I have really debated whether or not to write a post about this in my blog because I don't really enjoy blogging about myself...but I figured I might as well since there are some cute pictures :0)
When Samuel was three months old, I was at a loss. My life had been flipped upside down by this tiny, amazing, little guy...and I just wasn't too sure what to do with myself!!! Being a stay-at-home mom isn't a glorious job by any means. It usually consists of a long day of diaper changes, cleaning up messes, doing laundry, keeping your sanity, and trying to entertain someone who can't communicate with you verbally!
I had gone from being a globe-trotting, fashionable, carefree, social, working gal who had amazing friends, great wardrobe, and an amazing career to an exhausted, vomit covered, uptight mom! I WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING...and that's because it's the only thing I had to do! Looking back, it was silly things I worried about: Samuel smiled sooner than other babies, WHY?! He only poo's 2 times a day, the book says it should be 5! OH NO! A RASH!!!!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!??! The only time I left the house was for Samuel's well check appointments or to go to dinner at my in-laws, because: everyone I knew was at work, it was a lot of work to take a nursing infant out, and where would I go?! I couldn't go to a playgroup, he couldn't hold his head up yet! The mall?? What did I need to buy? So I sat at home and worried, and nursed, and watched a lot of TV.
Then my mom suggested I look up a program called Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). She said there was one locally where she lived, so maybe there was one up here since it's an international organization. I kind of rolled my eyes to myself, what would be the chance of there being a MOPS group nearby? And what was I going to do, just show up and say, Hi! I'm Misty and I'm exhausted and I have to nurse every minute of the day! I didn't think so...so I put that idea on the back burner until mid-February when I realized that I knew a little bit too much about the Winter Olympics...anyone who gets excited about Ice Curling really does need to expand ones horizons!
So I pulled up the website (http://www.mops.org/ just in case anyone wants to learn more about MOPS) to see if there were any groups close by...I knew it was a long shot since Barton is a small town, and there isn't too much around here. But wouldn't you know it, there was ONE group nearby...in fact, it was only 3 MILES AWAY!
Three miles?? I could do 3-miles with an infant! But wait, they meet at 10am. Could I have myself and an infant ready by then??? Being a new mom, everything seems daunting. But after another week of only leaving the house to go to dinner, and talking to only Eric, my family, and Samuel I realized I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING.
So Tuesday morning rolled around, I wasn't sure how to dress since nothing fit, I was pretty darn tired, and wasn't sure what to expect...but loaded up the diaper bag, an extra outfit, a hooter hider, the car seat, a stroller, a first aid kit, my purse, and just about anything else I thought I might need in those two hours and headed to Westernport...and the rest is history!
That day I met some of the most incredible mom's (other than my own mom!) that I have ever met. They are generous, kind, funny, outgoing, thoughtful, organized, and true friends who send cards, pass around kids clothes, give you toys, make you feel welcome, cheer you up, make you laugh, and make some of the yummiest foods you could eat.
My MOPS group meets every Tuesday during the school year. It's one of the only places you can drink soda, eat chips, candy, cake, and brownies at 10am without feeling bad...and when you go back for 2nds everyone else is right there with you! Are you tired??? So are they?! You haven't slept in days??? Neither has someone else?! Need a winter coat because you kid outgrew theirs? You'll probably end up with two or three.
Another MOPS year has come to an end for us, and it's always a sad time. You get use to seeing your friends every week, having 2 whole hours just for yourself (thanks to free wonderful childcare at MOPS!), and just getting a little break from the day-to-day life of a stay-at home mom!
Don't get me wrong, being a stay at home mom is amazing! I am SO THANKFUL every single day I get to stay at home with Samuel. I'm thankful I don't miss milestones, or smiles, or boo-boo's, or tantrums, and I don't have to worry if someone else would care for him as well as me...because this is now MY JOB. It took awhile to come to the realization that being a mom is a job! It isn't just cooking, cleaning, and watching a kid...it's a job that comes with a whole list of responsibilities and it never ends!
