A New Decade

I turned thirty today. THIRTY! That is still crazy to me but, at the same time, I'm very excited to be entering what seems like a new stage of life. My husband took the day off from work today so, we were able to spend a leisurely day together that included the gym, IHOP, and a movie before we had to pick Jayla up from school.

I just returned from my conference in DC yesterday afternoon and apparently, while I was gone, there was some shopping at the party store. It turns out that Jayla wanted to get me a tiara to wear for my birthday but, Daddy wouldn't let her. When I asked him for his side of the story, he told me "That's the oldest trick in the book. She only wanted to get that for you because she wanted to wear it." So, if that little disagreement wasn't enough, there was also some conflict over which banner to get for me. So, I had two banners. One that my husband picked out:


And one that Jayla picked out:


After school, we took Jayla to dance class and then we went out to eat. My sister and aunt joined us at dinner, which was a treat. I just got Jayla into bed about 10 minutes ago. Just after putting on her pajamas, I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture of the two of us together. I have done that for the past 3 birthdays so, I didn't want to break the tradition. So, I had my husband snap a quick picture before putting her into bed.

Can I just say that I love how she completely hides the hugeness that is my 31-week belly?

No place like home...

I'm leaving tomorrow...going to DC for a conference for five days. I don't want to go. I mean, I want to do what I'm going to do there. But, I don't want to leave my family for that long. They will be fine without me. But, I know they will miss me and I will miss them.

Jayla cannot remember a time when I've gone anywhere without her. She's been asking me all weekend if she can come with me. She says she doesn't want to stay with Daddy because "Daddy is not nice" - translation: "he is not a pushover like you, mama!" And while those sorts of comments saddle me with guilt about leaving, I can't help thinking that this will still be a good time for me to get away from the daily grind of all that I am responsible for when I'm at home.

And yet, I know that I will be so, so glad when it's time to come home on Sunday and wipe the crusted snot off Jayla face while trying to cook dinner, fold laundry, read an article for school, and listen to whatever my husband decides that he absolutely has to talk to me about at that exact moment.