Then and now.

I was talking to a friend the other day about how different our lives are now that we have children. It turned out to be quite the knee slapping conversation so I thought I would share. I encourage all of my mommy friends to do the exact same!

Before I had kids, I hated talking about kids. I never knew what to ask or what milestone to clap for. To be honest, kids made me uncomfortable. Now that I have kids, I don't shut up about kids. I talk about mine, yours, theirs, hers. this one...and that one. I now love all things baby.

Before I had kids, scissors had one use-cut out pictures of boys. Now, scissors seem to have taken a whole new role. I never realized how much a mother uses scissors. I think it's because when I was pre-kids I had all the time in the world to struggle with something. 'I can get it." or "I'll use my teeth" or "I'll walk around aimlessly for 45 minutes devising a new plan to open this." But now, post kiddo life is MUCH different. "Mom, can you open this?" "of course, let me get the scissors." Somewhere between the middle of the night feedings and the pile of human poo that nobody will own up to, mothers everywhere have lost time and tooth enamel. Keep that in mind for Mother's Day: scissors. Heck, engrave 'em. "Cut yourself a break."

Commercials: This was on the topic of discussion the other day, and has been brought up by me in many conversations. Young me liked commercials about the newest movie coming out, I liked commercials about gum, candy and toys. Seasoned me likes commercials about Dyson vacuum cleaners. You show me ONE mother on this earth that doesn't stop in her tracks when the Dyson is on T.V and I'll show you one mother, who is lying about being a mother. Miracle.

Being a girl: Both then and now I have always had a great love for accessories and "primping" I love make-up, I love jewelry and I love to paint my nails. Of course, being a mother changes these things as well. At some point in the transition I went from looking at a piece of jewelry and saying, "oh, it's perfect!" without giving a second look at the price. Now, I compare jewelry prices to that of...diapers. If a piece of jewelry costs more than a box of dipeys, my mommy guilt punches me so hard in the ear that I am physically unable to purchase it. Instead it grabs me by my pony tail and promptly leads me out of the store.
As far as maintenance goes? HAH! I remember my dad and I got up super early one year to go fishing, he was really eager to go and I said "Hold on! I've got to do my hair and make-up" to which he replied, "...We're. going. fishing...." Fast forward to Erica now? If I choose to get a shower and do my hair and make-up one of two things will happen. First, Jason will be late to work. Two, Roman will be neglected and surely, grow up to hate me. (Thankfully Isabelle allows me to shower with minimal interruption to talk about cats.)

Google: Mothers will agree google, and the internet as a whole has changed quite a lot for us. Pre baby internet was very fun, flirty and we laughed at dirty e-mails without hesitation! Now, google and the internet as a whole is our asking machine. Where we once searched for discounted designer jeans we now google, "Is green poop bad in a preschooler?"

Purses: This one is almost too easy. Where a small purse that could carry keys and lip gloss used to hang now  an over sized, baggy, drooping diaper bag awkwardly hangs in absolute discomfort! Even for us who have older kids and a lesser need for a diaper bag, our purses are still over sized to make room for extra binkies, a rattley toy, and a pair of loose shoes that you have given up on. Let the strangers stare, those shoes will NOT stay on.

Bread: Who ever heard of caring about what kind of bread you buy? it's BREAD! The most in depth I ever got while bread shopping was to feel it. Soft? sold! But now? pssshh The bread isle is the new shoe isle. "Okay, this one is wheat" "Oh look, this one is wheat and 12 grains!!!" "BABE! get over here look at this! Wheat, 14 grains and it's got flax seed...it's perfect."

Cleaners: I'll keep up with the previous theme. I didn't care what product I used to clean the floor, my car or the windows. It did the job and then I could go back to sleeping until noon or whatever I did those eons ago. Now, I am NOT saying I clean my house regularly. I'm not even saying it's clean right now. It's not. But, when I do "clean big" and even when I just execute the menial tasks of the day I need a cleaner that is either antibacterial or made from "all natural" ingredients. There is something calming to a mother knowing that you're silently protecting your children by wiping away the cracker crumbs with something that is safe for them.
Oh, but what we rarely tell people is that, that cracker fell on the floor 32 times before ingestion. We're not perfect, lay off!


At the end of the day, would I trade having painted nails and no garbage in my hair for my kids?
.......Well....

Just kidding! Of course I wouldn't.

  I think every mommy reading this can agree that there is nothing more magical then getting a big squeeze from your little munchkin, those moments can't be traded for anything but more of those moments.
 These are the small sacrifices we make when we decide to be mommies. Their just the things we hold at the back of our minds to remind us that life is comical, exciting and ever changing...


Except my obsession with the Dyson, that is NOT ever changing. I want one. Now.