So Happy I'm Thirty

This one is for all the mamas or soon-to-be mamas or want-to-be mamas. If you do not fall into this category, you will probably hate this blog and roll your eyes a lot. At least I warned you. If there is one piece of advice, one thing from my heart of hearts that I want share with you, it is this “Don’t forget yourself.” The new season of parenting is hard. The days are a total cluster. It took me a year and a half to find even a semblance of the person I was pre-baby. When I first became a mother, I did not make time for myself at all. Mom guilt was the most real and gut-wrenching thing that I have ever experienced. If the baby woke up in the middle of the night, I had to get up and rock him, change him, feed him. If I didn’t, if I dared to let my husband help me, I would cry. I am his mother. I am supposed to meet his needs. When the baby napped, I did not nap. Instead I washed bottles, pump parts, or just simply stared at him while he was sleeping to admire my greatest blessing. ...

Noah & Lon, let's talk about it. In 2004 something momentous happened. And I’m not talking about Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl, albeit quite memorable. This was also the year that romance movies changed forever, The Notebook was released. What is the statute of limitations for doing a movie review? I’m sure it’s longer than 14 years, right? I was 16 in 2004 which is an absolutely terrible age to meet Noah. Actually, it was probably pretty great for my parents. No boy in Pelzer, SC quite measured up to Noah Calhoun. I couldn’t understand why none of these boys were madly infatuated with me, going out of their way to impress me with cute gestures every 5 minutes, writing me love notes every day or finding my temper tantrums adorable? Also, why didn't any of them look like Ryan Gosling? This is a tumultuous time in adolescence and I was so confused. Anywho, when I was a freshman in college, I met my Noah. He was not a poor little bumpkin fr...

Things that would happen if I were a Stay At Home Mom… It Ain’t Pretty… Here’s something I learned about myself recently- I am excellent at routines...until I am not. I am one that easily sets into a stride. As long as things remain the same, I am a machine. I can get into a groove and stay there forever. That is until something in my environment changes. During the school year, I have a very strict way of living life. Even my neighbors say, “We’ll text you after your Wednesday mark.” Because if you know me, then you know that Monday-Wednesday is all work, no play (except the occasional book club which I prefer to be on Thursday). Unfortunately and also THANK YOU GOD there are breaks in the school year. Christmas Break and Spring Break. During these breaks, I am basically a train wreck. I can’t get anything done. My productivity goes out the window. I forget how to function. All of the sudden my 24 hours in one day feels like only 5 hours and also like 500 hours at the same ti...

Lately, it's been hard for me to write. I enjoy writing when things are calm. I write best when I have time to be reflective. When I can just soak it up and enjoy all the crazy things about my life. I've been in a really good season for writing for quite a long time. Unfortunately, this new season is cluttering my brain. Instead of thinking about witty "30something jokes" and reading all the books I've purchased, I'm prioritizing housing projects, budgeting, and scouring the internet for design ideas. It's exhausting really. So, I'm going to take a break for a hot minute from witty 30somethings (although I do have one in the works) and I'm just going to talk about what I'm learning by living life boldly.   This is a topic I honestly NEVER thought I would bring up on a blog. Who blogs about their marriage? Literally nothing good can come out of that, but here I am. Doing bold things. Living life on the wild side. My marriage to Aaron Beas...

       Out of the blue, in December, I decided that I would become a vegan for the month of January. Why, on God’s green earth, would I become a vegan? Let me tell you, dear Friend. I love to torture myself. After reflecting on my diet, I realized my diet consists mainly of meat, cheese, wine, meat, chocolate, and meat.  My dinner plans sounded something like “steak and a green vegetable,” “pork tenderloin and a green vegetable,” “grilled chicken and a green vegetable.”  Are you seeing the trend here?         Don’t get me wrong. I like vegetables. I have never had to choke down a brussel sprout. I just began to realize that I had a meat centric diet and. I did not like that. While I’m at it, I need to cut the cheese addiction. Straight up addiction. All the cheese. All the time.          While I do love a challenge, I also love a good loophole. I know me. If the ru...

Not everything about being 30something is awesome. I know, I make it look pretty fantastic. Ever heard of that saying “Fake it til you make it?” Sometimes I do that. 1. Never being on time I love punctuality. I mean, if you aren’t 10 minutes early, then you are actually late. I used to never be late. These days, I can’t seem to get anywhere on time. Work? Late. Church? Late. Appointments? Late. Family Easter? Late. Dude, I’m just late. Lie to me about the start time. I won’t even be mad. 2. Memory failing Have you ever heard the saying ‘elephants never forget’? That used to be me. My brain was freakishly keen on remembering things. Birthdays, phone numbers, passwords, even social security numbers. It was super weird how much I could remember about a person. I remember a college exam once where we were given the essay topic to prepare. I wrote a 6 page essay, memorized it line for line and regurgitated into a blue book the next day. Who does that? I can honestly say, in 201...