Women Connect: Blessed Momma of Two

Hello! My name is Ashley and welcome to my little spot on the world wide web.  It isn't anything fancy.  And it really is not anything terribly important to anyone...but me, of course.  I think the grandmothers enjoy it too.  The hubs?  He doesn't even read!  But me?  I love it.  It helps me document the big moments and the everyday moments of our lives.  And at the end of every year, I turn it into a book (well, two books lately thanks to all the pictures).  I don't have time to scrapbook, so this is the way I keep up!

{ha! maybe just to myself...}

A little about me - I am 29.  I live in Tennessee.  I love God.  I love anything monogrammed or personalized.  I love to take pictures.  I love anything with dots.  I am an Auburn Tigers fan (even though we were horrible this year).  I love getting the mail this time of year.  Why?  Christmas cards, of course!! And I think, if we knew the morning meterologist in person, he and Brad would be BFFs (weird, I know - but so true!).  I have an amazing husband and two precious kiddos - Katie is 3 and Jack is 5 months.  Sometimes I feel like I am playing house and this is just a dream.  Then I snap back to reality and realize that this is no dream.  Sometimes I think about all I have and all I have accomplished and it is just overwhelming.  I am right where I want to be doing the job I want to do.  I am a mom.  I am a wife.  I am a daughter.  I am a sister.  I am a granddaughter.  I am a daughter-in-law.  Whew!

{me with my favorites...and about as close to seeing our Christmas card picture as you'll get until they're mailed out}

Now, that isn't to say it is always easy.  Or that it is always fun.  This mom gig isn't for sissies, that's for sure. I feel like I say the same things about 2341097893 times a day.  And Katie is so curious and asks so many questions and does not stop!  And Jack is just an infant (the cutest every, by the way) - he has to eat a lot.  And he wakes up needing the pacifier or with gas almost every night.  And then there's Brad.  Poor guy.  I do the best I can with this stay-at-home mom gig...but right now I don't feel like there is enough hours in the day or enough sleep I could get to accomplish everything around here.  So he goes to work during the day and comes home and is Super Daddy and House Cleaner Extraordinaire!  He helps with the dishes and laundry.  And he knows better than to expect a hot, homemade meal every night.  We have been eating out a lot lately.  And he puts up with fact that I am the "most organized messy person in the world" (his words, not mine).  And most days I am in the typical "mom wardrobe" - workout clothes, no makeup, hair in a ponytail. My kids look adorable! Me?  Not so much!  And my back - oh, how it hurts.  And he may gripe a little, but he always makes sure to rub my back at night so that it doesn't hurt as badly.  He is the best daddy and husband ever!

{my world - and again...all you'll see if the Christmas card shoot}

But the mom gig?  I'm trying to do a better job with everything.  With taking care of myself.  With taking care of my house. But right now, my kiddos are top priority.  They will never be this little again.  They will never want their momma like they do now.  So for now?  I am remembering that it is just a phase.  If the dishes sit a little longer, I am okay with that.  And I am trying to remember to be thankful for the sleepless nights.  They are what I wanted (indirectly, mind you).

I had to do fertility treatments to have both of those crazy kids.  Worth it?  Absolutely.  The hardest experience of my life?  Hands down.  I got pregnant with Katie after the first IUI.  Jack was a different story.  We tried for a year and a half - I think I had about 9 or 10 failed IUIs before the one that worked.  Whew.  If that doesn't test one's faith, there isn't much that does.  But, it was 110% worth it.  I love my kids.  I love my husband.  I love my life.  It may not be perfect, but it is an adventure and I am so lucky.  

{Want to see what all we do?  Please "Join This Site" up there on the upper right!  I can't wait to read some of your stories, too!}