Happy Mother’s Day my fellow mamas! I saw this shirt at Target that said “Tough As A Mother” (blog post pic), and as with everything at Target, it was a MUST get. Damn Target.

My Mother’s Day started off like every other day, BOTH boys were awake before 6 a.m…lovely I know. Clearly I am winning in the sleeping department. Our 6-month old has yet to sleep through the night. Which means if you add that to the third trimester of pregnancy where you are not sleeping for a million reasons…I have not had a full nights sleep in about a year. The fine lines and bags under my eyes are becoming permanent. I seriously think I have aged at least 5 years in the last year. I am totally blaming my kids for that one. Yes I said blame…I am the oldest in my family and definitely not above the blame game. 

After my morning pump session (still exclusively pumping…I have to get those final few pounds off somehow), my husband took the kiddos so I could get my workout in. He knows that me getting a daily workout in is the key to my sanity these days. It also gave me some time to reflect on being a mom on Mother’s Day.

Until I had kids, I had zero clue how tough moms really were. From getting pregnant (many of us struggle…I am one of them), to staying pregnant (again many of us struggle with this), to birth (or adoption), the journey to becoming a mom is intense. Literally after giving birth, I felt like every mom should have a gold medal, because damn, we are badass.

While labor is hard, thank goodness for epidurals, it is short lived and we tend to forget how bad it really does hurt. Or, at least I forgot because I decided to have another kid. What people do not tell you, at least in my opinion, is that pregnancy is the easy part. When your bundle of joy finally enters the world….that is when stuff gets REAL.

As mamas, we juggle sooo much. We cook, clean, do laundry/dishes, hit the gym (or try to), meal prep, grocery shop, manage calendars, work in/outside the home…etc. Our to-do lists are never ending. Then you combine it with the many hats we wear as a mother, wife/partner, sister, daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, co-worker, employee…exhausted yet? I am exhausted and I know I am not alone. I love my tiny humans to pieces. Yet they are exhausting.

When I was pregnant with our first son people warned me of the sleepless nights. I remember being told the days are long but the years go by so quick. And boy were they right. There was also a lot of things that people didn’t share. For example: they didn’t share that the sleepless nights would put you on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Not being dramatic, I am very serious.

They also did not tell me that you will question every.single.decision as a parent. You will feel, more often than not, that you are failing at life. And if you do not feel that way, please tell me what your magic sauce is because I need some PRONTO. I do not know how many times a week I feel like I am failing at being a mom, wife, daughter, co-worker, employee…the list goes on. I have yet to have a day where I was like, “WOW I crushed today and was 100% at everything!”

There is no manual for these adorable little humans. You go on instinct and hope and pray that you will not raise an A-hole. Yes, on the regular my main goal in life is to make sure my boys are not A-holes. You are welcome future partners of my boys.

While the days are long, it is a million times over, so worth it. People told me about the unconditional love you will have for your child, but until I had our kids, I had no idea what unconditional love really was. While I will always have that love for them, I will also note that the door is open for not liking them or their choices at times. I feel that is a fair stance as a parent…always love, but do not always have to like/agree.

After becoming a mom, my eyes were opened to this tribe of women, other moms. Whether they are your best friend, or someone you have not talked to since high school, it was amazing how as mamas we come together to support each other. We celebrate each other and each other’s kids. But we are not only there for the celebrations, we are also there to pick each other up when we feel like we are falling (or failing in my case).

So to all of the mamas out there…Happy Mother’s Day! I cannot thank the mama tribe enough for being so kind, caring, being my boy’s cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on, the support net I need for various reasons/times…the list goes on. THANK YOU ladies. Happy Mother’s Day! My wish for each of you this upcoming year (and myself) is we work on carving out more time for ourselves to relax, press pause and reset. Win for everyone…right? #momgoals.