Maintaining My Sanity As A Mother | June 10 on 10

When my husband and I first had our daughter, I was always a bit confused by the moms I would see on Facebook and beyond complaining about their lack of "me time" and yearning for time away. It didn't make sense to me since all I wanted to do was be around my sweet, squishy, snuggly wuggly, not yet talking infant. She was 100% my world! And she still is, although she now has to share that percentage with her baby brother. 

Fast forward to five years and another child later, and now I totally get it!! Now, my children still take up the large majority of my world, and I absolutely, 100%, without a doubt still cherish the time I get to spend with them, even when their being little monsters. Motherhood is the role I signed up for, and never once have I regretted the path that God has taken me down. It's been the most beautiful, joyful, and love-filled ride of my life! 

I will admit, though, that it's certainly not easy. Motherhood has its highs and lows like every other aspect of life, and when I had my son the difficulty level went up quite a bit! I was on a very short leash with him. Neither of my children took a bottle for the first year of their lives, no matter what trick we tried. My daughter would at least relax with her daddy between feedings, but my son would not let the man sit down. 

Literally. 

If my husband tried to sit, our little buddy would just cry and cry and cry... and cry some more. It was tough on the both of us, as I felt like I couldn't leave unless he was napping, and my husband felt like his own son hated him. 

So, now that my son outwardly loves his daddy and shows it often, mommy can finally escape for that coveted me time that everyone kept talking about. The value found in time with my girls has become increasingly more vital to my sanity. Being a mom is not for the faint of heart!! Being a work from home mom with the children with me just about 24/7 makes this need even greater, since the entire co-worker interaction is with my kids. They're not all that great at the adult conversation. Ha! 

I've made it a point to make time for me and my friends, in order to be able to be JUST ME, and not just the mom version of me. To be able to have real adult conversations, or just be downright silly and do super girly things with my girls! It's such a refreshing and battery recharging thing to incorporate into our lives as mother's, and I highly recommend it to any mom... or really, any woman out there! Have that me time with your favorite girls, or just by yourself at your favorite retail store, grocery store, or whatever place of solitude that you used to enjoy before having children, and appreciate even more after having them. Our kids need us to be the loving, patient, and kind mother's that they know us to be, and those moments of revitalization are something that helps us to be those things for our little cherubs ;)

Some of my girls and I escaped to Waco to go check out the Magnolia Market that Chip and Jo have created. The weekend was perfect, and filled with more laugh-until-we-cried moments than I could have hoped for!

We were given the opportunity to discuss our individual trials in life, our individual moments of joy, and the sheer blessing and relief of knowing that we are not alone in the things that we face in this life.

It was the perfect escape, and one that this momma needed even more than I realized! I'm incredibly thankful for my loving husband that steps up so that I can have my recharge time, and for my beautiful children who love me even when they don't understand why they can't come and play with me and my friends. And lastly, to those amazingly beautiful women in my life(many are not pictured here) who are my support system through this motherhood journey and life in general!! You know who you are! I don't think I could do it without you, my tribe! So much love to you all! <3

Don't forget to follow the blog circle around by heading to my girl, Erika's post of Erika Kao Photography. She too is one of my tribe, even though we haven't officially met in person.... YET!!! She's amazing, so go show her some love! Thanks for stopping by today, and until next time...

Keep it real,
Nikki Gould

To have your family's memories documented, or even your next girly getaway, send me an email at nikki@oliveshoot.com or click the button and let's get to it!!