As I celebrate the 4th anniversary of my 24th birthday, I thought it would be fun to look over the last year or 28.
Things I have learned:
- I will never stop missing my grandma.
- Love isn’t all you need—you also need a deep commitment to standing by that love through all the crap that comes your way.
- No matter how well you think you know your children, they will never stop surprising you.
- That’s a good thing.
- Taking time for me is not a guilty pleasure—it’s an absolute necessity.
- Needing time away from my children does not make me a bad mother (okay, so I’m still learning this one).
- Having a community—both here and in real life—is important.
- Merging the two completely rocks.
Things I have accomplished:
- starting a successful business
- maintaining my sanity (mostly) while leading a Brownie troop of 24 first graders
- stopping my mother-in-law from calling 3 times a day
- spiritual growth
- actually writing in my blog
Things I will do today:
- pretend to wear a crown
- pretend I’m not getting closer to 30
- get my nose pierced (If I write it down will that keep me from chickening out?)
- remind myself why I don’t want a tattoo
- have a nice dinner with my family
- eat dessert
- take a long bubble bath
My birthday is coming up soon! I love birthdays. How else would I get a special holiday all about me? This year, though, I’m feeling a little weird. Not sad, not really even nostalgic, just thoughtful. I will officially turn almost-30. Right now, at 27, I still picture myself close to 25, but next Saturday puts me over the hump and closer to 30.
For some reason 30 is the magic number for women to freak out about where they are in their life. I’m looking back on my life—at the decisions I’ve made—and just thinking. There are so many things that I struggled with at the time and thought I would someday regret. Oddly, I don’t.
I’m no where near where I thought I’d be at this time in my life, but that’s not a bad thing. I love my husband, my children, and the opportunity to care for them as my main occupation. I love my job. I love my life. It’s just not ever what I pictured.
Do I miss the big city condo I thought I’d have? Not really. I like my small-town house. Do I miss the career in architecture I planned and worked towards? Nope. I love being Brownie leader, PTO mom, and toddler-toter for my kids. Do I miss the SUV I always planned to drive and haul my blueprints? Okay, so that one I miss. I’d love to have something larger than my mid-size sedan, only now it would haul soccer equipment, food for school parties and sick friends, totes full of craft supplies for Brownies, and plenty of kids.
And that’s exactly what I want to fill my life.
And I’ll let you decide which is which:
- I got some “no” RSVPs today.
- We still have around 15 girls coming tomorrow night.
This year for her birthday, Stacia wanted to have a slumber party. And, since I sometimes smoke crack with Mir, I (stupidly) agreed. Since then, common sense has prevailed and I have manged to convince the birthday girl that a Fake Slumber Party would be just as cool without the issue of me staying up all night.
What is a Fake Slumber Party, you ask? Well, I have no idea but eleventy-hundred* little girls are coming to our house on Saturday for one so I guess I better figure it out. I’m making this up as I go along. Sort of like last year’s birthday. The child wanted a tea party. Oh, but then she wanted a Care Bear party. No. Wait. A tea party. Lather, rinse, repeat.
So what do I decide to do? Host a Care Bear Tea Party for 20 kids. Yes, that’s right. 20. This year I was so proud of my genius. We’re having a slumber party, right? That means no boys. So we’ve cut the guest list in half. To 20. You do the math.
The girls are all coming in their favorite jammies, with teddy in tow. We’re starting the evening with pizza because what is a slumber party without pizza? Then we’ll do our nails and other girly things you do at slumber parties. I want to find a mad lib birthday story to finish the night. I thought it would be fun for the girls to write their own “bedtime” story, but what do I know? I’m not 7.
Then comes bedtime—when they all go home! In between? Yeah, I’m still working on that because it so does not sound like 2 hours worth of activities. The key to large gatherings is over-planning. The kids really do not get wild until there is lag time. I learned this the hard way when I hosted 15 kindergartners in my kitchen for Holiday Baking. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I am insane!)
Any other slumber party-y suggestions?
*Shamelessly stolen from The Mommy Blog.
Alternate Title: Things I would not have done if it had not been my daughter’s birthday.
- Woken up early to dry her new favorite sweater and finish start birthday treats for school.
- Left the house. For. Any. Reason.
- Eaten half a tub of Rainbow Chip Frosting.
- Almost hit a UPS truck because I couldn’t see clearly through the giant chunk of ice formally known as my window.
- Climbed over the backseat to kick open the door so I could get my little one into her carseat.
- Played “Heads Up 7UP” for the first time in 17 years.
- Climbed into the backseat to kick open the other door so my birthday princess would not have to stumble across the car.
- Cooked dinner—especially fried chicken.
- Cried when I noticed how grown up she looks is.
- Taken half a dozen pictures of my newly-7-year-old perfecting her “super cool grown up” look.
Today, my baby turns 2. Where does the time go? It’s not that I can’t believe she’s two-years-old—she acts very two—I just can’t believe two years have passed since I held her tiny baby hands, kissed her tiny baby head, and marveled at her tiny baby toes.
I don’t feel any older. Why should my baby be?
I'm 2!
It’s gonna be so fun at my water party. We’re gonna have a canon that can shoot out water. Well, you won’t believe how fun that is gonna be. And don’t forget there’s gonna be a castle! And also 200 water balloons. It’s gonna be so so so so so so so so (two more, she says) so so (one more) so fun!! You won’t believe how fun the water balloons will be. And don’t forget there’s gonna be water guns and we’re gonna play water freeze. And whoever gets squirted wif (she has a lisp sometimes from her missing front teeth) the water in the guns has to freeze and if they get squirted again they get un-freezed. That’s how you play water freeze. And we’re also gonna play balloon tag and who gets tagged with the balloon the person is gonna have 5 bags of 16 balloons. And whoever gets the most balloons is it. OK? And then they keep doing and doing it until their balloons are all gone. And don’t forget—call me if you can come.
The End.
Oh, I mean, there’s also gonna be lots more stuff.
Now The End.