Today my daughter A turns 25, and my son E turns 15. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that my baby is halfway through his teenage years, and my daughter has lived a quarter of a century. Then again, I can't believe I've lived over half a century, but let's not focus on that. Both of them were Christmas presents, but they are not twins. They came 10 years apart. I worried when my daughter was growing up that she would resent having to share her birthday with her brother, but she never did. Her brother would tell the world the story of how he and his sister have the same birthday, so it was never an issue with him either. I'm so glad; I didn't want my kids to be mad about having to share their birthday, and they've always been so mature and loving about it. I really do have great kids.
I was in the dining room enjoying a cup of coffee when my son woke up. There were birthday presents waiting for him on the kitchen counter, but he wouldn't open them until his sister and brother got up. My daughter didn't take very long to follow. She was a little less patient than her younger brother - she wanted to tear into her presents right away! I had to issue a disclaimer before she opened my gift to her: after we'd visited Ulta and I saw what makeup products she really liked, I went ahead and placed an order for them for her birthday. I got her the Naked Eyeshadow Palette by Urban Decay and the Starter Kit by Bare Minerals in medium beige. That was back in November. In December, her dad took her to the mall so she could pick out her Christmas gifts because he didn't know what to get her. He likes shopping at Macy's; she doesn't care for the clothes there, but she did know they have makeup, so she went to the Sephora section, where she asked her dad to get her the Naked 2 Basics palette. She also got the consultant to color match her for Bare Minerals powder foundation, and asked her dad to get that for her, too. The color the consultant matched her with was golden medium. Her dad immediately complied, and she brought the products home for me to wrap for her. I kept my cool and wrapped her gifts, knowing full well she would want to exchange whatever I'd gotten her that were duplicates. The eyeshadow palette I'd bought her wasn't the same one but it was similar enough that I figured she wouldn't want it, and the Bare Minerals starter kit was definitely the wrong color so she wouldn't want to keep that either. I thought about going to the store and exchanging it myself, but I started second guessing what she would want and if she would want to keep part of her present, so I left it alone. I figured she could decide what she would keep and what she would exchange. I told her as much before letting her open up her gift. The gift bag contained several different items. I'd gotten her some lip pencils/lip stains that came in the cutest dark purple clutch. The colors are just what she likes, neutrals and reds. She also found an Urban Decay eye lid primer and eye liner pencil which she loved. Then she opened the box with the Naked palette. Her smile went from big to gynormous. She wanted that palette and had intended to get it for herself; now she didn't have to because Mama had gotten it for her. Score! Then she opened the Starter Kit. We both agreed, there was no reason to keep it. The products were either wrong, or she already had purchased them herself. I told her she could take it to Ulta for an exchange, and she immediately started planning what she could get. She also asked if we could go to the Bare Minerals store that we have locally, and I told her that we could, which made her even happier. I felt so much better after that.
My son then opened his present from his sister: a book with all kinds of trivia about his favorite show, Doctor Who. He loved it! Then he opened Mom's gift. From the moment he knew his dad had bought him the Wii U for Christmas, all he kept asking for was the new Super Smash Brothers game. Of course I was going to get it for him, but I also got him a Pacman game, and I wrapped both of them together, so when he picked up the package it didn't feel like a video game, it felt like a book. He opened it and just about exploded when he saw he got the game he wanted so badly. When R woke up he opened his gift: a set of pins based on the Pokemon video games. What was funny, was that R put them inside a box of crackers and wrapped the box, so when E opened it he wondered why his brother was giving him crackers for his birthday! Once he realized it couldn't be crackers, he found the pins and was absolutely surprised and excited! His sister opened her present from R next. It was a video game called Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. She likes those sorts of solving games so it was perfect.
