So I joined the 30-club...

Hi, friends! I hope 2017 is treating you all well!

You know how everyone is like, hey look how organized I am now? Well, I think I'm on a two week delay with the whole new years motivation thing.

I partly blame my birthday anxiety.

This past weekend I officially joined the 30-club and Rowan turns TWO (!) in a month, and I just cannot. I cannot wrap my head around how quickly the years go by with a kid. Someone make me get it together already, will you?

I haven't talked about it much on the blog, but I think its obvious that I needed to step back. Social media was draining me and it felt like my time was spread too thin. I really wanted to disconnect so I could soak up all of the good happening in this fun stage of our lives. And I have to say, it felt so good!

But I missed it here! So let's catch up, shall we?

+ After Christmas we made the 11-hour road trip north to visit family. Rowan slept approximately 30 minutes each way, so that was fun.

We woke up with a dusting of snow at my parent's house so naturally I'm thinking, "R's first snow day! He is going to love this!"

However, as most toddlers do, he had different plans. He was tolerant of the big puffy coat but drew the line at adorable toddler Hunter boots. You know when toddlers make their bodies floppy like rubber and raise their legs up higher than you thought was physically possible so you can't put them down? Yep. We finally caved and let him wear his Sperry shoes, a hat that was too small (but he insisted), and let him play with the shovel on the porch without having to walk in the grass. 1 - Toddler, 0 - Us. 

+ My boys got me a new camera for my birthday! I'm still learning to use it but love it so much already! I really hope to turn photography into a little side gig so I'm really excited to learn and practice more this year. That said, I've had a ton of questions about my equipment so I'm planning a post this week!

+ My girlfriends and I are planning a trip to Austin for a joint 30th birthday hurrah! I've heard so many good things so we're all excited! Hoping we can squeeze in a trip to Magnolia Silos too while we're there. If you have any recommendations for Austin I'd love to hear them!

+ I function best when I'm busy and love a good to-do list, but somehow prioritizing myself rarely happened in 2016. As a mom I think its really easy to forget about ourselves, but the gym, a manicure, and a few girls-only brunches need to be closer to the top of my list from now on. Hoping Emily Ley's book will give me a bit of motivation too!

+ Rowan refused to get his haircut on Saturday, leaving me almost in tears of embarrassment from the fit he threw. Does anyone else have a toddler who hates haircuts? We've tried the place my husband goes and a kid's salon but it doesn't seem to matter. His hair is starting to look like a mop!

This is my busy time with work but I'm hoping to make a consistent appearance in this space again, so I'm preparing myself for late nights and extra coffee in the morning. Thanks for sticking around during my little vaca!

7

To My Toddler...

In my moonlighting as a blogger, I don't often come across a post about the fun side of the toddler stage.

I fully admit I'm guilty of it too. Many of the text messages and brunch dates I have with my fellow mama friends involve some discussion of temper tantrums, nap strikes, and messy meal times. 

While I have no doubt we have only scratched the surface of the these toddler-isms, I've also learned sometimes I need to change my perspective. At the end of the day is it the violently refusing to eat anything but a cookie cake moment what I want to remember? No, thanks.

But there are a lot of other moments throughout the day that I do. Motherhood has been a lesson in patience, especially, for me. Lets just say it is not my strong suit. Boy, are you a good teacher some days.  

In the beginning I could never have imagined how quickly you would catch on to things, from sitting to crawling, walking to sprinting. You've now learned to identify body parts, animals, and colors in the blink of an eye. I must give your daddy that "wow he is so smart and amazing" look a million times a day.

You are trying to form words, and while mama and dada will go down as your first real words, we've enjoyed hearing the funny sounds that only parents can translate.

My favorite is when you carefully pick out a book and plop down on my lap without any regard to whether you're actually going to indeed land on my lap. I love the brief but sweet hand holding, the way you "help" put clothes in the laundry bin, and the way you are constantly feeding me your food. I assume you think I'm starving enough to eat soggy animal crackers but I assure you that is not the case.

I couldn't imagine the way my heart would swell when you do these things because it seems like yesterday we were applauding you for rolling over.

I admit some nights I can't wait for you to fall asleep. There have been days where you've forced me to question my abilities as a mom and whether I've in fact lost my sanity for good. Or those days where you'd prefer to show me where my eyes are instead of closing yours.

