HAPPY B-DAY/MOM'S DAY TO ME :)

Has it really been almost a month since I've posted? Oh my gosh. Sorry about that. I really have nothing to blame it on except laziness when the kids go to bed.

But ... a lot has happened ...

... including my 40th birthday. It was a lot better than 30. I remember when I turned 30 I had sort of an identity crisis--as long as I was in my twenties, I was "young" and "hip." (well, in all honesty, I was never young and hip, but it was easier to fool myself into believing I was, lol!). When I turned thirty, I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, I'm OLD!!" I remember that thought haunting me for days before and after my actual birthday. This time it was like, "Yeah, whatever. Another year older ... another year wiser. It's fine." The best part of getting older is that I really am mellowing with age--things that used to stress me out beyond belief will hardly cause me to bat an eye now. And I truly like myself way more now than I did at 30. I think I was fixated on my flaws. Now, they're still there, but I'm able to really appreciate the good parts in a way I couldn't before.

Okay, enough sappy rambling. Let's get to the good stuff.

My 40th birthday was celebrated in a very quiet way--just the way I like. My husband felt badly that he didn't plan a surprise party for me, and I was like, "NO WAY." I really liked that it was just a quiet celebration with two of my best friends (one is from college), my sister-in-law, and my nieces and nephews. I felt extra special because Carlito surprised me in the morning and opted to go to work late so we could spend an hour in a park by our house, sipping Starbucks and chatting. That was my favorite part of that day. In the evening, he came home WAY early to have dinner with us, and then we had a few people over for dessert.

Fast forward to Mother's Day: I was really anticipating nothing special. We got up and were almost ready to go to church when Carlito tells Ashley to write something on his laptop. Then he has Carlos write something on his laptop. I'm like, "Oh, he didn't get a card, so he's going to have them write something. That's fine." Then he asks me to come over and read it. So I do. It's cute (he has like a Wacom tablet, so it was their actual writing). Then I close it and this is what I see:

Honestly, I couldn't believe it. I was like, "Oh, did he make the desktop like another card?" Then they tell me it's mine. I was in a total state of shock. Carlito had already explained to me that a 40th birthday merits an extra special gift. I had been wanting a laptop for some time, but absolutely could not justify the expense.

Then ... as if that's not enough ... I see this tiny icon, and I couldn't believe it.

I was over the top excited and in shock!! I had to restrain myself from using it right away because it was time for church. I had to restrain myself from daydreaming about my new laptop and PS CS3 during church. Then I played with it, and created a few layouts. I'll show you two tonight, and I'll show you the others when I write about my special Mother's Day (hopefully tomorrow, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you :)).

This is me playing with "Paths" in Photoshop. You can draw a line and the text will follow the line or shape you drew.

This is the shirt Carlos wore on Mother's Day. I thought it was so cute, so we had a "mini photoshoot" and I scrapbooked it. In a couple of years he won't possibly be caught dead wearing that shirt, so I'll enjoy it now. :)