Had a Great Birthday

Karen here.

This year my birthday kind of snuck up on me. We had 3 months of baby craziness coupled with spending January buying a new car and packing up our lives for a 3 month stint in Halifax. So the day arrived kind of out of no where. But I got to do exactly what I wanted to do though. :)

Once a year on my birthday (unless work gets in the way), I treat myself to blueberry pancakes. It's a little tradition of mine. It must be because of the blueberry muffins we had as kids. We picked so many blueberries in our woods each summer that we had muffins almost every Sunday! On the walk to the restaurant Magnus fell asleep in the basinette, and he STAYED ASLEEP! It was dreamy! I had my favourite breakfast uninterrupted. And it was oh so delicious!

About a billion calories later, on the walk home it was bright and sunny and I felt utterly fantastic. Maybe it was the sugar rush, or maybe I was feeling thankful for everything I have. Either way, I felt truly auspicious.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my little man. Normally we go to the gym in the morning, and by the time he is fed, and I am fed, and I have showered, it's 1:30pm or 2pm. Then I tend to cook something while Magnus sits in the boucey chair or the swing. However, I purposefully did not go to the gym, nor did I make anything. In fact, I was tuckered out from all the food prep I had done earlier in the week. The last thing I wanted to do was cook on my birthday. Earlier in the week when we were making our grocery list I was feeling industrious and proposed we have homemade lasagna for my birthday dinner. I had been "Jones'd" because my brother's girlfriend had made some for him when she went home for reading week. We looked up a number of recipes, some uber healthy and some not. It looked like WAY too much work. Afterall, throughout the week we made what we typically make each week (in addition to dinners):

veggie soup for my post workout lunches

zesty quinoa salad to go as a side with our dinners for the week

homemade protein bars (utterly sinful btw, but actually healthy!!!)

protein pancakes for afternoon snacks

So I went for frozen fare.

With a glass of my favourite Sauvignon Blanc (post putting Magnus down for the night of course), Matt and I attacked the lasagna. Then he came out of the bedroom with 2 cupcakes, each sporting a lit candle. And he actually sang to me! It was great! He also presented me with an East Coast t-shirt and a mug (because the mugs at our furnished place are tiny). We watched a little tv and called it a night.

My brother Adam and his girlfriend Lauren were kind enough to babysit on Saturday night so Matt and I could go out for a few drinks and listen to some local live music. We invited them over for a taco dinner, and if you haven't had tacos in a while, I highly recommend it! They were delicious and fun!

Magnus being super cuddly with his Uncle Adam

After Magnus had gone down for the night, Matt and I hit the town. It felt really great to get out of the house and go on a date. This was only the second time since Magnus was born that we have done so, and it was so refreshing. Matt and I have so much fun together! I highly encourage all parents reading this to immediately book a date night.

All in all, it was a great birthday weekend. :)