Happy Birthday, Barbie!

No, I don't really care that Barbie turned 50 yesterday, but when I saw the headline, I thought for sure it was for me ;) Yes, the inevitable happened yesterday, and I turned yet another year older...32 to be exact :/ I realized that I'm now the age my mom was when she met my step-dad...like really old! j/k mom :)

I've never thought of myself as one of those girls who wanted to be or ever considered herself a princess-type, or in this case a "Barbie"-type. I never wanted to be spoiled. I mean, I like nice things, and I really like getting thoughtful gifts, but I'm too much of a control freak to allow others to choose things for me. I like to do the choosing. I don't really care to be pampered, though there are days I wish my hot showers would never end. I have never had a manicure or pedicure, but I did get a massage (full body with all the works) on our honeymoon in Mexico. I don't care to keep my nails painted, in fact, since getting pregnant with Jadon, I think I have only painted them once...too many fumes, and it seems I've been pregnant for three years now!

Though I started coloring my hair, when I was around 11 years old (just a few highlights), it is now a necessity, as pregnancy hormones apparently brought on lots and lots of gray. So now every 9-12 weeks, I struggle with buying a box to color the gray roots myself or spending way too much money to go to the Aveda salon. No way I can afford what Aveda charges now...and for some reason I have been blessed with a mom who wants the best for me, and refuses to let me just do a box color..."it will just dry your hair out," she will say. She insists to pay to get my hair done for me, and I feel guilty and do my best to live with the gray as long as I can the next time...trying to stretch it out to 13 weeks...oh the horror! :/

Also, if you are a princess, Barbie, or the spoiled-type, you really need the wardrobe that would constitute you being labeled as such, right? Well, I USED to keep up with all of that. I USED to shop on a weekly basis. In fact, Jamie and I would travel to other places to do so: hello Pittsburgh, King of Prussia (Philadelphia), New York City, Cleveland, Baltimore, Georgetown, and LA when we were there visiting too. I mean, we had no kids. We had no mortgage payment. Our cars were paid for. We were a self-centered mess of a couple!

Lastly, I don't think a Barbie, princess, spoiled-rotten, showered-with-love-attention-and-gifts kind of girl would ever meal plan. Would she? No way! She would live the way I used to live (pre-children, you understand). She would go out to cool and hip places, like the Cheesecake Factory, the Melting Pot, artsy places with low lighting in happening cities like the 'burgh and Cleveland, white-glove service places in Baltimore, and romantic places overlooking the Potomac in DC. She wouldn't be eating a burger! She'd be eating healthy food with an ethnic flair to it, with a name some people can't pronounce, and the presentation of it on the plate would make most fearful of messing it up by touching it with an eating utensil. Ah yes...sushi (all over the US), Pad-Thai (in Alexandria, VA), freshly made hummus with warm pita (in Cleveland), goat cheese with eggplant and truffle oil (in Georgetown), and cookies with only the best ingredients from Whole Foods Market. Let's not forget this girl is rarely found without (1) a breakfast blend coffee or (2) a sugar-free vanilla latte from Starbucks in her hand either.

Yes, I WAS that girl! Whatta life I had pre-babies, huh? We traveled. We shopped. We ate at nice places. We saw EVERY new release blockbuster in the theaters too. And now? How about now? Post-babies as a stay-at-home mom with only one income, a mortgage, the same paid-for cars, etc.? Well, now I meal plan to keep us on a tight budget. The only dine-out restaurants we go to are paid for by our parents, when they so graciously insist that we go with them. I (we) are wearing the same clothes we were wearing before Jadon came into this world (minus a few items we got each other for Christmas or birthdays, like my Keen shoes a.k.a. "mom shoes"). It's all about the comfort these days, people! Do we travel? I must admit that we did take Jadon to West Virginia, when he was 4 1/2 months old, and we have gone to Charleston, SC a few times with him, and oh yes, we went all the way to Asheville, NC with Gramma this past October...5 1/2 hours with Jadon in the car! Not the easiest trip, but very much worth the experience, memories, and pictures we have :) See, we still live like royalty :)

Honestly though, I wrote ALL of this to remind myself and to tell all of you that I AM SPOILED!!! And here, ladies and gents, are 32 reasons why I said to myself yesterday (with a bit of guilt and A LOT of gratitude), "Happy birthday, Barbie!"

