Year In Review: Turning 40, Losing Teeth (The 7-Year-Old, Not Me), And More

Happy 2010 everyone!

I thought I’d write a 2009 wrap-up post that is, uh, rather lengthy. Initially I wasn’t going to do this, but as I went through last year’s posts I was reminded of some really awesome things that occurred. I also had some fun blog opportunities for which I am very thankful.

I kicked the year off by poking fun at Dick Cheney and was wowed by Celine Dion along with several other Nashville mommy bloggers, thanks to the fabulous Alli Worthington of Blissdom Conference fame.

In February the hubby gave me an iPhone and it’s been love at first app. I asked my readers to tell me about their favorite iPhone apps in a post entitled My iPhone Brings All The Geeks To The Yard. I slept with White Trash Mom at Blissdom and drove my friend Amy Allen Clark to BFE for biscuits at The Loveless. I was interviewed by The Tennessean for an article about blogging and then everyone in the world (OK just my boss and a few co-workers) found out about my blog. The article is no longer on The Tennessean’s website, but Murfreesboro blogger Bona Fide Mama posted it. Why didn’t I think of that?

March brought a much anticipated spring break trip. I lamented about buying a bathing suit when you’re 39 and suffer from stomach flabalance.  We went to beautiful Sandestin resort in Destin, Florida, for the first time and loved it! I uploaded a ton of pictures to my Flickr account if you’d like to check out our Sandestin pictures. This was the first travel review opportunity through my blog and I’m hoping we get to review more family travel destinations (oh Disney…hint hint, we are Magic Kingdom virgins!) I wrote about Miss A’s thumb sucking habit and lo and behold later she quit cold turkey so I’m glad I documented it.

FrenchBully

Miss A discovered her inner fashionista and practically slept in her new black boots. The girls got a French Bulldog puppy named Gigi vicariously through my dad. I took some of my all time favorite pictures of the girls by the Harpeth River for On A Bike, Down By The River. I also wrote one of my favorite posts of 2009 called I Wanna Be 6, Or At Least Have The Stress Level Of A 6-Year-Old. April also was the month Miss C finally lost a tooth! I became a Blogger Fit Ambassador for Lee Jeans and I wear their Slender Secret jeans darn near DAILY (see also aforementioned flabalanche phenomenon with a side of blogger’s butt).

Thomas Drugs

In May Miss C and I went to an old fashioned soda shop, Thomas Drugs, with my mom near my hometown. My sister completed her first sprint distance triathlon at the JCC here in Nashville. I toured the Fed Ex Super Hub in Memphis along with fellow Nashville mommy blogger Amy from Milkbreath and Margaritas. Miss C, our soccer girl, performed in her first ever formal dance recital and her gorgeous costume took my breath away. The hubby and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and yes I did shave my legs.


Miss C tutu

The next month I joined the Sprout TV Band of Bloggers. I got sentimental in This Dress. We flew to St. Augustine, Florida, for summer vacation in what was a little reunion for my husband, who lived in that area for three years. We stayed at the Renaissance Resort in the World Golf Village and loved it! My blog was nominated for best local Nashville blog by Nick Jr.’s Parents Connect. I did not win but it was honor, as they say, just to be nominated.

Castillo

Miss A discovered my childhood cheerleading costume in July and looked flat out adorable in it. I kvetch about our local ice cream man. Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was murdered and I recalled the first time we saw the then Tennessee Oilers play at Vanderbilt.

Miss A Cheerleader

Be still my heart, Miss C started second grade in August and Miss A celebrated by dressing like the Hello Kitty Unabomber. The hubby and I celebrated my 40th birthday with a trip to a lovely bed and breakfast in Asheville, North Carolina.

In September the girls and I ventured downtown to the library one rainy, miserable Saturday and we had a fantastic time watching the Nashville Ballet. Miss A invented The Poop Ghost. I  invented The Tooth Fairy Authority Mom. We saw The Wiggles at Municipal Auditorium.

The Wiggles Concert Nashville

In October I was invited to the Nissan Sedan 2010 Media Preview and fell in lust with an Altima with leather interior. Rowwrrrr. I celebrated my 4th blogging anniversary and I admitted to being in a funk over turning 40. I reflected on my extinct boyfriends and give advice on how not to dress like a Cougar in the carpool lane. We had our first ER visit ever with a child with Miss A and it scared the pee out of me! Thankfully she was fine.

