A Quarter of Century

*Note- I really, truly, actually did start this post on August 9th, my birthday.

That's how old my Dad says I am today. He also told me, "just so you know it will take less than half as long to get to a half century." I believe it. I already feel like the past 5, or even 7 years have just flown by.

I got to start the day with a laugh. My boyfriend left me this card, before he headed off to work at 5am.

Jeremy later called to ask how my day was going. He also said he didn't really want to call me a Selfish Bitch on my birthday, but knew I would like the card. :D

After I fixed the little folk scrambled eggs and bagels, we all went outside so I could take some floral photos and they could run around a bit. Barbara was outside watering, so I asked her to get a shot of us all. After 5 or 10 minutes of convincing Potato she needed to sit down, Barbara clicked the photo. One shot, and everybody looking at the camera.

It's a bloody miracle I tell you. There was some insistence by Potato baby that the garden frogs be in the middle.

The kids each got a chance to use the camera to take some shots, except for Potato of course. Pixy arranged us in various ways and took a few shots. Bear just wanted to take pics of flowers. Bug just wanted to get some pics of me.

25 years and 4 kids is starting to look rough.

Somehow, I got them all to sit still together for a kids group photo. Potato even posed nicely and smiled sweetly. Bug, unfortunately, is reaching the age where a real smile just might kill her.

Of course, eventually the children wanted to go out and see Teddy Bear. I made the older three sit in the flowers for a picture. I tried to convince Potato she wanted to join in, but she really loves Teddy Bear.

She loves him so much, she just sat and fed him kibble by kibble.

That dog is so amazingly gentle. He doesn't make any noise or an aggressive movement at all when small children reach in his bowl while he eats. He almost just sighs. :)

Then Jeremy came home. Really, it's a cause for celebration every day. :) Especially for Potato.

We had to head to the store to get some things for my birthday dinner. Jeremy had discovered this really great grocery store called Central Market a few weeks back. So, we decided to head there. Holy snap this place is awesome. If we lived closer to it, we'd be in a lot of trouble. :D

Look at all that produce!

The seafood market was pretty cool. I really don't think I've ever seen live crabs stacked up in a tank like that. There were quite a few tanks, too.

I don't think Potato was too sure about the tank of prawns, though.

I love bins of grains, flours, sugars, etc.

This entire case was full of a huge variety of chocolate truffles.

Why is it most grocers don't have beverage coolers like this anymore? This one actually continued around the bend on the other side of the racks.

Oh my gosh, the salad bar! If I worked near there, I'd eat salad bar nearly everyday.

They even have an indoor eating area, with a heated outdoor balcony. That silo also houses a BBQ stand.

We really had to get out of there before we spent more than we should. Plus, we were starving. So home we went for Jeremy to start dinner.

All I wanted for dinner was Havarti on Sourdough. The kids got cheddar. I have a hard time wasting expensive cheese on taste buds that won't appreciate it anyway.

We also Had To Have tomato soup, for dipping, and chili. Yum!

Sorry, the lighting really is horrid in this place.

The kids all seemed to enjoy dinner. I, of course, was in heaven. I love good sourdough.

Potato has discovered a love for chili. Such a Daddy's Girl.

While we were eating, Jeremy put on some music. After Potato finished her dinner, she promptly decided it was time to dance.

She's scary natural, and freakin' adorable!

But then it was time for baby bedtime, and Mommy indulgence. Truffles in cherry cheesecake, tiramisu, and pear brandy. I shouldn't have ate them all that night, but I couldn't help it.