Birthday Season by Numbers

Hi! I am happy to report that Part 1 of Birthday Season (the part in which I am the hostess/director/ producer/event coordinator) is now complete (except for one, which I will get to in a moment). And in case you don’t know what Birthday Season is, it is the time between the end of March to the middle of May where there are a ton of birthdays and holidays. . . kind of like Christmas, but waaaayyyyy a tad longer than the Christmas season. I would not say that I escaped unscathed, but I didn’t end up getting invited to stay in a facility that has padded rooms either, so I guess that’s a win for me.

Also, on a pretty big side note, I had an awesome experience with Macomb Patch this last week as Jenny followed me as a Stay-At-Home Mom for the Macomb Patch Spring Tour. Check out the video here. And please be kind. . . I was so incredibly nervous when she asked me what makes a good mom. Also, do not fear, I will not be vlogging anytime soon. Promise.

Instead of going into a long dissertation about the past weeks, I decided to give you a condesnced version in a format that is inspired by the lovely Aunt Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka. (She also has the awesome site called Band Back Together. This month is Mental Health Awareness month, and this site is doing some incredible things about breaking the stigma attached to mental illnesses. Please go check it out).

So without further ado, I bring to you, Birthday Season by Numbers:

7 – the number of family birthdays within Birthday Season

3- the number of Costco cakes I ate (well, not the whole cake, just a lot of it)

5 – the number of gallons of ice cream I bought

3- the number of family parties we did not attend to due to serious illness

1 - the number of events we did not attend to due to our illness

1 - the number of events left to be hosted at my house as a makeup to the said missed dates due to personal illness

1 - the number of events cancelled due to the monsoon season

4 - the number of projected events hosted at my house

2 - the number of actual events hosted at my house

523 - the number of Costco trips for essentials like cake, wine, and turkey rollup party platters

3 - the number of times I ate Mexican during Birthday Season

10 - the number of days Harrington was out of town on business during Birthday Season

250 – the number of near misses for having a nervous breakdown

1 - the number of bridal showers I attended and planned during Birthday Season

14 - the number of days that my Mom and I planned a bridal shower

476 - the number of times that it felt good to see my cousin and his wife-to-be since they live so far away

6 - the number of birthday parties left to attend during Part 2 of Birthday Season

1 - the number of princesses parties that Marie attended in which all 8 guests were jumping on the trampoline at once without a net

1,000,645 - the number of seconds I held my breath hoping Marie didn’t fall off, waiting for the hostess
mom to stop chain smoking long enough to say something, and when she didn’t, I finally told Marie to get off the trampoline

3- the number of parents that stayed at the party even though she said it was fine that parents stayed, but once there, the vibe suggested otherwise

0 - the number of times Marie will go back to that house without me

18 – treat bags of Mommy’s Special Snack mix (comprised of pretzels, raisins, and 1 table spoon of M&M’s) that I made for Marie’s birthday snack for school since I decided to be a kill joy and not bring in pop tarts or cookies since those treats are brought in on a daily basis as “healthy snacks.” (A side note: “Real Fruit Flavor” is not the same as “Real Fruit”)

1 - the number of parties at Rochester Play for Marie’s big 5 year old birthday

373,047,808,3748,374 - the number of smiles had by all the guests because the people at Rochester Play know how to throw The. Most. Perfect. Birthday. Party. Ever.

0 - the number of parties I plan on having at my house after such a successful offsite party. Really, Rochester Play, you are so, so awesome!

570 - the number of times I wanted to blog, but was too tired after planning

1,000 - the number of times I feel relieved to get back to blogging because you know, I love it and it makes me happy.

1 - the number of days we celebrated Easter with an awesome brunch and my brother’s delicious biscuits and homemade sausage gravy

1 – the number of days we celebrated Mother’s Day with my Mom, Mother-in-law, and Aunt Carol

0 - the number of days I planned Mother’s Day

7 - the number of days I wondered when Harrington and my Dad were going to start planning Mother’s Day

245 - the number of times I was thankful that my Dad made the perfect mojito and Harrington got me the book I was so desperately hoping for

5,783,754,870,734,087,021 - the number of I felt super lucky to be a mom to some pretty incredible Babes

1 – the times I went to Chicago with my Mom and Marie to visit my cousin and Aunt Diane to see my cousin’s end of the year project for her master’s program and celebrate the completion of Birthday Season Part 1

1,000 - the number of times I was thankful the the naviagation device on my phone delivered me from my home to Chicago safely and accurately

1 - the number of times we attended Kindergarten Roundup

5 - the number of times I stopped myself from crying because my little girl is Going. To. Kindergarden.

