Well, it’s official. I’m 31 today. I knew the morning was going to start off well when I heard Charlie in her high chair and figured out that Vann was feeding her and letting me sleep in. There was even coffee made and some gifts to open. What a lucky gal I am!! A couple of hours later, we met Ms. Kim and Ms. Alisha (along with Emilyn and Olivia) at The Bongo Room for a delicious brunch of jumbo breakfast burrito’s and a heaping plate of pear tartin pancakes. It was so good that (along with the birthday cake I had last night) I maaaay slip into a sugar coma.

The other day, I had an accident. I was reaching for something out of the diaper bag (which sits on top of the dishwasher most days…a portable dishwasher on wheels…yeah, don’t ask) and didn’t realize my MAC StudioFix compact was haphazardly perched next to it. It went flying to the tile floor and broke into a million pieces. I don’t need to tell you how much THAT really stinks…especially due to the fact it was fairly new…HOWEVER…

…the good news is that a trip to the MAC store is always a fun time. Not only did I get a new compact, but I was talked into some new lipgloss. Well….not really “talked into”….at any rate, their new line is all Hello Kitty. Who doesn’t love a little extra shine now and then? http://www.maccosmetics.com/whats_new/collection.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT1226 After Charlie and I grooved to the beats and left with some Hello Kitty in hand, we walked over to Miss Emilyn’s house for an impromptu playdate. As you can see, Charlie and Emilyn love spending time together. Don’t they look like two little peas in a pod??

We have had a fun, mostly relaxing week here at the Bischoff house. Yesterday, because of the tropical 40 degree weather, we paid an impromptu visit to the Jernigan’s, armed with cupcakes and ready for some fun. Inspired by our recent purchase of the “cow tunnel”, we broke out the boy’s Spiderman equivalent and sat back and took it all in. You should have seen how much fun the three of them had! It was the first time I can remember that I “left” Charlie alone (or could sit and drink coffee and visit) to play with other kids and not be right on top of her the whole time.
This morning we had a session at Celebrity Kids (www.celebritykids.com), a “Welcome, Charlie” gift from Daddy’s very generous boss, Denise. I have been holding onto it since her birth, just waiting for the right time to use it, and her 18 month milestone seemed like the perfect excuse. It was so fun watching her interact with the photog and ham it up. I dressed her up in some really sweet Spring outfits and she looked adorable!! Unfortunately, I don’t think they are going to allow me to post a watermarked pic on the blog, so a link to the gallery will have to be sufficient for now. They should be ready in about a week…I’m anxious to see the finished products! After the session, it was nice enough outside to stroll on over to Pottery Barn Kids. Such cute new things…more temptation for Charlie’s “Big Girl” room! I held off on that, but I did buy her an Easter basket and some fun things to put inside it. I am SO excited about Charlie’s first “real” Easter basket!!Here’s a pic of Charlie in her MJ “Abbi” knot from last fall. My Matilda Jane show went well enough to allow for some fun new purchases, and Mommy was also lucky enough to win three pieces of “Hotline” from a giveaway on the designer’s blog! All in all, a good effort.

On Sunday morning, we had the great pleasure of having brunch with our good friend’s, Ms. Monica and Mr. George. They had the whole Bischoff family over for delicious Trader Joe’s blueberry waffles, homemade muffins, and a to die for egg scramble with tons of veggies and lots of Omega-3 (Don’t ask me what that is…I just know it’s good for you). Charlie busied herself by opening and closing the TV cabinet about a hundred times. It was so sweet of them to open their non-child home to our very active toddler.

And speaking of active toddlers…guess who’s 18 months old??