Making My Birthday Great Again

A lot of people hate turning 30. But I was sooo excited! Finally when people ask if I'm 16, I can say, "No, I'm not 16. I'm not even 20--I am 30!!!" And then all of a sudden, people will have to take me seriously. I mean, 30 is the age where people take you seriously . . . right? I should probably work on my acting too. Any tips on how to act like a 30-year-old?

The birthday morning began before the sun was fully up with Ana kicking me in the stomach and pulling on my nose. Breakfast ensued and only a few minutes into the morning, both girls had meltdowns. But this is normal. Constance was upset because she wanted me to open my presents "right now!!!!!" And everyone wanted food and water like we had just finished a 20-year famine in the land. But luckily we all survived that part of the day. Around 8:30 am, a full 2 hours after the first kick in the stomach, Tom finally got to take a shower and I finally got to eat breakfast.

Grandma and Grandpa came over and then we all piled in the cars and drove to Diana's Pumpkin Patch in Canon City. Constance and Ana insisted on riding with the fun set of parents, so Tom and I had a very peaceful drive to the pumpkin patch--a ride in which we had a conversation about important life topics and could actually hear everything we were saying to each other.

We arrived at the pumpkin patch just before the big crowds of people started to show up. Unfortunately, it was one of those days when neither child wanted to look up for pictures.

 Just lots of side glances. I guess being around so many pumpkins made them nervous.

 Constance enjoyed the duck races. Ana enjoyed collecting the ducks and getting her dress and shoes as muddy as possible.

This was the tall slide. Constance got to the top with me before deciding that she didn't want to go down after all. There was a huge crowd of kids anyways.

 We went on a very slow "hay ride." Apparently, there was something interesting that everyone was looking at!

 Tom's favorite part was all the different pumpkin varieties piled along the field.

 Sadly, this is the only picture we got with Grandma in it. And there are no pictures with me in it. So for all we know, I wasn't even there.

 There were some animals for the kids to look at/pet. But petting chickens doesn't always go as expected, as Ana quickly learned. Just moments after I took the picture below, Ana stuck her little finger through the wire and one of the chickens pecked it. She was so surprised and hurt that she yanked her finger back, put her head down in the dirt, and wailed.

 We went exploring in the corn maze. But by then, both girls were getting tired and the weather was getting very hot too. So we wandered around a bit, then gave up and took the quickest way out.

 Constance did like collecting corn.

 And Ana noticed that the corn stalks were just a little taller than she was.

We picked out our pumpkins then headed to the car.

Back at home, I opened my presents. Tom went with a Japanese theme this year and got me all decked out. He ordered me the finest yukata from Japan, with the assistance of my friend Adalia and our daughter Constance.

 We were too lazy to read up on how to tie the sash so Tom tied a very American knot.

 Look! I even have the slippers to go with it!

And then there was the most exciting present of all: the American Medical Association Style Manual. Well, maybe not the most exciting, but it was fun pretending. And our boss thought it was the funniest thing ever!

 I only asked for one specific thing this year, and Tom's parents made my wish come true: a gift card to Chapel Hills Mall. I don't even remember the last time I've been able to go shopping for myself, by myself with no kids screaming or making a break for the nearest door. Let's just say Constance and Ana like the play area in the mall and nothing else.

The gift card came in this card:

 The pictures say it all!

 I didn't have time to bake, so I ordered some vegan gluten-free cupcakes from The Cupcake Doctor. They were good, but almost sickeningly sweet. I never use as much sweetener as a recipe calls for, so I'm not used to the full sweetness experience.

We went to lunch at Tomo Sushi, where the food was good but the lighting for pictures was bad.

 It was all so scrumptious, I had to lick my plate. Ana loved every bite too and was doing a dance and humming while she ate. Constance, on the other hand, just wanted to dip her chopsticks in the soy sauce plate and then lick them.

Constance was so tired by the time we got home from dinner, I went to take a shower and came out to find her nowhere in sight. Tom had lost track of her too. We finally looked in our closet and this is what we saw:

 The poor girl had fallen fast asleep in there and was snoring.

Tom had to chaperone a stake dance that night, so he got all dressed up and departed for a very long evening of walking the church halls all by himself.

 Meanwhile I stayed home, put both kids to bed by 8:00, and finished QCing a briefing document for the FDA.

It was a great birthday.