But most nights I have to coax myself into putting you in your crib. You look so perfect and peaceful in my arms and it takes me back to your newborn days when I couldn't bear to put you down. I'm so glad we ignored the baby books and rock you to sleep.

It's only now when you are sleeping or sick when I get to cuddle you like I did in those early days. I have no choice in the matter, you're always on the go. Who can blame you when you've got playrooms to trash and Cheerios to crush?

You leave a path of destruction in our house that I will gladly clean up at the end of the day because that means you were your happy and healthy self.

These days are so fleeting, I promise not to focus on the tough ones. Lets do this, toddlerhood.

13

Crazy Days

This week, while rocking a relentless headache from the day, my children (fur and human forms) decided to take their crazy pills.

While I admit we've been really lucky with Rowan sleeping so well, the past two nights he decided he'd had enough of this whole sleeping through the night thing. And it all started when I had the audacity to try to go to bed early for once in my life.

Then, once I finally lull my teething, coughing, super allergenic child back to sleep for a few hours, Ruby decided to bark her lungs off.

Thankfully my husband is back from his work trip today but damn if he didn't miss the most active two nights as of late. Wearing my busy employee and mama hats have taken their toll on me regardless of the amount of coffee available.

My to-do list is still fourteen thousand miles long and I'm taking on more responsibilities at my full time gig, which makes moonlighting as a blogger a little tougher.

We've decided to postpone work on our playroom built-ins because its just too much at once, but we'll still be working on them slowly over the next few months! We did finally cross off some nagging projects around the house, like spray painting outdoor light fixtures (and getting said paint on our siding... #fail).

I'll slowly be catching up on all of your emails this week and eventually I'll stop being hot mess express. Is it Friday yet?!

10

5 Things Daycare Tells Me

I'm not sure if these are normal things to hear when you pick your child up from daycare, or maybe its a boy thing, but my sweet and oh so wild child has some of the most entertaining reports at the end of the day.

Here are some of the doozies.

1. School Photos

Perhaps my favorite was school picture day and the apparently Olympic-style meltdown Rowan had when the poor, unassuming photographer who dared to ask him to sit on a prop. I had no idea of this until I stopped at the desk to ask for his proofs... eager to see whether he sported his cute smile or something I'd be showing his future prom dates.

Front Desk Lady: [after searching for his proofs twice] "Ohhhhh I remember. We couldn't get any photos of Rowan because he was not having it that day."

Here's the kicker, y'all... she said, "We actually thought he was going to make himself sick so we gave up."

Whattttt. I'm not sure where that version of my child came from but I immediately apologized for his performance and exited the building.

2. The "Odd" Day

Every day when I pick up Rowan I ask his teacher how he did. On this particular day, she stopped and thought about it and all she could say was "Rowan had a really odd day."

When I prompted her for more information, she said he was good but... "He kept running up to me, pinching me in the arm, and then running away."

All I could really do with that little nugget was laugh.

3. Cow's Milk Dilemma

I haven't mentioned this here before but Rowan is currently on soy milk in an attempt to see if he has a milk allergy which could contribute to his ear infections. He was never a big fan of whole milk, but he tolerated it. Until this day, apparently.

Daycare ran out of his soy milk and mama forgot to bring more that morning. When they called to tell me he was out, I suggested giving him whole milk to hold him over. Their response? "We already tried that and he was having none of it."

Diva, party of 1 coming right up.

4. Sometimes you just have to sit

If you follow on snapchat, you've seen R sitting on (or attempting to) sit on just about everything. Plastic containers, toys, rolls of paper towels, laundry. You name it, he's sat on it.

When I asked if he did that at daycare they rattled off about 15 things, including toy boxes which he flips upside down, that he plops down on every single day.

Daycare teacher: "I've never seen anything like it."

You know when you see your kid taking things apart and studying pieces and you think, oh he is totally going to be an engineer? Well, my kid just sits on things and looks cute. Anyone have an idea of that future career?

5. The Biter

If Rowan comes home without bite marks and sans a bite report (as in, he bit another child), its been a successful day. Honestly I think his class must keep the ladies at the front desk quite busy with all of the phone calls they have to make each day because of bites.

