Birthday #29 Recap

Thank you to everyone who helped make my 29th birthday the best birthday EVER! Seriously folks, it was wonderful. I loved it and I'm totally stoked to be 29. I can only hope my 30th birthday next year can compare.

From birthday cards in the mail to messages on Facebook, to phone calls and emails, I felt like one special birthday girl indeed. I even got my own special birthday dedication on this here blog. Wow! Normally, the big disadvantage to having a birthday so near the holidays is that everyone else is so involved with their own holiday plans that birthday celebrations tend to get overshadowed. This is usually why I don't expect much from my birthday nor do I get upset when people just forget (I mean, hello? Two days before Christmas means most people are busy going on vacation). But this year more than made up for lackluster birthdays in years past. And here's why...

A few months back when Will asked me what I wanted for my birthday I had a hard time coming up with anything good. All I really, really wanted was a little peace and quiet. Wow, does that make me sound old? But truthfully, I just wanted a little time to myself when no one would be calling out, "Mommy!", when I wouldn't be responsible for potty duty or nap time or lunch time. When I could wander around a store at my leisure and get in and out of the car all by myself. Please don't misunderstand me. I love my children. They are awesome! And I love that I get to stay home with them. But for me, the greatest birthday present Will could've given me was some time to myself for me to be simply Natalie. Not Mommy or Will's wife or anyone else. Just me.

So unbeknownst to me Will set up an incredible birthday present for me. It was on the 20th, so the Saturday before my birthday. First, he made me a desperately needed hair appointment here:


For all of you who are unfamiliar, that's Salon 124 which is a very nice salon. I should've taken a picture of the front entrance, but I wanted to act my age and not my shoe size. Just the drive over to the salon was great. In the car. By myself. Radio up as loud as I wanted it. No one fussing. No one wanting to listen to kid songs. I even heard "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. If that's not an omen for a good day, then I'm not sure what is.

I was a little early for my appointment, so I got to kill time by reading celebrity trash magazines. What better way to wait than to get my scoop on what's going on in Hollywood with actual stars and wanna be's like Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (Did you know that they're not going to legitimize their marriage in the U.S.? And trust me, I learned more pearls than that...). Kassie finally called me back and she did a bang up job. Didn't really cut a lot of length, but simply gave me a much better cut with a whole bunch of texturizing. It was heavenly.

Afterwards I discovered that Will had made pedicure appointments for me, Paula and our fabulous friend, Wendy. We headed off to the mall for our pedicures which were fantastic. I've said before that I love me a good, relaxing pedicure and this one did not disappoint. It was great!

By this time I'd spent a whopping FIVE hours without children, but the fun didn't stop there. Will also made a dinner reservation for us at... P.F. Chang's!

Dinner with girlfriends! Being able to talk in complete sentences! Not having to ask for a highchair or a kid's menu! Not worrying about making a mess on the floor! Taking our time to eat! All simple things in their own right, but put it all together in one evening and that makes for a pretty awesome experience. The food was scrumptious. All of it. It was great. As and added bonus by the time I got home Juliana was already in bed and Everett was headed that way. Oh yeah!

All in all, an amazing birthday planned by one awesome husband. It was a day I will not soon forget. I felt amazing. In fact, I think 29 is going to be my best year yet. Thank you Will!

Merry Christmas!

First of all, thank you to all of those who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. It was a marvelous day and I'm so thankful for such wonderful family and friends.

Secondly, below you will find our 2008 newsletter. I emailed it out to as many people as I had email addresses for, but I'm sure I missed some of you. I thought it'd be nice to put it here as well. Can I just take a moment and praise the Internet? It's amazing what's out there and I was beyond overjoyed to figure out how to convert a pdf file to a jpeg. Google rocks!

Third, we hope each of you has a very merry Christmas!

THE BIG 2-9! Happy Birthday Natalie!!

This post is perhaps one of the most important posts on this blog. Today, December 23, 2008, is Natalie's 29th birthday!! I want everyone to know how much I love Natalie and how much I want her to have a great day today. She is a great mother to our two wonderful children and the best wife for me.
I could not have imagined, with all the creativity in the world, a more perfect wife, companion, and friend for me. I hope you have a very very happy birthday today and that many friends on facebook recognize this special day. ( i know that is what would put a smile on your face).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE!!!

Check-ups, Contests and Cheesecake

Yesterday was Juliana's 15 month check-up. Seriously, how is she already 15 months? And Everett is three. Wow. More so than my upcoming birthday (12 days and counting), having my kids get older is what really makes me feel like I'm getting older. It seems like I was just barely pregnant with Everett. For those curious, she weighs 25 pounds and is 32 inches tall. Her weight puts her into the 75th percentile while her height is in the 90th percentile. Looks like any way we slice it, she's just a big girl (in a good, self-esteem boosting kind-of-way).

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I usually use this blog to showcase the kiddos or post lists about unusual/funny/weird/interesting things about me. Will and his super busy schedule don't meet my highly strict, super rigorous blog standards. Well, no more! Even though he keeps telling me it isn't a big deal, I think it is and since I'm the main (read: only) writer on this family blog, here we go.

