My Birthday

Yes, I'm another year older. Yikes, I'm aging fast... and not well, if I'm telling the truth. My dermatologist said not to worry about the deep Grand Canyon lines on both sides of my mouth - she can fix them with something she called "filler."

I'm not sure if the permanent "pregnancy mask" I acquired with Ella seven years ago will EVER go away despite the hundreds of dollars I spend on skin care products every year.

I haven't exercised in six years - at all.

My hair gets neglected for months at a time until I get to Arizona to have it "done" twice a year.

I paint my own finger and toe nails - enough said!

I finally bought some new clothes and shoes after years of wearing the same old thing - thanks to birthday money from my mom and mother-in-law!

Sounds pretty bad right? Well, I may not look so great, but I sure am blessed. I'm healthy, I have a great family, we have a roof over our heads, food on the table and some money left over to fly to Arizona twice a year to get my hair done. What more could a woman "my age" want? =-)

Well, enough about me and my declining beauty! The best part of my birthday was that it had nothing to do with me, and I loved that. First, we went to Brooklyn's graduation picnic in the park. Then I raced off to Ella's school where the Kindergarteners were having a practice lunch in the cafeteria to help them prepare for next year. Then back to the park to finish up with Brooklyn. We celebrated my birthday Friday night with dinner at Olive Garden. Yes, I know we broke tradition by not going to the Crazy Food Place, but I really couldn't eat there one more time. I needed something different, and Olive Garden still has my favorite salad. Yum.

It's never too early to dress up for Halloween, right? Today, Brooklyn chose to be a lady bug. Now why would I want to argue with that? =-) We got some interesting looks, but she was as happy as can be.

 Our favorite teacher Mrs. Vogel. Thanks for a great year.

We're so lucky Ryan is such an awesome dad and sees the importance of rushing home from work during his lunch break to attend these super important events! =-)

This girl is ready for a full day of school - and now she's prepared to eat in the cafeteria!

Our soon-to-be first grader. Yikes, I never thought I'd say that.