Twenty Seven

Heading out for my Birthday dinner! A grainy iPhone shot, but hey, the sun had already set so I think this is pretty good considering! Love this girl :)

Yesterday was my 27th birthday, and boy was it different! Being a mother has changed every aspect of my life, even in ways I wasn't expecting. For example, Tuesday night I was trying to do a million things at once to utilize the time I had while Ella was napping. I had some brushed that needed soaked and cleaned from finishing painting our bedroom, so I went down stairs to our laundry room that has a big industrial sink. It was taking forever to fill up, so I decided to quickly go run the trash out to the cans and come back. Well, I bet you can guess what happened next. I forgot to come back. If you follow me on Snap chat you saw the aftermath. Oh, sidenote while I am on that, I have Snap chat! I have avoided using it for forever, but my friend talked me into it and I must add, it is way more fun to use now that I have a baby. You can follow me @alyciagrayce but be warned it is all snaps of Ella pretty much. Oh and flooding disasters in my basement. So yeah, back to the story. I came down to a flooded laundry room while after finishing up the dishes and cleaning the kitchen that I had totally forgot about it. Yikes! 

I felt like a total idiot, and started lifting up the carpet. It wasn't really tacked down, which was nice because I could easily lift it up and start guiding the water with a mop to the drain in the floor. Thank goodness it is all concrete down there and that drain saved us because I was able to make sure there wasn't any standing water. Some water did spread to the basement room area, but I think I caught my mistake quick enough to cause any real damage. I spent the rest of my night using a Shop-Vac on the carpet and was able to pull up a TON of water. We also got some fans and heaters going and crossed our fingers this wasn't going to cost us. We were a little concerned about mold, so we called to have someone come in the next morning and check it all out. Thankfully our efforts had not been in vain. He said that everything looked great, there wasn't going to be any damage or concern for mold, and to just make sure we kept the fans and heat going on the spots on the carpet. Trevor was so happy he gave the guy a Cafe Rio gift card for coming out, even though it was a free consultation, ha! I think we were both just so happy everything worked out in our favor. 

I tell this story because that night I was so mad at myself, feeling like a total idiot. Before, I would have let something like that ruin not only my day but maybe even my week. But as I finished up cleaning I went up stairs to feed and play with my beautiful daughter. She brings me so much joy, and puts everything into perspective. I realized that she was the source of what makes me truly happy and that with her in my life, I don't think I can really have a horrible day. Man being a parents is the coolest. You really don't "get it" until you have your own. Trevor and I were talking about that the other day. You really don't get how much you can love your child, and how much joy they can bring you, until you have your own children. 

Ella has been all about her tongue for the last month or so. She cracks me up! This is a grainy picture but you get the idea. It was too good not to share :)

Ella waiting patiently like a big girl for her Daddy to get ready to go! haha

So with the good news that my laundry room mistake wasn't going to cost us anything, I started off my birthday in a great mood. That afternoon Ella and I met up with some friends for lunch down in Provo, and I made sure to visit all my favorite spots. Buffalo Chicken Tacos from 180 Tacos, obviously, and Lisa my old co-worker and good friend was able to meet me for some cookies at Sodalicious. Oh my goodness, I LOVE their cookies. My girl Jalynn told me I needed to try the Nutella Peanut Butter Cookie and I about died. It was one of the best cookies I have ever had, and I don't say that lightly. I decided that calories don't count on your birthday, and didn't even worry about how much I was going to be eating that day. Later that evening Trevor, Ella and I went to Tucanos for dinner, one of my favorite places because I love Pao de Queijo and steak, which is available in abundance at Tucanos. We were way too full for any kind of dessert, so I am planning that later this weekend I will have some of my all time favorite birthday cake (a tradition), angel food cake with whip cream and strawberries!