A day in the life of parenthood.

Chillin, grillin and swimmin. It was a lounge around the pool and sippin on some drinks with the new parents of a newborn kind of day and babysitting baby Braden for a bit was the highlight of it all. It was a pretty perfect day. We gathered all our little crazies for a fun dip in the sun. My bestfriends girls have not quite made it to summer, as they have one more week but that didn't stop us and my newly mommy friend wanted to get out of the house rather than lay around and tend to baby all day. Did she kind...? Not at all, but a good break from reality with some good mommy friends doesn't hurt either. It's all butterflies and daisies during pregnancy but the reality of it all doesn't come into effect until you push that big headed baby out of a dime sized hole.

With all the romanticized images of children and parenthood floating around, hardly anyone gets a realistic idea of what it's like to be a parent before they actually become one. 

In our case, my newly mommy friend Julie was the last one of us three to welcome a baby to our circle of friends. She never really understood the motherhood role. She thought she could put herself in our shoes during our years of young motherhood but she couldn't ever fathom what it would truly be like to raise a newborn let alone a baby. When you think you know, you really have no clue. When you think you're ready, are you truly ready?

In her own words, "I finally get it... I understand now. I love Braden so very much, so much that it scares the crap out of me. Motherhood is a blessing. I understand now what you do every day. I wouldn't trade it for the world but wow, I truly had no idea."

No one ever really knows what it's like to be a parent more less mother. We just kind of-- go with the flow. 

It's true, being a mother is really fun, and satisfying in a way you can't fully imagine when you don't have children. And it's really hard work... more work than anyone can imagine until you've done it yourself. You think you know but trust me, you really don't know. One thing's for sure: No one has to have children. The world's not short on people to populate it, and whether to become a parent is completely up to you and whatever hopes and dreams you have for your life. But let me tell you, you're truly missing out on what life has to offer. Everyday my kiddos teach me something new and within myself I find challenges that I never thought I could achieve --difficult and all. After all parenthood is the new life.