My birthday, 30 revolutions around the sun.

I never would have imagined 15 yrs ago that I would look like this when I was 30. I could never have imagined the life that I would be living. This is the face of a now 30-something year old, pregnant-with-3rd-child woman, who never gave up, has always chased a dream, believed that if she worked hard she could make anything happen, etc., etc.

Granted, I've gained a lot of sun spots in the last 15 years, but nothing a little foundation can't cover up. And after looking at this picture, I'll never be getting collagen injected into my lips. Are they really that big? I've always had those lines above my cheekbones that I swear is from wearing glasses since I was 6. If I were to do anything plastic surgery wise to my face, I'd get rid of those lines or fill in that spot under the tip of my nose that scarred from a staff infection. But they don't bother me that much. And I'm not going to pick apart my face - that's not the reason why you came to this post.

Dare I say, I still feel a little sexy at this point in the pregnancy. Even though I'm 32 weeks, 3 days and have gained 35 pounds. I like to think I can do everything I did before I was preggo, but let's face it. I get muscle cramps and huff and puff over one flight of stairs up to my office. My legs are swollen like a mutha' and sometimes I just push in on where my ankle used to be visible.

My day started off like any other day I would have woken up with food poisoning. I know judge me. We went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory the night before. All you righteous ones can point your finger at me and tell me that's what I get for going out to eat on a Sunday.

I ordered the Herb Crusted Salmon and a side salad. Soooo delicious. The fish wasn't exactly the freshest I've ever had but I ate it all up anyway. We ordered the buffalo wings, that I've been craving ever since I tried McDonald's Spicy Buffalo Sauce. Holy Guacamole, it takes just like a hot wing! I swear! Then the person in the booth next to us apparently had a birthday too and the servers came out and sang Happy Birthday. James went nuts and for the next 10 mins all he could say was "Birthday Cake. I want Birthday Cake. Mom, I want Birthday Cake." Like a broken record.

Since we were almost done anyway, Mike told them it was my birthday and we put in the order for just a nice plain and simple cherry cheesecake. They brought it out with "Happy Birthday Bianca" in chocolate syrup and round sprinklers. James helped me blow out the candle. And the three of us (Madison, James, and I) mauled the cheesecake to death. Literally. Both spit out the cherries.

1am rolls around and I'm crawling to the bathroom. Up and down for the next 3 hours until I have to get ready for work. My schedule for the week was lousy. But it was a day I could NOT call in sick. I suffer through the day, was brave enough to go out for lunch at Joe's Farm Grill - $10 off on your birthday, and survived to pick up kids after work.

I get home and the children beeline for the popsicles in the freezer. Popsicle eating only takes place outside. I spotted two mitered scraps of 2x4. I thought, "Hmm. The picture Mike sent of the hole he drilled in his hand wasn't from fixing the chair." I walked further and found another peice of wood. So I peered around the side of the house and found this:

Any gardener knows that this is. See another view:

You like how we only painted the part of the house that you can see from the street? One day the whole house will be painted.... If you haven't guessed yet, it's a garden box. I've been planning to make this part of the backyard into a beautiful plush, fabulous garden. You'll see the back of the house and then when you peek around the corner there will be this amazing surprise. For now it's a storage area. Out of sight, out of mind.

I plan to grow tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelon, etc. Basically it will be for all the big stuff that won't fit in the herb garden. I'll also plant a lemon tree and maybe an orange or grapefruit tree. I'm telling you it will be fabulous!

And yes, those two ragamuffins do not have shoes on. Madison must have lost her shorts somewhere.

I can't forget to mention all the facebook birthday wishes that I checked constantly throughout the day. Thanks everyone for wishing me a happy birthday!