It's My Birthday...TODAY!!

August 23, 2010...the day I turned 28!! Can that be right?! TWENTY-EIGHT! Wow... that's serious! If you had asked me at 18 where I'd be in ten years I would never have said, married with a kid! However, if you had asked me at 23 where I'd be in five years I would have definitely said MARRIED (would hope so, right?!) and one kiddo and probably another one on the way. Well, as far as I know there isn't another one on the way... BUT all that to say that 28 sure sounds pretty grown-up... especially once you throw in that kid stuff!



And really, as long as we're talkin' about getting older or more seasoned as some like to say, a number doesn't really do much more than make it official... there are LOTS of clues along the journey that give getting older away!



I could make a LONG list... but I'll spare you... oh you don't want to be spared?! No, really, I shouldn't... BUT if you insist... just a few... okay?



My list...



You know you're getting older when...

• Two boxes of Fiesta Ware on your doorstep send you into fits of laughter and shouts of joy.


• You spend DAYS perusing Craigslist ads waiting for the perfect China Cabinet to POP up.


• You would rather cook your own birthday meal than go out to eat. At least then you'll know it will be good! :)


• You prefer maternity undies to your regular ones most days of the year!


• You think about getting pregnant simply because you have more cute maternity clothes than you do regular ones.


• Better yet, you go ahead and wear your cute maternity clothes... and take on the motto "just belt it!"

Ah, yes... these are the signs of getting older my friends...the times... they are a changin'! :)



As most birthdays tend to go... I've been celebrating mine for a while now! Staring with two HUGE yet delightful boxes of my new Fiesta Ware that were delivered mid-week, last week... All put up!!



I'm VERY excited about my color selections, even though I've pretty much decided I'm going to collect it all... I'm gonna be one of those crazy "day-after-Thanksgiving Fiesta Ware bargaineers"... okay so maybe I won't go that far, but I'm excited to have something to "collect."



Since I'm a collector now it is a REALLY good thing that I just so happened to find the MOST beautifully-boned china cabinet on Craigslist last week. We picked it up Saturday and now we're in the process of choosing the perfect shade of not-ultra-white white and then this weekend the real fun begins! I can't wait to show you the finished product!! AND I can't wait even more to display my new dishes inside!! :) Yay!!



This also means that I get to FINALLY unpack my nice China from the boxes it came in 6 years ago when we got married! Which opens up some serious storage room for more of Chadorade's junk (I mean keepsakes!).



The birthday fun continued on Friday night when Justin and I had an in-home date night. We do this A LOT but it never seems to get old and is the perfect end to a hectic week at work for Justin. I made a pitcher of yummy margs and some homemade chicken enchiladas and we curled up on the couch with a redbox... Valentine's Day... it was good... Justin fell asleep, but I blame this more on the tequilla in the margs than on the movie! :)



On Saturday we had FAMILY day and did all sorts of fun errands... picked-up china cabinet, went to Starbuck's, Home Depot, the AT&T store to cash-in my phone upgrade to an iPhone (YAY!), and lunch.



Later that night we met KK, Albi, Aunt Ermie and Uncle Sprady for dinner at one of my FAVORITE restaurants... Siena! It was SUPER yummy and we all had a great time! Caden did REALLY well, especially considering it was a 2.5 hour dinner! :) That is certainly not to say that we didn't have to go outside and burn off some energy a few times! :) I am so glad he was there to celebrate with me on my bday!! He's my buddy!



My family has NEVER been one to take pictures... we're horrible at it actually! We forget or get lazy and don't do it, but we did manage to snap a few before we all headed our separate directions... Caden and Justin were already loaded in the car so I just got a picture of the original three... me and my rents! :) After all, my birthday is just as much a celebration of them as it is me!! They are the reason I made it my 28 years thus far!! :)



Thanks for dinner Mom and Dad!! And thanks to Josh and Em for driving up too! I appreciate it so much!

Sunday the fun kept coming... birthday fun! Sunday evening for dinner we went and dined at another one of my favorite establishments... TACO BUENO! You either love it or you hate it and I LOVE it. I've been eating Taco Bueno since I was Caden's age and I have so many wonderful memories of eating at Taco Bueno every Sunday after church with my grandparents... it's just one of those feel good places that never disappoints! SO I got my Taco Bueno fix and then we headed out to he ballpark to watch the Express play!! :) They were playing the Rangers AAA team so of course Justin was loving that! :)

I LOVE going to baseball games! It is super hard for me to watch them on TV unless it's in the 9th inning and its nearing the end of the season, BUT going to a game is a whole different story... I LOVE it! And CADEN did too! We took him last year, but he was WAY young and not able to really enjoy the FUN, so this year was a totally different experience!

I had the MOST fun watching him get so excited about the game! He and his Daddy have been watching a lot of baseball lately with the Rangers doing so well, so he was very aware of what was going on and knew it was a BIG deal to be at a game! :)

He clapped ANY time anyone else did... no matter who did what!

We even got some spontaneous throw your hands in the air action... SO funny!

More claps...

After a while in our seats we moved to a REALLY empty section in the shade so that Caden could run around and have fun... he was GREAT until the mascots from all of the sponsors started heading out the door near our section... OH.MY.GOODNESS.GRAVY. Caden is TERRIFIED of them... all of them! Chick fil a Cow, HEB Buddy, Chuy's Red Fish, Spike the Express' Mascot... it was hilarious... to us! Every one else in our section was looking at us like we were the worst parents in the world laughing SO hard as Caden shakes (SHAKES) and wimpers at the sight of our energetically stuffed friends... oh my goodness, if I had only had my video camera! SO I'm pretty sure that Disney World is going to be a NO GO for a few years. We've gotta get over our fear first! I've never understood the whole "I'm afraid of clowns" thing... it just didn't make sense to me, but after watching Caden, I get it... I think he'll be afraid of clowns too and obviously mascots... :)

After all of that FUN...

We headed to the berm... it was finally in the shade so Caden could run around and play and we wouldn't sweat to death watching him! :) He had a blast! He ran UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN so many times his legs finally gave out on him. He face planted twice in a row and so we decided that it was time to pack it up... the poor kid was WORN.OUT.

UH-OH... more mascots... the birds that run around the field for the Pluckers Chicken Race (like the dot race) were taking the field... see the look of fear in his eye! At least they were FAR enough way that the shaking was not needed! :) Poor little guy!! How do they learn to be afraid of such things?!! So strange!

Phew... that brings us to today... my REAL birthday!

This morning Caden and I went on a run together (I didn't want to wake up early today) and then we did some shopping with a few birthday gift cards and cash. I picked up a yummy salad from Pei Wei and Caden got Burger King and we had a nice little lunch date at home! Tonight, I'm making one of my favorite meals Sweet-n-Sour Chicken and Justin may or may not be bringing home some yummy cupcakes from our favorite bakery in G-town! Sounds like a GREAT day to me!

Regardless of all of the fun, gifts, food and massive amounts of celebrating I always feel like the luckiest girl in the world... truly! Thank you (friends, bloggies, family) for all you do to make me feel especially lucky (blesses, loved, etc.)! I love y'all!!

Happy August 23rd!!

(Happy Birthday, Steph!! From one August 23rd'er to another!! I love you!!)