Every year, Matt makes sure my birthday is super special. This year we had our families over for a lovely dinner. My sister made my favorite cheesecake. The kids made me cards. Matt bought me the new Harry Potter movie. (I’ve watched it three times already.) My Mom brought luxurious wine and got me a KINDLE! We then went to Frankenmuth with the kids for an overnight getaway and had a blast! The best part though? The cards and Facebook messages I received from friends and family. They made me feel so very special. I feel loved each and every day, trust me, I do. But to see the words in writing? That’s something else. I love birthdays.
My Mom always made sure my birthday was special. I was always allowed to pick whatever I wanted for dinner (spaghetti and garlic bread) and whatever type of cake and ice cream I wanted (always strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and strawberry ice cream). She always got me something special and got me a meaningful card. I always felt special on my birthday.
I know Mother’s Day seems like a long way away, but it’s not! I always try to get my Mom something special for the holidays and especially for Mother’s Day. Even in the really lean years, I would have the kids make her something special. My favorite place to shop for special gifts is The Vintage Pearl. Have you ever looked at their stuff? It’s gorgeous and unique and wonderful. I have two pieces of my own, this one with the kids’ names and this one that my Mom got me for Christmas. I desperately want one of these rings with Matt’s name on it; it’s cheesy but I’m so ga-ga over my husband I have to have it.
I bought my Mom this necklace with my name, my sister’s name and all the kids’ names and she loves it. I just bought this necklace for my cousin for her baby shower. She can add a name charm or his birthstone later. Isn’t it so cute? I could truly buy one of everything on their site.
I emailed the girls at The Vintage Pearl and told them how much I loved their stuff and asked if I could do a giveaway in honor of Mother’s Day. They said YES! I feel so loved by all of my readers that I really wanted to do an awesome giveaway for you. I hope you enjoy it!!
Prize:
A $25 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl. Winner will be chosen randomly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 19th. Cut-off for custom Mother’s Day orders is April 20th! You will receive the gift certificate through email and it doesn’t have to be used for Mother’s Day.
To Enter:
Leave a comment about your favorite birthday memory!
Good luck and thank you all for reading, commenting and making me feel special!!
Elastamom's Excerpts 
I had so many cousins that when I was a little girl, we’d all be seated around our ping-pong table for our birthdays. And we just fit, even though we were as tight as sardines! And I always asked for strawberry cake, too. š
Here’s my comment. LOL. I love that spinning ring. Now to hint around that I want it. (A hint here is a picture of it with a note that says buy this for me.)
HMM its hard to pick just one. I think possibly this last one is at the top of the list. I always had fun birthdays as a kid but I think this was the first year that I truly appreciated the gift of my birthday. I’m healthy have a beautiful family and I need to remember that! I truly celebrated my birthday this year because life is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
I loved my birthday as a kid and had lots of great memories, but what I really love now, is planning birthdays for my kids. It is so fun to make it special for them and to see how much they love their own birthdays now.
I didn’t have a party of my own until I was fifteen – I always had to share my birthday with my cousin who was one day younger than me. I was so excited about this party that I ended up – hmmm, how do I put this delicately? – with quite the nervous stomach. I ended up missing most of the party. Favorite memory? Maybe not….. but certainly memorable.
PS – I don’t think the spinner ring is cheesy at all – I love, love, love it!!!!!
That seems like a great birthday. Brittany would always choose Strawberry Shortcake and Gian’s is ice cream cake. I am really jealous that you have Harry Potter… we haven’t seen it yet!!!
My favorite Birthday memory would probably be when I was turning 7 and it was a pool party. I had so much fun, and as everyone left they told me how much fun they had! It was the best!! Also when my dad forgot my birthday, and then I got a brand new bike because he felt so bad hahahahaha!!! I can’t decide!
My favorite memory is when I turned 10 or 11 and I wanted a 10 speed so bad and my parents couldn’t afford a brand new one for me, so they bought a used men’s bike and spray painted it pink, got new handle grips, and put a seat cover on the seat. It was perfect in my eyes and I look back in appreciation for the effort and the love they put into the gift. I only complained when I smacked my girlie parts on the bar that is on a man’s bike lol!
This is so bad…but my parents 25th wedding anniversary was 5 days after my 18th birthday so they were on a Hawaiian cruise over my birthday. I thought that since it was my 18th birthday I DESERVED a party so I threw one for myself (without permission)…It was the summer after my first year at college and it was so much fun to have all of my friends back together for some crazy times!
I’m so glad you had a wonderful birthday!! I have to admit that I am very jealous of your Kindle!!
While I was growing up, birthdays were no big deal to my family. Sure we would get cake and ice cream and some gifts, but nothing big and the only party I remember having was when I turned five.
My most favorite birthday memory was the first time I had a birthday as a mother. Since having my son, I feel like birthdays matter so much. It is so special to be given another year of life, another year to be with your family.
My favorite birthday was my 29th – the day my daughter was born. Close second was two years later, on the very same day, her brother arrived. Most of the time I am very, very honored to share my day with them. A tiny little bit though, if I’m being really honest, I do wish for my own day.
Such beautiful stuff. My favorite birthday was the first one as a mom. I remembered being excited to make it another year to see my child. Our birthdays are both in October so it’s sweet to share the month with my love.
I have had many great birthdays…..though to tell you the truth I just remember them being fun and not really in details about them. Last year I turned 30 and we went out to eat in a town about 30 mins away….after we went there and back I discovered that my husband had taped a giant sign to my side of the van announcing that I was OLD and to honk at me : ) Gotta love him!
