The other day I was thinking about how our lives changed over the course of a year and a half. I really had to think about it because what was so foreign last November, is the everyday now.

Before we had Cameron our time was spent much, much differently. Greg and I were both still working full-time, but the way we spent our evenings and weekends was so different to how we go about things day-to-day now.

You can try and prepare yourself so much for the changes that are upon you as a first-time parent. We tried. I tried and I struggled immensely. After Cameron was born I had a hard time accepting "losing us," as I saw it. I cried, a lot. Part of it was hormones going crazy, wild. The other part was just the realization that life as I knew it was going to be completely different from here on out. It didn't help that Cameron was 15 days early and everyone told me I was going to be late! I was not ready for this! I was supposed to have more than two weeks to prepare myself! Soon enough though as hormones and emotions calmed down, I learned to accept, embrace, and LOVE a different "us" as a family of three.

Before we had Cameron, Greg and I saw A LOT of movies. It was (and still is) our favorite date activity (I've saved every ticket stub from the last seven years)! We would see matinees or even late night movies. We'd say "I'm bored! Let's go see a movie we've been wanting to see." When we wanted to get out of the house, sometimes we'd go to Barnes & Noble, get coffees, and sit and read quietly side by side. We spent quite a few (late) evenings at the softball fields while Greg played and I cheered him on with the other wives. Afterwards, it was happy hour. We had a lot of those, yum! On a lazy Sunday we would hang around the house and cat nap as we pleased. Dinner was cooked when we got home from work or the gym and gym time was in the evening at any time. We would make plans on a whim and could never understand what was just "so difficult" for our friends that had children already.

Flash forward to today. My weekdays consist of  waking up at 5:15am to get ready for work. By 6:15 Cameron is awake and ready to go. We hustle to make it out the door by 6:50, drop off by 7, work at 8, pick up by 5, and them home. Cameron's dinner is at 6 and our dinner is whatever we can manage to either a) shove in our mouths while he's sitting still and eating or b) whatever we can manage to make after Cameron is in bed by 8. 7:30 is bathtime and 8 is time for bottle and bed. 90% of the time dinner is AFTER Cameron's bed time, then we sit on the couch, relax, and I'm usually pooped and asleep by 10. (Sorry Greg!)

Weekends are similar, but we schedule our days and events around Cameron's nap times. He's a sleepy kid that LOVES and very much NEEDS his naps. Luckily, he's down to two, but they're usually 2-2.5 hours long. While that gives us time to get things done around the house, most of the time we use it as down time to relax and do something for ourselves!

While I miss being able to up and leave on a whim, plan things last minute, not worry about what time I leave or when I come home, there isn't any place I'd rather be than home with my family. I don't care that I have to change poopy diapers (and get poop on my hand), clean up spitup (from his clothes, or the carpet, or my clothes), change my clothes becasue Cameron wiped his mouth on my for the 10th time, or having a baby whining and clinging to my pant legs (while saying 'ma mamama mama ma'). I love motherhood and all of the changes that come along with it. I know as Cameron gets older it's going to get easier in most ways. I also know that the day is quickly approaching when mom won't be cool anymore and he won't want to need me. I dread that, but I got a taste when he was perfectly fine with letting go with nursing. I'm cherishing every challenging moment (and learnign something new each day) with my little man and couldn't have wished for a better daddy for Cameron. I'm blessed.