a birthday list

On this Sunday night, I think a list post is in order.  I'm going to recap my our weekend with a top ten list.

1. My birthday was on Friday.  I am now 45.  forty-five.  I'm not sure how that is possible since I still feel like I'm 30 and thanks to good genes, I can still pass for being in my 30's.  I got asked several times if I felt old.  I have to say I do not feel old, but when you say 45 out loud it just sounds old.  Really, I'm surprised every time I have to say my age these days.

2.  Johnny Mathis was also born on September 30th.  I'm not sure why, but I think it's fun to know of other people born on the same day as me.  Of course Johnny was born almost 30 years before me and can sing WAY better than me.  I grew up listening to his music and still like it, which I realize might make sound like every bit of my forty five years, but it reminds me of my childhood.  I think I'll work on finding someone more current for my birthday next year.

3.  Mark and I went out on a date Friday night.  It was so fun.  We went to a restaurant called Brio and sat outside.  It was pouring rain and a little chilly, but they have a covered porch with heaters so we were quite comfortable.  It may be my new favorite restaurant. 

4.  I got a KitchenAid mixer from Mark.  I'm so excited.  I have wanted one for about 15 years.  My mom has a rule that my dad can't buy her any presents that have a cord or a plug.  I do not have that rule.  My mixer makes me really happy and it is yellow.  I'm going to be doing a lot of baking soon!  Yay!

5.  On Saturday we went out to lunch for my birthday instead of the traditional birthday breakfast.  John had a soccer game and I really wanted to sleep in (which in my house means 7:30), so we went out for lunch.  We sat in a table that was sort of in the middle of the restaurant, meaning that it had other tables all around us.  We were near a couple that were obviously grandparents and they kept looking at our kids.  When they finished their meal, the woman made a point of coming to our table and complimenting our family.  It was so nice to hear and I agree the kids were really good.

6.  Saturday night we all went to my sister Cathy's house for my birthday dinner.  She is a great hostess and always makes way too much food.  So it is always fun to be at her house.  My sisters gave me workout clothes and so did my parents.  Either I've been talking about working out a lot or it is a really big hint that I need to work out more!  Actually, I was very consistent in my running all Spring and Summer.  I got a little off track with the start of school but hope to get back to running 3-4 days a week.  Now I have lots of new clothes to run in!

7.  We watched the Phillies win their game last night while at my sister's house.  Anytime I watch the baseball playoffs, it makes me think of our trip to visit John during his adoption.  The night before we were coming back home, we met with the foster family to give him back and then went out to dinner with a friend of mine (who just happened to be in Guatemala at the same time).  After dinner, Mark and I went to the hotel bar and watched the Yankees play the Red Sox.  I was crying.  The game was being called in Spanish.  I refused to go back to our room until they removed the crib.  From that day forward, anytime I watch the playoffs in October I think of being in that bar watching baseball in Spanish with a broken heart.

8.  Today after church we went out to lunch.  Mark knows that I love to eat out and that I get tired of cooking, so he treated me to a lot of meals out this weekend.  Which makes me feel incredibly spoiled and I love it.

9. The weather turned this weekend.  It went from hot and humid to cold and rainy.  In fact, we had to turn the heat on today to take the chill off for Grace.  She kept shivering this afternoon and couldn't get warm.  It turns out the reason she was shivering so much was because she had a fever of 103.5.  Bless her heart.  Poor thing felt better after motrin and was able to go right to sleep tonight.  Let's just pray she stays asleep tonight.

10.  On Saturday at lunch, I handed Grace a napkin and said, 'wipe your mouth'.  And she did!  It was so amazing and unexpected.  I got tears in my eyes and had to force myself not to start crying right there in the middle of the restaurant.  That is the sort of thing we do or say to Grace daily.  'Come here.'  'Wipe your mouth.'  'Wave bye.'  'Take the spoon.'  Usually we get no response or she will take the napkin and just throw it.  So, I wasn't really expecting her to do anything.  It was just so perfect.  She took the napkin from me, wiped her little mouth and handed it back to me.  I felt such joy.  It is always a gift to get these small-to-other-kids actions from Grace. 

Overall, I had a great weekend!  Turning forty-five was painless, even if it does sound old to me.

So tell me, how was your weekend?  What did you do that was fun?  What famous person was born on your birthday?