Mommy sanity

Mommy Sanity:

Warm weather

3+ Friends young and old

Sunshine

Outdoor activities

Sprinkle in Advice from other moms

May substitute Story time and play dates as needed.  

I don't know about you but this winter is for the dogs. Don't get me wrong we really need the snow pack and are way WAY below our average but 64 degrees the first week of February?! I'll take it!  The moms in my neighborhood have started a play group that meets once per week.  We have been meeting in our churches chapel that is just around the corner for most of us, but when we realized the beautiful weather that was to be had we changed plans and headed to the park.  It was AMAZING.  Take it from one cabin fever survivor: Park=Sanity.  The kids were able to run and play and we were able to commiserate with the other mothers.

As a working mom I never understood why SAHM would complain that staying home was hard.  They got to stay home with their littles. They were able to stay on top of their housekeeping (or at least they SHOULD be able to).  They could do fun Pinterest activities and crafts.  Then the best change that ever happened in my life.  I became one of those SAHM's.  For the first little bit I stayed on top of things.  I pulled out fun activities with L while E was sleeping.  Then reality set in: exhaustion, screaming babies, screaming toddlers, ginormous play date messes, piles of laundry that have no end, I offer all SAHM's an apology for my thoughts and sincerely ask their forgiveness.  More often than naught my poor husband no more walks into the house that the children are thrust into his arms and I hide for a 'mommy moment.'

I am one of the lucky ones.  I have an understanding husband and a strong network of mommy friends who are teaching me the trick of the trade.  From my neighbor the sage advice, "count backwards when giving warnings.  It works."  She also swaps toddlers with me one day each week so we each have a day to run errands and catch up on housework.  The best part is the kids keep each other entertained so we can tinker or even relax.  Then on Fridays we head out to our Library which just happens to be walking distance from our house.  They have a great story time for the kids and then afterwards an old roommate and her three littles stop by for another play date that turns into the moms getting some much needed friend time.  

This has indeed become the recipe for my sanity and pull from the nasty seasonal depression that hits me every year.

Basic Family

The All American Family:

1-dad

1-mom

Children (to taste)

Combine together with a plethora of life experiences and cook with trials until the love shines through 

We are your basic family. Nothing really jumps out and says, "hey, you! Yes, you, over there, look at me!"  That's really the beauty of it all. We are the average family, doing average things. In a world of Pinterest perfect, incredibly talented moms and perfect job dads...you have is staggering be raggedly across the finish line. I don't mean to talk down on us. Don't get me wrong I am extremely happy and proud of my family. Hence the reason I started this endeavor. My husband David and I have been married almost six years. In that time we have had our share of ups and downs. The best highlights would be our two daughters. L is three going on fourteen and E is growing fast at six months.

Being a mother was everything I never expected. I graduated with my eight year bachelors degree armed with a teaching certificate. Imagine my shock at the height of the recession that there were no teaching jobs for me. Instead I became a food service manager and helped put my husband of a year through culinary school. Fast forward to the birth of L. I loved my job and yet the thought of leaving her was akin to cutying off my arm. As the next couple years went by I struggled with postpartum and seasonal depression, weight gain, being a working mom and a basically a general sense of failure.    I had always swore I would never put my child in daycare, and yet here she was 45 hours a week. Someone else was raising my child. They taught her to crawl, they saw all the milestones, they did all the cutesy crafts and activities. I on the other hand rushed to run errands and maintain the family before bedtime.

As David graduated and jobs changed and rotated on us we eventually bought a home and decided we would try for number two. As we discussed this David became a Sous Chef one step closer to his dream job of being an Executive Chef. Just before E was born David applied for an executive position. Knowing how hard it was leaving one child each day and looking at the reduculius amount of money we would be spending I began my campaign to stay home with my girls. Finally just before she was born David agreed and I quit my job just after she was born. This is huge friends, at the time I was making more money than David was and we had become accustomed to living a certain life. I am starting this blog as a way to document the pitfalls and triumphs of figuring out this whole parenting thing.  We welcome you along for the ride and invite you to learn from out mistakes along the way.