My favorite birthday memory was when I was 9, I had a huge birthday with all the girls from my class. It was a Strawberry Shortcake themed birthday party and it was so much fun. I am lucky because my mom always made sure we went out for dinner on our birthday wherever we would want to go even the most expensive restaurant. My husband and I continue to do that with our kids, however so far the most expensive restaurant we have gone to is Cheesecake Factory.
One of my favorite birthday memories was when my Mom took me to the Kennedy Center to see Annie. We dined at the fancy restaurant at the top of the Kennedy Center. It was my first musical and I was amazed!
Birthdays pretty much sucked when I was growing up. For most of my teen years we were moving on or around my birthday, which meant no party. Then along came my amazing honey who hasn’t let a birthday go by without making it insanely special. I think the best one yet was just last year when we went for a long family outing at the park. We walked, took pictures, laughed and just enjoyed the day. We ate dinner at home – my honey cooked. And we had my favorite strawberry shortcake for dessert.
Glad your day was incredibly special!
I don’t remember most childhood birthdays. We didn’t have much money at times so they were pretty small affairs. My favorite memory is my 30th birthday. I was dreading it, mostly due to feeling I hadn’t reached some self-imposed benchmarks (last 10 lbs, finishing school, etc.). I was almost 38 weeks pregnant and had to be induced for health reasons. Our beautiful son arrived on May 4th. My birthday is the 11th, which happened to fall on Mother’s Day that year. I remember the love I felt for this precious blessing, for whom it took years to get pregnant with, and everything else suddenly -finally- seemed so small and trivial!
My favorite birthday memory was last year when husband through a surprise party and arranged for my closest friends to be there. It was so surprising and a fun night!
Glad you had a great time. And I love the Vintage Pearl website. I am certainly going to make a purchase. Thanks for sharing.
when i turned 21 i had just started working part time at a credit union. i still did not know my co-workers very well (i’d only been there about a month). they all chipped in and threw a huge party for me (complete with male stripper) at work! the party itself wasn’t what made it so special. it was feeling so loved by all these people i’d just met.
One of my most vivid birthday memories is one when my mother was still alive. She made a cake that looked like my favorite teddy bear, Cuddles. I was in heaven, but had a hard time eating it. My other memory is my Dad & Stepmother (who is awesome) getting married on my 16th birthday. I will never forget their anniversary!
My favorite birthday memory is from 4th grade. It was my first time having a sleepover for my birthday and I was super excited. I invited 6 or 7 girls and we had a great party. That evening after we had our cake/presents/food, my dad took us soaping around our small town (I know HORRIBLE–huh?). My mom made each girl call and ask their parents if it was okay, and 1 girl had to go home. My dad walked around our small town with 6 9-year olds and we playfully soaped car windows and house windows of people we knew. Then just as we were turning around to go home, a guy comes running up to us yelling. He asked my dad what we were doing out at that time of night. My dad told him that we were having a sleepover and the girls were really excited, so he took us for a walk to calm us down. The guy told my dad that he smelled soap, and my dad said, “Yeah, I just took a bath.” The guy totally believed us and walked away all huffy. (Apparently my little brother had soaped the side of his car without any of us knowing) I think this birthday sticks out in my mind because my dad was so hilarious when he was making up excuses for us.
I LOVE Frankenmuth! It’s one of my favorite places to go, especially around Christmas time. Glad you had such a special day!
I LoVE Frankenmuth. We are going to MI befor the Ohio Conference and that is one of our stops. Can’t wait to take the kids to Bronnors and Zenders. Awsaome blog. have a great day
I’m so glad you got the attention and care you deserve!
My favorite birthday, oddly, was my 40th. Can you say Mexico beach vacation sans kiddos? Woot! Margarita heaven!
You got a Kindle??!!? woohoo…you’ll love it!
My favorite birthday memory – the surprise party Donald threw for my 30th – so fun!
Hmm this one is a toss up between my 16th birthday and my 25th. My 16th was great for the most part. My dad took my 2 best friends and I to old Tiger Stadium for a game. During batting practice I was running down a homer in the bleachers section when I tripped, quite graceful even then. I missed the ball… but one of the Yankees pitchers saw me, yes quite embarrassing, but he came over and gave me another ball. All in all it was unforgettable. My 25th was also quite memorable. I got to buy a brand new Jeep for my special day. However, this only happened because my Neon drowned in the Toledo floods just days before my birthday. The water was up past the dashboard. Overall it worked out in the end. Glad your day was great š
I think the thing I loved the most about my birthdays was my mom coming in to scratch my back and making me forzen orange juice freezes! Yummy! Glad you got a kindle!
Hmmmm, favorite birthday…maybe my 10th, I got the electric blue 10-speed Huffy that I had been begging for. She sure was pretty. Here’s one for ya…I just decided recently that I am going to Vegas next year for my 40th…does that count, LOL!?!
So glad you had a great birthday!
I’m very happy for you. You are a wonderful person and it’s great to know you are loved so much. I love your blog..on most days it’s exactly what I need!
i love the necklace that you got for you mom…..i have one similar and i absolutely love it! and i’m jealous that you have watched the new HP movie 3 times. i usually don’t get the dvds until Christmas, but i don’t think that i’ll make it this year!!! i’ve heard too much about this movie š
my fave birthday memory? i’d have to say for my 30th…..i went to orlando with my mom to see my best friend. carrie gave me a full spa day and my mom bought me tickets to see the trans-siberian orchestra. it was fab.u.lous š
Sounds like you had a great birthday!
I turned 21 while studying in Rome for a summer semester. I was out at a piazza with some of my classmates and one of them told someone that it was my birthday. Before long a piazza full of Italians were singing Tante Auguri to me.