First thing's first. What I wore:
sweater: Gap
skirt: The Limited (acquired last night at an upscale consignment shop)
shoes: from my grandma
pasty legs (that I mercifully cut out from the first picture): winter
headband: Lilla Rose
It was pretty exciting to attend Mass together as a family (first time in two months between me being unwell and Lucia being sick) and Lucia was mostly well behaved (Mass behavior: B) so that was a pretty nice birthday gift in itself. But not the best birthday gift. Read on.
Before you think the title about not being pregnant is me getting mopey about my miscarriages, it's not. I know that I have every right to still be mopey if I want to be, but I don't. I turn 27 today and I'm feeling pretty darn good. There will still be bad days, I know that, and I specifically expect my due dates/months to be quite hard, but it seems as if the good days far outnumber the bad right now.
sweater: Gap
skirt: The Limited (acquired last night at an upscale consignment shop)
shoes: from my grandma
pasty legs (that I mercifully cut out from the first picture): winter
headband: Lilla Rose
It was pretty exciting to attend Mass together as a family (first time in two months between me being unwell and Lucia being sick) and Lucia was mostly well behaved (Mass behavior: B) so that was a pretty nice birthday gift in itself. But not the best birthday gift. Read on.
Before you think the title about not being pregnant is me getting mopey about my miscarriages, it's not. I know that I have every right to still be mopey if I want to be, but I don't. I turn 27 today and I'm feeling pretty darn good. There will still be bad days, I know that, and I specifically expect my due dates/months to be quite hard, but it seems as if the good days far outnumber the bad right now.
There will be no babies while I'm 27. I know that and, somehow, knowing that takes a lot of pressure off of me. If everything goes well, there will be a baby when I'm 28, or if it doesn't, maybe later. Or not at all, I acknowledge that is a possibility. As it stands, there will be no babies this next year for me, most likely we will not even try for baby until my 27th year is almost over, so I can breath a little sigh of relief. Trying to conceive is stressful for me and being pregnant is stressful now that I've experienced losses, but I don't have to worry about those this year. This is a year of respite. Instead of being bitter about having to wait, I'm embracing this gift of rest. Boy, do I need it.
Anyway, the title isn't about those things. It's about this fun conversation (which you may have already seen if you like me on facebook):
me: No.
her: Oh, well, the way you are sitting makes your stomach look big.
Um, thanks? I thought we as a society agreed that the pregnancy question is the question that shall not be spoken. Seriously, even if I did/do look pregnant (which I'm hoping I did/do not), I would have looked maybe three months pregnant. Not obvious. "Maybe she's pregnant or maybe she has a little bit o' a belly and had a big lunch," NOT "Is she going to pop at any moment?" And in case you were wondering, I was not her client so her rude comment didn't have any bearing on her tip.
So there's that. I did not let that ruin my spa day. The spa day that David sent me off to while he stayed home with Lucia and did the taxes. Have I mentioned lately how amazing and self-sacrificing my husband is? No? Well, I should do that more, especially since he reads this blog. (Another act of self-sacrifice.)
Spa day was still not my favorite birthday present this year. If you look at my pictures above, you may notice Lucia's cute dress. But the most important thing she is wearing is not her dress, but what is under the dress. Panties! We took Lucia out to dinner with us for her first diaperless outing last night and it went swell. So today she went to Mass and the store sans diaper and she did awesome. Telling us and using the bathroom when she needed to. No accidents. The idea of no more diapers is thrilling. Best birthday present ever!
Since I am now finally an adult of 27 (because that's when society would like convince everyone adulthood first starts), I decided my first act as an adult should be finally deciding what my Myers-Briggs personality type is. So, despite the million times I have tried to take a MB test before, I finally sat down and just read the differences between each dichotomy and chose which one I was more like. Basically, if there are six things to describe each one, I identify with three of one and three of the other (which is what the problem has always been, I'm not very extreme about anything) but I just chose one or the other and called it a day. I'm guessing the outcome will be drastically different next time I do the same. (In fact, I remember once identifying myself is INTP which is almost the exact opposite, though perhaps that shows I am indeed a Perceiving personality.) But now, I get to look at all those fancy grids of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or The Little Mermaid characters and match up my MB personality type with theirs and find out who my silver screen soul sister (or brother) is. And to think, I waited all these years. That in itself guarantees 27 is going to be grand.
Except for the fact that I'm no longer carded when I order a margarita. Which means I look over 30...or the waiters are lazy. But as long as you don't ask if I'm pregnant, I don't mind if you don't card me. Deal?
