As in, the journal that you excitedly purchased after becoming a mom and swore you would write in diligently every day and record all of your precious child’s accomplishments?
Yup. That one.
You would think that as someone who enjoys writing, especially about motherhood and babies, and even occasionally gets paid to write about these topics, that I’d be excellent at keeping a journal.
NOT SO.
Not so…at all.
Imagine this scenario:
It’s winter.
It’s cold. So very, very cold.
You and your small kids haven’t left the house in DAYS.
Your toddler keeps asking you to retell the story about the time you guys took a train to the toy store (which, by the way, has never happened), and your other child is eating Play-Doh.
It’s 4:30PM and you forgot to put dinner in the slow cooker, and so far today you’ve only consumed coffee and string cheese (okay, okay, and half a bag of Goldfish, WHATEVER).
You have approximately 600 loads of laundry to do, and your brain feels like it is actually buzzing with the amount of items on your to-do list. (One of these items is to give the dog a flea bath, so that buzzing may in fact be fleas. Not sure.)
Because you’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about throwing together an outfit at 5:17AM when your toddler wakes you up asking for whipped cream.
That cute linen shirt that you bought three years ago and haven’t worn once because it’s Dry Clean Only?
Nope. Not in your capsule wardrobe.
Your trusty, really, really soft bathrobe that you like to wear around the house for the first eight hours of the day?
Yup. You bet your bippy that’s going in your capsule wardrobe.
Having a realistic stay-at-home mom winter capsule wardrobe will make getting dressed each morning a BREEZE.
Even if you haven’t slept in three years.
That first year as a new mom is a completely life-altering experience.
Holding your baby for the first time.
Just living off of that sweet new baby scent.
Soft, quiet, blissed-out cuddles.
The first smile. That first laugh. The first word. (Seriously, “dog”? I CREATED YOU)
There is absolute joy beyond measure.
I mean, come ON. Just look at that face.
But man, if it isn’t also one of the toughest years of your life.
And maybe you’re in a phase right now where it’s more tears than smiles.
Where you’re ending each day feeling like a failure and also like you stress-ate an entire cake on the couch while Googling “whatever happened to the cast of Family Matters?” (Just an example, okay? Just an example.)
That it’s okay if you feel like you aren’t a natural at being a mother.
That it’s okay to want a break. To feel like you’re not strong enough. To count the hours until bed time. To not embrace every single moment, because holy cow, that’s a lot of moments.
For those of you currently in the trenches, let’s talk about the struggle.
Here are the seven biggest struggles that I faced as a new mom.
Welcome to OOTD with Mother Haggard!
Ahh, those lazy, hazy days of summer.
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and your thighs are chafing because you thought it’d be fine to wear denim shorts on a ten minute walk to the grocery store. (…It’s never fine.)
This OOTD is perfect for drinking lemonade by the pool, or for waking up every day at 5:30AM with a toddler towering over you saying, “Playground? Playground? Go? Now?”
Today’s Look: “Sweaty Playground”
3 Ways I Supplement My Family’s Income Since Becoming a Stay at Home Mom
I have worked many jobs in my day.
My first job was a grocery store cashier when I was fourteen. I wore a mint green vest and a floppy clip-on bow tie. (Publix: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.)
I once worked at a university campus during the summer, and one day a week, my job was to walk around the campus and flush every toilet. An entire day spent each week just flushing toilets. (I eventually grew to love it and I still have not ruled it out as a potential career one day.)
An indie coffee shop that I romanticized in my head, but in reality the owners would take pictures of the crumbs that I missed when sweeping and email them to me at home.
A hip barber shop where I had to talk about things like beard trims way too seriously for my liking.
I’ve worked in many, many different offices. Real estate law. Entertainment. Alumni Services. Property Management.
Out of all of these jobs, in all of those fields, I can safely say that none of them kick my ass as much as being a stay-at-home mom does. It’s like the weirdest, most demanding unpaid internship ever, with either the best boss or the worst boss, depending on how many naps have occurred that day.
Feel like taking a closer look?
Come join me and my daughter Lucy for a day! Don’t wear anything nice. Ignore the barking dog. Don’t try to pet the cat. And bring some something sweet, please.
7 Things that Happen When You Bring a Young Toddler to the Grocery Store
(as told via Supermarket Sweep gifs)
A List of Things that I Now Consider a Meal:
A List of Things I am Usually Doing When My Baby Wakes Up Early From a Nap:
Do you ever find that after spending time on the internet, you sometimes come away feeling inadequate, boring and like a filthy slob who has holes in the inner thighs of all of your jeans?
(Not talking about anyone in particular here. Definitely not. I don’t even wear jeans anymore. Probably because of all the holes.)
You know how it goes. You start out on Facebook. Or Instagram. Or Pinterest. You click on a link for educational activities for your child (and by this I mean recipes for red velvet brownies.) And then you keep clicking, and clicking, and before you know it, you’re caught in this weird lifestyle blog loop full of beautiful homes, amazing homemade meals, stylish clothes and people who wash their hair on a regular basis.
And then you take a look around your apartment, which has multiple futons being used as furniture, and you’re left feeling kind of weird and lame and like you should be doing more. Cooking more. Cleaning more. Exercising more. Wearing actual pants more. Owning copper clawfoot tubs more.
It can mess with you a bit.
This, my friends, is not a post that will mess with you.
