31 Reasons I'm Glad to be 31

1. It means I'm not dead yet!
2. I'm living in the place I most wanted to live (long term).
3. I like myself a lot more now than I did at 21.
4. I'm physically much healthier than I was at 21. Or 25. Or even 28.
5. This is the year I will run a marathon.
6. This is the year I moved within 90 seconds of a Super Target:)
7. My kids are old enough to take almost anywhere (theoretically, anyway).
8. I know much more about myself now and have discovered that I'm a much different person than I thought I was at 16 or 18 or even 20.
9. I've lived long enough and in enough places to recognize how amazing my friends are. I have them all over the country (and a few internationally!) and I didn't have that at 21.
10. Wow, it sounds like I hated being 21, huh?
11. I didn't -- it's just the easiest reference point.
12. I've seen all of my sisters get married to great guys and am finally close enough that I can play Favorite Aunt to all of my nieces and nephews.
13. This is the year we will finally FINALLY pay down debts from dental school.
14. I get to decide what I want to be when I grow up sometime this year. Because next year it's back to school for me!
15. By this point in my life, I have been through some seriously rough stuff. And I made it through, which has shown me that I'm stronger than I thought I was.
16. But back to my 20's -- a lot of good things happened, but there was a lot of getting fat and losing it just to get fat all over again.
17. I'm more comfortable just being myself now and don't feel as much pressure to be someone I'm not.
18. If life is divided up into trimesters like in pregnancy, isn't the second trimester always the most enjoyable? In that case, things are about to get really good.
19. Wow, 31 things is a much longer list than I thought.
20. Boone is not a student anymore.
21. Boone is not owned by the military anymore.
22. I get to watch my husband enjoy his work and witness the realization of his biggest career goal.
23. My family is much bigger than it was 10 years ago, and I really enjoy all the newbies (kids AND adults).
24. At this age people don't bother to do the math when they find out how long I've been married.
25. Which means they don't automatically wonder if I got pregnant and had a shotgun wedding.
26. I'm now 2/3 of the way to having a built-in babysitter!
27. I choose to ignore that this countdown is also accurate for the length of time I have until being the mother of a teenager.
28. I'm mostly in between the zit phase and the wrinkle phase (except for the monster brewing on my chin).
29. I'm old enough to realize that I won't always be this young, so I am more appreciative of the phase of life I am living.
30. I'm not 30 anymore. Most of the year that I was 30 was really stressful between surgeries, injuries, moves, etc.
31. I get to eat whatever I want today, because birthdays are guilt free!

Happy Birthday Nicole! You are way cooler than you used to be, and also too wiser, and more liberal, and not as poor as you were at 21, and a better wife, and a better mom (sometimes), and you eat tomatoes and onions and peppers and sushi like a real grown-up (and you LIKE these things!) Way to go!

Since Deb Asked...

So uh...hi. It's been what -- 2 months or something since I've written? Most of you know basically what has happened in that timeframe (a lot) but I may as well start trying to recap the summer as it has transpired thus far.

I've kind of been overwhelmed (in general) and didn't really know where to start, but then Deb sent me an email with eleventy billion questions and I thought, "You know, I should just answer those as my first blog post!"

So I'm doing that. I'll fill in the details with gobs of pictures soon, and by soon I mean maybe when school starts? Anyway, here's an appetizer, courtesy of Deb and her mad cooking skills:

So have you moved in to your new house or just have an address?

We've moved into a house that we'll be renting for 2 years. It's a gorgeous home that I can't get used to living in. The best way I can describe it is this: I don't recognize myself in this house. It's amazing and has 2 islands in the kitchen and a shower that we could set patio furniture in, and I feel like I don't belong here. Will update if that changes.

Find good doctors for Keaton?

Haven't even started that process, but honestly, there's not a lot of ongoing stuff he needs regular medical attention for. What he really needs is a good teacher in school, and we moved into the best school district in the state to give him (and Ry and Branik, too) the best shot possible.

What's the name of the practice going to be?