Here's the thing... I'd like to blame most of that on him learning it from others, getting them back for days when he comes home with a full set of teeth marks stamped on his precious skin, or those damn molars that are taking forever to come in. But I'm hoping its just a phase like everything else so far. (Please mamas, tell me its a phase!)

Disclaimer: We have tried every trick in the book to keep him from biting. He laughs when I fake cry, laughs when we bite him back, laughs in the face of teethers. He doesn't get the word "no" yet, but we keep trying. Any other suggestions are highly welcome!

8

Mom-Bod Approved Shorts

I hope you all had a fun weekend! I know some of y'all up North had some cold temps but it was beautiful here so we ditched the to-do list to hit up a local festival and wander around downtown Charleston.

We over-indulged in sweets... including a red velvet oreo brownie (!!) and a funnel cake at the festival. We also thought it was high time Rowan tasted his first gelato so we couldn't pass that up before letting him run around the waterfront.

As a result of my serious lack of self control within 20 yards of sweets, I'm dreading shorts weather this year.
Last year I used the excuse of recently birthing a child for my unsightly legs. But that isn't going to fly this year. Even if I wasn't a mom, nearing my 30s and the date of my last gym appearance call for something other than a teeny tiny inseam. 

Also I'm currently on stage 3 of the Mom Bod process, just in case you're wondering.

In an effort to hide as much of my pale mom legs as possible without sweating it out in the Charleston humidity, behold... my favorite mom-bod approved shorts.

 Loft Scallop Shorts. J. Crew Factory Scallop Shorts (white is a tad see-through, so I went with navy)

Loft Chambray Sailor Shorts (also love these but haven't tried them on yet).

Loft Denim Shorts. J. Crew Factory White Denim.

 J. Crew Factory Distressed Denim Shorts. (Love this splurge pair... maybe someday!)

J. Crew Factory Pull On Shorts.  

Old Navy Linen Shorts (these will wrinkle because they are linen but for the $ and comfort, they work for me. I also love this version in red).

So what qualifies as mom-bod approved shorts, you may ask?

One. I aim for a 4 inch inseam because no one wants to see this mama chasing a toddler around in anything shorter.And before you think I'm crazy, longer inseams do not equal bermuda shorts! I'm tall so a 5 inch inseam works for me, especially with these pull-on shorts.

Two. Anything that needs ironed is a joke. 

Three. Stretchy waistbands get major bonus points.

I either own every one of these shorts or I've tried them on in store and I'm currently waiting for a sale to bring them home with me. My faves that have lasted several summers are the pull-on shorts (the best ever), dark denim shorts, and the white denim shorts. In general, Loft and J. Crew Factory always work for me because they offer so many different inseams.

Anyone else a fan?! Share some of your faves if I'm missing them!

9

The Husband-Proof Diaper Bag

There are a few things you should know about my current diaper bag situation... assuming you're interested in this sort of thing.

I often have to pack sunblock and winter hats for the same day. Consequently I pack way too much stuff.

At any given moment there is a pacifier in at least 4 separate pockets due to my son's newfound hatred for his car seat and subsequent screaming if we even think to consider a car ride without one. The nerve.

And despite my stellar organization skills, this bag is apparently husband-proof. Now I'm not sure if this is a common theme among diaper bags in general, but consider yourself warned that your husband may or may not be able to find anything in it. Ever.

Anyway, I've had quite a few requests to see how I pack my bag, so here it is in all of its overpacked glory.

Elizabeth Bag c/o Lily Jade

Despite it being January and all, I've been forced into an all-weather packing situation. With temps in the 80's last week (eye roll), I've not only been forced to include sunscreen and a bucket hat but also the beanie and socks for when old man winter decides to get with the program. But the positive is you get to see how much stuff you can really fit in here.

The interior insert holds all of this and then some...

My stuff generally gets thrown in the center of the bag with my cell phone, keys and chapstick in one of the end pockets.

Besides the pacis and the obvious diapers and wipes, other things I can't function without when toting around my almost 11-month-old are: disposable bibs and placemats, our Covered Goods nursing cover for using on shopping carts and high chairs (I generally nurse in the car or bring a bottle if I need to), and hand sanitizer because I'm suddenly a germaphobe.  

We also always have a veggie pouch and puffs with us. Tell me I'm not the only one that just continually feeds my kid to keep him happy in his highchair at restaurants?!

