Birthdays change so much when you get old...

Two weeks ago, I made a point to clearly tell my husband that I had very specific things I wanted for my birthday. 

1) I wanted to go do dinner ALONE with him to this Indian restaurant, Maharajah's, for my birthday dinner. 
2) He was in charge of arranging a babysitter
3) I was getting a tattoo

Well, instead of the tattoo I let the Hubby talk me into a shopping spree. Not too bad, I got a new pair of work pants, work shirt, cardigan, and some new NOT cheap makeup. And promptly after the first use of my new mascara, my sneaky toddler tiptoed into our bathroom and "painted" the walls and toilet and floor around the toilet. We do clean and everything, but it's a rental house and not a very nice rental house so that was the end of my mascara! 

The day before my birthday, Hubby tells me he hasn't been able to arrange a babysitter...there goes the last two things I wanted. 

Secretly, the entire day I was at work I was hoping he was just teasing me and he would be whisking me off for my dream dinner. But I knew deep down that was just not happening. So when he got home from picking up the girls from daycare, we chatted about what to do for dinner and it was going nowhere, so we opted for delivery. Somehow, I wound up sitting alone in the living room watching television (ON MY BIRTHDAY) while he watched TV in another room with our toddler and while the baby slept. Grr. 

But then, after dinner, he went and got a cupcake and put a candle in it and sang Happy Birthday to me with the girls. And yes, I cried.

To give my husband some credit, he has never really celebrated birthdays and my family goes kind of insane over every holiday, especially birthdays. I have a pretty high bar of expectation when it comes to birthdays, this is true! But he gave me the best birthday he could think of.  And there is something wonderful and beautiful in that. 

Now to change the subject a bit...as everyone has realized by now, I have two daughters.  And I am not a stick figure. I CONSTANTLY worry that my daughters will struggle with the same body image and weight issues that I have had for my entire life. I only hope that I can help them to understand that they are NOT just a number on a scale, but also to be strong and motivated enough to work hard to look the way they want for THEMSELVES, not society. I'm not sure if everyone has seen the story about the news anchor who was blasted by a viewer for being fat, but I did and I saw red and completely lost my shit over it. 

If not familiar, click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/jennifer-livingston-news-anchor-today-show_n_1935779.html

First of all, she never in any way asked for this man's opinion of her. She knows she isn't skinny, nor is she trying to be! Just because she is on TV does NOT mean she needs to be skinny!  Yes, being obese is becoming much too common and it is incredibly unhealthy. But pointing it out to someone, ESPECIALLY in that way, is NOT going to help anything. In fact it will most likely do the opposite. Or just piss her off. Which it seemed to. Good for you, girl. Stick it to him. 



On that note, I don't want my girls to be skinny. I want them to be healthy and confident. Period.  If anyone ever told my girls that they should be ashamed of themselves for having extra weight, I would run them over with a car. Not kidding. I hope this guys mother doesn't know what her son said to another woman.

Something to teach your daughters: They are beautiful the way God made them. 

Also: It's a vagina. Not a cookie, hoo-hah, vajayjay, or any other stupid name that parents make up because they don't want their kids to say the real word. Big pet peeve of mine. It's a body part, not a dirty word. If you have one, you should be able to say it! If you don't have one, you shouldn't get to see one until you are mature enough to say it...and then wait a few more years =)

As my birthday draws to an end, one more big THANK YOU to my friends and family for all the birthday wishes! 26 feels WAY better than 25 did.