10,585 days old

I'll save you the math I am 29 years old.

Posts from birthdays past...

25

26

27

28

I've been married 8 1/2 years.

I have 4 children.

I own a home.

You would think I would realize that I AM a grown up.

Yet when I look at 29 I think about how I am almost a grown up.

You know the big 30!

What did you do on your last birthday?

My last birthday I was 2 weeks post birth of the twins so I was slightly bulgy. It's hard to feel attractive when your body is recovering from birthing two babies. I spent the day at the pediatricians with the babies then had dinner with Jed and pedicures and yogurt with friends. I was so incredibly excited to be 28 because I knew it was the big transition year we had been working for.

What is your favorite memory of this last year?

Well, I have a few...

First, would be Jed's graduation party. His graduation was wonderful then afterward his family and some of mine met at his sisters house. We were floating on cloud nine and then Jed gets a call that day saying he got a job as an associate at one of the dental practices that he now owns. It was an overwhelming thrilling moment. About 10 minutes after Jed got that call I gave my boss my notice :)

Second would be our first night in our new home.

Third, this past summer and all the days spent by the pool with Amber and the kids and watching them learn to swim.

Fourth, the peace I felt after quitting my job and moving to our rental home. I made a few great friends and I have had a blast this last part of the year.

Fifth would be Natalie starting kindergarten. I just love that girl and her eagerness to learn.

I was going to say the birth of my babies but that was actually last year.

What is your not so favorite memory of this last year?

That would be my grandma being so sick. Her funeral was hard but beautiful. I miss her. But really the hardest thing was seeing her so very very sick those last weeks. The night I said good bye.

I would also say going through the health scare with Ryder. Honestly...and I am being honest...honestly I am..:) that was probably the worst part of the year for me. I am a mom, my kids are an extension of myself to even think about something being wrong with any of them is the biggest nightmare I think any parent can possible go through. I have never prayed so hard or cried so hard in my life. I don't know how parents with sick children do it. I hope I never find out. I just have so much respect for anyone who has a child with extra needs. I was so scared for my Ryder boy. Especially when my father-in-law who is a doctor told me that he thought there might be something wrong. But he has been to probably ever single doctor there is and he is perfectly fine. Just had to scare us a bit to make us realize what a big blessing it is to have a healthy family and that is truly all that does matter.

What was the biggest lesson you learned from this last year?

Well, gee there are a few. We had some family drama(and my mom might make me erase this) but for me it was hard. It was just after my grandma died. I think what I took away from it was this...If you want someone in your life, if you really really want them in your life then you need to accept them for who they are. I mean really accept them. You know their weaknesses and you know their strengths. So if you are going to accept them in your life then you need to accept that their weaknesses(even if their weakness truly affects you) will be part of your relationship with them. If you accept that then you can't spend all your time complaining about it. You need to accept it and move on. Now for me it took me awhile to come to this conclusion and I had to be at peace with the fact that some part of my family will not be in my life and that is just the way it is. I can't pretend, I just can't. I understand that in some situations that just the way it has to be. But in others...I just can't pretend. It's not being honest with myself or with those around me. I also learned that I need to take a "time out" before I react. I can be SO quick with my tongue....super quick. So I have been thinking a little more before I speak...just a little. I am working on it.

What are you hoping to accomplish by your next birthday?

~Join a gym and go to it at least twice a week

~Find a good preschool program that challenges Noah

~Start gardening

~Write. I enjoy writing and I want to get better at it.

~Find a charity that I can donate my time to.

~Eat healthier and feed my family even healthier.

~Clean my car out once a week.

~Clean out my inbox. I swear I am an email hoarder, I really need an intervention. I have like 17,000 unread emails...it's bad yes I know.

~Take piano lessons. We now have a piano and I can play the right hand for two hymns but I need a lot of help. Which will be a challenge for me since I have ZERO musical ability.

~Make a bigger effort to keep in touch with out of town friends

~Be better with birthdays. I seriously need to write them all down.

~Enjoy life!!

Goals from last year...

Get into a good routine with the kids and be able to tandem nurse.....check! I am so proud of myself for lasting a year.
Move into a house with a yard for the kids and more SPACE!....check!
Quit my job....BIG fat check!
Start up my cupcake project and apartment managers blog again.....fail! Yeah that 's just going to have to go by the wayside...wherever that is and whatever that means.
Shed these last 30 of the 70+ pounds I put on during this pregnancy....5lbs left!
Stay sane....check...I think!
Read the entire BOM...finished last night. Check!
Read more to my kids...check!
Eat more fish(not sure why, maybe it's all these cooking shows I watched on bed rest)...we ate a bunch for a few months after I wrote this then we got sick of it. So check! and I found out I am not really a fish fan.
Sign up for meals on EVERY list passed around church(I have a lot of making up to do)...check!
Take all four kids up to Santa Maria...check!
Throw a fun graduation/30th birthday party for Jed(he graduates the day before his 30th birthday)...check!
Exercise...check! sorta
Take the kids outside more...check!
ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!...check! check!