Elizabeth Family Dental! It was the name of the practice before Boone bought it, and he's keeping it because it comes up high on Google when you search "Elizabeth, CO" and "dentist". When we thought he was buying closer to the Denver metro, we were going to need a more distinctive name. But since he is in a rural area (about 40 miles southeast of Denver proper, and 25 miles from our house) he doesn't need anything too catchy.

Catchy name or not, he is SO happy with his decision to leave the army. It was an extremely stressful 3 months between first contact and closing, but it was so worth it. The practice is about 4 years old, has state of the art equipment, and a great staff. He started getting referrals from other patients the 3rd day he was in the office and is seeing 2-4 new patients a day. He plans to be pretty involved with the community out there and is already sponsoring the high school's foot ball team (he gets a banner to prove it!) As soon as he gets his website up and running I'll link it here so you can see the office and a picture of Boone with his staff.

Does your new house have a wonderful washer and dryer?

Same washer and dryer I had in Georgia, which is good enough for now. But after using family owned front loaders for a month this summer I don't know how long I'll hold out;)

Did you have the best time ever traveling all spring?

Great to see everyone, thrilled to be done living out of a suitcase. Wedding was fun and stressful, like weddings are. Slept in 13 locations in June, and 11 of those were in a 14 day period. Shoot me in the face. I still can't even look at those stupid air mattresses.

Keaton had a great birthday. I know this because when he talked to Boone's parents on the phone that night, he said, "Nana, can you see my heart? It is so happy because of this day!" I cannot even handle the cuteness. Know what else I can't handle from Keaton? Him dropping the F-bomb. Twice. During dinner with 2 of his grandmothers. Apparently he saw the word written out on a volcano video on YouTube. Fantastic! He has no idea what it means, of course, but I nearly choked when he blurted it out.

Family reunion was great and I caught up with cousins I hadn't seen in a decade. Ate a ton, exercised a very, very little. Gained about 7 pounds. Stayed up until 4:30 one night with my sisters and left my mom to tend all 8 grandkids until we stumbled out into the living room at 11:30 or so the next day. It was my favorite.

Kids are still not back on a schedule but that's what summer is about, right? Just tell me yes, because I'm too tired to fix it.

Have you heard about Bristol and Levi?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Sarah Palin and her whacked out family make me smile:)

Do you have floors suitable for your Bissel?

Some. I asked our landlord (who is also the builder) about using it on the hardwoods and he said no. So I have this hardwood floor cleaner for the kitchen, dining, entry and then I use the Bissel on the tile upstairs and in the laundry/mudroom. And we'll just go with the notion that I have actually plugged in the Bissel since I have been living here for 3 weeks now...

Have you fallen in love with Denver already?

Yep. Love it. Love the sunsets. Love the dry weather (except my heels look like the Grand Canyon, but whatever). Love the good shopping. Love the lack of McDonalds/fried chicken restaurants here. Love the trails and parks everywhere. LOVE LOVE LOVE that I live literally 90 seconds away from SUPER TARGET. Nothing. Else. Matters.

If you need an optometrist, Perry Umlauf just transferred from Pee-Yay to Denver and he was the president of our state optometric association and Matt's former optometrist. Maybe you could be his dental family, you know, if you have a practice name and all.

Thanks! Boone needs one, I suppose. One of these days I am going to make him get Lasik though.

Are there fabulous moms bringing you cupcakes to welcome you to the 'hood?

No cupcakes, but that's okay. Still hanging on to about 3 extra pounds from Bingefest 2010 (I can thank the stairs in the house for getting rid of the others). Honestly, our neighborhood is going to be pretty quiet I think. There are only 6 homes on the street and although 3 of us have kids, the other 2 are on vacation. They seem nice so far though. I'd like to be somewhere a little busier when we buy in a few years, but for now we'll be fine.

Do they all wear bras?

Yep.

Have you been Ugly yet?

Constantly. I hid in the house for the first 2 weeks because I didn't want to meet people for the first time being all gross and move-y, but then I made the mistake of going for a walk with the fam and I got busted in all my Ugliness by the whole neighborhood. All 11 of them. Oh well, better not to set unrealistic expectations, right?

