Mommy turns 30

And then came Dec 15th. My 30th birthday. It's odd to have birthdays when you're the mother of young children, because party-planning is pretty much up to you (unless you have a husband who enjoys that type of thing, which is not the husband I married), and I have a hard time throwing a party for myself, but more on that in the next post...

However, given that my birthday fell on a Saturday, and since we had some errands that needed run, I decided ahead of time that what I would like for my birthday was to get out of the house with just Josh and the baby for a bit, and take care of some errands without Hope and Joy. As much as I love my precious girls, it is a lot quicker to run errands with only one little person and car seat along. :o) We went to the new Costco that just opened up, and to a Christian bookstore, and one other place. 

Josh asked me earlier in the week what I wanted for my birthday, and my answer was a new vacuum - one that didn't require a bag, and one that I could keep and use on the main floor of our house. I asked for one that wasn't too big, as our front hall closet is small, and I have trouble operating big things when I'm pregnant. (I know, I just had a baby, but I'm just thinking ahead for next time, should the Lord be so generous.) I love the vacuum, as do the girls...SCORE! Hope doesn't really like our other vacuum, which made it even more difficult to use. :o) 

Josh fixed me a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee. Having just had a birthday herself, Joy saw presents and thought the place to be was on my lap. :o)

Josh surprised me with a new thermos mug to use around the house. I still have to get used to the lid on it, but it was a very thoughtful and practical gift, as anytime I make myself a hot drink, I am generally interrupted about twenty times before it is fully drunk, which of course means that it is no longer hot! :o) For a couple days, Joy insisted that it was "hers," probably because she helped me open it. :o)

I asked Josh if he would open up the vacuum and set it up for me.

The girls were eager to help take all the parts out of the box, and also eager to help push it around as I tried it out. :o) It works GREAT and has an end for lino/hardwood too, which gets used almost daily around here. I only did this one room, and Josh did the others while I took care of Philip's hunger needs before hitting the road for our errand-running.

Errands run, and the baby fed twice while we were out (thanks for your patience, Josh) we came home with supper from Moxies. Yay! Thanks, honey! That was another great gift! While Josh and I finished our dinner, Joy set about finding something funny to do, which turned out to be making faces at herself in the oven window.

She was being hilarious, but of course as soon as I tried to get a video of it, she stopped. :o)

Oh well. It made them and us laugh. :o)

Philip graciously slept in his car seat while we ate our yummy dinner, and then I fed him and we got the girls in their jammies before presents and ice cream.
I make our own ice cream when I can, because we received an ice-cream maker for our wedding, and it's a fun, simple recipe for the girls to help me put together. It also allows me to make ice-cream I can actually eat, as the regular dairy variety wreaks havoc with my tummy. I use coconut milk and coconut cream to make it, and it tastes amazing. :o) I make regular stuff too - for Josh.

I've never seen Hope snitch food before, but there's a first time for everything I guess. :o) They pushed the chairs up to the counter themselves while Josh and I were out of the room. :o)

One of our errands that day was stopping at a gluten free bakery in the city, so I could pick up some things to take to the farm for Christmas, as Mum and Chloe also eat GF. I "splurged" and bought myself an apple pie tart to have with my birthday ice cream. Apple pie was my favourite growing up, and I either asked for it or for "Strawberry Freeze" for my birthdays at the farm. Josh insisted that I have candles and a sparkler, which delighted the girls. :o)

Smile.

"Ice cream again? YAY! You bet I'll smile, Mom!"

I missed my girls while being out that day, but I enjoyed the break too. Thank you to our friend Amanda, who babysat them all day for free as an unexpected birthday gift to me. :o) 

Then, Josh tucked the girls into bed, I fed Philip some more, and then he snuggled with Philip while we chatted and I opened my other gifts. As you can see, he also managed to grab the camera at the same time.

365 Crockpot Recipes - a new cookbook from my sister-in-law, Christy. :o) Score!!! Now I just have to find time to look through it!

A second snow globe from Lydia, to coordinate with the lovely one she gave me for my birthday two years ago.

And a bag of miscellaneous, practical things from my Langemann family... like chocolate and socks. :o) (And yes, chocolate is practical - because when you're craving chocolate, it's practical to have some on hand. And this particular stuff was bought especially for me, as it has no soy or dairy in it...SCORE!)

And thus was lived another day of blessing in my life. Josh was so kind to make things as enjoyable for me as possible that day. Awareness of the sacrifice of caring for three young children made the day all the more meaningful, and I am so thankful it is a job I have not been given to do alone. Josh and I are in it together, fueled by the grace and wisdom of God.