Happy Halloween!

Achoo!, Cough-Cough, Achoo!, REPEAT

One thing I have learned since becoming a mother is that everything I had grown accustomed to experiencing on my own is a completely NEW experience when children are involved.  No exception to this rule:

'The Illness Experience'

Pre-Children Illness went a little something like this: Start feeling a tickle in the ol' throat around dinner time, curl up on the couch with some tea, hit the sack nice and early, wake up in the morning just in time to call in sick to work, pop a drowse-inducing tablet, sleep all day, and repeat if necessary until no longer ill.  If I had a sick day like that today, I would wake up tomorrow feeling like I just got home from a 10-day all-inclusive vacation in the Caribbean!

My mom reminded me last week of something I said to her when I was attending University, living in Vancouver, in my early 20s.  The classic stay-at-home-mom, mine did it all!  She did all of her own baking, she kept an impeccably clean and organized home, made sure all three of her children had full bellies, clean faces and cozy sheets to curl up in each night.  She planned meals, carpooled, catered to my working father; she cleaned toilets, helped with homework, and made sure all of the bills were getting paid each month.  Add to that the fact that she did all of the bookkeeping for my father's company and it's pretty clear we're dealing with super woman here!  So what ignorant quote has been pecking at my brain, ever since my mom reminded me of it last week?

Primping the Kitchen

Primping.  It's all about lookin' and feelin' good, getting ready for a night on the town or a date with your man.  In my new life, primping just isn't what it used to be.  It used to be a solid hour spent in front of the bathroom mirror, with my make-up all over the counter, my second glass of wine going down easy, and my iPod on shuffle.  Now, it's five minutes each morning: a dab of lipgloss and some bronzer, followed by a chug of whatever caffeinated beverage I can get my hands on.  Sound familiar?

Bliss

Bliss for me used to mean so many different things: an hour spent reading the paper in a steamy coffee shop on a rainy day, weekend brunch with friends, an afternoon walk on the sea wall in Vancouver, or a busy day at work followed by a raunchy night on the town.  Now, bliss is different to me.  Bliss is peeing by myself with the bathroom door closed.  Bliss is silence during a car ride.  Bliss is planning a perfect meal that everyone eats and enjoys.  Bliss is everything I never imagined it would be.

I used to fantasize about being a mom and it was nothing like it actually is.  The things I imagined do happen, don't get me wrong.  But they aren't the defining moments, rather they are a blip on the radar of motherhood: walks on the beach, collecting shells, playing at the park, dinner parties with grandma and grandpa, first smiles, first steps, first giggles...it all happens, and it's all amazing, but the hours of work that go into achieving these milestones are overwhelming.

I spent 6 years after high school honing my post secondary education until I found an amazing career in the library science field.  I not only loved my job, but I loved my co-workers, the city I lived in, my apartment, my friends, my boyfriend.  Going into my 27th year of life and things were good.  Flash forward 3 years and I am married with 2 small children, living in a small town, and working as a stay-at-home mom.  It is the hardest transition I have ever had to make.  Learning how to cook for a small family, changing a diaper every 1/2 hour, spending the majority of my day alone with the 2 kids - it's been a challenge.  Some days I love every minute of it and other days I long for a taste of my old life.

I decided to do this blog in order to share my stay-at-home mom experience.  I have learned that every woman's journey into motherhood is completely different, and this is mine.

Flower Child