She's Winning

Month one flew by so fast!  It’s crazy!  I’m still adjusting to this new lifestyle but I’ve noticed that with each week I’m learning new tricks on how to be a successful stay at home mom.   And let me tell you, this job is not easy.  It’s hard.  It’s rewarding.  It’s exhausting.  It’s fun.  It’s so many things.  I apologize in advance that this post is all over the place.  It’s very representative of my current state of mind. THE GOOD I still feel that I am less stressed than I used to be.   Now I would like to clarify that this is not to say it’s  easier  or that I don’t have struggles.  I will explain my new struggles below.  We’ve gotten busier and busier as the month has gone on but the actual pace still feels much better than my previous pace.  We take longer to do every step now because I am in control of our schedule.   Well kind of in control.  My threenager would argue...

Well, yes, my hair is too.  But I’m not referring to those beauties on the top of my head that my children and entering my mid thirties brought about.  This is my new stance on mommy wars.  I’ve finally come to the conclusion that NOTHING related to being a parent is black and white and so I’m officially joining team gray. In my pre-kid era, I watched from a far.  I heard about a few of the hot mommy topics from other parents and  thought  I knew where I stood despite that fact that I was actually clueless on everything kid related.  I passed judgment on other people’s parenting and their children’s behavior.  “I’ll never…” are the famous last words of the pre-kid era.   Karma’s a bitch.  Now I hear first time pregnant women telling me all of the things they will do perfectly.  And all of the things they  will never do .  Trust me, I was never going to let my child scream in public either or use an iPad to entert...

My Sweet Little Boy, I’m overcome with emotion thinking back to your very dramatic entrance into this world just two short years ago.  You didn’t come according to my plan.  After giving birth to your older brother I thought I knew what to expect.  But you entered the world in your own way.  It was clear then and is still clear today that you will pave your own path. And from your very first breath I knew that all of the things I thought I had learned about being a mom would change with you. Y ou  bring me new joys.   And you bring me new challenges.  You make me a better me every day. Your fearlessness keeps me constantly at the edge of my seat.  But I know you will use it to do extraordinary things with your life.  You will be unstoppable! You play hard but you love even harder.   There has never been a hug as tight as yours.  You hug with every ounce of strength you have.  And someday you will h...

I’m flying!  And I’m wearing a beautiful, sparkling, Elsa dress.  I feel so freeeeeeeee and on top of the wooooorld.  I’m in full control of my flight and, wow, does flying feel AMAAAAAAAZING. Until… wait… who is screaming down below?  Is that Grant? POOF!  And I’m awake.  My two year old is yelling and ready to come out of his crib for the day.  My beautiful dress is gone.  It’s 6:23am.  I have bed head and a t-shirt & shorts that don’t even match.  But today I’m grabbing my glasses off my side table and leaping out of my bed and into his room feeling so refreshed after my awesome dream!   Today is going to be a good day! I hurried down to the kitchen with my little dude to tell my hubby about my flying experience before he left for work.   You have to hear this.  I had a flying dream.  Do you know what this means?!?   He appeased me with a little excitement but I know in these moment...

Thank you for the many messages and responses to my  post about quitting my job . I’ve received a lot of questions on what sacrifices and changes I am making with this transition.  I’ve really enjoyed chatting with so many lovely gals considering the same type of move and I hope to be as transparent as I can with this series “The Good, The Bad & The Savings.” One week in and I am still alive! It’s obviously way to early for me to pass judgment on this new lifestyle, good or bad, but I do have a lot to share from my first week at home. THE SAVINGS I am about 10x less stressed.   I love the much slower pace of my days, especially our mornings. Don’t get me wrong, my little guys still wake me up at the crack of dawn but that part was always just fine.  The easier part is knowing that I don’t have to rush them out the door and still be ready for my day at work. I enjoy having breakfast together, watching a few cartoons and then starting our first acti...

I did it.  I hit “send.”  There it is in black and white in my sent box.  I’ve been planning for this.  I’ve confidently, verbally communicated it to all of the right people over the last two months.  But today, as I’m two weeks out from becoming a stay at home Mom, I had to  submit my formal resignation saying farewell to my corporate life.  While I know this is the right move for me at this point in my life, seeing it in black and white has set off a roller coaster of emotions: I’m grieving.   I think I’m grieving the loss of a previous version of myself.  Perhaps it is the childless version that felt so passionate about her work.  It was the me that always felt like I had it all together.  And the me that viewed “success” as raises and moving up the ladder at work. I’m refreshed.   I’m refreshed when I remind myself that the person I’m grieving was the me that hadn’t yet realized that having children would change...