before and after

• before i had kids, i was QUITE stylish. my wardrobe was current and i knew the trends. NOW, the only thing that is current is my new t-shirt i got at a fundraiser last week.
• before i had kids, i could walk into my closet and feel extremely confident that EVERYTHING would fit with no problem at all. NOW i have a wide array of sizes to choose from: pre-pregnancy (i don't know why i still hold onto those), maternity, post-pregnancy, fat clothes, transition clothing. i never know what is going to fit from day to day...it's like a scavenger hunt every day.
• before i had kids my hair was BLONDE. NOW my hair is artificially blonde...but i am choosing to let it go dark-because really, who can keep up with blonde hair when i am spending hours going through the different sizes in my closet.
• before i had kids i drove a 4-door sedan. NOW i drive a mini-van. AND I LOVE IT!
• before i had kids, i set my alarm clock to wake me up, M-F, at 5:30am. NOW if i don't get to sleep until at least 7:30am, i feel as if i have gotten up with the chickens.
• before i had kids, i had never heard of Tyrone and Uniqua, thought the theme song for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was the one i grew up with, thought Dora was crazy with her huge head and best-friend monkey (and couldn't understand why a mom would want her kids to watch the freak) and thought the whole Princess thing was a faze. NOW, i am eating my thoughts. Tyrone and Uniqua are the BEST dancers on tv, i dance around the living room with the girls to the current MMCH theme song, still think Dora is crazy but allow my kids to watch her and understand the "whole Princess thing" is here to stay for a very long time.
• before i had kids, i cooked at home MAYBE 3 times a week. NOW, i cook SEVEN TIMES A WEEK.
• before i had kids, my saturdays were full of relaxing, laundry and Lifetime Movie marathon days. NOW my saturdays are pretty much like every other day of the week-busy.
• before i had kids, our house felt like the perfect size for the two of us. NOW our house seems way too big when Nora and Elyn aren't in it.
• before i had kids, i was content to get my daily hugs from Matthew. NOW, i would feel incomplete if my day wasn't full of hugs and cuddles and kids sitting in my lap and hanging all over me.
• before i had kids, all of my picture frames were full of pictures of the two of us (it was basically a shrine to Matthew and Dallas). NOW, my frames are full of my two favorite faces...N and E.
• before i had kids, i never got stressed about my school children getting sick. NOW, i HURT if my own children are sick.
• before i had kids, i thought life was just fine. NOW, life is GREAT.

I'm glad that my life is all about NOW.