Hoppy Easter!

Not only Happy Easter, but Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, and Happy Birthday! Wow, it's going to be a busy weekend! Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'll be 34 years old. For a couple of reasons, it really doesn't even seem like it's tomorrow already. The first reason is that I'm getting older, and birthdays just aren't the big deal that they used to be. The second reason being that the next day is Lauren's birthday. She was apparently hell-bent on not sharing with me, because 3 years ago when I was induced on my birthday at about 8am, nothing happened all day long. Most boring birthday ever! At 3:13am the next day, she finally decided we'd waited long enough, and made her first appearance. So because our birthdays are only a day apart, I'm thinking more about hers than mine, which, I would have to believe, is pretty typical for a mom.

On April 15, 2000, my 28th birthday, Sharkey and JP made it official. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony that we were all a part of. I was the Matron of Honor (I hate the word "matron", it makes me sound old and fat), Alex was the cutest ring bearer alive, and Jason was an usher. Catherine was just 13 months at the time, so her required part was to sit and be quiet during the ceremony. If I remember correctly, she took direction well. I wish I had a picture of Alex at the reception in digital form (or had a scanner that worked) because, let me tell you, that kid danced his butt off that night. I have a picture somewhere of him totally sweaty and red-faced and sucking down a Sprite that he had gotten from a newly made friend--a 60-ish lady who was a server there. She doted on him all night and kept bringing him whatever he wanted. By the end of the night, he was totally spent, but was ready to keep going anyway. I was holding him, and finally I said, "Alex, lay your head down on my shoulder." He laid it down, and was immediately O-U-T! Apparently, he thought he needed an invitation to stop moving and give in to the exhaustion. He got to be too heavy pretty quickly, so we set 2 chairs next to each other and laid him down on them so he could sleep more comfortably. He had a great night!

So anyway, that's what's going on this weekend, in addition to Easter. I'll leave you with a photo of the present that I got from some friends at work. They gave me all the crappy Easter candy that I love. It seems that all of the items in the basket are things that either you love or you hate, and I love them all. Peeps are best if you slash the wrapper and allow them to dry out overnight. Chewy and tough--that's how I like 'em. Cadbury Creme Eggs--YUM! (Spell-check wanted me to change "Cadbury" to "Cadaver"--Ewww!) There's also a bag of Brach's Chicks and Rabbits, which are like the orange Circus Peanuts that you can buy, except these are shaped like...well, you know, chicks and rabbits. There are also some Starburst jellybeans littered along the bottom of the basket. Who could ask for more?