This is 37

Today is my 37th birthday!  I'm off of work today celebrating, actually, no I'm just home trying to catch up on chores here (and writing a 2nd blog post for 2020!).

I wasn't planning to taking the day off but it's one of the perks of having 10 years of service in at my company -- you get your birthday off of work.
It was up in the air until yesterday if I was even going to get the day off.  We have our auditors in this week reviewing financials for 2019 and of course, my birthday would happen to fall during the visit. Thankfully I worked my butt off to get enough done ahead of time and the auditor was confident that I wouldn't be needed today....so here I am.

So what can I say about turning 37 --
I never imagined being at this point in my life.  I started this blog back in 2005 at the age of 22 and had no idea of what was in store for me. I went back and read old posts over the weekend of the birthdays in my 20s -- what a difference life is now.

My 23rd birthday I was a single gal all about going out dancing with my girlfriends from work.

I dreaded my 24th birthday because I thought I was old *eyeroll* and hadn't accomplished enough in my short life.

My 25th birthday was on the heels of being promoted and being happy my car insurance was going down because I hit a milestone being in my mid-20s.

26 was another birthday extravaganza where I spent a lot of time enjoying karaoke and a night out with friends and was excited for a home-cooked pork steak dinner with my family.

10 years I celebrated my 27th birthday and checked off pole dancing lessons from my bucket list.

My 28th birthday was memorable with our girls dinner at Kobe and night out in Westport dancing and celebrating life.

I celebrated my golden (29th) birthday having a blast with both my family and friends with a happy hour and more karaoke and while I was going through one of the harder years of my life, I was glad to have such a great group of friends and family to celebrate with.

In 2013 I turned 30.  I have to say my 30th birthday is one I will soon not forget. My work fam decorated my desk and this was the year I introduced my family to D.  We had been dating about a month and I thought it was the best time for them to get to know him. I remember being nervous that they would grill him but he was so genuine and personable they couldn't help but love him.

My 31st birthday was another memorable one but for all of the wrong reasons. This was the year I was stranded in NOLA because of the ice storm that hit the south.  I remember just wanting to get home after a 1 day work trip turned into 3 days in a city that was shut down because ice just isn't something that happens there. We found a flight out the night of my birthday and my brother graciously picked me up at the airport and we all had a home-cooked dinner and dessert at the loft prepared by Chef D Flay.

For birthday number 32, D again made me dinner and we had gumbo (reliving my 31st birthday in NOLA) and unlike my 20s, this was another low-key birthday at home with D and Kinny.

My 33rd birthday was the first in our new house and I decided to have a fun night out with my coworkers listening to one of my favorite cover bands.

34 hit me that I was starting to get old but I did get my mechanical pencils that I asked for from D.

Birthday #35 will be etched into my mind until I'm no longer on this earth. Just 6 days before my 35th birthday, we had the embryos implanted from our IVF cycle. I was in the middle of my two week wait praying that I would be pregnant. I remember going out to lunch with my family and celebrating but not being able to tell them about all of the stuff (stims, retrieval, implantation) we had gone through in the month of January and hoping that we could tell them in 13 weeks that we were having a baby.

My 36th birthday passed in a blur. It was 4 short weeks after going back to work full time after maternity leave. I was either sleep deprived or in over my head at work (or both!). Looking back at Declan's first year calendar, I do know that D had to take off of work and take Declan to the doctor as daycare illnesses started setting in.

And that brings us back up to today -- at 37, I am married, living in the 'burbs with my husband, almost 16 month old son and 12 year old kitty. Unlike my 23/24 year old self, I do know I've accomplished a lot in my life. Right now, I'm a successful Senior Accountant with a future ahead of her.  I've managed to move up with hard work, perseverance and dedication.

I may not always be the best wife, but I try my hardest to support my husband in all of his endeavors and try to keep my nagging down to a minimum.
As a mom, I'm learning every single day what it takes to raise a smart, caring, successful son. I know he doesn't quite understand but everything I do each day is out of love and to make his life better.

At 37, I know now I don't have to be the best at everything in life but I will always give what I can for those who mean the most to me. I've realized what is important and what can wait until tomorrow. I'm trying hard to live in the moment and enjoy the little things life has to offer. I have no crazy bucket list I need to complete just taking life and experiences as they come.

So here's to 37 -- I hope I can make it my best year yet.

Time to Dust Off the Blog

One whole post in 2019, what a slacker I am.  Actually, I'm just a tired mama with a lot on her plate, but I can say, we're all thriving.  My baby boy is growing by the minute and is the best little guy. At 15.5 months, he's walking and always on the go and giving mama a run for her money all the time.

So let's see....I'll try to give the Cliff Notes version of the last 8 months.

After Mother's Day, Declan went to his first Cardinals baseball game and we celebrated the Blues winning the Stanley Cup and attended the Championship Parade as a family on Father's Day weekend.  My brother also got married in June so there was an abundance of excitement throughout the month.

In August, Dustin and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary while on our family vacation to the Upper Peninsula. Declan got to experience the Soo Locks for the first time and see the Point Iroquois Lighthouse.

In September, we went apple picking and started planning Declan's 1st Birthday Party.  It was the first and maybe only time I tried to be the "Pinterest Mom."  We planned a St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Championship party and it was a huge success!  We invited our immediate family and planned it for a day the Blues had a game so everyone could wear their Blues gear.  It was really symbolic for us to have this party for 2 reasons -- 1) I went into labor opening night of the 2018-2019 season and 2) the Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time ever.  For me, it had an extra special meaning. Declan is such a special boy and he is definitely loved by everyone!

Declan officially finished taking bottles at his first birthday too.  It's was so hard to believe that this little guy was considered a toddler and we transitioned to food and regular milk 100% of the time.

Later in October, Declan celebrated Halloween with Kinny.  Both went as pumpkins and they were the cutest pumpkins around. It was a brutally cold night so he and Dustin only visited a few of our closer neighbors but he also got to go to a Trunk or Treat at my work earlier in the month so he didn't totally miss out on the Halloween experience.

In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving.  Declan has the cutest Thanksgiving Feast at school one afternoon and Dustin and I were lucky enough to attend with him.  Also, as his shirt suggests, he was all about the pie!  :)  Dustin took Declan Black Friday shopping as I had to work and they had a lot of fun hanging out.  Dustin even splurged for breakfast before shopping and that probably was Declan's favorite part of the day.

December brought the first snow of the season along with the holidays and a lot of travel for us.  We visited everyone in Michigan and also had multiple Christmases here at home.  Declan also met Santa at Breakfast with Santa at his school and we're happy to say he did not cry when meeting the jolly old man.

At the end of December, I officially lost my baby to the toddler years when Declan got his first haircut and let's just say there were a lot of tears from both Declan and mommy. Declan didn't want to sit in the chair and get his hair cut and mommy saw her baby grow up in a blink of an eye.

So far the New Year has been unbelievably busy for us.  I'm in my extremely busy time at work so juggling parenting, home life and work has been a whirlwind. We're surviving but we're taking advantage of a few minutes of downtime when we can.

I celebrated my 10 year anniversary at work (prior service and current service) last week and was celebrated by our Owner and VPs.  It was nice to hear their comments about my role in the Company.  I went to dinner at a REALLY fancy restaurant with them and our Director of Operations that evening and was given some promising news about my future. I hope I can continue to impress them and be successful in my position while trying to be the best mom and wife I can be.

That Cliff Notes version actually was pretty long!  As I continue to juggle what life throws as me, I hope to be able to update more regularly, but I won't make any promises so I'll just say...until next time!