25 – the number of pounds I should have gained during this season (see number of Costco cakes and gallons of ice cream)

0 – the number of pounds gained thanks to zumba and yoga and IBS (mostly, the IBS)

9,578,402,183,659,120,978 – the number of times I felt lucky to have great family and friends

9,578,402,183,659,120,978 - the number of times I was getting down about the drama that often surrounds Birthday Season

Well, I think that pretty much sums up the past month and a half. So, what’s new with you? Anything good? Or not good but want to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Vancouver Trip: Deep Thoughts Part 2

Alternate Title: I Am Not a Control Freak, but I May Be JWoww

Today will conclude my deep thoughts while in Vancouver. Because, seriously, there’s other important things to talk about like my crippling fear of raw chicken and my new favorite place. So here are some other observations I made while in beautiful Vancouver:

Planner vs. Control Freak
I have come to the realization that I am A Planner. I love to plan for things. It gets me excited. I love to plan birthdays and holidays and fun activities. I like to make sure my alternative caregivers know the plan so they know what the Babes like. If the plan doesn’t work out exactly so, that’s OK, but I think information like how many vitamins to give and what their favorite foods are is helpful information.

I do not think I am A Control Freak (well, maybe about germs and raw chicken). Control Freaks, in my opinion, like to be in control of people. For instance, Control Freaks like to push their views onto others. They see others as an extension of themselves. Control Freaks want their kids to be Just Like Them rather than Be Their Own People. I used to think they were one in the same, but A Planner is much different than A Control Freak. I believe that I am not a Control Freak because I really do encourage The Babes to independent and explore what makes them happy. And by happy, I mean what makes-them-light-up-inside-happy, not eating-a-bottomless-jar-of-cookies-happy.

I also think that the energy of A Control Freak is different than the energy of A Planner. A Planner is pro-active and wants to do and to experience. A Control Freak’s energy is more fear-based and passive aggressive. They are afraid so they control.

This is just not me.

Having said that, I am a lot tad bit obsessive about germs, especially those that are associated with raw chicken.


I think I’ve let the view of others seep into my consciousness and cloud my perception of myself. I think traveling so far away from home helped me to realize the difference. I’m not exactly sure how or why I was able to see this, but instead of trying for figure it out, I am just going to be grateful for the distance to see who I really am.


Faking It
I am becoming more and more proficient in putting on my brave face, not just for the Babes, but for others. Networking makes me nervous, but I wasn’t going to let Harrington see me sweat. I wanted him to focus on this conference and not worry about me. So after weeks of preparing for this trip and an incident of “delayed luggage” (which is a brilliant term used by the airlines for lost luggage) and the overwhelming feeling that it was finally over, I lost. It. Freaked. The. F*CK. Out. I didn’t get the kind of reaction that I wanted because The Hubs was freaking out, too. Part of it is we are both kind of stumbling around all the changes that are going on right now. Another part of it is that I have changed. I used to be that person who was the epitome of an open book.

So the great part - I am mastering grace under pressure. The bad part - people don’t know what I am thinking and then surprised if I have an emotional outburst. Harrington and I had a conversation about this prior to the trip after watching Jersey Shore:

Me: Wow! JWoww is one tough broad. She says what she’s thinking and doesn’t waver. Everyone listens to her.

The Hubs: Why are you so surprised? That’s you.

Me: I’m not that scary, and when my boobs got that big, I pumped.

The Hubs: Everyone who is that strong in what they believe in can be scary to people are insecure.

I am pretty sure that was a compliment, but the bottom line is, if you cut me (or JWoww), we both bleed. If I am going to be brave, then I need support to decompress and refill the tank. In fact, I think part of being brave is respecting personal limits and vocalizing needs. But I do get the confusion: there is a disconnect when actions don't match up to feelings. When I was a kid, it took my Dad a lot to get angry. And when he yelled, it totally took me by surprise. I never knew he was getting angry. Back then, I never understood how he did it, but now I totally get it.

So I am not sure what I think about this new part of my personality emerging. Part of me feels empowered to be in control of my emotions and strong to be there for my family, but sometimes I feel lonely.



Eat, Pray, Love
As I stated in a previous post, I said that I was going to read this book. I am almost done, and I will reserve any and all comments until I am done reading.


So, Friends, have you changed in ways that you didn’t expect? How? Why? Do you often get caught up and start to believe what others think of you?

See you for Feel Good Friday!