Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to my third (fourth?) attempt at keeping a blog.

Yesterday I made brownies and my husband asked if I ever blogged anymore. He said he used to like telling people about it. And I realized I missed it.

Growing up I was an avid documenter of life in my diaries before I decided to try my hand at fame and fortune with my Martha Stewart wannabe blog a la Julie and Julia.

Then I had my daughter and my priorities shifted. Time I had previously spent searching for and perfecting recipes was now spent falling in love with my daughter, learning to be a mom, and finding a new balance.

A friend (and fellow blogger) and I joined forces on a collaborative lifestyle blog for awhile but life got in the way, as it has a tendency of doing, and we eventually stopped planning and publishing posts. We got busy with family, with work, with first time home ownership, with pregnancies.

In March of this year I gave birth to my son and again, my priorities have shifted. But the second time around doesn’t feel as scary.

For me, the hardest part of becoming a mom was becoming all-consumed by motherhood and feeling like I initially lost myself in the process. Spontaneous date night? Not when you have to arrange a babysitter (even though we have two amazing sets of grandparents plus aunts & an uncle who all help out in a heartbeat – truth be told for the first 6 months of her life I was terrified of leaving her). Night out with friends? Not when your daughter won’t drink anything but breast milk from anything but you. Go shopping? Better time it between the every two hour feeds so she doesn’t start screaming in the grocery store or the change room and oh, also your body still looks and feels different than you remember it being. Bring the baby somewhere? Not when it takes 30 minutes to an hour to get her ready and I’m terrified that I’m doing everything wrong.

But you know what I learned? Motherhood is a sisterhood. Your own mom, your mother-in-law, your friends and family with kids –  they get it and they are the best sources of information, commiserating, and boosting your mom ego.

Plus eventually your baby becomes more independent and you find more time to do the things you used to do. And even better, you learn how to incorporate your kids into the things you love (my daughter is a fabulous sous chef when I bake, except that she often eats most of the ingredients so I have to double the recipe).

This time around I’m excited to grow and learn with my babies.

My goal here is one post a week. The balancing act between raising two children – a toddler and an infant – and maintaining some semblance of me time is a tricky one. Mom guilt is real and, if we’re being honest, kids are super time consuming. Especially with one being a newborn and one in the throes of potty training. I’m hoping this blog will remind me to make time for me and allow me to find that balance.

Also my kids are hilarious and just the best and I want to share them with you.

Here we go!

– Jamie