Birthday Mom

So, today I "celebrated" my 26th birthday. As one of my friends put it (in a wall post on my Facebook), "some people never make it to 26." I'm not particularly upset or overcome with doom from the age of 26 reaching me. 26, however mortal we all are, is still pretty young. When I feel old, it's more of a sense of time that has passed than a sense of how little time I have left.

I look at the fact that my twins will be turning two in a few short weeks, and the fact that I haven't trick-or-treated in a good 13 or 14 years at least, and of course the fact that I get excited to be gifted with towels, kitchen supplies, or a bill payment... I am sometimes surprised at the fact that I am actually an adult already, and that I've technically (age considered) been one for a while now. Though I've legally been an adult for years, I can't say I've felt grown up until the past three or so. Let's face it - I'm still not fully matured, but I like it that way. I revert to my youth when I come across movies and TV shows I used to indulge in on a regular basis, and when I am sick, and when I get excited about things. But, if I couldn't cling to some few ounces of youth, what kind of parent would I be? I mean, I tend to think the child inside is what helps me understand my children and hang in there as they have entered their terrible twos and test me daily.

With their birthday approaching, I've mostly forgotten mine is happening. I suppose that's the mom in me coming out and muffling the joyful birthday-girl cries from my inner-child. Instead, I've been planning (or re-planning, as the case may actually be) the twins' birthday party. Originally, I was set on doing a pirate theme and having a big thing. I bought invitations to actually mail out, I bought decorations, and I browsed cake books for the perfect pirate cake. After weeks of thinking that through, I decided that I am too busy and they are too young for such hullabaloo. Of course, that resulted in me nixing the whole thing and opting to throw a small, family-only birthday party with no decorations and just presents and togetherness. No big deal, right?

So, today I changed my mind and decided that I will have to settle for a happy medium. I have invited family and close friends and chose to go with a theme that would be more simple than before - Neither theme was too original, but... bite me? I'm a busy mom! So, in a couple weeks, I will be throwing together a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party for my almost-two-year-old twins.

My birthday? So far, at the early hour of 6pm, I've gotten a nasty stomach ache (dehydration or greasy pizza... or both?) and V has managed to give me a nice bloody nose. I've have zero gifts to physically unwrap and be surprised by, and I've cleaned my kitchen. My husband is in a 5 hour tech rehearsal for his upcoming show, and there's no cake to be had. My air-conditioning is still broke and I've been sweaty for a greater part of the day, and I don't think I put a bra on until the middle of the afternoon. I'm more surprised that I got a shower today than I am that my day has been a mediocre, stay-at-home mom day at best - complete with broken crayons covering the living-room floor, and fighting children.

I guess this is growing up, but I'm not sure I mind it too much when the day is through. Happy birthday to me! I'm surrounded with love and evidence that my children are right on track for their age (even if I'm not) and... well, if I ignore the fact that I've watched too much Backyardigans and Wonder Pets for a 26 year old (mom or not!) then... We're doing alright!

Of course, of course. Always trouble in the first blog post. I suppose I could get the basics out of the way!

I am a 26 year old mother of four children. Two of my children are step-children (or as I usually refer to them, "bonus" children) and the custody and visitation my husband and I have with his older two children is tricky, so you may or may not see much at all about them in my blog, as it is. My younger two children are twins, turning two years old August 11th, and they are boy/girl.

My husband is a phenomenal father as well as an elementary school teacher and theatre director. He has a knack for music and education, and he is the most patient and kind-hearted person in the world. On the flip-side, I am currently in the process of receiving education (full-time community college student) and am known for being somewhat spontaneous and irritable. Despite the fact that some say opposites attract, I think the biggest struggles we face tend to be around differing personalities and opinions. That being said, if there is one major accomplishment I really feel honored to have achieved in my lifetime where relationships are concerned, it would be that I managed to find a man who I can disagree with and still love and cherish with all my heart. We have been through ups and downs, and we have had to fight battles that have been started by ourselves and by others, and we have overcome and stood tall through it all. He is my rock, and I believe I am his. We hold each other up, and we work together. Even if we bicker about what time we should have left or what music we should be listening to, we always love each other.

Why have I started this blog? I suppose as a creative outlet in some ways, and as a hobby for my down-time. I've tried starting blogs before, and the number of times I've given up to start a new blog somewhere down the line is probably higher than the number of total posts I've ever created (that is a slight exaggeration, but believe me... "slight exaggeration" is no understatement!), so let's see where this takes me!