1. We had the best Thai food feast on Saturday night at my mom's, splitting four entrees (rice and noodle dishes; chicken and shrimp; yummy pad-Thai) AND two desserts (chocolate mousse cake and cheesecake eggrolls).
2. Jamie bought me my Estee Lauder moisturizer and let Jadon hand deliver it to me. He kept calling the box a "book." :)
3. Jamie offered to order me $100 worth of clothes from J. Jill...I declined. I'd rather work to lose weight and wear my three year old AE jeans than buy new stuff I really don't need. The offer was enough for me ;)
4. I got a Valentine's Day gift for my babies in the mail this weekend from the Bolyards in Morgantown (a toy dozer for Jadon and a beautiful spring dress for Macy). Oh yeah, and some yummy chocolate candy for us to share with the kids too...yeah right!
5. I got a card in the mail from my step-grandmother saying 'congrats for the beautiful baby girl'...and beautiful she is!
6. Jamie and I got Wendy's after church on Sunday. Both kids fell asleep in their car seats, so we sat in the car and ate. It was so quiet and peaceful. Sadly (but thankfully) Jamie said, "I feel like we're on a date." Ha! It was so true!
7. My most-awesome and always-giving mommy is paying to get my hair done! Tomorrow, I will have a new do...and no more gray! :)
8. Though my mom is in Atlanta this week, she had Wally stop and get me a Coldstone Creamery cake yesterday. After a long day at work, he stopped and picked it up, and then came to our house to deliver it (and see the babies too, of course). Thank you, Wally!
9. My most-awesome sister took the time out of her busy day at school to call me (several times) to say 'Happy Birthday.' I couldn't answer the phone when she called the first three times because I was on the other line. So when she finally got thru to me, she said, "Why don't you ever answer the phone???" I explained to her that I couldn't click over. She said, "Well, happy birthday, witch!" Even though you have a way with words, Em, I appreciate your thoughtfulness :) Ha!
10. I have a BEAUTIFUL home! I mean THREE bedrooms, TWO full baths, a TWO-car garage...in a development with TWO swimming pools, a playground, a gym and miles of sidewalks to stroll my babies along! Spoiled, I tell ya!
11. My mom and Wally moved all the way from Pawleys Island (45 minutes away), so they could live closer to us. Now Wally has to drive 45 minutes to and from work everyday. But now Jadon gets to see his Gramma and Grandpa more often :)
12. I have the MOST AMAZING husband ever! He cares more about his family than he ever cares about himself. He is the MOST HELPFUL, MOST THOUGHTFUL, and MOST PATIENT man that I know! We know he loves us by the things he DOES and says :)
13. I have TWO beautiful and healthy babies!!! Unbelieveable!!! They are funny and cute to the max! I cannot imagine life before them. Shopping schmopping! Movies schmovies! Sushi schmushi! (say that one 10 times fast) There is nothing better than having my babies!
14. We had $ to buy an awesome new double stroller!
15. We have $ to buy diapers for a second baby!
16. Jadon only uses one diaper a day (at night) now!
17. We belong to an awesome church that has the best nursery staff who love Jadon, and it is only TWO miles from our house!
18. I am healthy!
19. I have a great hope that I will be a mommy of at least three babies :)
20. My hope is in Yahweh, the Creator of All Things, my Prince of Peace.
21. I am educated and can continue to learn new things each day.
22. I have friends and family who love me, Jamie and our babies very much, and they always do things to remind us of this (phone calls, cards, thoughtful gifts, traveling to see us).
23. I have the most awesome in-laws EVER! They are so loving, kind and generous! Trust me, you wish you knew them! And I wish they would just move in with us one day.
24. My kids have MORE than what they need.
25. God has taught Jamie and me a lot about finances and how minimally we can live this year. I pray we have learned the lesson well!
26. Jamie makes me coffee every morning AND brings me a Fiber One bar with it (because I'm always on the couch nursing Macy!)
27. We have not one, but two cars that are paid for! Whoohoo!
28. I have HOPE that we will be able to afford a vehicle that will fit our double stroller in the near future.
29. We live five minutes from the ocean! It's a big, free playgound for our kids :)
30. We never have to warm up our cars or worry about driving on snow-covered or icy roads.
31. I have WAY more than 32 things to love about my life, turning 32, and to be thankful for.
32. I may not have Barbie status, but I am a child of the King, and that does make me a princess :)

BTW, I wondered last year (check out the blog post, if you will) , when Jadon was just 9 months old, if I would be a mommy of two or an expecting mommy of two at 32. I wonder what turning 33 will look like! Can you imagine?

Happy birthday to me! :)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. --- Jeremiah 29:11