{"id":43895,"date":"2012-09-04T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2012-09-04T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/f06.70c.myftpupload.com\/?p=6817"},"modified":"2012-09-04T07:00:48","modified_gmt":"2012-09-04T12:00:48","slug":"my-un-birthday-and-how-to-keep-our-birthdays-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/my-un-birthday-and-how-to-keep-our-birthdays-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"My Un-birthday and How to Keep our Birthdays Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font=”||||||||” title_text_color=”#42313A” title_font_size=”40px” meta_font_size=”14px” background_color=”#B4DBC0″ custom_padding=”50px||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ specialty=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ specialty_columns=”3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_row_inner _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column_inner saved_specialty_column_type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9mZWF0dXJlZF9pbWFnZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7fX0=@” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”src” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]

Un-birthday or birthday? That is the question for Laurie Wallin. Her recent birthday celebration wasn’t quite what she expected. So after the fact, she came up with seven tips to keep next year’s big day from becoming a big pain. Maybe you can use them, too.<\/em><\/p>\n

My Un-birthday and How to Keep our Birthdays Fun<\/h3>\n

by Laurie Wallin<\/p>\n

I don’t know why, but somehow I’ve got it in my mind that my birthday is supposed to be fun. The sun comes up, I awake, and my mind fills with images of breakfast in bed, shiny balloons, and not having to cook for 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Un-birthday or Birthday?<\/h4>\n

Which isn’t what happened yesterday on my birthday. Not that my oldest daughter intentionally tried to make me miserable. It was just the unfortunate byproduct of marrying a “big family day” with her bipolar, anxiety, developmental disabilities (and let’s not forget the delightful tween hormones).<\/p>\n

It looked a little like this:
“Mom, let’s have a special breakfast for your birthday!”
“Sounds great! What shall we do?”
“Ooo, let’s make eggs and pancakes. You love those!”
“I really do. Let’s do it!” I scoop up her younger sister, who just emerged from upstairs. This distraction unnerves my oldest because it’s a deviation from the plan.
“Mom, we NEED TO START COOKING.”
“Yep, let me just say hi to the other girls, then we’ll get started…”
“NO! IT’S TIME FOR BREAKFAST. THEY CAN WAIT!! IF WE DON’T MAKE IT NOW, EVERYONE WILL GET HUNGRIER AND GRUMPY AND THEN IT WON’T BE A GOOD BIRTHDAY FOR YOU!!!<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

This happened for every meal. And when she ran out of tape while wrapping my present. And when we decided to go to my favorite park and then I changed my mind (which just wasn’t an option). Each time crumbled into a major tantrum, none of our usual interventions working, and her ending up in her room.<\/p>\n

Well, at least I can’t say it was an unmemorable birthday! Then again, most “big days” for the family have that tendency. Perhaps you can relate?<\/p>\n

How to Avoid an Un-birthday<\/h4>\n

I let my guard down that day (due to the above mentioned delusions), but on a better day, there are a few tools that help keep “big days” from becoming “big pains.”<\/p>\n