Full transparency: the Elizabeth bag comes with a red changing mat which I only used when Rowan was smaller. Since my kid seems a bit more squirmy than your average baby, I've had to switch to a larger changing pad.

The only downside I can think is sometimes I even confuse myself with which pocket I've put things in. First world problems, I know.

My favorite part? I think I can maintain my cool mom status with this kind of diaper bag.

Mamas of toddlers, what are your must haves for in your diaper bag? I'm sure I'll have to repack this thing pretty soon!

See more of my thoughts on traveling with the Lily Jade Elizabeth Bag here!

3

How I Really Feel About New Years

I have spent approximately zero hours planning, making resolutions, or motivating myself for the New Year.

I am actually shocked I stayed awake until midnight on New Years.

I have taken zero pretty photos, spent less time on social media than usual, and haven't started writing any of the 15 blog posts I have scheduled in my planner.

I crossed one thing off of my growing to-do list this weekend: take our Christmas decorations down. I'm sad to see the house more empty yet I feel liberated reclaiming that space. Plus that's 347 less things to worry about Rowan ingesting.

I haven't thought for a second about the fact that I'm 4 days from celebrating my last year in my 20's or freaking out because my baby is almost one.

Instead... I'm living.

This weekend I soaked up every single ounce of time with my little family. I didn't pull out my big girl camera, but I did take a shitload of super high quality iPhone videos of my husband chasing my son around the house. Those giggles, squeals, and smiles could not have been accurately captured via a pretty photo. And they were what I needed after an emotional holiday, to say the least.

I'm eating all of the carbs and donuts I want.

I sat on the couch and binge watched The Affair instead of cleaning and organizing our house. 

And I feel pretty jazzed about it.

If any of you are with me on the "no resolution/living in the moment" thing, then I'm raising my coffee (or glass of wine, depending on the time of day/behavior of my wild child) to you.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years! I promise this space won't be neglected any longer- I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things and suck less at responding to emails :)

12

Quick + Easy Dinners

I used to like making dinner. But being a wife, mama, full-time employee, and sometimes blogger leave me little time to devote to trying new recipes. Plus after Rowan is in bed its hard to resist the urge to sink into the couch with a big glass of wine.

I also blame the holiday season for making it really easy to call cookies an acceptable form of dinner. Or is that just me?

Anyway I've rounded up our favorite go-to recipes that are on repeat in our weekly menus! These are all picky-eater + husband-approved, can be made with very little effort and under 30 minutes (aside from the cooking part with the crockpot), and they make great leftovers.

Random tips for the busy girl boss or mama:

- Definitely don't forget to use crockpot liners for these, they might be the greatest invention ever.
- Prep your veggies for the week by chopping and then roasting or sauteing all at once. I find this makes it much more likely I will eat them and they won't go bad!

Skinny Crockpot Meatballs

Adapted Recipe via Skinnytaste

Grocery List: Ground beef, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, 1 egg, 2 cans of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, Prego (or your favorite pasta sauce)

Recipe: In a large bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Mix all of the ingredients and form small meatballs. Pour pasta sauce, canned tomatoes, parsley, and minced garlic into crockpot. Add meatballs, cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Meatballs can be made ahead and frozen.

Don't judge, but I make cheater pasta sauce by adding 2 small cans of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion and fresh parsley to some Prego. And clearly I use whatever pasta we have on hand! #fancy

Crockpot Philly Cheesesteaks

Grocery List: Steak (I usually use shoulder steak), McCormicks Montreal Steak Seasoning, Garlic Salt, Beef Broth, Peppers, Onions, Provolone Cheese, and Hoagie rolls

Recipe:  Put the steak in your crockpot, fill with enough beef broth that it covers the steak (you can also use water if you don't have broth), and sprinkle some garlic salt and steak seasoning. I usually go pretty heavy with the steak seasoning because we love the flavor. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the steak shreds apart really easily.

Right before eating, saute peppers and onions. Place shredded steak and veggies in your hoagie roll, top with provolone cheese, and broil on low for 8-10 minutes.

Skinny Alfredo Sauce with Pasta and Roasted Veggies

Alfredo Recipe via Damn Delicious

Grocery List: Fettuccine or zoodles, milk, flour, butter, heavy cream, Neufchatel cheese (basically light cream cheese), garlic powder, parmesan cheese, roasted veggies

Recipe: I use this skinny alfredo recipe and its super easy, makes enough for a few meals, and its healthy-ish!  Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour, and then gradually whisk in milk. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes while stirring. Add heavy cream and garlic powder until it thickens slightly, then add the cheeses until melted. Toss with pasta and veggies and top with pepper and some fresh parley if you're feeling fancy.

