My wife’s birthday is coming up this week. However, we will be hosting Mac’s dad and his family for their first visit with the baby on her big day. Clearly, her 37th birthday will be lost in the shuffle of examining perfect baby toes and chubby baby legs. So we celebrated a week early.
My last pre-Mac birthday came about a month before his arrival and I can remember a well-intentioned woman saying to me that I should enjoy it because it would be the last birthday that would ever be all about me. I already share my birthday with the birthday of our country so I’m used to it not being all about me anyway. But I am stubbornly resistant to that kind of mommy martyrdom. I loathe the complaints that go something like now that I am a mom I will never again have a decent haircut, I shave my legs with a kitchen knife so that my baby can have organic strained peas and meeting friends for coffee is a luxury that only childless people can indulge in. When you have children your priorities change (no doubt about it) but I never understood the need to change who you are entirely. And, to be honest, when I was a childless lesbian wishing that we could “accidentally” find ourselves pregnant I found those complaints just plain irritating. If having a child is so terrible, please, pass ‘em over here!
So, I was determined to make my wife’s first post-Mac birthday all about her. If there are any Scorpios in your life you will understand the need for celebration. If she could get away with it, Tracy would wear a crown and declare it “The Week of Celebrating Tracy’s Awesomeness” from Saturday to Saturday. But she had to settle for a day. The morning began with Baked Banana Oatmeal (which you should totally make - see recipe below) and delicious vanilla coffee.
Then Auntie TaTa took over Mac-duty for the afternoon so that we could indulge in a couple’s massage and take a leisurely walk around downtown while sipping lattes and holding hands. The afternoon was absolutely lovely and left us both feeling relaxed and recharged. We finished off the night by heading out for dinner with Mac and his Auntie TaTa.
And, of course, there were presents. Tracy is saving up for various techno gadgets so I bought her a Future Shop gift card that I crafted into a snow globe. The letters on the bottom read TDawg. Nobody really calls her that (other than the lovely Rishma). But I’m sure she’d like it if you did.
Tracy may not get 7 days to celebrate her awesomeness. But I can give her 7 reasons why she is, in fact, awesome.
1. She is super fantastic at wrapping presents (we’re talking colour coordinated paper and ribbons, homemade tags and no tape lines)
2. She has a real talent for turning a sad Adele song into a dance party (OK, that was Mac’s contribution to the list. I think sometimes he cries just to make the dance party start).
3. She has really great friends. Which says a lot about her. And is a huge bonus for me.
4. She has that gene that lets her figure out how things work. You know that moment where this thingamajig doesn’t fit in that whatchyamacallit and somehow they both need to attach to the doodad. Give it all to Tracy and she’ll make it work. In fact you could give her a piece of Ikea furniture without the instructions and she’d get it put together. I like that gene. My dad has that gene. It makes me feel safe
5. She’s hot. It’s true and needed to be said.
6. She has willpower like you wouldn’t believe!
7. And the best for last: She’s pretty hilarious. As her little cousin said once “Tracy you are so funny. You should go on tour with Ellen.”
The birthday girl:
Baked Banana Oatmeal
- 3 mashed bananas (If you are using those black ones in the freezer that you are keeping in case you someday want to make banana bread then you won’t need sweetener for this recipe. If you are using yellow bananas then sweeten to taste)
- 1 cup milk (soy, skim, whatever)
- 1 egg (or equivalent egg substitute)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups quick oats
- cinnamon to sprinkle
Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Mix all the wet ingredients together in the pan. In a separate bowl mix the baking powder and oats. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 28 minutes (until edges are crunchy).
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This recipe is enough for two people. If one of those people is a hungry nursing mama double the recipe
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This recipe is enough for two people. If one of those people is a hungry nursing mama double the recipe
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