33 today!

This is how 16 March began for me ...

2.45AM - Johan and I are awaken by Sera's cries. Johan stumbles out of bed and finds his way, in the dark, to her room. Takes her out from her bedroom, into the guest room. She doesn't stop. I amble my way into the guest room and check her temperature. She did go to bed with a cold and a cough, so she must have been feeling uncomfortable, congested. I give her some cough syrup and tuck her into bed again. I climb back into bed ... quite awake by then.

Johan, I think, wished me 'Happy Birthday' and I may have grunted something incoherent? He then complained of a headache and some neck pain. Greatttttt. And then I realise my throat was burning and it was really difficult to swallow. Ahhh ... who cares if I've turned 33, I just want to go back to sleep.

5.45AM - Yasmin is crying. Very, very unusual. Yas has been an absolute dream when it came to sleeping through the night, 11 hours straight. Her crying must only mean she had a bad dream. I carry her and sit uncomfortably on the rocking chair for several minutes. I look at my bed longingly and we climb into the bed, and snuggle under the warm duvet. Nice. So I was sick on my birthday but nothing beats snuggling up with one of my girls, early in the morning just before the sun has risen.

I have breakfast with Yas, while we wait for Sera to wake up. She finally walks into the kitchen at 8.20 (the time we're supposed to be at school) and insists that she is feeling fit to go to school. We cycle to school and get there by 9AM. Secretly, I was relieved that we were late, I get shy about my birthday and I like to keep it simple, low-keyed. I know, I'm odd in that way. But there were some moms still lurking around and it was, surprisingly, really nice to receive birthday hugs and wishes from them. It felt very comfortable. I must really be getting old and sentimental. ha ha

I hung out with Yas for the rest of the day, wishing I could just crawl into bed and sleep away my headache and sore throat. Johan, I have to say, gave me the best present by coming back early today. He picked Sera up from school, which I'm very sure that had made Sera very, very thrilled. They came back and Sera runs to me, her face bursting with excitement, "Mama, we bought you cake and it's a surprise!" I had to laugh. So after a simple dinner, the girls sang for me and were each rewarded with a big serving of the awfully decadent ice cream cake. Good choice baby!

It's 7.20PM now. I just skyp-ed with Manuela and I got to see her and little Vito on the video cam. I spoke to mama, papa and Sue-Lyn earlier as well. I got messages from friends and family throughout the day. Thank you, thank you one and all ... I'm definitely feeling like the luckiest birthday girl.