Happy birthday to me!

And what a great birthday it has been!

After getting to sleep in this morning, I got up to a very excited little boy who wanted me to open my birthday present now. He and my wonderful husband had picked out a pair of amazingly comfortable yoga pants from Lululemon. After that, the boy and I finished making some buckeyes that I had started last night. He had lots of fun dunking them in the melted chocolate, and I had lots of fun cutting up some apples and bananas and having chocolate fondue for lunch with the leftovers.

Hey, it's my birthday. I can have chocolate fondue for lunch if I want to.

The day continued to get better when I bought...a sewing machine! I'm so excited. After returning the sewing machine my mother-in-law had lent me while she was out of the country, I began searching for the perfect machine of my own. I wanted something older and sturdy (rather than the new plastic machines), something with decent functionality, and something that had been well-loved and taken care of by its previous owner. I'd passed up dozens of machines for one reason or another, waiting for the machine that was "the one" - though how I'd know it was the one, I wasn't entirely sure.

Then, yesterday, I saw it. Posted on Craigslist by someone who was sad to see it go, a beautiful old Singer that fit all of my criteria, with one added bonus - it's blue! Unfortunately, it was also twice what I had budgeted. But today, with birthday money from my dear mother-in-law and a nod from my husband, I went ahead and splurged. Happy birthday to me, indeed!

It was especially fun to discover that the woman selling the machine is a birth doula. "The Plan" for a while now has been to get my doula certification when the kiddos are older, do that for a while, then go back to school for midwifery when the kids are grown. Now's not the time for that, with a nursing babe at home, but it's something I'm looking forward to in the future. Anyway, she seemed like someone I'd like to be friends with, but alas, she's moving across the country - thus the selling of her beloved sewing machine. Hopefully I can I give it a home where it will be equally loved and used.

After all of that excitement - sleeping in, fondue for lunch, birthday presents, and a new sewing machine - I enjoyed a rare treat. I got to shower by myself! No little boy fighting me for the best spot under the hot water, no babe-in-arms slurping water off my shoulder. Just me and the hot water, alone together at last.

Heavenly.

Then, it being my birthday and all, I got to drag my wonderfully tolerant husband to a small arts and craft show nearby. I treated myself to a lovely magnet, which I intend to use to hold our library slip in hopes of not having so many overdue books. (And after having worked at a library myself for seven years - shameful, I tell you!)

After browsing for a while, we headed to 7-11 for our free slurpee in celebration of 83 years in business! I'm a big fan of 7-11 stores (what with sharing a "birthday" and all) and slurpees (my favourite being Coke mixed with cream soda), so it was pretty sweet.

The only low point in the day was the outcome of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final - boo, Spain, you bunch of cheaters! Hup, Holland, hup!

Now I'm waiting in eager anticipation for (what smells like) the delicious supper my husband is cooking for me. Beef kabobs and coconut rice...mmm. Birthday cake will wait until tomorrow so that we can take it to our weekly Bible study with us. The man and the boy will be making my favourite - dirt cake! So much chocolatey goodness.

After supper I'll get the kiddos to bed and enjoy a nice evening with the husband. Since it's my birthday, I have to get to pick what we do. Right now I'm thinking we'll play our new favourite board game, Ticket to Ride, and watch a couple episodes of our new favourite series, How I Met Your Mother. Other than tidying up the supper dishes, I intend to enjoy the rest of my relaxing day - the housework can wait until tomorrow!