Fabulously 40

Today is my 40th birthday.  It's funny, this cultural phenomena of celebrating birthdays.  Really we should celebrate the mothers- they did all the work.  But I'm happy to celebrate.  I'm not hung up on age. And I have to say that this is one of my best birthdays ever.  I've had a gazillion people wish me a happy birthday on Facebook.  Okay, not a gazillion, but I'd say over a 100.  I take back most of the bad stuff I have said about Facebook- it's great for birthdays. 

My celebration started yesterday with my daughter Mimi making me breakfast while I was taking Scott to school.  It was eggs, an english muffin, and strawberries with a dusting of sugar.  Yum!  We went last night to my mom's to celebrate with the family.  Mom made chocolate angel food cake which is even more YUM! 

Chunks of angel food cake, melted chocolate chip mixed with whipped cream, and then the whole thing layered and chilled.  Seriously good!  My mom gave me this:

It's a piece of Himalayan Salt with holes drilled in it for candles.  Very pretty!  Then the hubs had to run to Wally World to get something, and he came back with tulips.  I love tulips!  Oh, and Mimi made me a penguin keychain she made out of beads.  Sari gave me a beaded bracelet she made for herself at a shop in Sanibel ( and so it is WAY too small for my wrist), her entire silly band collection, and a necklace she got in a grab bag at the Pow Wow.  I had to tactfully get her to be happy with me just wearing the necklace and her keeping the other things for me ;-).

Today, my daughter Mimi took it as her personal job to make this a great birthday.  We had all the usual stuff- getting Scott to school, Precepts, etc.  Because it was a busy morning, there was no breakfast in bed, but there was a present- some barrettes Mimi embellished with beads.  And she, Sari, and Tyler all gave me cards they made.  On the way home from Precept, I treated the kids to a trip to High Five (frozen yogurt) and then a shared lunch from the new chinese restuarant next door.  (On your birthday, it's okay to eat dessert first!)  When we got home, we cancelled writing for today, but mean old mommy made them do some work for an uncoming review.  They finished that while I was picking up Scott.  I came home to this:

The TV is showing an episode of Phineas and Ferb that is about their mother's birthday.  It ahs a song that Candace writes to their mother and the girls sang it to me several times.

The board says, "We all love you Mommy" and has a birthday hat and balloon drawn on it.

I also came home to the news that the hubs was picking up Thai Jasmine for dinner.  Ohhhh, I am going to be SOOOOO fat.  Mimi gave me another present- a beaded headband that she embellished.  When I got home from UIP tonight (where I was serenaded by the whole room in the most disjointed cacophony you've ever heard), we had the cake I made- a "Bee hive" cake -made like a pineapple upside down cake but with honey and butter and Heath pieces.  Oh, and melted chocolate chips on top.  Yeah, it's good ;-).

Me blowing out the candle on the "cake" Mimi made- a slice of cinnamon toast with frosting on it.

LOVE this picture because without my HEAD, and with nothing else to give a size reference, and with one leg crossed in front of the other, I actually look, if not skinny, then at least a little less fat.

Yummy cake with 4 "old people" candles that don't go out when you blow on them and 4 other candles that Sari was SURE would look like a circle so it would be a 4-0.

Below, here I am at 5 days old.  My mom is holding me (yes, we look a LOT alike), her mom is the one to the right, and her dad's mom is the one on the left (the one Mimi is named after).

Tomorrow marks the last of the celebrations- a little breakfast soiree.  I can't wait.