Thirty is not the New Twenty....

Today I turn 31.  

Instead of donning a sticker slapped to my chest that reads, "372 months", I will buy my first box of hair dye and call it good.  

Yea.  You read that right.  Hair dye.  Anyone else out there need a "nice and easy" (and CHEAP!) solution to all of these grays!!  Yikes.  And, let's talk about these gray hairs.  They are wiry little things, sticking up all over my head and peppering my temples... why have I not been warned!!  

AND for my 31st birthday WISH LIST I would like to add the following two items,


1: And extra inch to the tops of all of my jeans, because let's face it I can no longer pull off low-rise jeans. This muffin top is extra fluffy.

2: Someone to pay all of my bills.  Let me tell you how to deflate a fun day... open all your bills at one time, add them up and take a look at that number.  whaaa-whaaa.  Adulthood is so over rated.


But guess what, I won't be blowing out candles today... because the only cake I will receive is from GOOGLE!  The internet is so thoughtful...

Here are more birthday pics to entertain you.  The birthday selfies I took... in order to document my 31 years of life, of course.  Dutch crawling all over me, crying (as normal) and Zadie taking a breathing treatment due to the cold front that swooped in over night.

One of the best gifts I received this morning is pictured below.  Thank you Dutch for being kind enough to your old decrepit mother, and NOT putting all of the toilet paper IN THE TOILET... as you have been doing the last week.  My heart skipped a beat with pure joy when I stumbled upon this scene!! I thought,  "Yes!! I don't have to dig it out of the toilet!" 

One highlight was when Minnie Mouse and Thor showed up to help with my birthday dinner last night.  What honorable guests to have at my table on such a special day.  I am sure they had planets to save, enemies to attack and questions to ask Tootles... (Can I get an "Ooooh Tooootles", anyone...anyone?) 

BONUS... at least my feet look young and hip at 31.... maybe it is not true for the rest of my body, but hey, my feet are nice and trendy!!  Good job toesies.

Speaking of feet, this is what came to welcome me in bed this morning... the sound of six pitter-pattering feet.  Sweet feet, bringing me kisses, wishes and hugs.  

When we married I don't think I thought that nights in my thirties would be spent annoying my husband with posting pictures of him to instagram... but a little part of me likes it.  Isn't he cute?  Looking at me  with that... "PUT THAT CAMERA UP OR I'M GONNNA..." look.  But, honey, such a sweet moment must be documented.  And, who is looking at him when Dutch looks so cute?  

Thirties are when real life hits the fan, people.  When nights are long... and... so are the days...  I feel that I am just now standing on two feet.  I have claimed grace for my own, because heaven knows I need a good measure, and I have learned how to divvy it out in heaps.

I have learned that authenticity is a rare commodity and that loyalty is more precious than fine jewels.  I have forgiven and forgotten, and I pray others have done the same for me.


Thirty is NOT the new twenty.  It is much richer and sweeter.  The food is better and the people are kinder.  The hugs longer and the smiles wider.  I am sure it only gets better from here, and that excites me.  To know that the thrill of life has just begun, and the appreciation for those whom I love will be deeper still.

31 is not too bad.  I'll take it.

Now, excuse me, while I decide whether to pay the gas bill with my birthday money, or buy my first pair of mom jeans... because I think I have earned the right to wear a high waist line.



thanks for reading friends.



(EDIT---- Natalie, my SIL just dropped off a cupcake... so, Google was out done!!)

Linked up today to @ Prowess and Pearls Doing You Well Wednesday.