Omaha
Hello Omaha Mom! I am happy to be here. I have called Omaha home for over 15 years, but I am originally from Des Moines, Iowa. I came to Omaha to go to Creighton University, with all intentions of heading back to Des Moines after graduation. However, I met my future husband during a service trip in my first year of college and as we were approaching graduation, we decided to get married, start grad school at Creighton, and buy our first home in Omaha. And Omaha has been home ever since.
Mom
My motherhood journey began on March 26, 2013, with the birth of our first daughter. I had been dreaming of being a mom since I was young and felt so ready. Until the first night. And then every night for the next year I found myself nursing a babe in the middle of the night realizing I had no idea what I was doing, but I was waking up every day and figuring it out.
This was not my MO prior to motherhood. Pre-children, I researched, I planned, I strategized before making a move. Now, there was no rule book, only Google and 1.6 million results for every baby question I searched. Despite not having any idea of what I was doing, I really loved being a mom and knew I wanted to do it again. I just didn’t plan on doing it again with two at the same time!
When our oldest, Emma, was two years old, we found out we were pregnant with twins, which was a complete surprise! But we wanted a large family so I considered this a 2-for-1 pregnancy. I was extremely fortunate with a healthy twin pregnancy and two healthy baby girls, Addy and Lily, but the realization of how underprepared I was to be a mom to three children under three years old hit hard. But, once again, every day I fumbled through and we figured it out (not without a lot of tears and mistakes, of course).
Two years later, we were ready to do this one more time. Our fourth little girl, Leia, joined our family and now I was a mom to four girls under five years old, but it seemed much easier. I think it was a mixture of Leia’s easy-going personality and my increasing comfort in my mom role.
Blog
I have been on this motherhood journey for just over eight years and each stage has had its highs and lows, pros and cons, laughter and tears, but it feels really good to be here, right where we are, right now. I just entered the stage of life where my children can dress themselves, grab their own snacks, and play nicely together for more than 20 minutes (some days!). And now that I am no longer needed 24/7, I finally feel ready to say “yes” to great opportunities like this one!
Over the last several years, the idea that I would have time to sit on my couch and type up a blog post would have seemed impossible and so although I miss newborn cuddles and middle of the night nursing sessions, I am glad to be here in the place where I can take some time to reflect and share some words of encouragement (and maybe some wisdom!) with all of you.
I am also entering the stage where I worry about how to teach them about the injustices in the world, while also trying to protect them from it; I am trying to find the right balance and realizing, yet again, there isn’t a rule book and there isn’t just one right answer. I look forward to using this space to share this part of my motherhood journey and look forward to learning from all of you as well.
