Only One More Year In My Twenties?!

Today's my birthday and that means that I only have one more year in my twenties.  What?!  How did this happen.  I still think of myself as someone who is young - as in very young.  I still think that I just graduated from college last year and that I just got married.  I feel like a young mom.  And then I look in the mirror and realize that I'm just a bit older than I thought.  I have mommy brain - meaning I can't remember what I'm saying in the middle of a conversation.  I have brown hair now.  I have wrinkles around my eyes.  I just put some jeans from high school in a bag to Goodwill.  So, yes, I'm older than I once was.  BUT I am SO loving life right now.  These are the best days of my life!  Some say that college days are the best.  Those days were easy, but they were not the best because I was missing the love of my life all 4 years in college and I hadn't yet met my children.  But for real - this past year has been wonderful and I can't wait for the years to come.  29 is just a number. 

For my birthday, I told Ray that the ONLY thing I wanted was to go out to dinner with him and be able to have awesome food (that I didn't cook) and to eat it slowly and without interruption.  I love my kids - so so much.  I rarely get flustered with them.  But, I have been wanting a few hours away from the house and kids with Ray.  So, for the first time since Luke was born, we left the kids with Ray's parents last night and we had a night out.  Luke goes to bed around 6:30 these days, so I put him to bed and then we left.  It felt so nice to fix my hair and get dressed up.  We snapped a family picture before we left.  Ignore the fact that Ray is holding Luke out close to the camera.  He was getting ready to go to bed and when he's fussy, he likes to be held like that...

First, we went to Loft because I wanted to buy a new shirt.  It's not possible for me to try on clothes with a baby and a toddler.  So I enjoyed doing this with Ray.  Next, we went to Print Works for an appetizer in the bar.  We got the cheese and charcuterie board.  It was tasty, but not filling, so it was exactly what we wanted.  Then, we drove down the street to Green Valley Grill.  We got three small plates - the flatbread, calamari, and ahi tuna - they were all delicious.  At Green Valley Grill, they give you a free piece of cake for you birthday - it was delicious!  I got a cup of coffee with it and I enjoyed every single bite and sipping my coffee slowly as I cupped the warm mug in my hands.  I used to drink coffee, but I quit drinking it when I had kids.  For me, coffee is about slowing down, sipping, and relaxing.  That doesn't really happen in my life right now, so I don't drink coffee.  But last night I got my cake and coffee too and it was perfect. 

My actual birthday was today and it was a great day.  We went to church this morning and there was a Christmas party in our life community group.  We played dirty Santa and I got a neat bag.  In the afternoon, Luke and I napped together and we watched the Panthers win.  This evening we did grocery shopping and then made homemade flatbread for dinner.  While Ray was finishing the flatbread and I was washing dishes, this conversation went down:

 Me: Gosh, last night was so nice.  I wish we could do it again!
Ray: Well, you can't be Cindarella every night.

Ha!  True.  Thanks, dream crusher.  But I don't mind washing dishes most days and I'm so thankful to have dirty dishes because that means we have had a good meal. It's been a wonderful birthday!