For the first and only time ever in my lifetime, my birthday was on Easter Monday this year. I’m 32. That’s pretty old. Good thing I have kids to keep me young!

I plan to spend my birthday money and gift cards on a Cuisinart panini press/griddle thingy. Paninis are my new addiction, and I’ve been making them on a cookies sheet sandwiched with another cookie sheet in the oven. I also have enough for some spa services, which I’m pumped about, and the BG is getting me my choice of a couple of services as well. I’m thinking facial with microdermabrasion, a pedicure and a massage. Any suggestions? I’ll spend my leftover money on the kids, of course. We really need to get them a good climber this year for the yard because what we have is way too small. The ones that will last us more than two years are between $500 and $1000 so we’ve got some saving to do.

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We spent 5 days at my parents’ house and visited with tons of family and friends. Primo and my niece were old enough to enjoy the festivities for the first time and everyone had a blast. We feel better than we have in ages because my mom slept with Primo every night so we got to stay in bed and sleep in every day!

Here’s a mini-summary of our weekend, in pictures…

On Good Friday, my nieces came over and we all coloured eggs. It was Primo and his same age cousin’s first time and was rather hilarious! Especially when Primo bit into a hardboiled egg through the shell!

I spent some time relaxing and playing on the computer. (I killed another laptop. Apparently mine are sorely over used.) Primo sat beside me and played on the most annoying laptop in the world, and showed us all that he knows all of his numbers from 0-10 and all of the shapes except rectangle!

Bella sported her very first Easter dress and the cutest ruffly butt you ever did see. Primo had a great outfit too, but refused to sit for a picture!

I couldn’t help but take more pictures. In this one, she had just woken up from a nap and was stretching when she spotted me taking her picture and flashed a grin.

On Sunday afternoon, my brother brought his girls over to my parents’ house and we went to the park for an Egg Roll. The kids rolled raw eggs down the hill and tried not to break them. They had a blast!

After our Easter treasure hunt, we headed out to the back yard and played for the afternoon. Primo loved Trac Ball, but couldn’t quite figure out which ball to use. The dogs’ soccer ball actually worked quite well!

One of the treasure hunt prizes was sidewalk chalk, and it was a huge hit with all the kids. The girls drew on the sidewalk. Primo drew on the house, the fence, his cousin’s back, the bikes…

We got home Monday evening and spent the rest of my birthday visiting with a friend who came from out of town to meet Bella and bring her the cutest outfit of all time, putting kids to bed (which still takes many hours) and watching tv snuggled up on the couch.

Tuesday morning, my friend and former teaching partner whom I adore came over and brought me a belated birthday latte in a new cup along with some gorgeous flowers in a cool jug and some wheat-free baking stuff. Thoughtful people are few and far between, and my special friend is one in a million!

Of course, pretty flowers and a pretty girl must pose together.

Hope you all had a great long weekend!