A Year Already?

Happy Friday everyone!

This Friday is a special one for me. My little guy turned a year yesterday which means...my maternity leave comes to an end today. Monday, I return to work. GASP!

Its hard to believe that a year ago, our little guy came into our lives at 8:29am. I've had an incredible maternity leave with my two little guys. Our big guy was in preschool three mornings a week, which gave me the luxury of having alone time with the baby while our big guy had the opportunity to meet so many neighbourhood friends that he now goes to school with. He and his little posse travel in this cute little pack and I just love that they'll always have eachother in the neighbourhood.

I also had the opportunity of meeting more moms in the neighbourhood that have become some of my closest friends. You can't beat that!

The times that my big guy wasn't at preschool I will cherish forever. Now that he's started Kindergarten, I feel so blessed to have been able to spend full days and afternoons hanging out, doing crafts, baking, playing pirates, digging in the dirt and playing hockey with my big guy. Alot happens between the age of 3-4, and I was so lucky to be able to see him grow through this year and see how caring and affectionate he is to his baby brother. "I'm practicing to be a Daddy" he says.

Of course, my little guy...melts my heart in cuteness. He's our little tub of butter that just goes with the flow. He and his brother love eachother and roll around like baby cubs. In Canada, we are so lucky to be able to have a full year with our babies. It gives parents the opportunity to not only share the leave if they choose, but have a whole year of watching their babe's grow. Fantastic.

So...I'm feeling a bit bittersweet about today. I really do love to be home with my kids. Its busy, fresh, chaotic and fantastic. However, there is a part of me that is looking forward to getting out of my yoga pants and into some dressy clothes for work. I'm looking forward to having a cup of tea all by myself, with no interuptions. I'm looking forward to not having to clean up the kitchen four times a day and working on challenging files at the office and working with my coworkers.

However, I'll miss my kids! This week our big guy has been at school and I've been transitioning my little guy to daycare, so I've had a couple of days to myself and I miss the boys terribly. Many working moms struggle with "mommy guilt". Should I be home when my kids come home from school? Why do I have someone else taking care of my baby when I could be doing that?

I often wish that I could be a stay-at-home mom, BUT there are many rewards of a working mom. Your mind is challenged, I'm using my degrees and the financial rewards are important to me. I love to go on vacations, buy pretty things, go out for dinner and give my family what we want and desire for.

I digress. So please bear with me for the next few weeks while we try to juggle with our new schedules, juggling the kids to school and daycare, trying to get out the door on time and surviving the dinner chaos. Fingers crossed! I'm looking forward to our projects in the house, sharing them with you and keeping things beautiful.

One tip I have for you working moms or busy stay-at-home moms is meal planning. I've done it for the last couple of years but this summer ditched it for eating out and random picnics. I pulled out my mini calendar last night and did a quick monthly plan. Normally I only plan for a week but figure its good to have an idea.

Tuesdays are free - we eat out at the pub after our big guy's soccer
Weekends - usually Friday or Saturday we order in or go out.

Meal planning is a great way to:
- stay organized
- know what your having for dinner in the morning...AND
- prevents you from staring at the fridge when you get home at 5pm with hungry kids at your feet.

Wish me luck!

Life is beautiful. Keep it fresh.fabulous.sophisticated.