I knew this year would be fairly quiet though because we would have a very small baby and probably be very tired and perhaps just want a shower and a nap. My expectations were low.
Ben, however, had different plans. He wanted the mother of his little miracle to have a fantabulous birthday, and he delivered (with the cooperation of a baby who enjoys napping in his carseat whenever we take him out of the house).
My day started out the best way possible, with a fresh, clean baby delivered to my bed to snuggle with me.
Meanwhile, Ben was downstairs in the kitchen, making noises, and eventually the house started to smell good, so Wes and I went down to find a present and pancakes! The pancakes are a recipe that I got from my dad and that Ben has mastered and are sooo delicious. I should take pictures and share, but I'm always so focused on eating them that there is no time for photography. Maybe I can con Ben into making them again and post it on my food blog. Because they really are delicious. Mmmm...
Okay, snapping out of my food dreaming and getting back to last weekend. After breakfast, I took the dogs for a walk while Ben and Wes went on a secret mission, but came back empty-handed and informed me that they had been to Maastricht, but had to go back later to pick up... a cake! I LOVE cake! It was supposed to be ready in the morning, but it wasn't, so we used the delayed cake as an excuse to head back to Maastricht, where we sat at a sidewalk cafe and introduced Wesley to the joys of sunshine, people watching, and a cold Heineken.
He may have slept through the whole adventure. I, however, was delighted with our outing because I realized I can finally have a cold beer on a sunny day again! Wooo! Non-pregnant Ellen is getting wild and crazy!
And then, the cake:
Yes, it looks like a wedding cake. But that's because I had seen adorable mini-cakes for weddings, etc in magazines and online and had pestered Ben about them, daydreaming about when I could possibly get a little fancy mini-cake. So he went out to the frou-frouiest bakery we have found here in the Netherlands (they have pastries so pretty they practically look French!) and ordered me a very small wedding cake.
And it was delicious. It had two layers of a dark chocolate mousse sandwiching a thick layer of almond cream on a very thin graham cracker-like crust. And then it was covered in a frosting that was somewhere between fondant and marzipan. Yummmmm.
It didn't last long in our house.
Finally, as if the day couldn't get any tastier, Ben made dinner. Can you believe that? He gives me presents, he cooks, he cleans, he takes care of babies, he plots surprise birthday cakes, and then he cooks again!
I'm a sucker for a man in an apron.
Especially when he makes Chicken Monterey for me.
And he encouraged cake before and after dinner. What more could a girl want?
1 comment:
I'm glad you had a great birthday!
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