Turning 30.....

It’s happened.  I’m thirty.  My twenties are officially over.  I always thought that I would dread this day, yet somehow I really don’t seem to care now that it's here.  I woke up this morning, and it felt like any other day.  I took a look in the mirror, and I looked the exact same as I did one day ago when I was twenty-nine.    If I had a check list for the past decade, I would say I have checked off most of the important things that I wanted to accomplish in my twenties - graduated college, used my degree, fell in love, got married, bought our home, fixed up our home and now we are in the beginning stages of growing a family.  My twenties were a time of figuring out where my life was going to go and enjoying the process of getting there.  As I enter my thirties,  I feel like I've found where I'm supposed to be, and now I get to spend the next decade enjoying this new part of life's journey.

So overall, turning thirty hasn't been so bad.  I’ve never been one for making a big deal out of my birthday, as in I never really remember wanting parties or celebrating with a lot of people on my birthday when I was growing up.  My husband knows me well enough to know that I would dislike a party for my birthday, especially a suprise party. Since I’ve been with him, we have always celebrated my birthday with just the two of us.  If he has had to work on my birthday, he has arranged for me to have some relaxing quiet time throughout the day before coming home and spending time with me.  If he has not had to work on my birthday, we have taken the time to get away for a few days and celebrate.  That’s what I would have really wanted for my 30^th birthday…..a weekend getaway.  Unfortunately, travel is not really an option for me this year.  In years past, we had talked about going to Vegas for my 30^th, and then maybe renting car for a day to see the Grand Canyon.  Now that we are having babies, I think it’s safe to say that Vegas is not in any of my foreseeable future birthdays.  Long gone are the days of packing a suitcase and taking off for a few days.  For the next few years, I’m sure my birthdays will be spent being woken up by snotty nosed kids wanting hugs and kisses from their mama.  I’m just fine with that being in my future.  We’ve had a good five years to ourselves.  Change is soon coming, and change is a good thing.

So if I didn’t spend my 30^th birthday living it up in Vegas, how did I spend it you ask?  Well, I had a very simple day, and sometimes keeping it simple is what's best.  My day started out with breakfast in bed, made my sweetheart. 

 

I took the day off of work, and Matt chose to work from home today.  I had a pretty lazy morning that involved going out to get my hair done, so he could have some quiet time in the house to get his work done.  When I got home we went out for a lunch date at one of our favorite local pizza places. 

Afterwards, he needed to finish up some work, so he sent me out for coffee and a birthday pedicure.

 

We were considering catching a movie when I got home, but I opted for a nap instead.  I didn't really feel like going out tonight.  He took care of things, and we spent the evening in.  He made dinner, picked up a red box and picked GiGi's cupcakes for dessert.  It wasn’t a weekend in Vegas, but it was pretty perfect day really. 

And as far as my birthday gift goes, we decided to invest in a nice camera now that we have a family on the way.  I'm looking forward to teaching myself how to use it, as I try to capture the next decade of our lives through the lens of this birthday gift.

 

 

Birthday Recap - The last year of my 20's.....

 

Well, I’ve been 29 for a little over a week now, and it hasn’t been so bad.  I used to dread turning 29, because it meant that I only had one more year till I turned 30. I know for some people turning 40 is a dreaded birthday, but I always thought that turning 30 would be worse.  There is just something about leaving the youthfulness of my 20’s that I never liked the idea of!

 

Recently, I’ve gained a new perspective, and turning 29 hasn’t been so bad.  Instead of, “Oh no, only so many more days till I turn thirty!”…..it has become, “How many more days till I turn 30!  It can come fast enough!” The reason for that is because we have started the process of adoption, and our heart is to adopt from China.  China won’t accept any of our paperwork until I turn 30, so all of a sudden I am anxiously awaiting my 30^th birthday, instead of dreading its arrival.  It’s funny how twists and turns in life can change our perspective on things.

 

While 30 should hopefully be a big birthday for us, because we can officially get the adoption process moving with the Chinese government, 29 was also a pretty big birthday for me.  If you’ve read my blog posts lately, you know that we have been in the process of seeking fertility treatments.  It just so happened that the timing of our first IUI fell right around my 29^th birthday.  When my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said that it would be the best birthday ever if our IUI was successful on the first try. It’s still too soon to take a pregnancy test, but even if the test comes back negative, turning 29 has still not been that bad;)

 

Here’s an Instragam recap of the beginning of my 29^th year……

 

Like I said, the day before my birthday was spent at our doctor’s office, as we had an IUI schedule for that morning.

My husband had to leave on a business trip that afternoon, so he wasn’t home for the majority of my birthday weekL  He did buy me a new book to read while he was gone though, and gave me strict instructions to take advantage of the empty house and rest!  I missed him while he was gone, but I do enjoy my alone time when I can get it:)

I took my actual birthday off of work.  Not so much because it was my birthday.  It was more or less to take the day after the IUI to rest.  My husband did his best to make sure I rested while he was gone and arranged for me to get a massage on birthdayJ It was wonderful!  He knows I love it when I am able to get a massage! If we could afford it, I would get a massage every week!

It was a typical February day on my B-day.  And by that, I mean cold, dreary and greyL  I picked up Panera for my birthday dinner, because it is the perfect comfort meal for a cold February day that I didn’t have to cook.  I really wanted the soup and bread bowl, but I controlled my urge to consume that many carbs and just went with the bowl of soup and bread on the side;)

The rest of the night was spent reading a book with the dog by my side.  An overall quiet birthday, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way:)

When Matt got back from his trip, we spent the weekend celebrating my birthday together.  He had previously made reservations for us to go to the Melting Pot for my birthday dinner.

It was a fun, unique way to enjoy a meal together.  I personally like this restaurant, because couples are sat in a small booth/room to enjoy the meal together. I often get sidetracked  with people-watching when we go out, so it was nice to not have any distractions during our meal.

Dinner was lovely, but dessert was definitely the best!  I could seriously drink the chocolate fondue!  Of course I didn’t…..I showed some self control;)

I like to go to Ikea a few times a year to get inspired, so the following day, we had planned to go to Cincinnati.  We don’t have any Frisch’s Big Boy’s in our Indy area, so we always stop at one when we go to Cincy.  As if I didn’t have enough calories the night before;/  Don’t worry, I didn’t eat all of my meal…..that’s what my husband is for;)

I didn’t go too crazy at Ikea.  I just bought a few things for the house.  I could walk around that store all day though, so it was very thoughtful of the hubs to want to take me there. 

 

And that pretty much sums it up!  That’s how I turned 29.  Nothing spectacular about it, but it was pretty perfect to meJ