It's My Birthday and I'm Happy

I'm not just happy because it's my birthday. It's my birthday and I'm just plain happy. I can't say that all of the facebook messages, texts, and phone calls haven't made me happy today. They have definitely made this day feel special. But my happiness goes beyond just today. I feel like at the ripe old age of 33 I have figured out HOW to be happy.

The two most important men
in my life

I'm not trying to paint this picture of a perfect life with a perfect, doting husband, and 3 perfectly well behaved children. That's definitely not us. But I think I've finally had that "ah-ha" moment (or more like a series of moments over the past couple of years) where I have realized things will never go perfectly, people will never be perfect, and I can choose to be happy and grateful despite it.

I have been married to my husband for 8 years. We dated for 5 before that. For a third of my life I have been with this man. He is not perfect and we do not have a perfect marriage. We fight over stupid things like money, disciplining the children, money, helping out around the house, and, did I mention money? We don't have a crazy passionate, romantic relationship. (I'd say maybe odd and quirky would better describe it.) But we do love each other unconditionally. We know each other's flaws and choose to love each other despite them. We have respect for each other and support each other in careers, parenting, and life.

My perfectly groomed daughters...
oh wait, I think that's watermelon
stainson Lexi's shirt.

I have 3 children who I love dearly but who can drive me absolutely mad. They each have their own little personalities and can push my buttons in different ways. For the most part, they are loving, caring, and thoughtful kids who can be very well behaved...for other people :) They are healthy and, as far as I can see, pretty happy. They can make me so angry and melt my heart all within the matter of an hour.

I might not have a beautiful
house but I do have a pretty
good view. Will must
appreciate it, too!

I live in a pre-1900 farm house that is falling apart and needs updating. It's crowded and disfunctional for our family. It's cluttered with crap and ridden with spiders, flies, and, eek...the occasional mouse. I have complained about this house since before Brad and I were even married. I have had building plans on my mind since the day I moved in. I have been embarrassed to invite people over because of its condition. But, it provides shelter and I also love it. It is where Brad carried me over the threshold and where we have brought each of our children home. It's stock full of memories and although I hate it, I will be sad to say goodbye to it someday.

I do not lead a FABULOUS life filled with designer things, world travels, or crazy endeavors. I live on a farm in the middle of America. I have bad habits and at times, bad manners. I curse when I stub my toe and when I drop stuff. I will never be a size 2 and I will always look in the mirror and find something I don't like about myself. I can be extremely shy around new people or in new situations. I worry about stupid stuff I can't control and about royally screwing up my kids. I've made bad choices and am not perfect. And, I'm okay with this.

I am happy with the life I have, flaws and all. I will try to do my best at my job and at being a good mother and wife. I will continue to want to try new things and travel to new places. I will do my best to be a good friend, sister and daughter. But I will make mistakes and may not get to do everything I want to...right this instant. I will not be perfect and can NOW appreciate that people will love me despite that.

My perfectly unperfect family on
a perfect September night.

Thanks to all my family and friends who have helped me realize that being less than perfect is perfectly perfect. You have made me so happy on this birthday.

If You Give a Mom a Day Off...

If you give a mom a day off work, she'll try to catch up on laundry.

While putting clean laundry away, she will decide to go through all closets and drawers since the seasons are changing. She'll pack away summer clothes and make sure all fall clothes are hung up and stocked in dresser drawers.

When she looks in a dresser drawer, she'll find a snack container that one of her kids put in there. She'll think, "I wonder how long that's been in there," as she carries it downstairs to put in the sink. She'll find the sink full of dishes.

She will start doing the dishes at the sink and notice some cobwebs in the corners of the cupboards. She'll go get the vacuum to suck up the cobwebs and then decide to vacuum the living room, stairs, and kids' bedrooms.

While in the bedroom, she will notice the 6 sets of Legos all mixed up and laying all over the Barbie table. Her type A personality will kick in and she'll start sorting the Legos into proper baggies. She'll become distraught because there are pieces missing so she'll start picking up toys off the bedroom floor to find them.

Along with toys, she'll pick up some scraps of artwork around the room and dirty Kleenexes off the nightstand. She'll take these downstairs to throw away.

As she's tossing these in the garbage, she'll spot an envelope of a bill that needed to be paid so she'll go get her purse to get her checkbook.

When she looks in her purse, she'll see lots of receipts and coupons that need to be organized. She'll grab her coupon organizer (that serves only to hold coupons that will expire before she gets around to using them) to put her new coupons in.

After organizing her coupons, she'll look up while wracking her brain as to why she got her purse out to begin with. That's when she'll notice the dusty fan blades. She'll get a chair and a rag and wash these off and think of how much she loves her Norwex cloths.

This will inspire her to wash off her cupboard doors. She'll clean off dried on applesauce and ketchup and other miscellaneous things she can't identify.

As she's cleaning the lower cupboards, she notices how dirty the kitchen floor is. Just as she is about to spot clean the kitchen floor, the dryer buzzes which means there is another load of laundry ready to fold.

She gets the clothes out of the dryer and takes them into the living room and notices that Ellen is on TV. So she thinks, "screw it!" and plops down in the recliner to relax!