The Big 3-0

Today is my thirtieth birthday, and it's a good moment to take stock.

A lot of people seem to fear this birthday, but I've been looking forward to it. For one thing, Mr. Bee is throwing me a party tomorrow, and I'm excited to see some people I haven't seen in a while.

I'm a little sad to be leaving my twenties (which also began with an amazing party - that time, in a castle). I accomplished quite a lot in that decade: graduated from college, got my first real job, got married, started the MBA program, bought a condo, had a baby, quit the first job and got another, sold the condo, bought a house, renovated a kitchen, got a pretty big promotion, got pregnant again, and finished the MBA. I have had wonderful support from my family and friends. I have had the opportunity to travel a bit and experience new places. It basically was the decade when my life as an adult began.

But I am excited to finally be 30. This will be decade, G-d willing, in which my second child is born, and when the BusyBee will go to kindergarten. Hopefully, we'll be able to do further renovations on our home to create our version of a dream house. There will be weddings and bar mitzvahs to attend, and I hope to finally see Europe. There won't likely be any more formal education, so I'm interested to see how I'll keep learning.

One of my bosses recently told me that I am a "person of substance." I thought that was a very cool compliment. So happy birthday to me. And for all of you reading who aren't 29 weeks pregnant, have a drink for me.

A Career Milestone

When I began my first full-time job after college, on January 17, 2000 (I graduated early), I was given a prospectus to introduce me to one of the funds I'd be working on. I had no idea what I was reading, and was really overwhelmed. Until I came to the section listing the portfolio managers and investment professionals, and their biographies.

I worked for a firm that is quite well-known in these parts, and the biographies were impressive. I realized then that this was professional recognition in the investment world, a way of saying "these are the people to trust with your money." I made it a goal to some day be listed in pages like these.

That goal was realized this week, when I wrote my biography and added it to our investor presentation template. There are only five people listed, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I know most people probably never even read the thing - you've got to be in a pretty select group of people to even see our presentation to begin with - but it feels like I've accomplished something.

The BusyBee wears pants!

The BusyBee is all girl. She loves princesses, purple and pink, make-up and most of all - dresses. Since last December, or there-abouts, she has worn only dresses and skirts. No pants, no shorts. I attempted a pair of shorts earlier in the summer, and after half an hour of screaming, they had to be removed.

But this past weekend, my mother-in-law purchased a very cute pants and shirt outfit from Hanna Anderson. The BusyBee approved the purchase and swore that she'd wear them. I had my doubts, but seeing as I hadn't even purchased a pair in her current size, I figured we might as well try.

So yesterday, when she woke up in a pretty good mood, I suggested the pants. There was a lot of resistance, but after promising a trip to McDonald's and the book store for that evening, she gave in. The pants were worn all day.

I really wish I could have taken a picture to commemorate the day, but I know the BusyBee would never have tolerated that. I didn't want to push my luck any further. So instead, I'll memorialize it here.

She's wearing a skirt again today, but I don't really want to change her sense of style. She's not going to want dresses forever. Though I did see a group of five 10-year-old girls on the T yesterday, all wearing different denim skirts. Maybe it's something she won't have to grow out of after all.

Story Land

A quick note on the virtues of Story Land, located in Glen, NH. We visited last weekend, and the BusyBee had a fantastic time. The drive from here was almost four hours, including some rough patches of traffic, so we ended up spontaneously renting a hotel room and buying new clothes to stay overnight. We might have benefited from planning that a little better, but it was a fun bit of serendipity, and everything worked out really well.

If you've got little ones and live in the area, I highly recommend it. I'm already looking forward to taking the BusyBee and JellyBelly someday.

A Company "Varganza"

To celebrate a special company milestone, a very fancy party was held last night. You could have called it an "extravaganza" but in three-year-old parlance, that might come out as "varganza" instead. I'd been calling it that in my head (and on my Google Calendar) for weeks, and I can't think of a better word now.

It was quite an event. It began with a Boston Police escort out to the site in Waltham, MA, featured a prominent reggae band (sorry to those of you who actually know reggae music, this was lost on me), and ended in fireworks.

Yes, you read that right, fireworks. It was truly over the top.

Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of company-sponsored get-togethers. I'd personally prefer that they just dole out the cash instead, even if it means less time bonding with co-workers. But seriously, what raises morale higher than more money? Well, my firm answered that question by providing a decently entertaining evening AND telling us we're all getting a surprise bonus check next week.

Now that's a real reason to celebrate.

A Vacation to Nowhere

The BusyBee's daycare is closed this week, so Mr. Bee and I were forced to take a few days off. We haven't had much of a break since our trip to California in April, so it's been wonderful.

Yesterday we visited Spectacle Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Taking the ferry from the Long Wharf pier was easy, but the beach there was a little disappointing (very rocky). Mr. Bee enjoyed a hike and the wonderful views of Boston though.

I squeezed in a haircut this morning, which is also something I haven't done in months. It was great to do it first thing in the morning and get to enjoy how nice it looks all day today.

Then we made a giant trip to IKEA. Now that the kitchen is done, we're working on outfitting our office, and then we'll move on to BusyBee's room before tackling Jelly-Belly's (our baby boy, arriving in January, aka "Buggy") room. We're using the delivery service for the first time, which seemed particularly worthwhile given that everything will be carried into the room it needs to go in, a real blessing since I'm pretty useless these days. We always have a good time at IKEA, and today featured a special highlight: BusyBee's first completely eaten ice cream cone. :)

The amazing thing is that I still have three days off! We'll be heading to Storyland in New Hampshire for one of them, but no specific plans for the rest of the time yet. How truly wonderful to take a break from work and not feel even more structured than usual!

Getting Tired

I hate to say it, but I am getting tired.

No, I don't mean the physical exhaustion of being almost 20 weeks pregnant, though there is lots of that too.

I am getting tired of reading about the "mommy wars" and, sometimes, just parenting issues in general.

Throughout my life I've been a reader of topics close to my own experiences at the time. I devoured the Babysitters Club series as a kid, and loved the whole chick lit experience when I was just starting my own relationship and career. Since my pregnancy with BusyBee and in the years hence, I've read far too many personal accounts and fact-based articles about parenting to number. With the Internet, it's just become too easy. I realized this was a problem when I tried to mention something on a blog to Mr. Bee, and he pointed out that I read so many parenting blogs that he couldn't possibly know which one I was referring to. I was going to counter back that I read just a few, thinking of maybe three. The number is actually closer to 10.

But lately, I'm not getting as much out of it. There are still some columns I read with excitement and anticipation (I've been a fan of Catherine Newman's columns, now at Wondertime, for years), but mostly it's begun to feel like a chore. I want to be entertained and a bit informed, but I've seen so many postings on the Mattel recalls that I want to vomit. I have yet to find one website, or even one article, that I can truly agree with on matters of working moms and balancing it all. I realize that this is because no two people have the same experience anyway, but these articles are written in such a way that they are meant to be universal. For every point where I'm in agreement, there's another where I want to shout back at the screen.

I realize, too, that this blog has a lot about my life as a parent and the experiences I have. Being a mom is obviously a big part of my life, and I like the idea of documenting some of these things. I think some day it will help my children understand a little bit more about me. But when large media outlets sensationalize my favorite topics, it makes me want to curl up in a ball and get away from it all.