However, next year is the big 30. Looming. Or welcoming? Either way I'll be glad to see it, it beats the alternative anyway!
I was born on this date 29 years ago, and it's been a pretty awesome ride for the most part since then. I'm still alive, so I must be doing something right. Married with three kids and I have plenty of great friends who sure know how to make me smile and feel loved and appreciated, so I must have done SOMETHING right!
My wedding anniversary is next week, on the 22nd. My husband (Mr. Animal Cracker Circus), and I have been married for 7 years. Though we've been together since our Junior year of high school in 2001.
I have been ATTEMPTING to get good anniversary photos of us together since our first wedding anniversary. As you might have guessed, it hasn't gone well, at all. We tried again this week, and NOPE, wasn't about to happen.
My husband is what you call...anti camera. He hates cameras. Hates having his picture taken hates the whole photo shoot process. He hates dressing up, hates smiling in photos, just hates the whole shebang. I ask myself why I married him some days (I joke I joke). With my love of the camera, and his negative reaction to the camera, it can be frustrating to say the least! I feel like my kids will have pretty much NO good photos (or any photos) of their parents together.
When our anniversary photos were a bust I decided to scratch that whole fiasco and just go out and take my OWN photos, of ME for my BIRTHDAY! It's fun, and it gives me a little confidence booster, something I majorly need some days. I don't find myself to be all that pretty, especially within the past 4 years. I have gained more weight than I've ever cared to gain in my entire life, and it makes me feel crappy about myself.
Generally I am the one BEHIND the camera. That's where I now like to be, I used to prefer to be IN FRONT OF the camera. Now I want to hide behind it. Which is sad.
I spend a lot of time telling others that they are beautiful and to be bold and love who they are and they look FANTASTIC in their photos, because they DO! I'm always telling moms to not be afraid to be in photos with their kids no matter what they think they look like, because they don't look the way they envision. Moms are beautiful, every single one.
However, it's easier to SAY those words to others...than it is to live them myself when I'm the one who has the lens pointed at me! I felt very self conscious in my birthday photos (even more so than I did the year before).
When looking at the photos later, I decided several really weren't bad at all, and were quite nice.
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| This is my friends dog, her name is Bunny and she is the coolest dog ever! |
Today for my birthday my daughter was soooo excited to tell me "I LOVE YOU TO PLUTO AND BACK MOMMY!" and she informed me she wanted to bake me a really tall tall cake, the biggest one EVER for my birthday. My sons smothered and squished me with me with hugs and kisses, and told me they wanted to blow up a million balloons for us to play in and pop together (I love popping balloons, hahaha)!
My birthday did NOT start out the way I had envisioned. I got my daughter off to school and came home to make sure the husband got off to college. However his rheumatoid arthritis was really kicking his butt this morning and he was as stiff as could be. So he stayed home and I started on regular morning house hold chores (hey they don't go away just because it is your birthday).
However, I was called out of the house by friends who needed me for a foster dog volunteer emergency so I went to help them, hoping I'd be back in time to get my sons off to preschool (which I was iffy about sending them, they got their flu shots the day before and this morning they seemed to be feeling a little blaaaah and run down). However they perked up by the time they went to preschool. I wasn't home in time to get them ready, but the husband picked up and got them dressed and off to school, which was super awesome.
A neighbor surprised me by bringing me some red velvet cream cheese cupcakes, Mmmm! SO GOOD! Thank you!
Another good friend bought me the coolest travel coffee cup ever, it's one I've been wanting for a LONG time! It looks like a camera lens! Looove it, and can't wait to drink coffee out of it in the morning.
Numerous phone calls (My Mother called and sang me Happy Birthday on the phone like she does every year, I love it) and Facebook messages from family and friends kept me smiling all day, and a surprise birthday lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant from my husband just made my day.
The only down fall was having to spend a wee bit of time at the DMV to renew my drivers license. Thankfully it really didn't take that long, that was a relief.
Tomorrow another good friend has invited me over to her new place to eat lunch with her for a late birthday lunch, and I can't wait. I'm excited for our lunch date. It's always great to hang out with friends.
For now I must get to bed, I start a new babysitting adventure tomorrow...wish me luck with that one!
Mae
