You see this is why I always want the whole month of July to be about my birthday. It’s over after 9 days… then what? I go back to normal life? Boring!

HA! I kid. I kid.

I had a really great 30th birthday. I got to do exactly what I wanted.

This year my birthday was on Saturday so J took care of the baby Friday night AND Saturday night so I could sleep. It was glorious!

I shared lots of birthday snaps and videos over on Snapchat.  Make sure you add me @meredithrines for more behind the scenes.

The one thing I wanted to do for my birthday was head to the town’s 4th of July parade.  It had been postponed because of the rain and I hadn’t been to the parade since I was in it back in the 6th grade.  We took the baby with us and he loved it.  Especially the police car’s lights that were blocking the street.  He stared at those forever.  He wasn’t a fan of the fire truck’s sirens though, he about jumped out of his skin when that went off.  Oops!

After the parade J and I headed out of town for lunch.  You’re probably thinking – out of town…for lunch?! But yes, we did.  The nearest bigger city is a little over an hour away so we drove up there to have hibachi.  Then after lunch we went to the mall for a bit.  Then we spent the evening doing one of my favorite things – nothing.

We sat on the couch, watched tv, played with the baby and went to bed early.  It was wonderful!  

I love a quiet evening at home with no commitments. Those are the best.

Now it’s time to start planning and packing for our next big adventure – vacation with J’s family. I learned some valuable lessons on our last big trip with Baby and can’t wait to put them into practice.

It seems that every year I come up with a birthday to do list. I’ve been doing it for awhile, even before documenting on the blog. This year my goals might be a little different since I’m a new mom and I’m still working on completing a few designations (Hello Certified Financial Planner!) for my career.

Here we go, my 30 while 30 list:

1. Listen to God more
2. Document our son’s first year as best as I can
3. Spend time with my three dogs to make sure they know they are still a priority
4. Pay down even more debt (this past year was amazing for J and I on knocking out debt and I want to keep it going)
5. Finish my CFP designation
6. Start my accounting degree
7. Become more active – lose the baby weight!
8. Learn to calm down more and let things slide
9. Organize my kitchen (sounds silly, but it’s a big goal of mine!)
10. Take a weekend trip with my little family
11. Eat healthy… most of the time
12. Share my stories of being a new mom with others
13. Take more time to be with my friends
14. Relax more
15. Start creating videos for my top financial tips
16. Go to a Blues game
17. Plan to see at least one concert
18. Try to encourage others more
19. Pray harder
20. Enjoy every moment with my new family
21. Take a photography class
22. Learn to side hustle a little better
23. Support J more – emotionally, spiritually, etc.
24. Be a good mother
25. Take more risks
26. Don’t be afraid of adventures
27. Volunteer more to charities I am passionate about
28. Become a better health-conscious baker
29. Smile more
30. Worry less

That’s right this month I’m turning the BIG 3-0! I really can’t believe it. I feel like it was just yesterday I had my car loaded down and was driving to college for the first time. Now here I am over 10 years later.  Crazy!

My 30th year is going to rock in comparison to all my others. I think I say that every year, but this time I’m serious. I have a little boy now and he makes my world so much brighter.  Not to mention the sweet, sweet husband I have.  He’s been such a trooper these past few months.  Really helping me with our little one and just being there for me.  I can’t imagine going through all of this without him.

This year, there won’t be any flashy parties or over-the-top celebrations for my birthday.  And I’m okay with that.  I’m happiest with take out food, J, our baby, the dogs and a nice Rom Com on.  Every year I try to convince J to celebrate the whole month of July for my birthday. And every year he tells me no. He gives me a week and then usually does something really sweet on my actual birthday, but I just can’t get him convinced that I deserve a whole month.

I have some really great posts coming up next week (my actual birthday week) to share with you all.  A list of birthday freebies is coming up first.  One great thing about letting business owners know it’s your birthday is all of the free stuff you get.  So I’m sharing my favorite places to sign up at for the deals.  

I also am sharing my annual to do list – each year the list gets longer because I get older and each year I work hard to get stuff done.  Last year for my 29 While 29 list I had a blast crossing things off.  This year is going to be just as great.

Finally, I’m sharing something interesting tidbits you may not know about me.  These are my deepest darkest secrets that I have never released (well some of them are anyway!).  I can’t wait to get this party started.  

My darling husband is turning 30 today! I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays – he deserves it!

J and I are so much alike in some ways and then complete opposite in others.  Maybe that’s why we work so well together.  I’m logical when it comes to everything but my emotions – that’s when J steps in.  He keeps me calm and level-headed when I start to get overwhelmed. He lets me complain when I need to, but knows when enough is enough.

One of the first qualities that really attracted me to him was the fact he didn’t let me walk all over him. He’s strong-willed and I appreciate that so much in a man. He didn’t let me get away with anything (not like I tried that much!) and always made me think before I acted.  I know it’s crazy to think I was really attracted to him because he put me in my place, but it’s true. He stood up to me when no one else would. He wasn’t afraid of hurting my feelings when telling me the truth, but he always had a pretty-kind way of letting me know I had crossed the line.

Another quality that I love about him is his tenderness.  He’s sweet to me and he’s sweet to the dogs, which is a huge plus for me. Especially when I see him becoming a Dad.

During our first New Year’s together I had invited a bunch of friends over to my apartment to have a low-key night. After some wine and beer drinking, a glass had shattered on the floor. I was trying to get it cleaned up and remember my dog was walking around. I was worried that she may hurt her paws on the shattered glass. I looked up and there was J, he had scooped up my precious Maggie into his arms and was carrying her around so she wouldn’t hurt her paws.  He was even telling her it was going to be okay so she wouldn’t get overwhelmed by all of the chaos.

My heart melted. Without hesitation, he knew the most important being to me was Maggie and he took care of her.

I know he will do the same for our son and I can’t wait to see how great of a Dad he will become.

Happy birthday, J! You are the man I want to spend the rest of my days with.  I can’t wait to continue to grow and become a stronger family unit.  You are the best!  Happy 30th!