Happy Birthday to Me

So yesterday was my birthday, and it was really one of the best birthdays I have had in recent years. It doesn't sound exciting on paper (or screen), and it wasn't a trip to Ireland or anything, but I spent the day with my husband and my kids, and it was one of the best days I've had in a long long time.

Last week when Wes asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I said it would be nice if we could go to the world's largest aquarium, so he volunteered to take the day off work and we could all go. This year Wes gets 3 weeks vacation a year now that he's worked there for 5 years, so he's much more willing to take random days off occasionally. I made reservations (you'd think this place was Spago or something as difficult as it is to get in) and we decided we'd go early. First of all, Henry slept through until 5 am yesterday morning, which was fantastic. Then he went back to sleep while I showered, etc. at 7. When I tried to wake Margaret up, she was pretty resistant ("Stop waking me up, Mommy!), but we did manage to get out of the house and to the front door of the aquarium at our appointed 9 am time.

The aquarium is quite a spectacle. You've heard all the hype about the whale sharks, and the beluga whales, and the fish wall. The tunnel really is spectacular to walk under all that water. But it falls short of the Tennessee Aquarium in its true lack of education. Many, many times I wanted to know what some fish was, and I could not find a simple listing of what fish were in that tank. And despite what Bernie Marcus claimed about having a separate back of the aquarium loop for school groups, there were 10 gazillion school kids there in groups, so it felt a little like a zoo at times. But, it was a fun day.

Margaret loves the Tennessee Aquarium, and she loved the Georgia Aquarium too. We first took Margaret to the Tennessee Aquarium when she was just a few weeks older than Henry, and she was very interested in looking at all the fish even then. Henry pretty much slept the entire time. I guess he's not a fish guy.

We finished touring the aquarium at lunchtime and decided to take Margaret to the Chik-fil-A play place. On our way there, I asked her if she wanted to eat some chicken at Chik-Fil-A and she responded, "I think they have fries there, too." Yeah, they have fries.

She had a great time playing while we ate, and then while I fed Henry. Then we went home and she took a nap pretty easily (probably because we ran her ragged all morning). Wes and I settled down to try to sleep too, but Henry was wide awake after sleeping all morning, so I got up with him and we played for awhile. I think I had a perfect moment while lying in bed trying to sleep. Wes had put Al Green on the stereo, Henry was smiling at me, and I was blissfully happy. What better birthday could I ask for? I have a very loving husband, two gorgeous and healthy kids, enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, and the luxury to spend a day together in the middle of the week. I really don't think life gets better than this, even with lottery winnings.

Later on, we drove up to the 'burbs to eat at Red Lobster (mmm...shrimp!) and buy a new portable DVD player at Fry's. We had purchased a DVD player online that did not work, and I am not driving to Florida next week without something to keep my toddler occupied after all the books, drawing pads, and dolls get boring (probably about 15 minutes after she wakes up). We bought the cheapo $90 Coby DVD player, so let's all cross our fingers that it doesn't give out halfway to St. Augustine.

So all in all, great birthday. I realized after hearing about the anniversary of the ValuJet crash, that it has been 10 years since my birthday trip to Ireland. That was a great trip, but I wouldn't trade it for the day I had yesterday. I realize that it might not sound like much, but I guess I've become a homebody.