Skinny BBQ Chicken Chili

Adapted Recipe via Skinnytaste

Grocery List: Chicken (cook in crockpot on high for 4-5 hours or buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it), olive oil, sweet onion, garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper flakes, roasted red peppers in water (chopped), kidney beans (rinsed and drained), chicken broth, 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, your favorite barbecue sauce, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for topping

Recipe: I'm lazy about following this recipe so I basically just throw all of the ingredients in a pot on the stove or in my crockpot all at once. Cook for 20-30 minutes on the stovetop or on low in the crockpot for an hour or however long you feel like it? See I told you I'm lazy about this one. You can't really mess it up!

There you have it, our favorite meals for those crazy busy weeks when you don't feel like cooking! Any of your favorites that I should add to our menu?

7

Prepping for Daycare

Thanks for hanging in there during my blog absence y'all.. It's been quite the emotional week over here for all of us! I honestly don't know how working mamas do it, I'm going through withdrawals not having my little buddy by my side all day. Since I've been a hot mess about the whole thing, I've been distracting myself with planning his little outfits in advance and labeling things. You know, type A mom things.

When we toured Rowan's daycare we were told that there was another little baby in his class with the same name. I was surprised because Rowan isn't a common name, which is one of the reasons we picked it. I figured it could eventually get a little confusing for the babies but they would get used to it.

Then I found out its a girl.

Sigh...

While that's one less name for his teacher to remember, it does complicate the bottle situation in the mini fridge. And basically everywhere else that the babies things are stored.

So I started searching for something that could distinguish my babe's bottle, food containers (for the days I remember homemade purees), and other baby things.

Enter: Minted's new name labels.

Wheeler Label. Monogram Tag Label.

There are so many cute designs (all designed by independent artists around the country - fun fact!) and even though I would typically look for something gender neutral, this was not the time or place.  

Give me all the baby boy things. 

Trucks? Yep. Manly? Definitely. Can I add my kid's cute face to them? Absolutely.

I went with the Wheeler Label and the Monogram Tag Label and they are so.freaking.adorable. Side note: I also love this Christmas card by one of the label designers... totally not planning ahead or anything. ha!

Anyway. I admit I was skeptical that they could be waterproof so I put them to the test.

I let his bottle sit in soapy water for a few hours (admittedly I forgot about it... mom of the year), ran them through the dishwasher, and sterilized them. The labels didn't budge! I even cut out the R from one label and put it on his paci. Still there!

Touché, Minted. I totally going to be that mom that labels his pencil box (do kids use those anymore?!) and all of his sports equipment. He's going to love it. 

Linking up with Natalie and Annie! 

I was provided Minted's custom name labels for the purposes of this review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own! For our privacy, our last name on the labels has been blurred out with my amateur editing skills. 

16

All in a Day {+ Giveaway Winner}

Y'all, I keep saying I'm going to blog more regularly (and in my mind I'd like it to be about something other than my kid or being a mom). I really miss it so thanks for putting up with me!

Also thank you to everyone who entered the Day Designer for Blue Sky Planners giveaway! Congrats to the winner, Meg! Yay! I'm so glad you all loved the planners and I wish I could rig it so everyone could win.

Today I'm sharing a small glimpse of our day.

I can't even count how many times I've been asked how I work from home with a baby or what our schedule looks like, so here it is in all of its hectic, exhausting glory. I honestly love that I get to be home with him, but we are floating the idea of a nanny just to get some help as he gets more active. The schedule below is a typical non-work day, so for specifics about working with a baby see the end of the post!

I've mentioned before that we have been using the Moms on Call schedule with Rowan since he was about 4 weeks old. We follow it loosely, so if he sleeps in (this rarely happens, my little alarm clock) we just push everything back a bit. If he seems hungry before his next feeding then I feed him early. No big deal. The structure has really helped us all but it's also flexible enough that I can shift things around to accommodate my work schedule. I also credit Moms on Call for R sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old!  He had some issues (I'm looking at you 4 month sleep regression) but I think we are back on track now!

