30 Years Old

Happy birthday to me! Once again stealing this idea from my friend Maggie... snapshot of me at 30 years old. You can read last year's birthday post here.

What did you read?

Grad school consumed most of my reading time, but since graduating in mid-December I have enjoyed many more leisure books. For non-fiction, I really liked Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by the CEO of Zappos. I've been reading a lot on Montessori (probably 10+ different titles), which I'll write about in a later post about our home preschool. I also had the honor of proofreading my colleague's new book on job search prior to publication.

I managed to do some fiction reading as well... some of my favorites include City of Women, The Forever Marriage, The Book Thief and The Fault In Our Stars.

What did you watch?

Downton Abbey (PBS) and Homeland (Showtime) were my favorite shows this year. I found Homeland while browsing on Amazon and I watched all thirteen episodes of the first season in less than a week. Seriously, it's that good. Although season two just aired this fall, the episodes won't be released to Amazon/iTunes until September 2013, so I have to wait (and try and avoid any spoilers).

What did you do with your spare time?

Once again, the majority of my spare time was dedicated to grad school. Since graduating in December, I've been reading more, setting up the nursery and catching up on projects around the house.

Where did you go?

We spent time in Door County again this summer, which is always fun. Eight days was a little long for Will, so I think we'll have to cut it back a bit if we go again.

I also traveled to Louisville for work, which was a lot of fun. It was a great conference, and Louisville was a really fun city. We visited Churchill Downs and sampled lots of bourbon, which was awesome. I'd like to go back when I have more time to explore.

What thrilled you?

Getting that positive pregnancy test!

What scared you?

Getting that positive pregnancy test.

What are you most proud of?

Finishing my master's degree!

What would you do over?

I don't really believe in regrets. But I have been thinking a lot lately about being a more present parent. Between finishing my master's degree and being pregnant, I feel like I've been distracted and exhausted for most of the year. If I could do anything over, I would try and give Will more of my full attention, to be more present and live in the moment with him. A good reminder for the year to come, especially with BG on the way.

How's married life?

Ben is wonderful. He's really gone above and beyond in the past year, picking up the slack so I could finish my degree, as well as doting on me throughout my pregnancy. He's so supportive of all my pursuits and I'm eternally thankful for that.

Marriage with young children is... hard. We don't make enough time for each other, and unfortunately, I'm sure that will only get more challenging after BG arrives. Admittedly, we both put our children before our marriage. We're working on it every day though, and trying to be more mindful of who we are as partners (not just parents).

How's parenthood?

Will is the absolute light of my life. Being his mother is the most incredible, exhausting, rewarding and frustrating thing I've ever done. Two can been really challenging at times, but it's also a blast. I'm so proud of the person Will is growing in to. He's intelligent, articulate, sensitive and funny. He loves to give cuddles and hugs. He's curious, shy and strong-willed. He is my greatest joy and accomplishment.

How's work?

I feel like I've found a nice balance between work and family in the past few months. I'm working 8-12 hours a week in the career services office of a local technical college. The work is fast-paced, and I really enjoy interacting with the students. The hours are enough to get me out of the house on a regular basis, but not so much that I feel overextended. I look forward to going back to work full-time in a few years, but for now, this very part-time schedule is perfect for our young family.

What's next?

That would be BG! We're all just hanging out here, nine months pregnant, waiting for her to arrive. If she's on the same timetable as her brother (15 days early) that would be early-April. Hopefully I'll go early again, but emotionally preparing myself to go past my due date.

I'm on maternity leave all summer (over 5 months, yay!), so I look forward to a lazy summer of outdoor concerts, running barefoot in the backyard, and park play dates. A lot of our summer will be dedicated to finding our new normal as a family of four, but I'm ready for this next phase to begin.

Onward into my 30s!