Birthday Loving

Today I am the Birthday Girl.
Double-twenty-one today... {for the Mathematically challenged that's forty-two}

Shhhh, what's that sound?
Silence. Blissful peaceful silence.
My dearly beloved has taken the noisemakers to Cricket, bless him. A slow form of torture that we are kicking ourselves for, hard {what were we thinking letting Dash sign up for early-morning-rises all summer long, in a sport that's no better than watching paint dry?}

I snapped these cute photos yesterday - one of the blessings of being the Birthday Girl.
Birthday privileges tend to start early in the G-House.
So when your kids do something adorable they will actually smile patiently and pose for pictures for you, without complaining, if its your birthday.

Dash burst out of his room yesterday morning in a panic...
"It's mummy's birthday tomorrow and I haven't got her a present!" was his morning greeting.
"Ahhh just be good for me and nice to each other - that's all the present I want," I told him.

I started microwaving oats and weetbix, while they volunteered to help Scrag get dressed.
Muffled whispers, giggles and suspicious "Sssssshhhh!"ing came from the bedroom.
I poured rice bubbles and spooned out peaches.
"Breakfast is ready!" I called.
"Just a minute Mum!" came the chorus of replies, accompanied by more whispers and giggles.

Hearing the sounds of their cooperation gave me a toasty glow; whatever they were conspiring to do, it was making my day already.

They burst into the kitchen, arms round each others necks chanting...
"Newcastle! Newcastle! Newcastle!"
Dressed in the uniform of the Toon, every one of them...
"Geordie boys we are here... Wo-o-oah! Wo-o-o-ah!"

Laughing at my nutty bunch, I grabbed the camera.
"Mum, we're all dressed in Newcastle gear!" {Dash}
"Mum, look, Dash gave me his Newcastle clothes cos he's too big for them and he said I can keep them!" {Miss Fab}
"Mummy! Mummy! look we all in Newcastle!" {Scrag}

I love it when they get on. Honestly, isn't that the best present a mother could get?

Yeah, that and a good laugh.
Scrag keeps us all laughing, what a gem of a kid.

Here's his latest rib-ticker...

Miss Fab was sick for two days and we've been trying to get her back on track with her gluten-free diet, with the usual complaining from her. Scrag sees and hears everything.

Then he says to me yesterday morning:
"Mummy does peaches have gluten?"
I hide my smile and reassure him that, no, peaches don't have gluten.
"Ohhhhhhhhh!" he pouts. "But I LIKE gluten!"
{He has no idea what gluten is. but i guess you probably figured that, after all he's three}
"You like gluten?"
"Yeah. It's my favourite. It's real real yummy!"

Hehehehe.

So anyway, back to my birthday.
Forty two. Its not so bad. I don't feel forty two, whatever that's meant to be.
Middle aged? Past my prime? On the downhill slide?
I have a pre-schooler for goodness sake, I'm still just starting out!
Age is just a number.
Apart from the absolute necessity of colouring my ever-increasing greys away and feeling seventy when i roll out of bed, in my head I'm still twenty-seven. Or maybe thirty-three.

That's the age I was when I had this guy, nine years ago on Wednesday. His "card" to me cracked me up, although Daddy wasn't impressed with his last-minute effort scrawled on a torn-out sheet of refill.

"Happy birthday mummy I love you hips"

He he. I'm so glad you love my hips! Or did you mean "I love you heaps"?

Here's one for PaisleyJade. Apparently moustaches really are the thing these days - even Scrag wants one.

The kids have all decided that when Mr G becomes a grandad he has to grow a moustache because all grandads should have moustaches. Hear hear!

In the meantime I am happy for my Moustache-less Man to give me a morning of peace, while he kid-wrangles alone, just to bless me. So grateful I have him. He's been making my birthdays special for twelve years now. My twenty-ninth birthday I spent lonely and crying in my friend's bathroom, wondering if I'd ever meet Someone Special. My thirtieth birthday was spent with that Someone. He spoilt me rotten and has been doing so ever since.

This year he was a bit behind the eight-ball, and was begging for some direction. After all what do you get a woman who has everything? {a handsome husband, a lovely home, three beautiful-if-somewhat-noisy kids, all my own teeth...}

So I sent him a list to help him out...

A perfectly reasonable list, I was thinking. I knew that my hubby would get this list and breath a sigh of relief. He would even smile, because there was nothing flashy or expensive on this list. Do you see the words "iPhone" anywhere?

Oakley Creek, yesterday on a walk with Scrag. He says I'm "his best friend"
What more could you want?

Then my lovely mum rings up. It's a tradition with us, on the day before my birthday she reminds me that labour had started already and at this time 42 years ago she was in agony bringing me into the world.
I told her about my list, thinking she'd approve.
Mum's response? "Gee Simone, it's only a birthday!"

Um.Okaaaaaay.
Maybe not everyone does birthdays with as much enthusiasm as we do.
We don't have a birthday.
We have a Biiiiirthdaaaaaaay!
We spoil each other to bits. Its just how we roll {as my friend Gail would say}.

So this birthday I have been spoilt with flowers. Burgers up Mt Albert and a Movie of my choice {"The Help" which we both loved}. Home-made Vouchers...

...and a Book. Chosen specially for me by my thoughtful loving husband who thought it sounded like a book I might like...

Brilliant!
I'm off now to make the most of my peace and quiet {which I love and am grateful for}; snuggling back into bed with my new book {which I love and am grateful for} and look forward to a day spent with family {who I love and am grateful for} and a night with friends {who - you guessed it - I love and am grateful for}

What more could any woman want?
I am truly blessed.