Birthday #33

Alright so I'm not going to sit here and whine about being old because let face it-who, other than anyone younger than 25, is going to consider 33 to be old? Not me! But I definitely feel older. I'm not a young twenty something anymore, but I'm not middle aged either. I am however, creeping toward mid-thirties a little to quickly and it just doesn't thrill me. Now is where someone needs to slap me and tell me to get over myself. For my birthday I needed a new bathing suit...badly. I don't know why I take John shopping with me because I always end up with something skimpier than I intended. Oh well. It is a cute bathing suit, especially with the super cute board shorts to hide a multitude of flaws. Now let's be honest. I don't have the body for a bikini, I'm not saying I ever have. But I do like them and my husband like me to wear them. I can walk around confidently, stretch marks and all, in front of people I don't know at the pool, but as soon as you throw in someone I know I feel much more self conscious. We spent the entire afternoon Saturday at the pool and I frequently see neighbors there. I was just hoping no one I know would show up because I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I guess it has something to do with fellow church-goers knowing what I look like with not much on. Weird, I know. The water in the splash pool at the bottom was about 8" too low so Carson and I shot off so quickly that I hit the bottom so hard I wanted to scream and tore my brand new shorts. Thankfully as soon as we got home John ran to the mall and exchanged them for a new pair. Wonderful man.

My actual birthday started out blah. I had laundry to put away and nothing fun to do. The boys and I played at the park for a bit then my mom picked them up so John could take me out. Since he had already given me my present days before, he brought home a bag of Andes Mints (my favorite) and the sweetest card. He picks his cards so carefully and won't buy one unless he finds one that says exactly how he feels. Adorable. We ran to the store and bought a plethora of candy and toppings for an ice cream bar that night. After dropping everything at home we went to Olive Garden. We don't go there much anymore since we can't get out for under $50 with two kids. Ridiculous. At one point our waitress came out and asked us if we were dating. They had been watching us from around the corner and no one could decide if we were dating or married...apparently they didn't notice our rings. We replied we were married for nearly ten years with two kids. She was shocked and rushed off to report back to her co-workers. Later an employee with a beautiful voice came out and remarked on how happy we look for being married ten years and proceeded to sing us "Always and Forever." I was grinning and not the least bit embarrassed. I told the waitress I didn't want dessert for my birthday so she brought out a plate decorated with syrup and a candle for me to blow out. The same man with the beautiful voice sang a very personalized version of Happy Birthday for me and made my day. We don't go out without the boys often enough and it was so nice to be alone with John. When we got back my family was there waiting for us. We set up the slide for the kids and the adults sat around talking until we all made our sundaes. My mom had brought a Pina Colada Cake since she couldn't imagine a birthday party without cake. So we had a Sundae bar and cake. A big hit, especially with the kids. It was just a fun get together and I'm glad everyone came out to help celebrate my birthday.