Is it naptime? Grab a coffee. Bedtime? Grab a glass of wine, or in my case, a beer (because I know you deserve it), and let’s get to know each other!
I am a Nurse turned stay-at-home mom to 3 {beautiful} beach bums. My husband, 3 kids and I live near the coast and take full advantage of this fact. The hubby and I decided shortly after getting married nearly 10 years ago to fulfill our dream of living closer the ocean. We had no idea how much we would love it. We thought for sure we would move back to Pittsburgh after having kids to be closer to family, and were on a ‘3-5 year plan’ of coastal living. Fast forward to present day, and here we are, three kids later with our toes still in the sand. Yup, we are living the dream. But let me tell you something. Raising 3 kids without local family is INTENSE. Shoot, raising 3 kids with Mary Poppins’ help would still register somewhere on the scale of insanity.
I spent my first two years as a mommy working full time, and then my husband and I decided that wasn’t how we wanted life with kids to look. Lots of sweat and tears later, we were fortunate enough that we were able to make the change. I started staying at home with my son, and voila!, pregnant with #2. God is good. Blink your eyes to present day and #3 just turned 15 months. And #1 is in 1st grade. I’ll never understand how that happens as fast as it does. These are the days that feel like years, but in a few years we’ll be wishing for these days. Am I right?!
I don’t know whether its the Italian in me, the Nurse, or both, but I’ve never had a problem talking about the hard stuff. Like postpartum hemorrhoids. One of my first real conversations with my neighbor was about those little bastards. We’ve been BFFs ever since. True story. On the same token, that combination also leaves me sappy with a touch of corny. That’s okay though. I totally own it. I’d like to think its my way of being mindful about the ‘little big’ stuff of life with littles. Like your baby’s hand dimples. One day you’ll sit down to help with homework and watch them reach for a pencil, and realize they no longer exist. Take pictures of the hand dimples mama.
All of this has led to a mama who loves her babies HARD and looses her patience often. One that loves to plan a good birthday party and family-themed Halloween costumes that usually involve her husband wearing women’s softball pants (he’s a real trooper, I tell ya.). And one that doesn’t mind sharing it all. In fact, writing about my momlife experiences has always been somewhat therapeutic to me. Probably because its the only time I actually get to finish a thought. But also because I like helping people feel a little less crazy about their own crazy. Ya know what I mean? And as the saying goes, it takes a village, and our villages can never be big enough. Let’s make the best of it and ‘seas’ the crazy together.