mothers’ day & birthday thoughts

My birthday and Mothers’ Day are right next to each other. Since becoming a mom, it’s hard to even separate the two so here we are, combining thoughts on both!

In honor of Mother’s Day / my birthday, we are offering a 25% off any product in our shop with code “TRAVELMOM”.

recovering birthday hater

So I’m not a big birthday celebrator. In fact, I’d consider myself a recovering birthday hater. I love celebrating my friends and family on their day but my own? Big deal, what did I do? Survive another year? But the older I get, the more that feels like a win. Hey! We survived another year. We learned things, we grew, we made mistakes and we are here for another year.

Here’s some things that happened this past year (May 2025-2026):

1. Returned to Mexico for our second trip, loved it even more. We went to Puerto Vallarta (read more about it here).

2. Continued our OBX tradition last summer. The US-raised kid in me loves the tradition of a beachy summer.

3. Finally got to Costa Rica, which had been on our list forever!

4. Commemorated the important things with more tattoos.

5. Oh and NBD, we LAUNCHED TRAVEL FAMILY!

Here’s some things I’m excited about for this upcoming year (May 2026-2027):

1. Returning to OBX again! Going to Central OBX this year.

2. Our first Euro trip with all three kids! (More info coming soon)

3. Family Spanish lessons to brush up on our skills.

4. Probably more tattoos, let’s be honest.

5. Kid #1 starting high school (HOW)

mothers’ day reflections

Mothers’ Day on the other hand is something I love to celebrate! But HOW? I don’t love the standard brunch, chocolate and flowers line up. Some things we have done in previous years that I loved:

1. Family hike

2. Family bike ride

3. Quiet workout and reflection time for mom

4. Celebrating the women in my life who have helped raise me my babies, some of whom aren’t moms themselves. Special shoutouts to some of those women:

   • My female friends, who watch the kids so my husband and I can go on a date, who call my daughter during major milestones and talk her through big life changes, who celebrate my kids and their growth.

   • The current and previous teams that provide services to my neurodiverse kiddo. Yeah, it’s their job but lots of people don’t go that hard in their job. These teachers, doctors and specialists ride hard for my kid and I love them so much.

   • Babysitters that have become part of our family.

This year, we are planning something low key. A morning for mom and some time at home. I love to reflect and spend time with the kids. The introvert in me will be in heaven.

final thoughts

I used to hate how close my birthday and mothers’ day are! They are close together but such different things. Kind of like having your birthday near Christmas. Now I just love the double celebrations. How are you celebrating? Let us know on socials!