Their dad had called the day before inviting the whole family to breakfast. He called bright and early to wish them a happy birthday and ask where they wanted to go. Living in the South, the answer to that is easy: Cracker Barrel. I don't know of any other place in our area that makes down home Southern cooking in a casual country environment. My daughter hung up and we started getting ready. I wasn't enthused about going, but I'll do anything for my kids, so I got dressed and was putting on my makeup when my daughter said, "Dad just called; he's already at the restaurant waiting for us, and he says it's packed." We had to quickly get ready so we could be there and try to find parking which he said took him forever to find. As soon as we drove up into the parking lot, two cars pulled out. No waiting for us! Better yet, I parked the car, we got out, and my son got a call from his dad: they'd just seated him. He waited 40 minutes for the table, we waited nothing. God's gift to my children! We sat down and their dad gave them their presents: A got a lovely pen and a Michael Kors bag, and E got new headphones and a coin bank with over $180 in it. They both loved their gifts! We were so glad that the service was fast and the food delicious - we were starving! We had a really nice, relaxing time, for which I'm very grateful.
Once we got out of the restaurant, we went to the mall for our Bare Minerals excursion. Our Bare Minerals store is in an outlet mall that's fairly large, so the boys could go look at stuff while the girls looked at makeup. My son E is wanting to get a longboard so his brother took him to see some. A and I went into the Bare Minerals store and had a field day! They were having an incredible sale! I'm not even joking, I got stuff so cheap I'm still pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming!
The first item we saw when we walked in was the Hot List.
The original price on this kit was $49, and it had been reduced to $24.50. At half price this was a good deal.
The 5-in-1 eyeshadow primer alone costs $18. This kit brought a bronzer, eyeshadow duo, highlighter and lipstick as well. I was thinking about it when the sales clerk said that everything on the tables in the aisle were 50% off the last sticker price. I was like, Excuse Me?! That meant all these products were just $12.25! She said yes, and I immediately grabbed one and told my daughter she needed to do the same! I then proceeded to go kind of nuts.
The Eye Color Trio contains two high shine eyeshadows and a small eyeliner. The eyeshadows are on sale on the website for $9.50 each. I got this set for $9.75.
The Finishing Touches kit brings a mini mascara, mini lip gloss and mini hydrating mineral veil. I paid $4.75. I've been wanting a hydrating mineral veil, and the rest is just bonus. But the best was the last item I got.
This deluxe size original foundation is twice the size of a regular jar of product. The regular size is $27. The deluxe is normally $39.50, but they had it for $29.50. My main intention for going to the Bare Minerals store was to get foundation, because the one I have is getting low (it was a small trial size). I could get the regular size for $27, or pay $2.50 more and get double the amount, which should easily last me a year. The decision was simple - I had to have this foundation! Everything else I got was icing on the cake, and I couldn't be happier! I have to admit, there were more things in my basket that I eventually put back because I realized I was getting carried away. I'm thoroughly pleased with my purchases, though. I think I got some great items at dirt cheap prices!
From there my daughter wanted to go to Old Navy, which was right by where the boys were. Since it was her birthday I said okay, though I'm honestly not a huge fan of Old Navy. I've found a couple of things there but most of the clothes are, in my opinion, a bit too young for me. That quickly changed when I saw the cutest plaid pencil skirt in hunter green and dark blue, reduced from $29 to $17. I also found a tank top that matched the green perfectly, for $3.99. I tried the skirt on and couldn't believe how perfectly it fit - you'd have thought I was the model they used for it! I can't wait to wear my new outfit tomorrow for church!
We came home after that because E wanted to have some time with his best friend CS. CS is IV's son, and the boys have been close buddies for a couple of years. My son wanted to play Super Smash Brothers with his best friend more than anything else on his birthday, so we got home as quick as we could so they could have some time together. They laughed so much, I couldn't help but laugh with them, even though I don't have any idea what they were laughing about! While they had their fun, my daughter played with all her new goodies and I folded and put away laundry. Afterwards A, R and myself played the Logo Game. It's a funny sort of trivia game and I knew R would enjoy it.
My daughter wanted to go to Ulta today to get her starter kit exchanged, but by the time we realized it, it was almost 6:00 and we hadn't even had dinner yet. We decided to leave it for tomorrow and went to pick up dinner, and each got to pick what they wanted: A wanted Chipotle and E wanted KFC. I had Chipotle as well; I like their bowls. The meat was spicy and the food was filling. I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast so I was pretty hungry!
I think that's enough excitement for today. I'm gonna get my makeup off and get my face exfoliated, then I'm gonna spend the rest of the night with my precious gifts, my kiddos. I am so thankful to God each and every day for giving me such wonderful children. I know I'm truly blessed. Good night everyone.
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