birthday recap

Yesterday was my birthday, and lest I forgot that it was, the first words out of Garrett's mouth as he tried to drag his sleepy self up and out of bed were an unexpectedly giddy, "Mom, are you 31 now?!"

It was a good day, and I was well taken care of. Blake worked from home so as to help out in a few small but vital ways. He cooked me breakfast (his signature egg-cheese-and-bacon toasted English muffin sandwiches) and washed the dishes (!!!). He also kept an eye on Garrett's little brothers so I didn't have to drag them out in the sub-freezing temperatures outside as I shuttled him to and from school.

Life doesn't stop when you're a mother, not even for your birthday, so I took Matthew to the doctor for his 9 month well check-up (where, despite my concerns about his lack of interest in moving about and the awful green snot that's been cascading out of his nose lately, he passed with flying colors -- and was given an antibiotic for the congestion; he is now measuring in at a healthy 20 lbs even and 28 inches long).

Once Garrett was home from school, and I'd guided him through his homework, he set to work putting his birthday plans in motion.

The birthday plans: Cut out hearts, eat birthday cake, open presents, and blow up balloons.

He'd already decorated the day before ---

Birthday Decor by Garrett & Co.

--- so we began by blowing up balloons. His original plan was to go to the party store to buy some helium-filled ones, but since the temperatures had only risen to a whopping 18 degrees with a biting wind, I politely refused to leave the house. So we blew up a few we had leftover from his and Caleb's most recent birthdays. Next we cut out a few paper hearts (because next to my birthday, Valentine's Day is his latest obsession). And then he had a bit of painful waiting to do until Dad could wrap up his day at the "office" so we could open presents and eat cake. He filled some of that time by putting together the playlist for the Birthday Dance Party he was envisioning we'd have before bed.

(Does anyone else see a future in party planning for Garrett?)

In the evening we dined on the quiche lorraine I made [for myself, but I was feeling generous and so shared with my family], then convened in the living room to open presents.

I really lucked out in the gift department this year. My mom sent [as a joint birthday gift for both Blake and I] a signed Mark Hedengren print for us to hang in our home and to help us remember our days of church service in New York City (yes, that is the Plan of Salvation outlined in chalk outside a subway entrance). Blake's parents found me an awesome set of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls (they know me so well!). Garrett presented me with a few of his one-of-a-kind paper crafts. And from Blake I got a walking foot for my sewing machine (!!!), a set of pretty blue flour sack towels, a gift card to Fishs Eddy, and a vintage-style Moda tablecloth (that technically I picked out myself, but I'm giving him the credit because he indulged me).

Doesn't it make my table look pretty? The flowers were from him, too. And yes, those are the amazing vintage mixing bowls.

Blake is notoriously unable to bake birthday cakes, and it was too cold for his standby ice cream cake, so, after a gentle reminder from me of how much I love brownies, he picked up a few individual-sized "brownie cakes" from a local bakery. All of my boys sang the most beautifully out-of-tune rendition of "The Happy Birthday Song," and, with Caleb's help, I blew out all of my candles.

And then, after we stuffed ourselves, the boys, who don't know how to settle down/not whine/be nice to each other -- not even for Mom's birthday -- went to bed. And that was glorious.

I had a lovely day, thanks especially to Blake, who went above and beyond to make it a nice one. Also, thank you to everyone who reached out to make my day great. Every phone call, text, and Facebook message I received made me feel remarkably loved.