Spa day was still not my favorite birthday present this year. If you look at my pictures above, you may notice Lucia's cute dress. But the most important thing she is wearing is not her dress, but what is under the dress. Panties! We took Lucia out to dinner with us for her first diaperless outing last night and it went swell. So today she went to Mass and the store sans diaper and she did awesome. Telling us and using the bathroom when she needed to. No accidents. The idea of no more diapers is thrilling. Best birthday present ever!
Since I am now finally an adult of 27 (because that's when society would like convince everyone adulthood first starts), I decided my first act as an adult should be finally deciding what my Myers-Briggs personality type is. So, despite the million times I have tried to take a MB test before, I finally sat down and just read the differences between each dichotomy and chose which one I was more like. Basically, if there are six things to describe each one, I identify with three of one and three of the other (which is what the problem has always been, I'm not very extreme about anything) but I just chose one or the other and called it a day. I'm guessing the outcome will be drastically different next time I do the same. (In fact, I remember once identifying myself is INTP which is almost the exact opposite, though perhaps that shows I am indeed a Perceiving personality.) But now, I get to look at all those fancy grids of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or The Little Mermaid characters and match up my MB personality type with theirs and find out who my silver screen soul sister (or brother) is. And to think, I waited all these years. That in itself guarantees 27 is going to be grand.
Except for the fact that I'm no longer carded when I order a margarita. Which means I look over 30...or the waiters are lazy. But as long as you don't ask if I'm pregnant, I don't mind if you don't card me. Deal?
Linking up with Fine Linen & Purple.
Happy 27th! I think I wrote a blog post a few years back when I turned 27 about that being the magical age of adulthood. Also, hooray for undies!! We're getting close over here, but she won't tell us when she has to go. And she won't sit on a public toilet to save her life.
ReplyDeleteAs for the carding, I noticed the older Cora gets if she's with us, the less I get carded at restaurants. I always get carded when buying wine at the grocery store, though.
Enjoy your year of respite! I'm glad you have claimed this perspective for the year.
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteLOVE your skirt! And happy birthday! Something about 27 made me also feel a little more officially adult--I think because it put my solidly in the "late 20s" category. Incidentally, I also cannot remember the last time I was carded.
ReplyDeleteOn you MB, I would recommend actually doing a quiz, even a mini one. Because I have personally found that trying to choose each letter individually for me is not always right, but the description of an ENFJ altogether IS. But I can never pick I or E or P or J independently--they just don't seem right.
You seem really good--I'm glad :-)
Happy birthday, Mandi! You and Lucia look lovely!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday!
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely do NOT look pregnant (and really, ANYONE could look pregnant if they're sitting in those awkward massage chairs, so why would she ask that question??? SO awkward.). And I'm really glad you didn't let that ruin your spa day :)
Also, Lucia is an awesome pop of color for your outfit!
And MB tests... I'm different every time, even if I take a test! I'm really like, 50/50 on each aspect and there just needs to be some sort of designation for that! I think temperaments make more sense than personality types - have you read up on those much?
And yeah, I still get carded even if I have all 4 kids with me. My middle school students were convinced that I'm 20. Yeah, my 10-year high school reunion is this year... And I've gotten stopped in the hall in the secondary school where I teach and asked why I'm not in class. Sigh. I'm guessing not getting carded for YOU is a combination of looking at least 25/26 and being confident enough that they know you're not underage and excited about not getting caught!
Happy Birthday, Mandi! Congrats on figuring out your MB type. I've never had the patience to sit through one of those tests. I wonder what that says about me...
ReplyDeleteAnd way to go Lucia for being such a big girl and wearing panties!
Enjoy your year of respite. :)
Happy Birthday! I'll send up some prayers that 27 is filled with grace for you and your family =)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Mandi!!
ReplyDeleteLulu's face in the pictures is so precious! :)
Happy belated birthday! I know this post was about a month ago, but after I read it I had to comment. I, too, am outraged at the lack of memo people seem to have gotten recently regarding the rule to never so much as hint that a woman might be pregnant unless she's about 4 days from her due date and slim as a rail otherwise. I've had dozens (and I actually mean dozens--no hyperbole!) of folks asking me not if I'm pregnant, but rather "When is the baby due?" and "How's that baby coming?" One woman actually reached out a rubbed my belly! And then proceeded to argue with me about whether I was, in fact, pregnant. I may be a curvy Italian gal, but I'm still pretty slender. People are crazy, girl. cuh-ray-zee. So it's not just you. (And I, too, know how rough it can be to be asked that when you want to say yes.) But huge kudos to you for taking it in stride and with grace and charity. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd happy belated birthday again!