The Birthday Post

I decided to have a good birthday today, and so I did. I stayed up a little too late last night, and Chris tried to let me sleep in, but my children have a conspiracy to never, under any circumstances, let that happen. So naturally there were kids crying, and kids climbing in bed with me, and so on and so forth. Except Connor. In my experience, boys listen and girls need somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 million reminders. But it was still nice to stay in bed later than usual, even if I wasn't actually sleeping.

After the kids were off to school, I met my friend Angela for breakfast. Then I came home to do my hair (yeah, seriously) before heading to Secretary of State. Like every year, I put off renewing my tabs until the last possible day, and then realized I also had to renew my drivers license. It was a sunny, beautiful day for February, and, unbelievably, Secretary of State was not too busy, so I was in and out in about 20 minutes. For those who are not from these parts, Michiganders are so special that we have our own (not so) little name for the DMV, and it's Secretary of State.  I did get my enhanced drivers license, which will allow me to enter certain countries like Canada and Mexico (via land or sea) without a passport. But not until I was thoroughly interrogated. Here are the questions I was asked:

What hospital were you born in?
Were you a single child or a triplet?

Wow, they're not messing around, are they? Also, when I checked online ahead of time to see what documentation I would need, the website said to bring my drivers license, birth certificate (original), social security card, and original marriage license if my name is now different than my birth certificate. Amazingly I located everything, and it was actually all together exactly where it was supposed to be (talk about rare!). And because I found everything easily, they only asked for my drivers license and my birth certificate. I can guarantee that if I hadn't brought my social security card or my marriage license, the Secretary of State lady would have insisted that I needed them. But oh well, at least I know where everything is now. It was probably the quickest and most pleasant trip to Secretary of State that I've ever had.

I had some time to kill before my afternoon appointment with my favorite chiropractor, so I went through the McDonald's drive-thru for a caramel frappe and headed to the mall. I've had Macy's gift cards that have been taunting me since Christmas, and I was so excited to finally have a chance to do some shopping. I was hoping for some new boots, but they were all on clearance and totally picked over, so no dice there. But then I went upstairs and found a bunch of cute stuff. The best thing is that I am now the proud owner of a pair of leggings, something I haven't owned since the early 90's. This of course means that they will promptly go out of style. But I don't care. I'm never giving them up. They are so comfortable, they feel like cozy jammies. And they are slimming. I can't go wrong with these pants, they're elastic for Pete's sake, and I'm trying to figure out why the heck it took me so long to break down and get a pair. Sometimes I'm stubborn like that. Another epiphany I had at Macy's: I need one of those fitting room mirrors at home, for a little reality check before I leave the house.

After my successful shopping excursion, I went for my adjustment. I love my chiropractor, and he made me feel a  lot less crazy and confused regarding that prescription I referred to yesterday from my neurologist. I still don't totally know what I'm going to do, but I feel better. Plus his wife is my good friend so I got to hang out with her for a little bit too. She showed me the Kristen Bell sloth video from Ellen and we had a good laugh. Go ahead and watch it. It's pretty funny. You can watch the original and the autotuned version.

Later in the evening, my mom came by for a visit and so did Chris's mom and step-dad. It was a typical busy night, with basketball and dance and homework and Mathilda throwing her princess chairs around the living room until I got fed up and hid them in the basement. I got some cool gifts, including an electric hand mixer from my mom, so I no longer have to mix my cheesecake batter with a wooden spoon like I have been for the past year or so.

The whole day was just chill. I felt lots of love, with phone calls, wall posts and messages on Facebook, and spending time with my friends and family. And my birthday continues...breakfast with another friend tomorrow morning,and then lunch with yet another friend next week. I love it! Did I mention that my birthday celebration actually started last Friday with a party hosted by my friend Tina? I am so blessed. I think I'm finally starting to catch on to the appeal of this birthday thing.