1. She's the genius behind ideas like "Tabersnackle" and "McDo-over"
2. Her dental floss was made in Ireland
3. She's a dog whisperer
4. She is the queen of the countdown. I have an absolute fear of long-term commitment to time and she'll give me a countdown that makes it seem like it's going to fly by.
5. Every month without fail, she texts me Happy Birthday on the 11th of that month
6. She can literally watch the weather channel and not fall asleep.
7. She understands the importance of fresh beginnings and enjoying new things!
8. When I was little she would draw me in the outfit I was wearing that day on the brown bag she packed my lunch in :)
9. She loves pink.
10. Once when I was in elementary school I woke up on a cold December Monday morning and declared that I "HATED Mondays." I came home to a little Christmas tree in my room and a note from mom that said "I love Mondays because you were born on a Monday!"
11. She can watch the movie Big Fat Liar all day and laugh every time.
12. She loves candles that smell like pumpkins and Christmas
13. When we were little she used to only ask me organize the fridge every now and then. I love that we didn't live in fear of our next chore chart and she let us play! (and I'm a freak who likes to organize the fridge)
14. She is fluent in American Girls. Which was key to her success as mom of young Pizza & Raisin
15. When she doesn't have some grand wisdom to give, she just says something ridiculous or makes a crazy face which is usually better than advice anyways :)
16. She never changes the radio when Duran Duran is playing
17. She appreciates a wide variety of sports like cheerleading and gymnastics.
18. If I ever need to cheer her up, I just do the dinosaur
19. Her "Santa going down a chimney" in charades is an ultimate game changer.
20. In 2005, she let us get a dog
21. If we ever were shopping at Old Navy, she never could let a good outfit pass
22. She has a great taste in movies. (most of the time...looking at you Somewhere in Time.)
23. She was as supportive of me being a brother in college as she was of my short-lived pageant career.
24. She was equally as cool when Parrish became a boy scout.
25. She is our ride to Greenville each September for the Indie Craft Parade every year since its opening in 2010 and she is so much fun!
26. She understands that wrapping presents beautifully for our birthdays was and is as important as what's in the presents.
27. Many think her cheerleading days are behind her, but every now and then, she just can't resist and breaks into a really great high school cheer. She also has some killer signature dance moves.
28. She is a chocolate connoisseur
29. Even though our pool growing up was about 30 minutes away, she always drove us out to swim any day we wanted :)
30. She and dad have never said no to buying a new book
31. With mom at Christmas, the more Christmas, the merrier. more lights, more candles, more Christmas Cocktails, more movies!
32. She was arguably more excited than us when we came home from school without homework.
33. Growing up, I was very aware of how grown ups perceived their kids. I could tell a lot of parents were tired and even would hear things on the radio about parents who couldn't wait for their kids to go back to school. Mom never made me feel like I was annoying her. I never doubted that she wanted to hang out with me.
34. She is the reason I am hyper-organized
35. I can truly say I am friends with mom. We exchange ideas and have conversations like friends which is usually exactly what I need.
36. Mom isn't some big career woman who wears pant suits or anything (thank goodness), but she takes the jobs she has very seriously and does them to the best of her ability (band boosters, CBS, cleaning the Saye building, dog sitting the neighbor's dogs)
37. She taught me that if a gift or surprise can be wrapped in a silk ribbon, it should be.
38. She loves her entire family - sisters, nieces, nephews, GiGi & JR, all of us so very much!
39. She taught me how to very kindly say no sometimes
40. She loves fresh flowers
41. When she gives to charity, she gives anonymously (except I just told everyone who read this post, oops)
42. She takes her down comforter to church when she's cold.
43. The first time I visited Auburn in 5th grade, I fell in love with Toomer's Lemonade. She bought me three Toomer's lemonades that day. Best day ever.
44. She loves to surprise me with new American Girl magazines or a Chicken Express coke when I needed inspiration!
45. She understood that P & I weren't really crazy little kids. She let us do our thing without trying to make us do "kid things." Some summers we wanted to go to the pool, some summers we wanted to sit on the couch and make tiny paper outfits out of scrapbook paper. She totally supported all of that.
46. Mom has never sat me down and told me how to be kind. She shows me every day by example how to love people and be gentle in how you treat others. If you have ever discussed her with anyone, there is simply no way the word "sweet" wasn't used in describing her. She's the most kind person and I love her!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y !
