it's birthday month...

it's been a busy few days around here. friday we were looking forward to dh coming home. the kids had friends over and were happily playing, and we were gearing up for a busy weekend. late friday night, i made an abundance of heart-shaped sugar cookies for my dd's birthday party. saturday i was in town at the tai chi club most of the day; in the morning was the monthly instructor training and in the afternoon i was co-instructing open practice. i had a gazillion errands to run and eventually found my way home. lol dh & the kids had been busy cleaning the house from top to bottom. dh gave me a massage sat night and said i had no tension (despite having a list a mile long running through my head of last minute preparations for the party sunday) - that's what 5.5 or 6 hrs of tai chi will do!!! :D boy, i was tired, though. sunday was the actual birthday party in the afternoon, so i was up early, finishing the cleaning, and preparing food. it's just me, just something i do. i like to have homemade food at my children's birthdays. or maybe it's just that i like lots of food out. i don't know. but there were small platters of sandwiches, some chips, a beautiful veggie tray, the cookies the kids decorated (and ate) and took home, a tray of devilled eggs, a bowl of punch, cake (okay, cakeS: a lemon one and a chocolate one), raw berry ice cream... yes, an ABUNDANCE of food. although she'd only invited 5 friends, with families it ended up being 12 adults and 15 children (and one ADORABLE baby) here for the afternoon, so food was needed. :) thank GODDESS it was sunny during the party; all the older kids roamed the yard for hours, only coming in for food! after the party (where they played pin the accessories on the princess), the grandparents stayed on for dinner, so there was another bountiful meal prepared. i was soooooooooo tired by 10:30 i just crashed in bed and slept so soundly. zzzzzzz zzzzzzz zzzzzzz everyone is still sleeping; i only got up to tend to the various animals.

isn't it funny that despite cleaning the house top to bottom before the party, that after the party, it needs another good cleaning already? (so soon?! *groan*) my kids were wondering why i don't ever have birthday parties for myself anymore (i *think* the last official party i had was when i was 17). maybe it's the before and after cleaning that comes with it, LOL.

i received a beautiful bound journal for my birthday recently. it's really beautiful, but it's cover is leather. LOL now, for most people, they'd be perfectly happy with the book. me, well, i've been vegan for nearly 4 yrs and a raw vegan the past nearly 2 years, so leather isn't something i invite into my space at this time. admittedly, i have a leather belt, that's 18 years old... i suppose i held onto it because it's functional, and old (and to my knowledge, the only leather item i have). but right now, i don't go out looking to buy leather. for now, i've put the journal aside. i'm hoping i'll find the right moment and person to pass it along to, and hopefully the person who gave it to me will understand (and know that i am grateful for the intention of their gift).

this morning i had the opportunity to go to a tai chi 2-hour intensive class, but it was an hour drive (over, actually), and already i have a food co-op meeting all afternoon, so i wasn't about to jam my day full like that. i think after such a busy weekend we all need a day of rest. dh will probably sleep 'til mid-afternoon, and i'm hoping the kids will sleep at least another hour. we need our rest before the next wave of birthdays (next week) approaches!

shhhhhhhh...