"Motherhood is laughing till you cry and crying till your laugh..."

Happy New Year! After an unpardonably long hiatus, The Mummy Resume is back with a continuation of  the Holding On To You series. This post features an interview with a young mother and blogger (SimplyChic Momma) who shares her experiences about juggling motherhood and life. Check out her awesome blog at http://babyfromabove.blogspot.com/ 

The Mummy Resume: What’s your elevator pitch? Who are you?

SimplyChic Momma: I am a first time momma & wife juggling my mundane desk job with my DIY addiction. My baby and bridal blogs serve the dual purpose of being both a form of therapeutic relief as well as an awesome open journal to look back on

The Mummy Resume: Has your definition of yourself fundamentally changed since you became a mom?

SimplyChic Momma: Absolutely! The journey of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood is such an intense one, it is impossible to go through it without being transformed. More than anything I see myself slowly morphing into my mother in so many ways! I feel like a character in a comic book for saying this but the experience of motherhood showed me hidden strength from within that I didn't  even know existed.

The Mummy Resume: Haha, ‘slowly morphing into your mother huh’? I can totally relate with that. I suppose it makes sense since most of our lessons about motherhood stem from watching our own mothers. Somehow though, it isn’t always easy to imbibe how they balanced it all. What are your secrets to balancing motherhood, work, and life? I know you do a ton of creative projects and you made all your daughter’s baby food. How did you do this? Any practical tips?

SimplyChic Momma: The biggest secret of all is that there truly is no secret. Honestly.  People asked me  all the time how I found the time to make all her baby food and still have time for all my crafting projects, and blogging amidst everything else I have to do, and I’ll always say it’s simply a juggling act. By its very definition the term juggling means at any given time some things will be out of my hands. I’ve accepted that and made peace with that, I can’t be perfect at every single thing all the time, but that doesn’t stop me from constantly wanting to try something new or add a new challenge to my routine.  Do I consider myself a super mom? By all means no, like all moms out there I have good days and not so great days when my home looks disastrous, and my toddler screams like a banshee for no reason, at such a high volume and pitch it’s totally undecipherable by humans. And yet still I know tomorrow will be another day and we will get to try all over again. If anything at all, my best advice is to always keep an open mind about trying new things. Too often we defeat ourselves in advance with our own fears and insecurities about how impossible it all seems and how we won’t be as good as that other mom.  In the famous words of Mandela “It always seems impossible until it’s done” Trying, trying and trying some more, that is really all it takes. If you aren't scared to fail a few times, you will succeed a lot!

The Mummy Resume: ‘Trying, trying and trying some more’ – great words of wisdom. I read an article that asserted that true ‘super moms’ don’t view themselves as such. Thanks for your honesty; it’s refreshing to know that we are all in the great struggle of motherhood together. While you are busy at being the best mum you can be, what you enjoy doing in the leisure time that you can muster and how have you maintained ‘me’ time during your journey in motherhood.

SimplyChic Momma: I love trying out new DIY projects, usually with crafts and home décor for my daughter’s room as well as our entire home. I also enjoy baking and cooking up new recipes for the family, it is my mission to try to make sure my daughter’s diet consists mainly of healthy wholesome homemade food as much as possible.  I’m sure it is different for every mom, but for me I am so passionate about my hobbies I always find the time to work on them even if only for a little while. Having a supportive partner makes all the difference!

The Mummy Resume: What do you enjoy most about being a mother? Why? 

SimplyChic Momma: Everything!  As cliché as it sounds, I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it. It’s a package deal, you simply can’t take part of it without the rest. The highs are even more awesome because of the lows. The challenges make the triumphs so much sweeter. There would be nothing special about my daughter sleeping through the night in her own crib, unless of course you knew the struggles of months of sleepless nights and had the bags under your eyes to prove it. Each milestone, each new tooth, each new outfit that grew too tight way too soon... they are all part of the awesomeness of motherhood. In the words of the first every mother’s day card I was given; it’s all about “laughing till you cry and crying til you laugh… from love to lunacy and everything in between”