scale fireworks to do at our house. You know, because they're actually legal in Georgia! {I couldn't tell you the last time I bought fireworks...even small ones like fountains! They're banned in Hawaii. Sads.} 

Unfortunately, I got exactly zero pictures of the food. Everyone said it was tasty, though. {Pregnancy is to blame for my weird tastebuds.} We enjoyed our crock-pot sloppy joes, oven baked fries, potato salad, and cupcakes. And because I wanted Charlotte to get in on the celebration, we took to the patio after dinner (and while it wasn't raining) for a few fireworks.

Joe setting things up, Jasper supervising.

I tried to get in some good shots while we were waiting. Key word: tried.

"Ooooooh, aaaaaah."

Smiles for Daddy. :)

Apparently Daddy is way more funny than Mama.

Charlotte hanging out with Amanda. :)

We got a picture together this year! Score!

After we put Charlotte to bed {and waited for it to get dark}, we went back outside for more fireworks! We took our chairs to the driveway and got ready to set them all off.

We did about 3, maybe 4, when it started pouring down rain. *sigh* We tried to stick it out on the porch, hoping that we'd be able to see local fireworks, but not even the porch was keeping us dry. So much rain! So, after a very rainy 4th, we called it a night. We still have a bunch of fireworks left - including sparklers, which are pretty much my favorite thing ever. I'm kind of hoping we'll set them off for my birthday tomorrow. Or actually, today since I'll probably post this tomorrow instead of tonight. So, happy birthday to me! 

{Is it just me, or does 27 sound kind of old-ish? I mean I know I'm not old, but it sure feels a lot older than 26.... Maybe it's that whole one-year-closer-to-30 thing? Maybe.}

How was your 4th?

Why July is My Favorite Month

First there's the 4th - friends, fireworks and fun! And then, there's my birthday!!

On the 4th, we invited some friends over for dinner and some good, old fashioned...nothing. =P Despite my best intentions, no photos were taken. I did, however, get a few shots of my super-cute daughter from the 4th! As much of a fail-blogger as I am, I am not a fail-mommy. Haha!

This was the best photo I got of her during out 20 mins outside. Sigh.

Charlotte and Daddy. =)

Charlotte and Mommy.

Notice how there isn't a picture of the 3 of us. I meant to have one of our friends get a picture of all of us, but obviously that didn't happen. Between cooking dinner, chatting, and husbands running in and out of the house pictures just didn't happen. Oh and I still have a kid to take care of. You know, all that. ;-)

All in all, it was a good night though. I had really wanted to go see fireworks on post, but there were two problems with that. 1) Fireworks didn't start until 8pm, which is right in the middle of Charlotte's last nap. 2) They opened the show to the public which means 5 bazillion more people than usual would be on post and we probably wouldn't get out of there until 10. Not really a good idea with an itty bitty baby. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to see some next year, wherever we are.

Today is my birthday! =D Big 'ole 26 for me! And it actually doesn't feel all that different or bad. Actually, it's more weird than anything. I don't feel 26! I didn't really feel 25 either, but I definitely don't feel like I should be closer to 30. This whole getting older thing is just plain weird to me. I don't really feel like I've aged that much since I got married. Maybe I don't feel older because I don't look older. I've always looked a lot younger than I am, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... But it makes aging weird for me. =P Anyway.

To celebrate my birthday, we actually went out to dinner with friends of ours on Saturday. I figured it'd be easier to do something celebratory {that I didn't have to cook for} on a weekend rather than a Monday after everyone got off work. I'm also not obsessive about celebrating things on the day of, so it works out. =) Also, no pictures were taken that night. I don't know what's wrong with me!

Over the last week (or so), I've gotten some pretty good gifts! First, Joe got me this little lovely thing:

Yep, I got a Kindle! I'd been looking at them a lot online recently and suddenly realized that I liked it more than the Nook I had. Amazon usually has similar (and sometimes even better) prices and more books available. Not only that, but they have a much bigger "lending library" where you can borrow books instead of buying them. With B&N, the book has to qualify for the lending program and often they're new and popular books. Anyway. The thing I love most about this little thing is that it's about a bazillion times lighter than the Nook I had. So yeah. Love it.

I opened my inbox this morning and found that my wonderfully awesome SIL, Anna, got me an Amazon gift card! Yay for more books to read! =D I had hoped my mom would get me one {I actually told her to get me an Amazon card before I even got the Kindle}, but she didn't. Oh well. She sent me a check - as did Joe's parents {Oh, I also got some pretty nifty hangers from them too!} - and my grandparents sent a gift card to Target! Woo! 

