The Saturday 7

1. We celebrated birthday week this week. Justin and Lena's birthdays are only a day apart, so we enjoyed a full week of celebration! On Tuesday, we met some friends at Chuck E. Cheese for a mini party. Fortunately, many of Lena's friends are either homeschool or Kindergarteners at ACS (which means they only have school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). So we were able to enjoy Chuck E. Cheese on a Tuesday morning instead of the craziness there that is evenings and weekends. I think there were only 3 other families in the building the whole time we were there. Win!

Lena and her blonde friends. Haha.

2. Wednesday was Lena's actual birthday. The night before, she said, "I can't wait for breakfast in bed tomorrow." And I thought crap! I totally forgot about that birthday tradition. I am the worst! I usually make canned cinnamon rolls which requires me to preheat the oven and bake for 12 minutes. But I didn't plan ahead this year and didn't have any canned cinnamon rolls. Thus I ended up scouring the Internet for cinnamon roll recipes at 9:30 pm. After deciding homemade cinnamon rolls were too much work, I moved on to searching for "overnight monkey bread recipes." Of course I also didn't have any frozen bread rolls. I ended up making dough in the breadmaker at 10:00 pm. It was done by 11:30, so then I rolled it into balls and dipped it in the egg/cinnamon sugar mixture and threw it in the fridge. I started cleaning up my mess at 12:10 am. How's that for devotion to tradition??

It was worth it though:

I don't usually have much faith in my baking abilities, but this one was delicious!!

Tradition also dictates that she gets to open one gift with her breakfast in bed. 

3. We had discovered earlier in the week that the Kindergarten class at ACS had a field trip to the Children's Museum scheduled for Wednesday, so we decided to take a trip of our own to said Children's Museum. It was great to see Lena's old teacher and her classmates again. And we had a blast at the museum. Lucy and Lena played happily for about an hour and a half. But Levi could have spent all day there. I had to keep dragging him away from the exhibits so he could see what else there was to offer! Lena made herself this birthday crown before we left so everyone would know it was her birthday. Haha.

Levi could've spent hours at this exhibit alone!

Finally warm enough to shed her top layer and show off her birthday dress.

We ended the birthday festivities with her requested dinner (sausage pasta) and presents at home. 

More slime. I hate that stuff, but it makes her so happy!

4. Of course, our trip to the museum was not without difficulty. I had told Lena that we could go as long as the weather was ok. Because the museum is in the dreaded downtown area and I despise driving down there even in the best of weather. So of course Wednesday dawned snowy and windy and sleety. But I didn't have the heart to tell Lena no on her birthday (#sucker), so we braved the elements. I figured if school wasn't closed the roads couldn't be that bad. They weren't, but visibility was not the greatest. So my anxiety was already in overdrive as I was hurtling down the highway unable to see more than a car's length ahead of me when Levi started screaming from the backseat that he was going to puke. I chucked a plastic bag at Lucy and told her to hold it under his chin. You can imagine how well that worked. He spewed all down the front of himself as I was pulling off the exit for the museum. Thankfully, I found the museum without issue and even got a front parking spot. I scrubbed Levi off the best I could and apologized to anyone who got too close to him at the museum, because baby wipes can't completely erase the overwhelming smell that is toddler vomit. Blech.

A couple hours later as I pulled out of my parking spot my GPS lost its signal. I remembered which direction I had come from, but beyond that I was totally clueless. I decided just to drive until I saw something familiar. Bad decision. The problem with driving downtown is that there are no parking lots to pull off in when I think I'm lost. And the other drivers around me are impatient and fully aware of where they're going, so they don't appreciate me moseying along trying to read road signs. So I just keep going to get out of the way and end up in residential neighborhoods miles from the highway I was trying to reach! Eventually my GPS came back to life and rerouted me, but lost the signal again before I got to the highway. I kept feeling like I was going completely the wrong direction, but the compass in my van said I was going North. I figured if I went North long enough, I'd eventually hit some streets I recognized. Lol. Thankfully, my GPS came back online long enough to get me on the highway, and it was smooth sailing from then on. It is ridiculous that I have lived here all my life and still can't navigate downtown. #helplesscountrybumpkin

5. Justin's birthday was celebrated with less fanfare. The girls helped me make a cake, then all 3 kids decorated it. Lucy insisted on putting 34 candles on it for Justin, then said, "Wow. How are we going to light all those candles without the cake starting on fire?!" Lol. #oldman Since we didn't actually do a cake and singing on Lena's birthday, we sang to both of them on Justin's birthday.

Happy birthday to YOU

Happy birthday to YOU

Birthday buddies with a very purple/sprinkle-y cake!

6. To finish out birthday week, Justin and I braved the elements again last night and went out for dinner. Since we're saving for a house, we didn't do anything else fun or exciting - other than picking up my ring from the jeweler!

Reunited, and it feels so good!!

7. I only have one other picture I haven't shared yet!

Ruby is 6 weeks now, but still so little! I love it!

Pray for Justin this week as he works outside in the cold. We're supposed to have record breaking temperatures and inches of snow. (Monday's forecast says 5-8 inches of accumulation, and the high on Wednesday is currently forecasted at -3, with windchills expected to be in the -30 range. BRUTAL)