Family Living: Abbott Style

Motherhood has taught me a sense of selflessness that I never understood before. I try to put my husband and baby first. That has not always been the case. When I got married, I still had a lot of growing to do. Becoming a parent thrusted me into a part of adulthood that I am enjoying. It is my absolute joy to be my kid's mom and husband's girlfriend, but which takes priority? I bring this up because yesterday a fellow SAHM brought this philosophical question to light. Over half of women polled felt that kids were more important, while 30% felt that a successful marriage was important. So often, we hear of stories where women become mothers and neglect themselves and husbands..... I suppose these stats show why. You might have to ask Ian, but I feel as if I am a better wife now that I am a mom. A lot of that is due to an adjustment in perspective. It truly takes a real man to support Haley and I the way he does, and I now have a level of respect for him that I nev...

Sometimes it is hard to admit when things are not perfect... 15 weeks ago, I became a mother.  About a year ago, I found out I was pregnant.  From that moment, I wanted to be the perfect mother.  I read...a lot.  Google became my best friend and worst enemy.  I wanted to do things right.  I took classes and became educated.  I decided to breastfeed and be a stay-at-home mom.  And for every excuse you can give me against those things, I can give you 5 better reasons or stastics for them.  I became...confident. After Haley was born, only 15 weeks ago, I was determined to be the perfect mother.  I never wanted to admit that I felt that I was in over my head or that I was overwhelmed.  But I was.  Sometimes I would slip and admit that she was fussy or high-maintenance.  But I never wanted to cue in too much that she was a difficult baby.  In my head I had decided... fussy baby =  bad mom I am not sure why I c...

Someone, take away my computer.  I should not be allowed to blog after midnight.  I should be sleeping.  I have a hot and sweaty date with the gym tomorrow morning and a very busy day.  But here I am.  I can't sleep. And I've been drinking wine.  Dangerous combination.. Let's talk about my third eye.  I thought I had gotten over it until someone so rudely pointed it out.  Ya, I am looking at you .   I have a huge zit.  Really?  Common, I am twenty-something, I thought the whole acne thing was over.  Not that I ever really had acne, I would just get one huge zit in the same place.  Right between my eyes.  I even had a high school teacher point it out before.  What kind of jerk high school teacher points out a zit on a high school girl's face?  Your just asking for a hormonal mess on your hands.  Good thing I had a sense of humor about it.  At that time, we teased and said I was a unicorn.  Bu...

Has it really been since late Monday night (Tuesday morning) since I've blogged?  Where has my week gone.  It seems like it's been forever since I've blogged.  I guess having busy days makes for a quick week.  I've made it to the gym every day this week for about an hour and then later helping my buddy off the bus.  Last night, Haley and I hung out with my little buddy all night and it was a good time.  He cracks me up and I love being able to just act like a kid.  We jumped on a trampoline, went out to eat, read books, colored and of course did homework.  I look forward to Haley someday being that age.  I have him again next Wednesday late (in addition to hanging out most days after school), to make up for the week I missed while out of town, and honestly, I am already looking forward to it. Speaking of Haley she rolled over yesterday while I was dropping her by my parent's for a visit.  I couldn't believe it.  She did it like an...

Jumperoo time!  Oh how I love being a mommy....

I knew better than to go to Wal-Mart at 5:20 on a weekday evening.  But at the time, I didn't really feel as if I had a choice.  A few days a week, I am helping out a friend by seeing her son off the school bus.  While hanging out with my little buddy, my daughter had a horrible blow out.  I threw her onesie in the wash, but couldn't get it dry in time for my evening agenda.  Against my better judgement I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things including a new onesie for Haley since her other one was still damp.   Lesson learned, always pack an extra onesie. Because I didn't want my daughter to be rocking just a diaper, I covered her with a burp rag in her car seat.  Then I decided that I could put her in her stroller and pull the canopy over her, just in case I ran into someone, they wouldn't be able to tell that my I was white trashing my daughter up in Wal-Mart.  When I pulled into the parking spot, I looked up, and of course, there was someo...