Turning 25

Friday, I turned 25. I find every number ending with a 0 or a 5 to be a big deal birthday. And so, this was one of those years.

I got spoiled all week. Okay, let's face it, I got spoiled ALL month. BUT, this past week I really milked it.

Wednesday, Emily had us over to play. When we arrived she had delicious homemade lemon cupcakes frosted & sprinkled with fresh coconut beautifully displayed on a cream cake stand. And, alongside those delectable cupcakes was my birthday gift which held 3 gorgeous bracelets (that happened to match the dress I was wearing that day) & a super cute cover-up. Our girls played dress up while Jax chased them around & we sat enjoying one another's company over coffee & good conversation. It was a great day to say the least.

My mom had left me a message earlier in the day telling me I would be getting a call about a special delivery. That call didn't come until right before we left for church that evening. I eagerly opened the door to have this guy walk toward me with a gorgeous array of bright Spring colored flowers. They were so pretty. The card read: Happy Birthday Love, Grandma Maa, Mom & Dad, & Cecilie. They brought sunshine into our home on that rainy day.

The next day, I dropped Reagan off at preschool & headed out to the mall for some shopping with Emily. Jax & I got there a bit early & I knew he would love to play. So we made a stop for a short bit at the kids play area inside.

On the way home, I talked to the hubby who said he got off early. I picked up Reago & we made a family date out to Mongolian BBQ. What a treat to have the 4 of us together for lunch on a week day.

In the afternoon noon, I got a sweet package from my cousin Kristi. I get so excited when I see a UPS or Fedex truck, even when it isn't in my neighborhood.... there's always a glimmer of hope that something special is headed my way. I quickly opened it up to find these stunning Fibi & Chlo sandals that I had put on my Pinterest birthday wishlist. I am looking forward to getting a pedi & showing these beauties off.

The week before, I purchased a Groupon {LOVE Groupon} for $59 to get my hair cut, colored, & accent highlights (a $180 value). Momm time!! It felt so good to get pampered while Bra watched our sweet littles. I opted for blonder locks & a good healthy trim (3-4 inches).

FRIDAY!! My 25th birthday, I woke up to flowery retro wrapped present, a hot pink card, & a smaller envelope holding the golden ticket {a Starbuck's card}. Inside those lovely wrapped boxes were the bathing suit I wanted from DownEast Basics & a pair of Fibi & Clo starfish sandals. They will be perfect for our Santa Cruz trip!

Our first stop for the day was Starbuck's where I picked up my favorite splurge, a Iced Venti Soy Chai Latte. We then made our way out to the Fountain's for some fun.

The kids played while I enjoyed taking photos of their adorable faces. It wasn't long before we were ready for some lunch, but first a stop at the Fountain where Reagan threw in 2 pennies {to be exact} & made a wish.

We ate at the San Fransisco Boudin. Before I could dive into my turkey & havarti sandwich, a lady stopped to go on & on about how cute my little girl was. By the direction of her gaze I wasn't sure she was talking about Reagan. So when lunch was all said & done, I went over & asked which child she was speaking of. She pointed at Jax. I had a good laugh & told her he was a boy & went to grab him out of the high chair where she proceeded to proclaim, " Oh yes, he is ALL boy....!". I was not offended by her comment, just got a good chuckle out of it & thought maybe it might be time to get him a trim.

When got home that afternoon, he surprised me with a {large} red velvet cupcake----my favorite! Oh my word, it was AMAZING. So.Good. The cream cheese frosting was some of the best I have ever tasted & by far the red velvet cake was the.BEST.

I requested that we go to Buca Di Beppo for our family dinner. I am never disappointed. Every time I go, I enjoy it. We got PLENTY of food. Even had leftovers for lunch the next day, which I happily chowed down on when I got home.

Saturday morning, we had a light breakfast due to all of the eating we had been doing. Just some oatmeal & a venti coffee from Starbuck's.

The kids & I were off to a MAM party that my friend Liz was hosting that morning. And, I was so excited when I saw a dozen bakery cupcakes sitting on her counter. I am a sucker for cake. I seriously LOVE it!

We enjoyed watching our munchkins play, talking about good oral hygiene, playing some games, & sharing stories over tasty snacks. Each kid got to go home with a new tooth brush. I even won a eyeshadow during the trivia game.

We came home, enjoyed our Buca leftovers from the previous night, & the littles went down for naps. I ran a couple of errands & then came home to make a rainbow cake that I'd seen on Pinterest. Reagan was my little helper. She helped dump the mix, pour liquids into the batter, stir in food coloring, & even taste test. Definitely the cutest baker!

After all of the layers baked, I wrapped each one individually & placed them in the freezer to be frosted in the morning. But before, I had a hot date awaiting....

Braden arranged for our littles to stay the night at Papa Dave & Grammy's that night. I dolled myself up while he showered, we dropped the kids off, & headed out for a night together... just.the.two.of.us. First stop, SUSHI. Oh how I love & crave sushi. Our dinner was great, but we saved ourselves for a large diet Coke, big popcorn, & a turtle cookie to balance the salty. We saw The 5 Year Engagement, which was enjoyably entertaining. Nothing like feeling like a young teenage couple holding hands in a dark theater ;-)

 Thanks Mom for the hot date night shoes :)

Sunday, we woke up with no rushing around to clean up breakfast & get kids dressed for church. I love our time together, just us. I LOVE our family of 4 more than anything in the world, but every now & then we need that time to spend, him & I.

We went to church that morning with our kids running to greet us with big happy smiles. Back to our little family of four. Back to reality. A reality that I am blessed & honored to live.

My MIL asked what I wanted for my birthday lunch. She had suggested enchilada bake because she knows how much I like it & so that is what I chose. It was tasty! I had been dying to make this cake so I asked if it would be alright if I brought it for dessert even after she graciously offered to make me anything my heart desired. So although it was my birthday & technically I made my own cake, I'm totally okay with it. It was fun. It was a special bonding time with my girl. And, it turned out awesome!

And, for the cake reveal....

The recipe was quite simple.

I took different ideas from a couple of different sites & here's what I came up with.

-2 boxes of yellow cake mix (one site suggested white cake mix, I prefer the taste of yellow)
- Mix everything as directed. separate batter equally into six bowls
-Color each bowl {your choice of colors, light or dark}
-bake 2 at a time for 15 minutes at 350 degrees
-wrap each layer individually & place in freezer for at least 2 hours
-frost & layer


Some random shots from the past week

I'm one blessed mommy & wife living a life I could have never imagined would be THIS.GREAT.