Happy Birthday to Me!

This year, I had three requests for my birthday: 1) That I would get an afternoon with my daughter at the salon,  2) That I didn't have to plan for or make dinner, and  3) That someone else would do the dishes.  So, on the day of my 39th birthday, Cara and I baked a cake in the morning and went to the salon to have our hair done that afternoon.  My husband made tacos for dinner and I didn't have to do the dishes.  It was a birthday just the way I like 'em....low-key and relaxing.

White box cake (my favorite) decorated by Cara.

Craig and I really don't do much for our own birthdays.  We have a standing rule that, if you don't have a gift idea that you're excited about getting, then don't get a gift.  Years go by when neither of us get gifts for each other and then there are years when we both go overboard.  There's no scorecard and no pressure.  It works well for us.  This year, Craig got me a welcome mat that I had totally nerded on and on about when I saw it on ThinkGeek.com months prior.

Connor showing off my upside down birthday gift.
It says "Welcome" in binary.  It's okay to be jealous.

Even though we are very reserved for our own birthdays, Cara has always been concerned with making sure that she recognized her father's and my birthdays.  She always has a hand-made present for us and she has made sure that her brother has shared in this generous spirit, often reminding him a week or two in advance of the upcoming event.  They both work very hard, in secret, to come up with such wonderful presents for us.

My birthday gift from Cara (complete with origami frame).

Connor worked on this at school. He told his teacher, very animatedly, that it was for my birthday.  

One of my most precious gifts I get every year isn't really an actual present.  Ever since Cara was very little, the moment her eyes open on either Craig's or my birthday, the first words out of her mouth have always been "Happy Birthday".  The bleary-eyed sweetness of that statement as the first thing on her mind on her parents' special day speaks volumes as to what a generous heart she has. 

And this year's birthday, my first day of the last year of my thirties (a fact that I am not taking very well), my son's first words to me that morning were, "So, when your eggs get rotten......"