Move over… it’s all about me!

Is it that time again? I’m loving these Mom Before Mom posts and learning about all of my favorite bloggers out there. Thank you Carla at AllofMe…Now!

This prompt is: How did you celebrate your birthday? Do you have a favorite celebration? Worst? From the cake to the presents to the guests, invite us in to the party.

In the years prior to wifedom and mom, I was pretty cool 🙂 I’d love to describe Worth before Martinka in the birthday zone… or at least my early, in which I knew a thing or two about life after 10pm. But, I’m not sure I can remember those times. So, here are my past few celebrations. They all mean something special to me and I have the best of, though few in numbers, no less mighty in love, friends a girl could ask for.

As a general rule, we don’t do physical gifts… at least not from friends. A drink purchased, a dinner, a movie. I love memories being made. My friend Tracey has taken me to see Twilight every year for my day… this year, due to no vampire flick, we will be seeing Catching Fire 🙂 Another time, I was treated to a mini/pedi/massage. And, my best friend took me to a fancy sushi restaurant this past year one night and Dave took me to another the next!

Those are gifts- the memories that come and the times we will always share. My ever-generous Mom and mother-in-law always splurge on me, and my hubby has taken to getting me a beautiful charm for each occasion in life to add to my Kay’s Charmed Memories bracelet.

Mostly, my celebrations in the past few years have consisted of my gal pals enjoying drinks and the company of each other, or an amazing vacation. For these things, I am truly blessed.  Of course, I have a worst birthday (23rd), which consisted of me being kicked out of a bar, my boyfriend and I being publicly intoxicated and argumentative and my friends, who had driven over 250 miles from Philadelphia, sleeping in my rented portion of an illegal-to-live-in-warehouse with no heat and no bed (I didn’t have heat or a bed that entire winter, so they can all get over it). But, who wants to hear about that?!

There was 24… and it was awesome! I went home to PA to celebrate my engagement and my birthday, and seeing my mom is always a bonus!

I also got to spend my birthday night in the booth at Thee Red Fez in Providence (recently sold and bought by an awesome dude… I can’t wait to check it out). Friends came, much was laughed about, an Oreo cake presented itself to me, and there were drinks-a-plenty!

Yep, 24 was great.

My 25th birthday fell about 3 months after Dave and I were married, so we decided to honeymoon then. Riviera Maya, Mexico!!! What a happy birthday to me! And my 27th birthday, with a belly full of baby, we made the incredible journey to Honolulu, Hawaii for my oldest friend’s wedding! (Hawaii travel tip, sans baby: book a year in advance AND get the cheapest place- you’ll never be in your room anyway!)

My 26th was your usual wine and dine… psych! Dave took me to breakfast. It was supposed to be to a place we went to while we were dating… a chain we joked we were bringing back, but only went to once… We found out it was closed when we got there, so we went to T’s (another favorite of mine). While there, Dave whipped out a game of hangman he had made for me (I love hangman!).

The game led us to a beautiful, crisp day getting apples from a farm and walking our new puppy, Carter (now a beast at 70 pounds) in the woods. A wonderful birthday, marked by the experience surrounding it:

I guess I’m more of a visual person… I could not even begin to write about a traditional birthday for me because, since childhood, there has been no tradition. No particular place I go, or drink I drink or cake I crave- it varies by year, as I grow and change, so do my celebrations. What I do know is that I get to have experiences gifted to me; memories no material gift could ever replace.