Happy Birthday to Me

So yeah, it's my birthday. Big Girl got up this morning and very loudly wished me a happy birthday as soon as she saw me, and then proceeded to be very touchy and on the edge of falling apart all morning. She had a meltdown because I put milk on her cereal, which is how she eats it every day, but didn't want it that way today for some unknown reason. Go figure. Autism really sucks sometimes.

This weekend was weird. My parents went out of town to visit my brother and his wife. Usually we go over to my parents' house after church on Sunday and Mom makes lunch (sometimes pot roast), and the girls take a nap, Mom, Dad and me fall asleep on the couch in front of football on TV and Hubby gets on the internet in Dad's office. We do that about 3/4 of the time. But not this weekend, obviously.

My pot roast turned out great. It was very tasty and everyone ate plenty. Hubby even really liked the carrots, which surprised me a little. I'm just glad that I have another meal option that I know how to do, and it's yummy!

Yesterday's trip to the inflatable play place was sort-of fun. We went there first thing and were there 15 minutes before they opened at 9:30. The girls both seemed to be hungry and thirsty earlier than I expected, so we went across the parking lot from the play place to Whataburger for lunch at earlier than planned, at 10:40 or so. I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I was hungry then too. Afterward we went back to play. They didn't play as long as usual. It got pretty crowded. I think that's going to be how it is now that we're stuck going when Big Girl's not in school. If she's not in school, then neither are the rest of the kids in town. It was an expensive 2 hours of play. But that's why we only go when she earns it.

Both of the girls took naps after we came home, around 12:30, which is rare, but yesterday they both needed it big time. For getting to do something fun and out of the ordinary, they were both really grouchy.

Of course dinner was no big deal, with the leftover roast. :-) Even Big Girl liked it. That's a big deal. She can be as picky as her dad.

After dinner we took a little walk to the neighborhood park and the girls played for a little while. It was nice to go outside and do something with all of us. We don't do that as much as we should. I got Hubby do it by prefacing all of it with, "I have a birthday wish: to go to the park." How could he refuse? We came home in time to toss the girls into the tub and then bedtime.

After the girls were in bed, Hubby and I were both on our computers, he wheeled over to me and he pulled out my birthday present: a pruple iPod Nano 4G! He also got me the best card he's ever gotten me in the 11 years we've been together. The words in it actually sound like the things he'd say. He completely surprised me with the gift. I never saw it coming. It's the 8GB, which is the smaller of the Nanos, but up to now I've been using a 1GB Shuffle, so this is a huge improvement. The playlist from which I've been loading my Shuffle is only 7.1GB, and it all fits on the Nano. And it's purple. :-) Ever since college, and really my senior year of high school after I had committed to go to UMHB, purple has been my favorite color.

I'm not one of those crazies who shops in the store in the mall where everything is purple. I don't want my whole world to be purple. But if I can choose a blue cup or a purple cup, I'll choose purple. In fact I do that every time I'm at my parents' house. There's one plastic purple cup, and I use it every time I'm there if it's clean, which it usually is because Mom saves it for me. I'd also choose a purple iPod, and Hubby knew that. I feel the need to distinguish myself because there are those people in the world who go overboard on purple, and I'm really not one of those. I just like it in moderation, that's all.

Today is going to be a pretty ordinary Tuesday, unfortunately. I have choir practice from 7-10, so there's not time to do something fun, like go to dinner or anything. And by the time I get home, it's time to unwind and then go to bed.

I did see Mom this morning when I took Big Girl to school, and she had birthday stuff to give me, the card from Dad and her, and a present from my brother and his wife they sent home with Mom and Dad. That was nice.

I'm listening to Cake right now on my iPod. I'll probably have my iPod on all day, and won't really have a song in my head because there will be one playing in my ear! (It'll probably be good for me to take a break from the political talk shows I usually listen to.)