I think the best part of birthdays is being spoiled a little bit. Yes, you get gifts on Christmas, but that day isn't about you. Your birthday is totally, completely, 100% about you. And once a year, that's kinda nice. Especially when you're a mom and pretty much nothing is about you anymore. Am I right?! ;-)

Quarter Century

That's how old I am - as of this past Saturday.

It seems odd to say that, but at the same time I'm totally fine with it. 25 doesn't feel so bad. In fact, doesn't feel much different that 24...or 23...or even 22. I even look just about the same! Kudos to my mom for handing down that gene. =)

I had a pretty low-key weekend, and I'm totally fine with that. Friday, Joe and I did a little pre-birthday shopping. I had gotten some gift cards from my family and I really don't like shopping on Saturday. We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond first. Is it sad that I was really excited about that gift card...and my purchases?

Really, I'm most excited about the cookie sheets. My only cookie sheet had seen better days. I jumped for joy when I saw this set of 3 Wilton cookie sheets for $10. Yes, please!!! I also needed some new measuring spoons because one of mine found its way off the loop thing and into my garbage disposal. =( And of course it was the teaspoon. The silicon spatulas are pretty much my favorite thing ever. I use them for cooking on the stove and for baking. I'm pretty excited about them. I don't think I have to explain the chocolate and nail polish. ;-) After spending probably an hour in Bed, Bath & Beyond {Joe still wants to know where the "beyond" is. =P}, we headed over to Charlotte Russe!


This store has slowly become one of my favorites. I'm not sure why because I'm not a huge fan of all of their clothes... Maybe I just like the challenge of finding treasures amongst the junk? That and I really do love their earrings and necklaces. Anyways... My nana gave me a gift certificate to Charlotte Russe and I also had a little bit of cash to spend. So, here's what I wound up with:

2 sets of earrings...that I love.

Dress #1

Dress #2

...which will be getting some fabric to cover cleavage.

I have just recently fallen in love with dresses. Well, summer dresses. I'll attribute that to my sunburn from last week. Having your toosh and the back of your legs burned means finding things to wear that won't hurt you. Hence the dresses. Then I realized how comfortable they were... So I bought more! The second dress above I really wasn't sure I wanted to buy. It's really immodest... Like I wouldn't even be able to wear a strapless with it because it's cut so low. Then Joe suggested I add some fabric to cover that area. Genius! So I bought it. =P I have to figure out how exactly to do it to make it look right, but I'm sure I will. And it will look great!

Saturday {my actual birthday} we hung around the house in the morning...and just kind of lazed around. I got several phone calls so it was probably good that I wasn't out and about. That evening, we went to dinner at Cholo's with a few friends. 

Left, front to back: Joe, Me, Allen

Right, front to back: Kevin, Jennifer, Annie

After dinner, everyone came back over to our house to chill out, eat some yummy dessert and have fun. Annie made me some amazing chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes. Nom nom nom. 

This is how many we had AFTER everyone left.

I'm kind of okay with that. ;-)

After our yummy birthday dessert, we sat down at the table and played a game. What better way to get to know everyone than to play a fun board game?! 

All in all, it was a really fun day and I had a great birthday weekend. I even got to do a little more post-birthday shopping yesterday!

I really thought I'd freak out about being a quarter century old, but so far I'm liking it. I think the main reason is because I know that 25 will be a great year. I have my hubby home and I look forward to doing all kinds of fun things with him! No quarter-life crisis for me; I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride!

Happy Birthday to Me

{in a sing-song voice}

Yesterday was my 24th birthday. Thank God Melissa was able to come and hang out with me for a week. {I picked her up from the airport on Wednesday...another funny story there.} I would probably have been a puddle of depressed-ness if she hadn't been here. I love my bestie, but there's nothing like spending your birthday with your soulmate.

Anyway. Here's a little bit of what we've done so far.

Godiva chocolate covered strawberries @ an outlet mall. YUM 

{Thursday}

Godiva chocolate cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. To. Die. For. Seriously.

We both got pedicures yesterday. {this is mine} We both picked up the same colors and asked for flowers on our toes. We're not alike at all. ;-)

We made cupcakes last night with chocolate ganache on the inside. {As if we needed more chocolate...}

We've also done a good amount of shopping and ate at Margaritaville. I promise I'll share pictures later. And I might even have something for one of you lovely readers! ;-)

Hope y'all have a good weekend!