The fall brought more travel and we headed to Cumberland Falls, Kentucky, to celebrate a college friend’s 40th. But first, we had to get there. And that’s a whole notha story (there’s a reason I call myself “blonde” and it has nothing to do with my hair color). I became obsessed with AMC’s Mad Men Jon Hamm, my new favorite TV show. We searched for the Great Pumpkin.

Jon Hamm

Just a little eye candy to make sure you’ve made it this far. I know…just keep swimming, just keep swimming, I mean reading. You can do it. COME ON!

December brought another first for us as we were invited to ride in the downtown Franklin Christmas parade with friends (and we froze our booties off!) Our Akita mix Jack celebrated his birthday and I reflect on what a truly awesome beast he is.

I’m pretty excited about what 2010 holds. I say BRING IT!

How Being A Grown Up Is Like Party City: Looks Great On TV, Kinda Sucks In Reality

Miss C has been enthralled with a Halloween commercial for Party City and wore me out with requests to truck out there all last weekend, although honestly that was the LAST thing I felt like doing on a beautiful fall afternoon.

We piled in my SUV and headed to the store. I cautioned her that it wasn’t really going to look like it did in the commercial but that it would be fun to look at the costumes and Halloween decorations. I didn’t want her to be disappointed. (See? Such a killjoy am I. See also speaking like Yoda.)

We walked in and she had this look on her face like “Oh, I get it now.” There was no creepy smoke or people walking around in scary costumes. It was just…a store. But still she was excited to look at the decorations and laugh at the macabre masks and begged me to buy a $19.99 plastic cauldron, which I did not. Insert evil mommy witch cackle.

When you’re a kid everything is literal. You see magic and smoke and ghosts and ghouls and mythical creatures on TV and your imagination grasps it and runs full speed ahead. Your whole life is filled with the endless possibilities fueled by imagination, wonder, and excitement.

And then you turn 40 and you have bills and deadlines and aging parents and a spouse who works too much and you’re running out of vacation days and wait, is the toilet leaking again, is the check engine light on, and is our dog, our “baby” from the early days of our marriage, really both deaf AND senile or is it normal for her to bark at a napkin left on the kitchen table?

Sigh.

I’ve become that “I hate to break it to you kid but this is kind of meh” kind of mother lately.

I think I’m in a delayed funk over turning 40.

There I said it. (Exhales.)

I’ve always been a glass half full kind of girl! A smiley face winky face emoticon kind of girl!

I’m fighting my tendency lately to look at the negative and the realistic tarnished side of things.

I’m fighting the funk because my girls have the world at their feet and they believe that every day is an adventure.

They believe that being a grown up is COOL, Miss C especially.

And hey sometimes being a grownup is cool. And I know that. (Smacks self on the forehead.)

I don’t ever want to rain on their parade, even when it takes us to the crappy Party City store down the road.

They deserve better than that.

GirlsPartyCity

Another Saturday Night And I Ain’t Got No Abs

Tonight I Googled a sure fire abdominal strengthening exercise one of my brother’s yoga guru friends told me about last night at a dinner party.

Yes folks for the past 20 minutes I’ve been perfecting something called the Bird Dog.

Welcome to the rock star weekend of an almost 40-year-old woman, which also includes Hardy’s cabernet sauvignon from a box (it’s like an oversized juice box for adults ya’ll!)

It dawned on me today that my birthday is in less than a month and I suddenly feel very ill-prepared. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up having it all together, whatever “all” is and whatever” together” means. But honestly? I’m still pretty much the same old me.

Tonight, however, I decided to take control of one aspect of my life that gravity has turned into muscular jello.

I blame it all on that woman. You know the one. The one with the audacity to wear a bikini to the indoor pool. We took the girls swimming today at the neighborhood YMCA and she stood taunting me as she spotted her toddler on the killer whale slide: the mom in a bikini with impressively taut abs. It was all I could do to not knock her down with a wayward pool noodle. I will say she inspired me to work on my posture while I chased after Miss A.

So that’s why tonight at nearly 10 o’clock I’ve been down on the floor on all knees exercising while the dogs look at me like, “What the heck is SHE DOING?!”

It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. That’s what I keep telling myself any way.

In the mean time I think I’ll have some more wine.

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