Do they know about Purple Donkephants in Colorado?

I don't know if they know they are Purple Donkephants or not, but I think many people here would fit the bill. Except where Boone practices. It's rural. People have horses. And big trucks.

Do you have a nice or a crappy Walmart?

It's nice for Walmart, but with Supa Target so close I have to really, REALLY need something at Walmart for me to drive the extra 3 minutes to get there.

Is your computer plugged in so you can start blogging again ... privately, of course, to protect the innocent.

I think I've answered that question, and I am abandoning the private thing for now.

Thanks Deb for your questions! Maybe this will help me unclog the blog and get going with the gory details of May and June. If you have anything you are dying to know about just beg and plead and I will consider appeasing you.

Quickest Post of All Time

Some of you know this and some of you don't, but here is a very brief update:

1. We have tenants for our house here. They signed a 2 year lease which I am thrilled about. I am even more thrilled-er that I don't have to show the house anymore, because keeping it appealing while trying to move is impossible.

2. We are 87% sure we have a practice. That first one fell apart (well, we pulled the plug actually) but we found a better one and our offer has been accepted and the bank agreed to pay for it this week. There are still many details, and I am super cautious about saying "Done Deal!" until we have actually closed, but things look good.

3. We still have nowhere to live once we get to Colorado. Details, details. We want to rent for a year or two while we adjust to owning a business and decide for sure where we want to plunk down for the rest of our kids' school years. The problem is that most of the homes that are listed right now are looking for late May/June move-ins, and we will be bouncing all over Utah and Idaho until July. So most homes that would work with our timeline aren't even listed yet and most likely won't be until after we leave here. So that's LOADS of fun! I just love how calm and happy I feel when I think about driving away from here and being homeless.

So yeah, things are hectic. But when I take a deep breath and quit obsessing over all my to-do lists.......oh wait.......I may or may not have been able to do either of those things the last 10 days or so.

Nevermind.

#4 for #3

Well, my baby turned 4 last week, and it was weird for me to realize that by the time Rylan was his age, she had 2 younger siblings. I thought of her as my big girl and my helper, and yet I still treat 4 year old Bran Flakes like he's a toddler. So sue me.

If you have had a conversation with Branik since Christmas it has likely been initiated by him asking you what level you are on in Super Mario Bros. This kid was born to play with electronics. I don't get it, because my other two were never as excited about games and gadgets as Bran is. He loves the Wii and can't stand the days I don't allow it to be turned on. If Wii is outlawed for the day, he moves on to the computer. If I say no to that too, he wants his Leapster. If I veto that one based on the principle of not needing something with batteries for play time, he has (on more than one occasion) been found sitting under the kitchen table WITH A CALCULATOR.

Anyway, it wasn't hard to figure out what kind of birthday he wanted this year, but I wasn't expecting to be doing all the work by myself until the lovely army sent Boone to Mississippi for the week, only to return him 30 minutes before Branik's little party was scheduled. It worked out and Branik was totally thrilled, even when my cake plans had to be toned down a little. But that brings me to my soapbox moment of this blog...

I have finally realized that most of these elaborate kids parties are for the parents and not the kids -- especially at this age. All the kids want is a cake, some balloons, their friends, and some presents. Kids don't care about all the other junk -- and when I did bigger, more elaborate birthdays for my kids it was really to impress the parents. I mean, at the time I thought it was for the kids, but then I realized that kids require very little to have something qualify as "fun". So I decided to quit spending gobs of money on stuff they don't care about and to quit spending gobs of time on details that don't matter to them. Would he have liked Super Mario napkins and balloons? Probably. But did he still like his plain old red, blue, and green balloons? Yep. Would he have liked it if I had rented out Jump City for all of his friends to climb on inflatables for 2 hours? I'm sure he would have. Was his day "not fun" because he played in the backyard with friends instead? Nope. Would he have been delighted to see his face screen printed on Mario's body on a sheet cake? Undoubtedly. Did he squeal with delight at my 90 minute 9 x 13 cake? You betcha'.

