Best Birthday Ever!

So I am NOT one of those people who makes their birthday a big deal. In fact I told Mike that for this birthday all I wanted was a Funfetti cake with Rainbow chip icing. (It's my favorite!) Mike on the other hand is not OK with my birthday going by unnoticed. He seriously went above and beyond for this birthday and it truly was great! Mike made it my birthday week by baking me cookies and allowing me to indulge my cravings, rubbing my feet and back at night, taking over all parenting duties when he got home from work, etc. The Thursday before my birthday I was over at my parents pretty late with Preston so we decided to just crash over there and when we woke up I immediately went out to run errands and came home to an immaculately cleaned home. I mean SUPER clean where everything is dusted, swept, mopped, vacuumed, counters wiped down, toilets and showers cleaned, laundry put away, and smells amazing! I called Mike to thank him and he said that he picked everything up and put the laundry away but the actual cleaning was a gift from his mom. I thought there was no way she came to clean my house because she works full time and has no time for that but turns out she had a professional cleaning service come out to clean my home. It is one of the greatest feelings in the world to know your house is spotless, you didn't do it yourself and there is nothing you need to do. NO cleaning items on my to-do list anymore! That was like half of my to-do list! It sure put me in a great mood and motivated me to keep my house that clean but trying harder to pick up after every mess and stay on top of keeping the house clean. Thanks Linda!

Saturday night we went out to dinner with my whole family to Maggiano's to celebrate my birthday and my parent's 30th anniversary. Preston was staying the night at Memaw's so we were able to enjoy a nice dinner without having to take turns with Preston.

I forgot my camera so these are pictures Lexi took on her phone..

A little back tracking... Friday night I did a photo shoot with my cousin and his family and when I came home I walked into my bedroom to find this!

I have really missed playing the piano and other than the occasional plunking on my parent's piano when we are over there, I haven't played in at least 5 years. Now, when I say play I mean attempted to play a song here and there. I am NOT good, can NOT accompany anyone, and can NOT play in front of other people without breaking a nervous sweat. So if anyone in my ward is reading this...don't get any ideas on callings for me playing the piano. I want to get better and practice makes perfect but I've not been able to practice until now. I was not expecting this at all! Mike knew I wanted a piano since we've been married but they do not come cheap and since our whole marriage we have been on a fairly tight budget to avoid large debt I stopped asking because I didn't want Mike to feel bad that I couldn't have a piano. So this was a complete shock and surprise that I was thrilled about. I am happy that it's a keyboard because I can turn it off so that Preston isn't constantly pounding away (now he has figured out how to turn it on) and I can adjust the volume to that I can play in peace after Preston goes to bed and not worry about waking him up. It's awesome!

On my actual birthday I didn't have any plans (I'm telling you I don't really care about my birthday) but according to my friends, April and Camille, that was NOT acceptable. They came over for lunch and brought YUMMY pizza and ice cream with them. We had girl talk and ate pizza and ice cream while Preston napped. That night Mike brought home Babe's Chicken so that I wouldn't have to cook or clean up and then after Preston went to bed, we just relaxed and watched t.v. It was a nice and relaxing day.

Over all it was a GREAT birthday and I really couldn't have asked for a better one!