On motherhood

As I mentioned in a previous post, I quit teaching (temporarily) Oct. 3rd to stay home with Riley and finish my Masters Degree. It's probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. I think anyone can tell how much happier and stress free I am. Although, some days, I do miss seeing a bunch of smiling faces coming in to my classroom ready to tell me everything that's going on in their lives. But, then I'd be missing a lot of what's going on in Riley's life!

As I put Riley to bed tonight, I held her for a few extra minutes after she was finished with her bottle. She's grown up so much in 8 months...it's amazing. Today, she learned how to lean in and give a kiss when you ask for one...it's ADORABLE!

Anyway, I was reminded of those first few weeks after she was born and how crazy it was. Emily D. always put it perfect, "I WAS JUST SURVIVING." For one of my class assignments, we had to write 3 personal writing pieces on anything we wanted, so of course, Tony said I had to write about him, Riley, and Maize. My piece on Riley was the hardest to write because I wanted it to be just right. I ended up doing a reflection piece on those first few weeks with brand new Riley. I won't post the whole thing, but the "jist" was that at first I felt like so much had been taken away from me and I didn't feel an immediate bond w/ my new baby. I wondered if those feelings were normal and if they would ever go away. Then, gradually, things started to return to normal and I got out of the house, and I found myself emerging as a mother. 8 months later, I can't imagine my life without Riley. My life is full of joy and "my cup runneth over."

So, on the days like today, when nothing gets done around the house even though that's pretty much my job now, I'm not going to worry about it....I'm just going to treasure these precious moments I have with my baby girl. Pretty soon, she'll be asking to go on dates with Sam and Jackson!

As a side note, due to Tony always being busy and on the run, we have started a date night once a week, rotating who picks the activity, and it can be any night of the week. So, the first date night was pumpkin carving and there have been a few others (including going to Gander Mountain...hmm, I wonder who picked that date night) and the other day we went "deer scouting" and we hiked the STEEPEST hill I have ever seen!!! It was excruciating, but we got to see an old iron mine that still had the railing tracks on the outside....pretty cool! For this week's date night, we're going shopping for Christmas pajamas for a Christmas picture!!
Emily, get your camera ready!!!