A couple of months ago there was a sales contest at work. Basically, over a six-week period of time all of the agents in Will's office were competing to see who could submit and get paid on the most insurance business. Will has been getting a lot of good momentum at work and is finding and working with some really good clients. So when he told me that he was one of the winners, I was ecstatic! The prize? A free i-Phone. How super fantastico is that?!? Yea for Will!

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Speaking of phones, I think I'm finally getting a new one. I've had my current phone for so long that I've accumulated a $100 credit toward a new phone at Verizon. Seriously folks, I've had my current phone for almost two years. In phone years, my phone is like 57 years old. It's been dropped so many times that the paint (paint? color?) is all chipping off. Everett broke the lens for the camera part about a week after I originally got it. Juliana has managed to chew on the charger so that now when I plug my phone into the charger, it doesn't read that it's being charged. Lovely. So I'm forced to use my car charger. Which is fine and good, but for whatever reason the fuse to the cigarette lighter in the Suburban is blown and although Will's fixed it twice now, it still keeps blowing out. Serenity now! So, on the to-do list for Saturday is a jaunt to the Verizon store for a new phone. I know I'll be so excited for a phone that works and is pretty and can be charged that you can all expect a phone call from me next week.

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Are any of you guys mystery shoppers? On Tuesday I had my first experience being a mystery shopper. And where did I get to go? The Cheesecake Factory! Yum, yum. I love The Cheesecake Factory so much and was more than happy to go, observe, eat and enjoy that it really couldn't be classified as work. The company that I originally signed up with, Mystery Guest Inc., sent me an email to notify me that there were some opportunities to mystery shop in my area. They will reimburse me for the meal as well as send me a $30 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory as payment. Waaaaay cooooool! I know some of you are probably long time mystery shoppers, but I thought this was so much fun. And thanks to my friend, Kim, I signed up on a bunch more sites for other mystery shopping opportunities. Interested? Check these out:

A Closer Look
Market Force
Best Mark
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And finally, we've all been a little sick this week. I love the Christmas season and it seems like such a bummer to be sick during this time. Everett has had the worst of it and I can tell it's bad since he's been conking out and taking naps almost every day this week. Plus, he's had such a nasty cough that I swear he could give a chain smoker a run for their money. We went to the doctor yesterday and she prescribed some stuff that I think is really doing the trick. I hope we're all better soon because I have cabin fever and am dying to get out of the house!

My three favorite people. Doesn't it look like Everett's doing some kind of air guitar thing? Sweet.

Auction + Vinyl Lettering = The Holiday Spirit

If any of the following apply to you, then you should DEFINITELY check out Laura's blog:

1) You've been following the Stephanie Nielson story (Nie Nie Dialogues).
2) You love vinyl lettering and want to be able to do it yourself at home.
3) You're into the holiday spirit and want to help a family in need.

Please go to the Lovely Laura's blog and big on her company's super cool auction!

http://lauralucille.blogspot.com/2008/09/nie-nie-auction.html

O Christmas Tree

I cannot remember a time in my almost 29 (29! Can you believe it? Only 22 shopping days left for you to find the perfect birthday gift for yours truly) years of life when we've ever, ever, EVER gotten the Christmas tree up as early as we did this year. That's right, the 1st day of December is not even over yet, and here we are, the house decorated with us basking in all sorts of Christmas loveliness. Wow! (A quick happy birthday shout out to one of my oldest friends, Becca. I know you're reading this and even though it's the end of the day, I thought about you a lot today. Happy birthday!).

The kiddos and I trekked out in surprisingly frigid December temps to pick up this year's tree. Everett was over the moon excited and literally did not stop talking, bouncing or running for the rest of the afternoon. This kid is way way excited about all things Christmas. He can't get over the lights in other people's yards or the fact that we have our very own Christmas tree IN THE HOUSE. Oh, to be three again!

Juliana and her Papa, who is of course sporting Alabama gear.

Heaven help me if the Crimson Tide doesn't win on Saturday.

That blur in the picture above? Yep, that's Everett, who has decided that running among Christmas trees is now one of his favorite things to do in December.
She walks! My little late bloomer really can and does walk, folks. A Christmas miracle indeed!

There were even snow flurries falling while we were scoping out the tree selection. Hence, Juliana's ruddy cheeks and red nose. She was not nearly as thrilled to be outside amongst the Christmas trees as was her brother.

And if that look doesn't say "Seriously, Mom, I'm not amused" I don't know what does.

It was a fun little excursion and the first time Everett has been really aware of what we were doing. He's now at a fun age where he's really understanding things. When we told him we were going to get a Christmas tree he said, "That will be wonderful!" And all afternoon he kept telling us how beautiful everything looked. Huh? Who are you and what did you do to my little boy?

Ah, here we go! Everett's quintessential face. This is the face he gives me nine times out of ten when I ask him to smile. The squinty eyes definitely come from me.

Once the perfect tree was picked and we were ready to get out of the cold, both Papa and the worker man had a follower as they took the tree to the car.But like most three year olds, he's easily distracted...
Tomorrow might be spent dispelling any notion that we'll be bringing a horse into the house as part of our Christmas decorations!