Thirty-three!!

I have a bit of time to update briefly, because the boys are all at the park right now with Neil. We lost our internet connection yesterday, but thankfully Neil made phone calls and managed to fix it this afternoon! So I have been checking my messages, and then I thought I would update here before the boys get home.

It's my birthday today! :) I am 33! The weather is beautiful, cold but milder than recently, and there is not a single cloud in the sky. I really would like to be at the park with my sweet boys, but I had not eaten lunch yet when it came time to go (Neil let me lie in this morning so I had a late breakfast!), and I knew I would only last 10 minutes at the park before I was getting weak and giddy - that's how it works with pregnancy, it seems, if you don't fuel-up before a walk! So that wouldn't work. I stayed home, and though I feel a bit guilty that I'm not out there with the sweetest people on earth to me, enjoying the beautiful day in miles of greenness, it IS nice to have a competely silent house and relax in my own home for a little while!

I have had a lovely birthday so far! I woke late, and by then the boys had been out to the shops and back with Neil! I had no idea I slept that long! They had bought me some presents and wrapped them up, and they were SO excited about it. Arthur told me when I came downstairs that the ones that were shaped like chocolates were from them, bless his heart! ;) So, I got Toblerones, Maltesers, and a box of Quality Street! Yay for chocolate! Watch me double my body weight by the end of this pregnancy, haha!

Neil bought me a mini-treadmill exercise thing!!! I was not sure what to make of it, but he said he got it because I mentioned a few weeks ago that my legs were getting tired walking up the stairs all of a sudden. This happens to me at around 17/18 weeks every pregnancy, to do with my bump suddenly shifting size and centre, so that it's suddenly harder work on my thighs to do things like climb stairs. My body feels it for a bit and then adjusts. He thought I was saying I needed more exercise and bought me a mini-stepper! Ironically, I opened it after opening all the boxes of chocolates, haha! ;) Right now I am not planning to use it, because in the last week I have started to have some bad pain at the front of my pelvis which makes it hurt to walk or do any sort of scissor movement with my legs. I get this each pregnancy but it does mean being careful what I do with my legs and hips from then on. But it was a sweet thought on Neil's part!

While the boys were eating lunch, there was a knock at the door, and when I opened it, there was a man standing there with a big bunch of flowers with a helium balloon tied to it that said, "Happy Birthday!"!!! I signed for them, he wished me a happy birthday, and I brought them inside feeling just flushed and happy! I called to Neil that someone had just delivered flowers, and he didn't say anything even though I knew he could hear me, so I knew it had to be from him :) I read the card attached, and it said, "Ali, Happy Birthday - hope you have a lovely day! Lots of love Arthur, Matthew, Nathan, Babydot, and me xxxx" HOW SWEET IS MY HUSBAND?!?! I was so overwhelmed at that moment that I welled up and felt all emotional for a minute. The flowers are all freesias - my favourites (that and roses, I love the sweet smelling flowers and I had both in my wedding bouquet), and they look and smell exquisite! They're just so beautiful. It made me feel so wonderful to receive those flowers today!

Arthur and Matthew wanted to choose me a birthday card each at the supermarket, instead of making one (we usually make cards for people's birthdays and things), and they chose such lovely ones and drew with crayons on the inside. Matthew's had a badge on it which I'm wearing now, that says, "Top Mum!" :) And Arthur chose a beautiful photo on the front of a card for the one from Neil and the boys - it's a woodland stream that cascades down into a waterfall, and the shutter-speed is slow so the water moving is all blurred and misty-looking. Arthur said it looked beautiful and he thought I would like it :)

I feel so blessed that my birthday falls on a Saturday this year (I was born on a Saturday!), because that allows me to have a very pampered birthday with Neil home, and that's always nice! I'm so happy as always, to have another birthday and be another year older. I never regret the passing of time! I'm excited about what 33 has in store, and getting to 34! Every year is exciting and such a blessing, especially now in my 30s, having my babies and bringing up my children!

Okay, the laptop battery is low and the boys will be home soon. It sounds crazy of me, but I WANT to do some housework, just to clean up the kitchen ready for dinner (sausages, mash and baked beans!!). I never did finish the Christmas cakes in time for Christmas, so I marzipanned one a few weeks ago and iced it yesterday with the boys, and that will be my birthday cake! I LOVE Christmas cake, so I'm excited!! It feels special as a birthday cake, and I know the boys will be excited to stick candles in it and do the traditional Happy Birthday thing!

I'll update again soon - I have a ton of photos, and stuff on my mind to ramble about. Thanks for the congrats on my news last entry! :)