I'm sure there will come a day where the bigger parties will be something they want, and from time to time we will probably do something like that. But when you ask your kid what they want to do on their birthday and they say, "eat cake and play with balloons", why spend hundreds of dollars doing more than they wanted? How will you manage to keep up with that expectation year after year? Seriously, I have had people in my kids' classes who report that their kid's birthday party cost $600. For a 5 year old.

SO. STUPID.

And really? Do you think I don't notice that we hardly know each other and that you are dying to pass this information on to me? Like I should be impressed that you waste money in obscene fashion? Well done, you. Not impressed. Making fun of you on my blog.

And now I will get off my soapbox and show you some pictures, grandparents/aunts who care.


My 90 minute Mario cake and "Big Mushroom" cupcakes.

The cake and some shadows from my hands and the camera.


The boys had seen this cake already about 25 times but kept coming back to look at it. Which is why I don't care that it isn't even remotely perfect. They didn't need perfect. They needed "recognizable as a Mario Bros" cake.


Present time could easily have been called "Card time" and it would have been just as exciting for Branik. He seriously LOVES cards and opens them before the gift every time. They are all still on the mantel because he loves them so much.

Here comes my favorite picture of the whole event -- the one that screams, "My birthday was rad!"





























And for my mom: he hasn't quit playing with these in a week!



For everyone else: if you are wanting a gift idea these Wedgit blocks are awesome. Totally open-ended and engaging for all ages. My 8 year old girl and both of my boys fight over who's turn it is next. I may or may not have played with them after the kids were in bed.

So. It was a Happy Birthday for our baby boy, and we really appreciated all of our family and friends that made it a special day for him. And I appreciate myself for single parenting unexpectedly that week and still baking 48 cupcakes, a Mario cake, and a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that was 100% from scratch. (And now, I appreciate my leg being healed enough that I can run all of that cake off.) Well done, Nicole. Thank you, Nicole.

You know what would be cool? If we knew where Boone was going to work in 6 weeks. Or maybe if we knew where we would live when we leave Georgia. Or maybe even if we could sign someone to a lease for this house so we don't have 2 mortgages to pay in 6 weeks when Boone is unemployed.

Yeah, any of those things would be cool.

But as of this morning, we still don't have a practice (we withdrew our offer on the first one after uncovering some "issues"). And since we don't have a work location nailed down, we don't know where to live. Or what we can afford.

And we have shown the house once to prospective tenants, and have 2 more appointments set for next week, but certainly no lease yet.

Oh, and did I mention that we are moving ourselves instead of having the army do it? We are. Because we are crazy. Also, broke -- and unable to turn our backs on several thousand dollars by doing the work ourselves.

So.

I am packing, and painting, and de-cluttering, and advertising our home, and weeding and mowing and Craigslisting junk we don't want anymore, preparing for Branik's birthday and scanning legal documents for Boone's second attempt at a practice purchase, and window shopping online for a rental house in the greater Denver area (but nothing specific because of that whole "no job" thing), and occasionally making it to the gym or out for a run so I don't go totally crazy and turn into Psycho Mommy.

Which is why I don't have time to blog:)

Help Us Name Our New Baby?

Not pregnant.

Just totally devoid of inspiration and in need of help naming Boone's practice! We got Branik's name this way (asking for ideas) and we are hoping maybe one of you will wow us with a good name. I can't give you more details yet because things are not set in stone, but as soon as we have a positive thumbs up I'll write about it, mmkay?

Nothing else to say, really. So....GO!

P. S. Winner gets a free root canal. Or maybe bleaching trays or something. But you have to come to Colorado. After June 15.

One Step Closer to Philly

I've started putting together my outfit in case I am able to pull off a trip back to Philadelphia in October for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event. If I can swing it, I'll be walking 60 miles in 3 days with Deb, Sara, and whoever else joins the team.

I'm going to do my best to be there as my way of celebrating my mom's 5 year survivor status. She has actually had breast cancer twice, and got within a month of being a 5 year survivor when they found the second cancer. It was a major bummer, but 5 years later she is free and clear!

Thanks Tiff for the sweatshirt (although my rack needs less supporting than yours these days;)