This weekend was full of milestones and family. It was one of those weekends where I felt fully how truly I am blessed. I turned 30! And my grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. It is absolutely crazy to believe that they have been married twice as long as I have been alive.
To be honest, I like to drag out the fact it is my birthday. As a mom, I use it to get out of changing diapers and doing laundry and as an excuse to hit the road and have some me time. Last week I did dinner with my friend and my in-laws to celebrate the big day. I even bought myself a purse- guilt free. Well, mostly guilt free. If you and I are buddies on Instagram (@balancinghome) you saw the purse.
On Friday I celebrated with my wombmate. Yup! I’m a twin :). My parents, my twin brother, his wife and Ross and the kiddos all helped celebrate the last day of 29! We headed up to Milwaukee for a Fish Fry and polka and the kids had a BLAST. I mean I had fun too, but there was a dance floor and a bubble machine–need I say more? Every time the music would end Eleanor would sign and say “more”. They do this every Friday night. It is actually a brewery so it is the best of both worlds. The adults feel like they are “going out” and the kids are entertained.
For my actual birthday I hemmed and hawed over what to do, but at the end of the day I wanted to be with my family and have a pretty low-key evening. I slept until after 9! Any pregnant mom of two is sure to appreciate that. I woke up to a very adorable little boy singing Happy Birthday to me and walked into the kitchen to find presents, flowers, fruit, orange juice, coffee and french toast. I also had a beautiful card from Quinn and a card from Ross, both full of loving messages that just warm my heart.
Hmm…I think I could get use to this. It meant a lot to me that Ross made a point of shopping and wrapping presents and making breakfast. I felt thought of and very loved. And yes! I got my desk chair 🙂 and a giant fork, which might seem odd to most, but it shows you my husband knows me.
When all was said and done, I decided I really wanted to take my kids to Betty Brinn’s Children’s Museum. It might seem a bit odd that I spent my 30th birthday at a children’s museum, but it really was a day of family fun. The kid’s loved it and it really was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
After the museum we ate a late lunch in the third ward at the Water Buffalo. And then it was home for naps. Yes, I napped and so did the kids. While we were napping the hubby was busy straightening up. Then Ross whipped up the most divine dessert EVER! It is a brownie with this chocolatey, ooey-gooey goodness on the inside. Yum!
Of course we had to do Happy Birthday. If there aren’t candles and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, it just isn’t a birthday. We actually didn’t even think to cut up Eleanor’s cake and next thing we know she has the whole thing on her fork and she is devouring it.
We got the kids to bed early so we could relax. Ross went out and picked up wings, jalapeno poppers and Taken 2 and we sat on the living room floor, pigging out and vegging out. It was the perfect way to end the day.
I gotta tell ya, I have a hard time believing I am 30. It isn’t like there is anything wrong with 30, but I feel like I was just laying on the bathroom floor after celebrating 21 (yeah, that happened) and just cannot even begin to fathom how 9 years has passed. Not only has 9 years passed, but all the crazy life changes: graduating from college, marriage, my first job, my first car, our first house, 2 kids, another one on the way, this blog. Twenties was good to me! I have been blessed in so many ways and experienced so many changes. At the same time, 20’s was exhausting and a bit of a blur. A lot of being pregnant, nursing, establishing ourselves and chaos. I’m hoping that in my 30’s things slow down just a bit and I get a chance to feel comfortable in my own skin.
Another big milestone this weekend was my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. My grandparents are incredibly special people. It isn’t the kind of thing you can explain or sum up it words, you just gotta know them. To know them, is to love them. They are the foundation of so much of my life. Their belief in family and the power of it is evident in their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. My grandparents raised 12 children. For those of you that are counting that is: 12 children, 11 daughter/son in-laws, 38 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren with 3 more on the way. We have a large variety of religions, political views and personalities, but no matter what we are family. We aren’t the kind of family that avoids or dreads a get-together, we revel in them.
My grandparent’s house has an in-ground pool that has been the center of countless summer days. Every.single.day of the summer we woke up begging to go to Grandmas. We always had to wait until after lunch, since it wasn’t grandma’s job to feed us. My mom and many of my aunts were stay-at-home moms, so the summer was a blur of cousins, sunscreen and the pool. I learned to swim in that pool and have so many memories of horsing around with my grandpa and uncles. All through high school and when I was home for college, Sunday was about family. We would do church and then breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Everyone would bring something: bagels, eggs, juice, bacon, etc. and we would eat and chat until early afternoon.
My grandparents were even crazy enough to pile a whole bunch of us in the car and drive hours and hours to Michigan to take us camping. They are originally from Michigan, so they still have family there. We actually have an annual camping trip to Michigan, a halfway point. The Wisconsin crew meets the Michigan crew and we just hang out. At the end of the day my grandparents have made a point of making family first and I think each and every one of us feels it. I know I do. I feel so blessed to have them as role models and to be apart of this giant, crazy family.
To celebrate 60 years of marriage everyone who could make it joined my grandparents at mass. It was beautiful and I saw my grandparent’s eyes well up with tears when they turned around to see pew after pew of THEIR family. How could you not well up, looking at all the beauty and love YOU made. After mass we went out for brunch. This spring we will celebrate with a reception: a hall, DJ, fancy clothes…the whole bit.
As I look back at this weekend of milestones I truly am overwhelmed with love, joy and pride. I hope someday to be looking back at pew after pew of my family and loved ones holding Ross’s hand after 60 years of marriage.
What moments have reminded you of how blessed you are?
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