Happy Birthday to me

Another year gone by, another year I don't feel any older.  How is it that I still feel the same as I did when I was 20?  The boys were kind enough to remind me of the number all over their cards for me :)  Luckily I've never cared a lick about the number of my age.  My kids know, and it doesn't bother me if others know also.

We finally got a beautiful, warm day of sunshine, and were able to spend the whole day outside.  In the morning we drove out to a friend's house (a boy from Caleb's class at school) and swam and sat out on their beautiful country property (that is for sale...oh what a lovely piece of paradise it is!)  During the afternoon I finished painting the boys' new clubhouse that I built for them.  Finally Colin had a baseball game in the evening.  And although Juliette is teething, miserable, and had kept us up the entire night before, the sun was a balm for my mind and soul to help me through the day.

Plus, it was Blizzard day at Dairy Queen, which I'm pretty sure they did just to celebrate my birthday :)

And now a chance to reflect on the upcoming year.  A year that will bring three of my four kids in school every day.  I foresee lots of time with my beautiful daughter, and maybe, for the first time in 8 years, feeling rested enough with an afternoon nap every day that the fog will finally lift.

A few things I hope to do this year:

1.  Write a book.  I have a couple of solid ideas (four, in fact) and although I'm not sure which I want to write first, I do know I want to instil some discipline of my own (thank you, Tiger Mother) and write one.

2.  Bike a lot more.  Juliette is getting used to the bike carrier on the back of my bike, and so I hope that she and I will bike every time we have to leave the house and go somewhere in town.

3.  Be more diligent in music practice.  I've played a lot on the guitar this past year, but I haven't practiced the flute outside of our weekly band practice, and only touched the piano to accompany others.  This year I'd like to take up violin, perhaps with monthly lessons to help me learn the basics.