Celebrating ’40’ + Saving my Sanity in San Diego.

Hey guys!

I’m sorry it’s been so long and that you’ve had to go on without me here on the interwebs. I’m sure it’s been hard to live without my silly rants and cheesy humor. I apologize.

But I’m going to keep it real. I’ve had a baby, my THIRD baby human and that human has been kicking my beautimous maximus, big time. I’ve been up to my eyeballs, feeding and entertaining and sleep training a 6 month old.

I’ve been busy pumping milk and making bottles and let’s be honest, CRYING in public when my husband forgets to bring the breast pump along on our date, because I mean. That is basically world flood status, when I have to whip out my actual boobs in the coffee shop and feed my actual baby, instead of standing in the handicapped bathroom stall, squeezing milk into a bottle, and then letting him feed himself in a decent and orderly manner while my husband and I talk about something other than HOW TO FEED A SQUIRMY BABY IN PUBLIC.

It’s not the most romantic, but hey! At least we have two seconds of peace and quiet to look each other in the eye bags and pretend that we are still two kids in love and not knee deep in parenting and wondering what the “H” we were thinking??

So anyway, I’ve just been over here trying to be a Mom of three these past few months and trying not to lose my mind or what’s left of my nipples while at the same time, trying real hard to lose my “baby weight” and get on with my life after this precious tiny human has completely turned it upside down.

I’ve been busy trying to figure out how to do this thang that I thought I knew something about, but turns out I didn’t actually, and now I’m just a 40 year old clueless Mom with a whole lot of experience, but actually very little knowledge about how this whole thing actually works. Turns out that even after 3 KIDS, I still have a whole lot more questions than answers and I still don’t know why babies wake up at 3:00 in the morning and why that signals every other kid in the house to suddenly also have a problem and pee their beds, or have a nightmare at that. EXACT. SAME TIME. I don’t know.

I will never know.

But I do know that it’s a beautiful life and I’m happy to be here right now, writing these words and catching up with you all. I’m happy to be sorting through pictures of my recent girls’ trip to San Diego and that I get to tell you all about my birthday that happened last month. I’m kind of delirious about it, actually. Because the fact is, even in this mess and this train wreck called ‘Mom life’, it’s still a beautiful thing and breathing is still a privilege, last time I checked.

It’s still a privilege to work and live and breathe on this glorious planet and it’s still an honor to have even one more day, much more so a WHOLE YEAR!

I will admit though, it hasn’t always felt this way. I haven’t always felt like celebrating or even that I was worth celebrating. Fact is, I’ve spent way too many days in bed, dreading and not celebrating this life and this privilege of turning ‘older’. I’ve wasted far too many moments in fear and not looking forward to the future and quite frankly, I am done with that.

This year, I am celebrating!

A few months before the big day, I was talking to my women’s group about it, and we all decided that we needed to do something BIG for my birthday this year. It just felt like the right thing to do. It felt like the right time to celebrate this miracle of life and my recent rebirth into it, so we decided to go to my favorite spot where rainbow colored unicorns dance on ocean waves, and the air is pungent with salt water and freedom and adventure.

It’s called La Jolla, California.

Ok, so maybe the rainbow unicorns are actually brightly colored scuba divers bobbing in the water, and perhaps the pungent salt water is actually the smell of sea lions laying around, pooping on rocks all day, but still. This place is magical.

From the moment we arrived at that little blue door, to the time we left with our damp swimsuits and overstuffed suitcases, we literally could not stop raving about this little town.

We spent that first night eating, laughing, and drinking out of fancy cups on the rooftop at George’s, while watching the sun go down over the pacific OCEAN and I spent most of that time pinching myself.

I mean. “How did I ever get so lucky, to be in the presence of such incredible women, surrounded by this epic scene straight out of the movies? How did I ever manage to have such a GOOD life??”

And then, they brought dessert! That’s right. A little sticky toffee birthday cake, cuz we all know that nothing makes this girl happier than some carmelized bits of toffee swirled on top of a gooey brownie and vanilla bean ice cream. By that point, I thought I had actually died and woken up in paradise, it was UNREAL.

The next day, we went down to the beach to play and to do a little photo shoot that my friend, Ani, had secretly set up for us with a legit professional photographer.

Photo credit to Rasha Asfour Photography

We danced and twirled and acted like little girls as we splashed and jumped in the waves and Rasha took our pictures. It was an absolute blast, and then we were super hungry, so we went for some breakfast/lunch at The Cottage.

Some of the girls had gone there the day before, (before the rest of us had arrived), and they couldn’t stop raving about this place and how nice the owners were, how they had gone above and beyond, holding their luggage for them and giving them all kinds of FREE food and service, while they waited for our airbnb to be ready.

So it was already decided, they had to take the rest of us! And sure enough, this place did not disappoint. By the time we got there, we were tired and completely famished from our 15-minute walk over there, and of course there was already a huge line out the door. But not to worry, the host immediately recognized several of us from the day before, motioned to us as if we were celebrities and promptly ushered us to a patio table that seemed to be reserved JUST. FOR. US, and all we could do was breathe a humble ‘thank you’ as we passed by the HUGE line of people and sat down to enjoy our food. The girls were right.

The hospitality of this place was mind-blowing. And the food?? Phenom.

Oh, and there was dessert. Again!

Don’t judge. I went on a strict diet for MONTHS (while I was breastfeeding!!) just so that I could have this deliciousness right here. I deprived myself of a gajillion iced blonde lattes, just so that I could have indulge in this 5,000 calorie piece of cheesecake and every other “sin” I would commit on this trip. I earned this, thank you very much!

After we had stuffed ourselves full of crepes and cheesecake, we tried in vain to burn off our calories by going on a shopping spree to some of the local boutiques, then headed to the bay for our afternoon boat ride that I had previously reserved for us, on Groupon.

We arrived a bit early to our dock (those California Uber drivers don’t mess around!) so we laid in the grass and did yoga in our dresses as we watched the boats float in and out of the harbor. It was kind of amazing before we even met our Captain and set sail across the waters of the San Diego Bay.

Spence was one of the most fun and genuinely great people we had ever met and he made our ride the most epic ever.

He even caught one of the girls’s hats which blew off after she had *just* bought it at one of those boutique shops (obvs), with ninja-like diving precision so not only was he kind and sweet, he became an instant hero in our eyes, after that.

Ninety minutes later, he dumped us off at a cute little private island, but not before he told us where to go to get drinks and watch the sunset.

It was everything he told us it would be, and then some. We sat by the fire pits at Paradise Point and watched the sun set over Mission Bay for what seemed like hours and eventually we mozied on over to Cavemen Pizza, because, duh. We needed PIZZA!

Finally at the late hour of 10:30, we Ubered back to our cottage, drank margaritas and partied until morning. Actually we got in our pj’s, gave each other massages and laughed about our adventures that day, then went to bed. Same thing.

We are ALL MOMS, after all, and SLEEP is a luxury!

We spent our last day and our last dimes walking around the cove, drinking smoothies, taking pictures with the sea lions and eating sandwiches at an overpriced Bistro by the sea. By Sunday evening we were all on various flights back to our homes and families and nursing babies, weary but happy, our hearts full to the brim of the magic and the memories we made in La Jolla.

Turns out it was the best girls’ trip I could’ve ever imagined and the most wonderful way to usher in my 40’s. If you are a woman and especially if you are a Momma needing a break from diapers and middle-of-the night drama, I highly recommend it, actually.

Now, back to nursing and naps and feeding babies in public restrooms.

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