6 AM - Nurse Rowan when he wakes. (I'm basically sleeping with my eyes open at this point)

6:30 AM - Mama gets some coffee and a bagel, R plays in his bouncy chair or does some supervised tummy time

7:30 AM - Naptime for R. I try to shower during this nap but to be honest if I shower before 5 PM most work days then its a shocker! I just don't have time because I have to be super productive during naps.

9:30 AM - Nurse R. I'm usually bored nursing him so I try to catch up on blogs on my phone or buy something on Amazon #itsaproblem

10:00 AM - Feed R solids. Lately this consists of oatmeal cereal and a pureed fruit or veggie (he has limited options since we're waiting every 4 days to introduce new foods). We do playtime after that until his next nap.

11:00 AM - Naptime for R after we read a couple books.

12:30 PM - Nurse R then playtime. He loves his jumperoo during this time.

2 PM - Naptime for R. He has been fighting this one the past week. Ah!

4:00 PM - Nurse R.

4:30 PM - Feed R solids (fruit + veggie) then playtime. He usually has a lot of energy by this point so tummy time and the jumperoo are key.

5 PM - Cat nap for R.

6:30 PM - Bath time with Daddy. R loves his bath and my husband is so great at taking over baby duties when he gets home from work. Major kudos to that guy, I love him.

7 PM - Bottle feed with Daddy while mama makes dinner, then my husband reads to him until he tries to eat the books. (Listening to them read might be the sweetest sounds I've ever heard)

7:30 PM - Bedtime for R, dinner time for us.

8 PM - Collapse onto the couch, the dirty dishes usually have to wait.

9:30 PM - Pump. Literally the most boring time of my day... I hate pumping. But I have to keep up our freezer supply because the bottle feeding really helps us make sure R gets a good feed in to sleep through the night. He is currently eating almost 9 ounces at his 7 PM feed! Love my little chunker.

After that, we try to go to bed. I've always been a night owl though so I do my blog reading and writing, online shopping (oops), and catch up on social media before dozing off.

Work Days

As far as working goes, I get a lot of work done in the morning and during his naps. You learn quickly how productive you can be during those nap times! I never really take a lunch break because I use Rowan's feeding sessions as my break. I'm usually scarfing down some sort of unhealthy snack whenever I get a second. 

My main goals for the workday are: hit my 8 hours and get everything done that I need to (sometimes that requires me working once my husband gets home) and always be accessible via phone or email for my coworkers and customers.

The days are long but it's completely worth it to be able to see him roll over for the first time, see his hilarious expressions when he tries new foods, and watch him learn to sit up on his own!

I know not everyone is interested in this kind of thing but for some reason I always like hearing about the schedules of other mamas. If you made it through this post, congratulations I'm thoroughly impressed!

12

Trying to Do it All

I've been holding onto this post for a while, it's a bit heavy but I suspect some mamas, and even those of you with crazy schedules, can relate. I was hoping to have some grand realization at the end but the truth is, I don't think there is a solution, its just about adjusting expectations.

So here is my truth: Some days it feels like we're just treading water over here. And I'm so tired of barely staying afloat.

The desk that my type A self used to keep spotless.

Somewhere between the monotony of working, moving, feedings, cleaning spit up off of my shirt (or not), my hair still falling out in clumps, bath time, and bedtime, I feel like I've lost my ability to get anything else done.

I'm still trying to find that balance between being a mom, a wife, employee, blogger, and a friend. If you're one of those lucky ones with family nearby to babysit, don't take it for granted. My husband and I haven't had a date night in 4 and a half months.

There are days when I feel like I've got this whole "working from home with a baby" thing. Other days I'm convinced exist solely to knock me off my high horse and bring me back to reality.

God must know those days when you feel completely inadequate, unproductive, and straight up exhausted. On one of those days in particular, Rowan let out his first (and completely adorable) belly laugh. It was glorious. And just what I needed.

I've noticed I've gotten into the habit of focusing on tomorrow, instead of soaking in every ounce of whatever craziness is going on today. So instead of focusing on what isn't crossed off my ever-growing to do list, I'm going to start focusing on what was.

Some days that may only be keeping my son happy, well fed, and safe. And that's okay. Motherhood, man... It's the hardest but most fulfilling thing you can ever do in your life. I wouldn't trade it for a thing.

15