A great day!

Happy Birthday to me!  … Another day older .. and maybe wiser? Nooo.. that wouldn’t be any fun!

What a fabulous day today .. I dare say today will go down as one of my favorite birthdays .. this morning I had my weekly breakfast with best friend Cyn. She and I have known each for 10 years .. (I never realized it was that long!) .. I love our friendship, complete honesty and truth. With Cyn, you will ALWAYS know where you stand! Then this afternoon I went for a two hour walk with my friend, who is a boy (!) … we try and get our Sunday walks in, when we can .. I completely love our walks … not only do we get a good pace going, but we cover a lot of topics .. and just being able to talk with someone, and not realize you’ve walked 8 miles ~ I think it is safe to say that I would give up a dinner to have  this walk! (dinner with no wine of course … because giving up a few glasses of wine for exercise …. that would be difficult .. hmmm I’ll ponder on that one) After my walk, with my friend that is a boy, I took my kids and went to the local Mexican restaurant. On the way, I decided that the coupon I had for my favorite clothing store was expiring today, on my birthday, you know, (and at band camp ….) and that even though the mall was closing in 15 minutes … I needed to get the black, pinstripe jacket now(since the online store didn’t have it) …long story short, I went in and came out with three items ..  do the math: the original price on the jacket was $69.95, I walked out spending $74.95 … it was timing, coupon and a sales associate who wanted to do something nice, BECAUSE IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! (**side note: I looove sales prices; the day just kept getting better!**) So, at the Mexican restaurant, there spur of the moment, another best friend , Janine joined us. It’s always an interesting event when Janine joins the teenagers and I! They like to egg her on .. and the conversations can get interesting! Janine and I always have dessert when we go out .. and what joy was bestowed upon us when our waiter said that since it was MY birthday, the dessert was on the house!! Their deep friend ice cream is literally the best ever! (and .. I have tried many, many kinds .. okay, so maybe the one that I make is slightly better; but for clean up purposes …I’ll gladly eat theirs!) During dinner I got a phone call from an old friend residing in Singapore … HUGE surprise …. icing on the second dessert cake (so to speak) was a call from my high school best friend Julie (see here for a picture and a short story).. she called and sang to me, a tradition she has done for (OMG >>) 24 years!! I hadn’t talked to her in almost a year …so to hear her was just absolutely magnificent.

The one voice I will always miss is my dad’s. Every birthday (and I mean EVERY birthday) he would call me and ALWAYS tell the story of when I was born .. and how the doctors told him I was a boy. Since I was born in Iran, on their New Year’s ..doctors who deliver boys on that day would receive bonus money .. he was proud because he insisted he see me first before paying them.  What can I say?! I’ll do almost anything  to save a buck!!

What a great day today!

Oh Sweet Child of Mine ...

So, a few weeks ago we celebrated Noah's birthday. I think as moms (and dads, I am sure!) we always reflect on our children's birthday, and remember the shining moment they entered the world. I loved being pregnant with him .. As a baby he was so much fun(still is).. he was always happy and social (he has his moments still!!).

My sister had told me for years that Noah is an old soul. He can be very reflective and very wise. Most times(!) he has a calm energy around him.. when he isn't yelling "HEAD SHOT!!" while playing that box-X game!

He wasn't a big Emergency Room child .. we have had a few .. some minor, and one major. ... two broken wrists, stitches .. broken teeth ..you know, the usual for an active boy! His pain tolerance is off the scale. When he had broken his wrist, the ER sent him home because he claimed that on a pain scale of 1-10 (10 being in major pain) he was "oh, a 4" .. and when he was gasping for air during a major asthma attack, he told the doctor he felt "okay" ..(that landed him in ICU for 2 days!)

So this birthday hit me the hardest .. he turned 15 .. still a youth, almost a young man . I am still trying to decide why this is the difficult birthday .. I think seeing him tower over me, is a reminder that he is growing up.. that in three and a half years he will be finished with high school .. his goal is West Point and a sniper for the US Marines ... ! {deep breath}

ahhh! Where did the time go?

First day of Kindergarten

Hiking in Acadia

Summer of 2005

Happy birthday Noah! I am sorry it took me a little longer to write this blog.

They Say It's Your Birthday!

At two minutes past midnight, my cell phone indicated that I had received a text message .... grumpily I mumbled "who would send a text at midnight??" .. only to see "OMG, it's my birthday!" . Now I know why my daughter has over 8000 text messages in a month ... sleeping in the same house .. she has to let me know that it is her birthday! (I really didn't need any reminding ... all the calendars in the house have self created artwork on this date .. ..EVEN at my work she took the liberty to write "Aletta's 13th birthday - do not erase" !)

This is my girl .. she makes a statement without effort. Clearly her motto should be "watch out world .. I have arrived!"

Last year, she was helping me look for a quote, when she said "Life does not wait for you to be ready.." .. so I said "ahh...that's a good one, who are you quoting?" and she said .. "me .. I just said it .." ..do you see her lively personality?

.... if the last 13 years have been this fun and interesting ... I can't wait for the next 13!! (NOT that I am rushing things!!)

I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures ...

This picture was taken in Old Orchard Beach, Maine .. her first ice cream cone.

When the firemen came and visited the Kindergarten classroom ..

Many summers spent at Abol Bridge ...
The rocket she built ... (usually she takes things apart .. rather than build them)

today ...

There is never a dull moment when she is around .. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALETTA ... I love the craziness that you continuously bring into my life!