Staying At Home

As of tomorrow, I have officially been a full-time stay at home mom for a year. It's crazy how quickly the past year has flown by. When I left my job, I was about 8 months pregnant with Jonah and wanted to have that last month to spend more one-on-one time with Noelle and get extra rest before we became a family of four.

The day after my last day of work, Luke and I headed out for a little baby-moon weekend away to Williamsburg, VA and it was so surreal to me that I wouldn't be heading back to work the following week. It was also a really good feeling knowing I didn't have to go back. I was finally going to be starting the job I wanted even when I was a little girl- to be a stay at home mom!

the one picture I took on our baby-moon

It certainly hasn't been the easiest year of my life, but being able to watch Jonah grow and being a part of all his milestones is so worth it. It was great to not have to stress about scheduling things like doctor's appointment, speech therapy, and being able to join my MOPS group. Working part-time certainly had its perks (adult conversation, friendships, using my brain in a different way, extra income), and I do miss my co-workers, but I had no doubts about leaving and being home with my littles.

As good a mommy day as this past Monday was, the rest of the week has had its fill of challenges. Noelle and Jonah both have cold number 1000 of the winter, and whenever Noelle is sick she is (understandably) extra whiny, and she is also extra disobedient. I feel like I'm constantly putting her in her room. Jonah has been waking up wailing in the middle of the night and just seems to want cuddles (even before he got sick), so that's been rough for the sleep department.

some time in the sun

But despite how hard it seems at times, I'm so thankful I'm home with them. Noelle and Jonah will only be little for so long and it's already zooming by faster than I want! There was a great post floating around the internet this past week where a mom with slightly older kids talked about how it can be challenging being home with tiny humans all day, but also about all the big feelings you have as a mom with littles. And how it goes so fast. But the big, tender feelings you have for your children continue to grow as they grow. I'm always worried I won't love the older years as much, but this is a tad reassuring (though I'm sure I won't know for sure until I'm there on that side- I can't imagine being done with babies!)

just dumping out the cat food, spreading it around, and eating it

As per the usual with many things related to motherhood, I cried my eyes out while reading the post. I was also running on about four hours of sleep thanks to lots of wailing from Jonah and all four of us being in our bed at one point. But all these hard things are only here for a time. One day they won't want to share anything with me or live here anymore. So I'll enjoy it while I can.