We decided this year our last meeting would be a formal event because we had Mom Awards! So we all pulled out our fanciest dresses, put on some make-up, I even pulled out a pair of high heels and dusted them off! I arrived at MOPS with my casserole dish of cookies, a baby on my hip, and in my favorite Ann Taylor Loft dress that I haven't had a chance to wear for years!
We spent the morning laughing and being nostalgic. Every mom received an award of some type, and our MOPS leaders did a really great job pin pointing the right award to each person. There was a red carpet, everyone got a trophy, and we had a pictures with a great little background!
I wasn't sure what kind of award I would get: most likely to worry??? Maybe. Mother who may never wean her child??? Some days I feel like it. The mother who can make just about anything out of goat's milk? That's a real possibility. But instead, I was completely surprised and caught off guard when I was selected as Mother of the Year!
Little old me?? There had to be a mistake. My son can barely talk, he hasn't slept through the night yet, I can't get him to eat anything, I've tried weaning him for 2 months with no luck and I was selected as mother of the year??? But as everyone around me clapped and hugged me I realized that they had. I could think of about 15 other mom's who deserve the title of Mom of the Year just as much as me, if not more. My MOPS group is just full of very inspirational women and it was truly humbling and an honor to be selected.
When Samuel was three months old, I was at a loss. My life had been flipped upside down by this tiny, amazing, little guy...and I just wasn't too sure what to do with myself!!! Being a stay-at-home mom isn't a glorious job by any means. It usually consists of a long day of diaper changes, cleaning up messes, doing laundry, keeping your sanity, and trying to entertain someone who can't communicate with you verbally!
I had gone from being a globe-trotting, fashionable, carefree, social, working gal who had amazing friends, great wardrobe, and an amazing career to an exhausted, vomit covered, uptight mom! I WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING...and that's because it's the only thing I had to do! Looking back, it was silly things I worried about: Samuel smiled sooner than other babies, WHY?! He only poo's 2 times a day, the book says it should be 5! OH NO! A RASH!!!!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!??! The only time I left the house was for Samuel's well check appointments or to go to dinner at my in-laws, because: everyone I knew was at work, it was a lot of work to take a nursing infant out, and where would I go?! I couldn't go to a playgroup, he couldn't hold his head up yet! The mall?? What did I need to buy? So I sat at home and worried, and nursed, and watched a lot of TV.
Then my mom suggested I look up a program called Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). She said there was one locally where she lived, so maybe there was one up here since it's an international organization. I kind of rolled my eyes to myself, what would be the chance of there being a MOPS group nearby? And what was I going to do, just show up and say, Hi! I'm Misty and I'm exhausted and I have to nurse every minute of the day! I didn't think so...so I put that idea on the back burner until mid-February when I realized that I knew a little bit too much about the Winter Olympics...anyone who gets excited about Ice Curling really does need to expand ones horizons!
So I pulled up the website (http://www.mops.org/ just in case anyone wants to learn more about MOPS) to see if there were any groups close by...I knew it was a long shot since Barton is a small town, and there isn't too much around here. But wouldn't you know it, there was ONE group nearby...in fact, it was only 3 MILES AWAY!
Three miles?? I could do 3-miles with an infant! But wait, they meet at 10am. Could I have myself and an infant ready by then??? Being a new mom, everything seems daunting. But after another week of only leaving the house to go to dinner, and talking to only Eric, my family, and Samuel I realized I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING.
So Tuesday morning rolled around, I wasn't sure how to dress since nothing fit, I was pretty darn tired, and wasn't sure what to expect...but loaded up the diaper bag, an extra outfit, a hooter hider, the car seat, a stroller, a first aid kit, my purse, and just about anything else I thought I might need in those two hours and headed to Westernport...and the rest is history!
