LIFE AS A SAHM

This boy.

 He is strong and tender. He is curious and cuddly. He is sweet and loud. He is everything.

 He is also very much in love with his dada!

 So, time for some honesty. Being a stay-at-home mom is all I've ever wanted to be, and it is the most wonderful and hardest thing I have ever done. It means days filled with peek-a-boos, rockabyes, laughter, tears and feedings. Lots of feedings. It means I haven't slept through the night since half way through my pregnancy, and it means I have become a "I NEED a cup of coffee in the morning" kind of person. I am constantly energized and exhausted at the same time, a feeling that is hard to describe or understand unless you have worn a pair of mama shoes. I long to have 5 minutes for myself, but, when I get it, I feel as though a part of me is missing. Being a mama means being a lot of things at once. Being a mama means feeling a lot of things at once.

Little miss almost 3 is going to be a great big sister for Mr. S!

Oh, and have I mentioned that I live 3 hours away from a Starbucks??! I know, right? That being said, I am more thankful than words can say for the other mamas I have had the privilege to befriend way to up here in the little village of Beauval. It can be very lonely up where we live, and I think we northern mamas understand each other in a way that city mamas just can't.

8-week-old S. And now I've caught the baby fever.

 We understand that we need each other, that we need to be each others family. Without these friendships, we can fall into a lonely place - a place I visited a few times before Christmas. Well, more like took a few months vacation there. But with the arrival of new little ones, there are more mamas at home. And thus, the play-dates have begun.

Thaddeus looks like he may be making a "run" for it!

 And oh, they are fun.

But little K is much too quick!

Maybe a little too fun. ;)

So thank you, mamas. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for becoming family. Thank you for opening your homes, and your hearts. I am grateful for the tea, the knowledge, and the conversations.

And while I'm being honest, I'm thankful for the cupcakes too!!