Birthday Numbers

Today I turn 39 years old. Which got me to thinking, how the hell did that happen and where did the last 9 years of my life go? A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say:

The best picture from our Easter disaster.

What most of the rest of them looked like.

I turned 30 in the year 2000, and 3 months later I was pregnant. We've had four children, which brings me to the following realizations: I spent 3 out of the last 9 years pregnant. I nursed all four of them for about a year, for a total of 4.25 years. We've had kids in diapers for 8 years straight, and for 3 years and counting we've had 2 in diapers at the same time. I guess I know where all that time went! Oh, and I gained 153 lbs (pregnancies) and lost 147 of it.

Hopefully in the next year we can manage to get the last 2 potty trained, I can lose the last stinking 6 lbs of fat hanging around from 'baby' Jason, and we will move out of babyhood just in time for me to turn 40. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's bright and blinding! And I want it!

I love my kids, I love being a Mom and I'm especially grateful that I can be at home with them. But sometimes I'd (not so secretly) like to run away. It's hard to remember who I am in the midst of all the day to day treading water we do. The last 9 years have gone by in the blink of an eye and by the time the next 9 are over I'll be 48 and Evie will be a junior in high school. What will I be doing then when all four of them are in school all day? I can't even imagine. Hopefully not accounting :)

Everyone needs to have something to shoot for in life, and being that I'm a homebody, I don't have any great desire to go off and conquer anything before I turn 40. I have more modest goals, and really would just like to be more even-keeled temper-wise and maybe more spontaneous. Not everything HAS to be planned out at least a week in advance, right? Oh, and I'd like to do all this without the help of Prozac, thank you very much.

My to do list for the next year:

1. Have more patience with my family.
   
2. Make better use of the time that I have - for them and for myself.
   
3. Survive with my sanity intact!
   
4. Cut out the junk food & be more consistent with exercise - which will hopefully help me to
5. Get to my goal weight.
   
6. Swear less. Srsly. Little pitchers have big ears.
   

So! Happy Birthday to me! Hopefully I can stay on task and be a better, happier parent & wife. If only the damn kids would cooperate ;)

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And now for what I know you all REALLY stopped by to find out:

The winner of Pumpkin Edward (and the Starbucks gift card!) is......

I'd like to thank Pocket Edward for helping choose a winner from my scientific drawing

Jen at Tatertots and Jello!

I'm so excited Jen won because the giveaway was her idea in the first place :)

He's all packed and ready to go, I just need an address to send it to so Jen please contact me & hopefully he'll be at your house in time for Halloween!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to enter!