Friday Favorites: This is 30

I know I have only been 30 years old for a month, but it feels like I’ve been out of my 20s for years. I guess that is what happens with Motherhood.

Tomorrow Annabelle and I are headed to Connecticut for my belated 30th birthday party. It is exactly one month after my birthday, so I like to call it my 30 + 1 month celebration. 

one. Thirsty Thursday. 

I remember a time when Thursday was my favorite day of the week. We kicked off the weekend on Thursday nights with a few cocktails. Even when I entered the real world and had a real job, I still partook in Thirsty Thursday – even if it meant I was just having some wine (aka a bottle) with my Grey’s.

When you’re 30 years old and a Mom, Thursday means “It’s almost Friday!” I go to bed without watching anything on ABC. DVR records my shows and my head hits the pillow before Meredith gives her closing monologue. I watch my shows the next morning while a toddler runs through my legs and I cook breakfast.

two. money. 

Gone are the days of mad money paychecks and impulse buys. I am now in a world where splurges are made in the toy aisle of Target. Even before I became a Mom, I thought twice about buying a new pair of shoes.

Are these a “need” or a “want?” When I got my first big girl paycheck I remember I spent it all in a hot minute – on crap from Trader Joe’s and a new shirt. Nowadays, my paycheck is deposited into our account and half is put in savings and the other half pays bills and for groceries.

three. cellulite and wrinkles.

No one warned me to embrace my youthful skin when I was in my early twenties – not in the way that they should have at least. I used to complain about my legs – not muscular enough, too muscular, flabby, cellulite-y, and so on.

I wish someone would have said, “SHUT UP” and love what you got, because your skin thins out as you get older and after you have a baby your body gets weird. I’m thinner than I was before I had a baby, but now I resemble a young boy in a bathing suit. What I would give to have that butt that got me the nickname “Wideload” in high school… 

And wrinkles… don’t get me started on the wrinkles. I may look young from afar, but come a little closer and check out these lines by my eyes and forehead. Botox has been calling my name for the last two years but I haven’t bit the bullet, and I’m holding out for awhile because I know it gets worse.

THE SUN IS NOT YOUR FRIEND – it is evil and wreaks havoc on youthful skin. My Mom always told me to wear sunscreen and stay out of tanning beds. Did I listen? No… and now I shall suffer.

four. the day after. 

It has to be said … a grown up hangover is no freakin’ joke, and the day after a fun night out when you’re a MOM is harder than the SATs. There is no cure either. When I was in my early twenties, Taco Bell, Gatorade, and a Bloody Mary fixed all my Saturday morning blues.

In my late twenties/first month of my thirties, three glasses of wine on a Saturday night WITH DINNER, enjoyed over a 6 hour period, proves to be an awful decision. Sunday morning I feel like I have been stranded in the Sahara with an elephant sitting on my head for a week without water. Tolerance does not improve with age my friends – it worsens.

Honestly, I love being 30 years old. This post is not meant to be a complaint – but more like an honoring of my youth, hah – and some advice to those who haven’t reached their 30s yet!