That day I met some of the most incredible mom's (other than my own mom!) that I have ever met. They are generous, kind, funny, outgoing, thoughtful, organized, and true friends who send cards, pass around kids clothes, give you toys, make you feel welcome, cheer you up, make you laugh, and make some of the yummiest foods you could eat.
My MOPS group meets every Tuesday during the school year. It's one of the only places you can drink soda, eat chips, candy, cake, and brownies at 10am without feeling bad...and when you go back for 2nds everyone else is right there with you! Are you tired??? So are they?! You haven't slept in days??? Neither has someone else?! Need a winter coat because you kid outgrew theirs? You'll probably end up with two or three.
Another MOPS year has come to an end for us, and it's always a sad time. You get use to seeing your friends every week, having 2 whole hours just for yourself (thanks to free wonderful childcare at MOPS!), and just getting a little break from the day-to-day life of a stay-at home mom!
Don't get me wrong, being a stay at home mom is amazing! I am SO THANKFUL every single day I get to stay at home with Samuel. I'm thankful I don't miss milestones, or smiles, or boo-boo's, or tantrums, and I don't have to worry if someone else would care for him as well as me...because this is now MY JOB. It took awhile to come to the realization that being a mom is a job! It isn't just cooking, cleaning, and watching a kid...it's a job that comes with a whole list of responsibilities and it never ends!
We decided this year our last meeting would be a formal event because we had Mom Awards! So we all pulled out our fanciest dresses, put on some make-up, I even pulled out a pair of high heels and dusted them off! I arrived at MOPS with my casserole dish of cookies, a baby on my hip, and in my favorite Ann Taylor Loft dress that I haven't had a chance to wear for years!
We spent the morning laughing and being nostalgic. Every mom received an award of some type, and our MOPS leaders did a really great job pin pointing the right award to each person. There was a red carpet, everyone got a trophy, and we had a pictures with a great little background!
I wasn't sure what kind of award I would get: most likely to worry??? Maybe. Mother who may never wean her child??? Some days I feel like it. The mother who can make just about anything out of goat's milk? That's a real possibility. But instead, I was completely surprised and caught off guard when I was selected as Mother of the Year!
Little old me?? There had to be a mistake. My son can barely talk, he hasn't slept through the night yet, I can't get him to eat anything, I've tried weaning him for 2 months with no luck and I was selected as mother of the year??? But as everyone around me clapped and hugged me I realized that they had. I could think of about 15 other mom's who deserve the title of Mom of the Year just as much as me, if not more. My MOPS group is just full of very inspirational women and it was truly humbling and an honor to be selected.
The Most Amazing group of Moms I know (well, we are missing a few!)
Instead of a tiara, I received a baseball cap...for those mornings (most mornings) when doing my hair is the last thing on the list of things to get done. Instead of a sash, I received a t-shirt...it's practical and when it gets goldfish crackers, spilled juice on it, blood from another boo-boo, or dirt from a little boy, it's just another mark on my motherhood and I will proudly wear the shirt! A notepad and pen so I can keep track of well, everything! A personalized bag so I can haul everything that is required for any basic outing: goldfish crackers, a sippy cup, change of clothes, toys, coupons, etc. And an awesome car magnet that says Mom of the Year.
There are definitely days where the last thing I feel like is Mom of the Year, but it's always good to know that people believe in you. Over the past year and a half, I have learned something from each of my MOPS friends...how to be more patient, how to be more generous, how to be more accepting, how to meet people where they are at, how to laugh, how to let go, how to forgive, how to relax, how to see the humor in everything, and by taking a little bit of each of my MOPS friends and my own upbringing I think that is how I became Mom of the Year.
Double gunning my new magnet!
Mom of the Year Car Magnet...I feel like I should get special parking places because of this!
Me with my amazing MOPS leader!
Another candid discussion about breastfeeding!
Chrissy, Heather, and myself!
Posts
You forgot to mention your trophy. : ) I love the picture of us checking out the rack.
ReplyDeleteMOPS is great! Lots of fun!