25

Yesterday I turned 25 years old. 

A quarter century.

Wow.

Birthdays and age don't really get to me, but man, only 5 years til 30.  

That's really hard to believe.

I already had a small birthday party at the beginning of this week, but my mom and grandma were out of town.  So I spent most of yesterday with my husband, my girls, my sister, and them.  We got up early and had breakfast at the Machine Shed.  It has the BEST breakfast buffet on Saturday mornings, and my birthday just so happened to be on a Saturday this year - Lucky me!  :)

I received some birthday money, so after breakfast, Luke, the girls, and I went to the mall.  I found a cute shirt on sale at J.Crew, which was my first purchase.  

I got this in a peach color, which I can't find online.

Then we went upstairs and Luke bought me a new pair of Toms that I have been wanting forever.  

We also purchased a pair of shoes for Haven, which are hilarious.

She looks like a little skater punk when she wears them.  Actually she wore them to church today with a dress...which looked awful, but that's a battle I chose not to fight on the way out the door.  Oh well, ya win some, ya lose some.

After Luke went to work, I took the girls home for a nap and had some me time, which is my favorite time.  And once the girls woke up, we went to Samurai sushi for dinner.  My mom and I split a platter of sushi, and it was delicious.  My grandma and sister who are not sushi lovers had chicken teriyaki and fried rice and soup.  An Asian man that works on the teppanyaki side of the restaurant kept coming up behind Parker and tapping her on the shoulder and then hiding.  He even put his arms around her at one point in a "hug".  She was scared to death!  She started bawling.  And I would say at least five more times the man came by and either tapped her on the shoulder, waved at her, or just made eye contact with her and she would start bawling every time.  We tried to just laugh and comfort Parker, but I was starting to get irritated.  I was about to say, "STOP SCARING MY BABY!"  But luckily he had to start cooking for a table and seemed to leave us alone at the end of the meal.  

(Sub-story:  That is not the first time we've had people at that restaurant act strange around our kids.  When Haven was a baby, one of the waitresses picked her up out of her high chair and carried her away to show one of her coworkers how cute she was.  She probably kept her for around five minutes before she brought her back.  Any longer and I would have gone to get her.  I kept my eye on her the whole time the lady had her, but it still just bothered me.  Is that weird to anybody else?)

After dinner we headed to the mall where I spent my remaining money on some clothes at Tommy Hilfiger of all places.  I don't shop there very often, but they usually have some pretty classic outfits.  I think most anybody can shop there, regardless of if you dress really preppy or not.  I bought a pair of navy blue shorts, an embroidered navy blue shirt with white stitching, and a basic white jean jacket.  I wanted a blue denim jacket but they didn't have my size and I was being impatient.  

It was a great birthday overall.  I ended my trip at the mall with a trip to Starbucks where I got a free birthday drink.  Any size, any drink.  You bet I got their new largest size, the trenta, which is 31 ounces, of the Tazo Iced Tea Lemonade.  It was delicious.

Thank you all of my FB friends.  I got over 70 well wishes yesterday.  It was so fun to check my notifications all day and see your comments popping up.  Love you guys!

Court

mind dump

Recently I've had a whole lot to do, and blogging didn't make the list unfortunately.

Sorryboutthat.

I've recently become part of the stock team at Baby Gap.

My friend Jade and I unpack boxes, sip lattes, talk "50 Shades of Grey", and swoon over the cuteness of the incoming shipments.  Do you have any idea how tiny swimsuits for newborns are?!  I can honestly say that I've never had as much fun working as I have in the last few weeks.  I look forward to it.  I love the girls I work with.  I love the high-quality product we sell.  Going to work is like therapy for mommies.

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We signed Haven up for preschool.  She will be going to the same school that Luke and I both attended.  I am so excited for her.  She really craves time with other kids her age, and as a stay-at-home-mom I can't always provide that.  She has dance class once a week, Sunday school, and I take her to the play-place at the mall, but it just doesn't seem like enough.  So preschool should be great for her.  I originally wanted to do 3 days a week half day, but it was full so she'll actually be going 5 days a week for half the day.  I have no doubt that she's ready for it however, except for the occasional potty accident which we are working on and she's almost got mastered.

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It took me a few years to realize that I am a sensitive person.  I really care what people I love think about me.  I want peace in my life, and am unsettled until all conflicts are resolved.

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I love this weather!!!!!!!!!  I love that we have porch furniture.  

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My birthday is coming up on May 26 and I will be 25 years old.  
That is very weird.

I have been thinking about what I would like.  I have a bad habit of putting things I need on my list rather than things I want, because I don't like spending our paychecks on things like saran wrap and water hoses.

Here's my list for this year:

-Shelving above laundry and in garage

-Landscaping

-Racquetball backpack with name embroidered

-Fence

-Barnes and Noble GC

-Ohana Steakhouse GC

-Homemakers GC

-World Market GC

Shelving for above our laundry and in the garage is a stupid birthday present, but if I don't ask for it I'm scared we'll never get it and MAMA NEEDS IT!

Our cute house is so adorable, but is lacking some serious landscaping.  That request is a little more fun, I mean, gardening is bound to be a hobby of mine in the next 20 years or so.

My husband actually bought me the racquetball bag for Mother's day, and I am waiting for it to arrive in the mail.  I am so very excited about this.  I have had a hand-me-down bag that has a broken handle for a few years.  Did you guys know that we play racquetball?  We do.  Luke and I both played for the Iowa State racquetball club.  It was so much fun.  We met most of our best friends from college through club racquetball.  We went to lots of tournaments and had the time of our lives.  Racquetball tournaments sound ultimately nerdy, I know.  Before I went to my first one I was really hesitant.  They are a blast.  I encourage any husband/wife to get involved in racquetball and enter a tournament as a doubles team.  It is really fun!  We'll show you how to play if you want!  Email me if you're interested.  

Sorry, got a little carried away.

Our backyard desperately needs fenced in so that our girls can play back there without our constant supervision.  The yard backs up to an alleyway that cars drive through, and it's just too dangerous for the girls to be out there for one second without us.  

So if anybody needs an idea as to what I want for my birthday, there ya go.  Go crazy. ;)

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Last thought.

Nap time is far too short.  

Gotta go, baby crying.