38

Yesterday was my 38th birthday. Thirty freaking eight. Damn that sounds old.

Anyway, after the adventure of the night before, it started out being a very sleepy day. It didn’t last long though because I have kids and when you have kids it doesn’t matter if you are sleep deprived. All that matters is that they get up and are happy and fed and loved and played with and it doesn’t matter one bit that your head is pounding and you barely got 6 hours of sleep.

But, I didn’t come here for a pity party.

The dog was in serious need of grooming so I’d scheduled her appointment for 8:30am. So, after seeing Landon off, the two little’s and I drove the dog to the groomer. Ginger absolutely HATES going to the groomer and she’s just a nervous wreck every time. It’s kind of awful, so I’ve been waiting as long as possible between appointments. As we were leaving, Dakota broke down into a sobbing mess because she didn’t want to leave Ginger. I had to console her the entire ride home, poor thing. We came home and did art and played toys and had a great morning, and around 10:15 the groomer called to let me know Ginger was ready.

So, we hopped back in the van to go get her. Dakota and Harper were so happy to see her! The groomer informed me that he’d done his best to clip her nails but that she’d given him quite a fight. I looked at her nails and figured he’d done the best he could (this is an ongoing problem) and we headed home. You can probably imagine the immense joy I felt when I got home, opened the back door to get the kids and dog out and found little bloody dog prints all over the back of my van. Sheer elation. I mean, there was blood everywhere. The dog made sure to imprint every inch of the van floor with her gore. It was insane. So, instead of going back inside to play and enjoy our beautiful day, I was stuck outside cleaning dog blood out of my van. How’s that for a happy birthday to you? The dog must hate me is all I can guess. (It appeared that the groomer had failed to inform me of the nick in her paw from when he was trimming her nails back. It wasn’t bleeding when I picked her up, but it must have started bleeding again after she walked on the gravel outside. And, in case you’re wondering, she’s fine. I guess dog paws just bleed a lot if they’re nicked?)

Our afternoon went fine despite Dakota deciding that she didn’t want to take a nap. I put her in her bed about 1:10 and at 2pm I could still hear her talking away. I feel like an hour is long enough (too long really) to try to go to sleep so after that long I let my kids get up. She came downstairs and I told her she had to have quiet time, so she and Harper played iPad together. It worked out just fine and they were quiet…and I got to sit on my butt for a few minutes.

Tony came home early and suggested that we go out to eat to celebrate. I had to take Landon to get his allergy shots anyways, so we decided we’d just eat in Columbia near the doctor’s office. (It’s literally in the same parking lot as the mall, so lots of choices!) Tony took the two little kids to play in the mall play area while Landon and I took care of his shots. We met at the play area and then walked to Uno’s for dinner. Remember now, Dakota didn’t have a nap, so she was just a little on the crazy side the entire time. She wasn’t crying but she was bouncing off the walls. She just couldn’t settle down because she was overly tired AND she was starving which is just not the best cocktail for a 2 year old. When dinner came she did sit down and eat really well, but as soon as she was done she was back to being crazy. At some point Harper jumped on her crazy train and they were both playing under the table. Tony and I decided we didn’t care and just let them do whatever the hell they wanted just so we could cram our dinner down our throat and go home. (At some point Tony looked at me and said “So, we’re those parents now. The one’s who just don’t care.” And, I’m pretty sure I just shrugged while I downed my Dr. Pepper.)

We made it home to find that Mema had come by to bring a gift and a cake to celebrate. We lit the cake up and sang Happy Birthday and opened a couple gifts and then quickly got the two little kids in the tub and to bed.

I thought after getting the kiddo’s to bed I’d watch a TV show or something but I ended up chatting with my sister on the phone for a bit and then Landon had a boatload of homework and needed a ton of help, so I ended up sitting with him until 10pm working on the Bill of Rights. Fun stuff right there, let me tell you.

So, it wasn’t the most FUN birthday ever, but it certainly wasn’t dull. And, despite the crazy stuff, these people love me and they do their best to show me and really, that’s all I need.

Happy Birthday to me…