Sunday, January 9, 2011

and then i turned thirtyfour.

there's beauty in the days.
the monotonous.  the continuous.  the noisy-ness. 

i realize there's also a certain beauty in doing the unknown.  the unexpected.  the unloud.
but those options are rarely available to me.
and i'm ok with that.
most days.
because i'm kind of a homebody.  a someone that doesn't take risks.  i like knowing what is going to occur. 
even if it's something that i'm fairly certain will not be the highlight of my day.
like bedtime.  for instance.


in the days leading up to my thirtyfour.  i managed to go out.  by myself (sorta) to a movie.  a movie that i would have never chosen to see in a milliongazillion years on my own.  (mostly because i don't like the unexpecteds of a thriller-ish movie) and then i went out to dinner.  and drank a beer. and  i managed to get carded - which i'm fairly certain was just some higherups way of reminding me to go and get my license renewed the next day. 

and then the day before my birthday i wrangled two children at the dmv.  and then proceeded to a friend's house while we drank coffee and listened to the children play.  (and watched finn.  because my dear boy would. not. take. a. nap.) 

and then my birthday came.  and i turned


and there was no big todo.  no party streamers.  no party hats. 

finn kicked the morning off with a big heart smile when he sing-songingly copied my morning "i love you" with

which sounds an awful lot like "i love you" from a soon-to-be one year old.

and in this thirty fourth year of mine ... i plan to try to let go of the little things.  because they aren't so big after all.  and i started that by letting the kiddos dress themselves.  stella pretty much could be found in a gold princess dress.  all day.  and well cora?

why yes.  that is a red "look out santa - here comes grandma" shirt with red pants and a turquoise and lime green tutu with a periwinkle and purple sweater
(complete with flowers) topped off with a flowered hat. 
dude.  flowers and flowers totally match. 

there was one surprise.  for my gift ... stella decided ...

and she scared the bejeezus outta me when she popped out of the box.

my mom and sister gave me the gift of a homecooked meal.  and cleaned up dishes afterwards.

apparently cora had her mind set to buy me a cup.  and jeremy and the crew were pulled through several stores before finding the perfect little cup for mommy.


it really IS a nice cup.

and that really was a nice birthday ...

(one year for my birthday i asked MY mom to write my birth story ... it's very sweet if i do say so myself.  click-here to read it.)

13 comments:

dig this chick said...

Happy birthday! Looks like a lovely celebration.

Givinya De Elba said...

Hey - Happy Birthday! Congratulations! We have a lot in common - I turn thirty-four on Wednesday!

Miss Sara said...

I don't know why... or what it is exactly, but this post touched me. Simplicity... & your babies are ADORABLE. 30's feel good... don't they? I'm 31 and I just feel... well, different. At peace & I know things will just continue to get better. ;-) Thank you for this.

Pamela said...

i just love you.

Rachel said...

I just found your blog a few months ago and I love it. Your kids are beautiful and Cora's outfit is awesome :) Happy birthday!

Tracy P. said...

Happy birthday! You are a gorgeous 34. I turned that before I even got married. You are YOUNG!

The outfits are possibly the best thing I ever let go of. But I still cringe sometimes. ;-)

Naomi said...

Happy birthday! Glad you had a nice day!

Sprite's Keeper said...

Sounds like you got a great big present of little moments. Happy birthday!

Kelly Hutcheson said...

Happy Birthday! Everyday is a gift with those kids in your life!! xoxo

tracy said...

Happy Birthday. Beautiful post. You are so young. ;)

~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ said...

Sounds like a good birthday to me! I'll be right behind you in turning 34, but It won't be for several more months. And in the meantime, I can think to myself, Gosh, Jen has 3 kids and is nearly the same age as me, and I have no kids. You don't help my baby fever that is coming and going, and starting to stay around.

dearheart said...

Happy belated birthday! I love how you captured it....

Amanda said...

I had no idea we were so similar... similar family sizes and ages... and my birthday is Feb. 1st and I turn 34. :) We both love photography and our kids and baking. We both live in MN. We both blog with wild abandon. :)

So fun!