36 and Loving It!

On Monday, I celebrated my 36th birthday. Beginning a new year in my life fills me with tremendous gratitude because I actually love growing older.  Minor aches and some wrinkles are noticeable but I would not want to reverse the clock and be 20 again. At that age, I didn't know what I wanted in life and I felt compelled to please everyone and be like everyone else. Now, I treasure the fact that I'm unique and people can either take it or leave but I will not change for them. 

So far, life has treated me very well and I can't complain about too many aches or pains. Even though I do feel like I need to warm up my muscles more often before going on a run and staying up past 9pm is considered "late night". It is also helpful to remind myself that I'm no spring chick anymore and that some rest and relaxation is actually good for me and not the enemy. Luckily, my hubby is great at grounding me once in a while and since I met him, I came a long way and calmed down quite a bit. 

I love my life and where I am at at this point, even though this year was a definite change for me. After being a stay-at-home mom for 5+ years, it feels good to get up every morning, get dressed in real clothes and put make-up on and then head to work where I feel like I actually accomplish something. I'm not saying that life is better now but I value myself more and feel like that this job is really the perfect fit for me and my family.  Thus, I can truly say that I'm happy with my work-life-balance right now and blessed to have a supporting family. 

Birthdays are special to me and I always make a big deal of celebrating them and it doesn't matter if you turn 6 or 36.  I do not mean big parties, as we usually don't do these, but rather to make someone feel special on their birthday.  Thus, I was delighted to discover that my two boys decorated our eating area for me with some banners, signs and some cards. I got a new Tervis tumbler for my tea and a gift card for a new Ipod (mine makes weird noises when I run and can be very annoying).

I love all my birthday cards, either digital or on paper (thanks to all who thought of me or congratulated me) but my daughter's card is the one that made me cry. I will treasure this card and only pull it out when she is a teenager and thinks that I do everything wrong. (It says" You are the pearfect mom. Love, Amelia") 

Birthday selfie with my two monkeys before we headed to school and work:

In the afternoon, we all spent my special day together at home. A birthday song and a wish before eating the delicious apple cake Amelia made with me the day before.

 And then I actually sat down and read a couple of magazines before joining the crew in the playroom.

While we could have gone out for dinner, I chose to rather eat a steak dinner at home as it is less hectic, the food is often better and being just back from a 3-week business trip meant I really didn't feel like being out and about. In the end, I had the perfect birthday and I'm thankful that I got to spent it with the people I love the most. 

It's getting cooler and this is her favorite spot, every night

The next two days, I had offsite planning meetings with my company and was gone 12 hours each day. We had a company dinner on Tuesday night and of course, this being Nashville, one can find a guitar almost anywhere. 

Even in our house, Amelia is learning how to play the guitar and may one day becomes the new Taylor Swift. 

Love this picture: Evenings and story times are our favorite around here but on Wednesday night, this is what I found when I entered Amelia's bedroom. 

I'm wondering what this next year holds in store for me. The kids are growing up way too fast and there will be new challenges that have to be tackled but I'm confident that being optimistic and going  with God forward in life always leads us to where we need to be. And right now, I'm in a happy place.                                         Happy 36th Birthday to me!