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Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes yesterday!   It was a good day, and I felt loved!  I spent most of the day being much lazier than normal and trying not to feel guilty about it!

Jeremy and I have never taken all of the kids together to a restaurant before (fast food is an exception-- but even then we usually bring it home to eat) because A) it's too expensive and B) Elli.  Last night we decided to throw caution to the wind and brave it for my birthday.  We thought it best to start small (something live Olive Garden terrified me) so we went to Rumbi Island Grill.  Yummy food, no fancy tablecloths, small, and happy Hawaiian music to drown out our noise!  I'm happy to say it was a success-- the kids were all great, Elli only had to be taken out for a walk twice, and the food was a hit.  (:  After dinner was done, the kids were eyeing the dessert menu.   I told them they could have like, one bite of dessert there, or I could go to the Smith's next door and pick out something bigger for the same amount of money.  I bought a dozen donuts from the bakery (made that morning and marked down to $1.49) and a box of ice-cream bars for the same price as one little dessert at Rumbi. And it's a good thing, too, after paying for dinner for the ten of us!

My friend Heather sent me an email that read in part, "Here's wishing you a quiet night, a hot bath and a nice dinner out on the town...wait who am I kidding.  Let's try this again...here's wishing you a messy homemade birthday cake decorated and made by 4-8 kids, a noisy but lovely rendition of happy birthday, and 5 minutes on the couch with at least 2 kids on your lap.  Ha!"   I laughed and was sure that she was right on, but I am happy to report that she was closer on her first wish than the second-- I did get dinner out on the town, and after we got home, Jeremy sent me in to have a long, hot bath while he got the kids to bed.  Not too bad!  (:

 So grateful for good family and friends!