Thoughts on Motherhood on Mother's Day

Mother's day was great this year! I got to sleep in while Tyler took care of the kids and made breakfast. When I finally woke up, the kids and Tyler surprised me with my favorite perfume and flowers for our backyard. The best part, though, was the hugs. 

We had a lot of parties to hit that day. We started out at Terry and Craig's for a bar-b-q. Sadly I didn't get any pictures, but we had so much fun.

Then we headed over to Ryan's for another dinner. I think my mom had a great Mother's day with 6 of her almost 12 grandkids.

And I'm sure my mom loves her kids too... even the ones who live far away and grow Amish beards!

Later that night I realized I didn't get any "cute" pictures of me with the kids, so before bedtime we tried to snap some pictures. My little Princess was all about posing. Gosh I love this girl. She makes my life so happy and complete.

Even when we make silly faces together.

Poor Caden was having a rough night going on just a short nap that day, so he wasn't happy to sit with me and get his picture taken. Even though these two kids are so exhausting some days, I absolutely love being their mom. Kayla and Caden are the best things that ever happened in my life (well, of course marrying Tyler is right up there, too), and I love being their mom!

And of course I love this little nugget growing in my belly. Even though we don't know the gender, I love dreaming about this third baby that will complete our family. I love to feel the flutters at night when I finally lie down to go to sleep. I can't wait until my little baby is here and I can hold him/her in my arms!

Over the last few months Tyler and I have been contemplating me working. I truly love my job. I love teaching and the benefits it gives our family. I really want to work, but not full time. The last three years I have been able to work part time, which I absolutely love! It is the perfect schedule for me and the kids. This  next year working part time wasn't an option at Oquirrh Hills Middle. The principal asked if I wanted to work full time, and I knew with a third baby on the way, that was not what I wanted. I thought about finding another part time job at a different school, but didn't want to create new curriculum while on maternity leave. The option I thought, cried, stressed, and finally felt content with was staying home with my kids. I really struggled with this decision, because a part of me thought I would just be a "stay-at home mom" and that my education and years of teaching were pointless, a waste of talent and hard work. As cheesy as it is, I came across this quote by Barbara Bush that put my situation into perspective:  "At the end of you life you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, or a parent."

So while my life will consist of reading Dr. Seuss, instead of teaching classic novels, playing barbies and balls instead of planning new lessons, cleaning the house instead of grading papers, and having conversations with my kids instead of adults, I look forward to this new change in my life. I know some days will be difficult and that I may wish I was arguing with teenagers instead of a stubborn toddler, but I will look back and realize the little things we did every day together were really the big things that I will look back and remember. So for at least the next year I will pause my career to be a mother. To me, it is not a waste of talent, but the greatest opportunity for me and my kids.