Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I had a fantastic birthday weekend last weekend!!!

Saturday morning was blissful.  We didn't have anywhere to be!  I made one of the girls' favorite breakfasts, French toast with homemade strawberry syrup, and then we hung out and played.  No agenda.  Yippee!!!

The girls were so excited to give me my birthday present.  Hubby told me they spied it weeks ago -- a Starbucks gift card (at the grocery store, I think) -- and insisted they get it for me.  Hee hee!!!  It was wrapped in a homemade card, made with so much love.  And to top it off, B, in particular, kept drawing pictures of Starbucks mugs all day.  Cracked me up!!!

We had an easy, slightly early lunch, and then I headed out for a MASSAGE.  That was blissful, in an entirely different way, of course.  :)  Before heading home, I stopped by Starbucks to treat myself to a coffee, and I picked up cake pops for the girls.  They were thrilled with the treat!

Given all the snow we *still* had on the ground, plus the 2-3" of rain we were getting, I hadn't thought much about going out for my birthday dinner.  Hubby suggested we give it a go, though.  That was a nice surprise in itself, not to have planned all day for something, but to feel the decision on a whim.

The girls were tickled to hear we were going out to 440, one of our favorite restaurants, but one we rarely visit.  Baby B wanted to wear a dress, and Baby A said, "Do I have to???"  HA!  Before we left for supper, the girls granted me a birthday favor...a picture with Mommy.  B can hardly stand the flash, so, after several eyes-closed shots, I told her to give Mommy a kiss.  I am pretty happy with the way this turned out.  LOVE.

The girls did such an amazing job at supper.  The restaurant isn't 5-star, but it's definitely the fanciest in town.  The girls sat like little ladies, with their napkins in their laps, and they drank from their stemmed water glasses.  They were tickled to order calamari for an appetizer.  I even convinced A to order, "We'd like to start with some calamari, please."  Hee hee!  The girls helped me with my salad, and then their shared the crab cake plate with pan-seared Brussels sprouts...right up their alley.

My dinner was delicious -- the first steak I've had in years, I think -- but it was equally such a pleasure to see my girls enjoying their experience.

On Sunday morning we went out to breakfast, ran a couple of quick grocery-related errands, and then came home to play in the SNOW one more time.  The rain the day before had packed the deep powder, and it was finally perfect for a snowman!

The girls worked really hard, helping [mostly Daddy] roll the big balls of snow, and then they packed on additional snow to make him nice and tight.  They were incredulous when I went inside to get "a real scarf!!!" for him.  HA!  I got a carrot for the nose, and prunes for the eyes.  They were all too giddy to pose with him.  Seriously!

We had a blast sledding -- our fastest times of this snowfall! -- on a different stretch of hill behind our house.  I wish I could bottle A's, "That was AWESOME!" at the bottom of her run, and B's infectious giggle as she wiped out and rolled, head over heels, a couple of times.  Even Daddy got in on the sledding action.  

And our new ski gloves (in addition to the girls' snow bibs and slow boots), which arrived just the day prior, were put to great use in allowing us to play and play and play.

The rest of Sunday was filled with warm stuff inside (including an only-semi-interrupted nap for Mommy!), and I made a delicious dinner of pork loin, mashed potatoes, white asparagus, and roasted mushrooms.  YUM!!!

This was truly a weekend for the memory books.  We had a great time in so many ways!  Happy Birthday to me, for sure!!!