First Mother's Day and 11 Months!

I have been so busy, I have had to let a few things go that I really wanted to do - like keeping up with this blog. I've still been taking lots of pictures, though, and Andrew is growing up so fast!

This time last year, I was so so huge and pregnant and swollen, but excited. Now, I can hardly believe a year has passed and my sweet baby is almost 1 year old! How did time fly so quickly? I go back and forth between being happy and being so sad that soon, my baby won't be such a baby anymore. He'll be a little toddler walking around and talking and growing up. I am so grateful to be a mommy. I had a wonderful first Mother's Day!

There were only two things keeping it from being perfect. One is that I couldn't spend time with my mother. She's just too far away for a quick trip. We got to talk and catch up on the phone, but it's just never the same. The second is that I have way too many friends and people I love who are still waiting to become mothers. It just breaks my heart. A good friend of mine actually experienced a painful miscarriage yesterday. My heart goes out to her and to all my friends who are still waiting for this day to be a happy one instead of one filled with anxiety or worry or pain. Still, I want to be joyful and grateful for what I have and for my sweet little boy at the same time. It seems like life is always a balance between joy and pain, isn't it?

Mother's Day also happened to fall on Andrew's 11 month bday! I love and cherish every day with this little guy. It terrifies me that he's starting to pull up on everything, and I know it won't be long until he's climbing and walking and getting into everything! I'm not sure I'm ready for all that! But I'm finding ways to work when he's asleep and spend as much time with him as I can when he's awake. I'm figuring out this whole balance thing (finally) and actually just completed my new book, which will be published May 21st. There are a lot of days I still don't have it together, but I'm getting there.

I'll hope to post an 11 month official update with pics later this week if I can. We're planning a nautical themed birthday bash for Andrew's first with a pool party and I can't wait!!! Invites should go out next week!

Balance is So Hard!

Motherhood is such a joy, and I'm totally in love with my little guy! I love my career too, though, and would very much like to keep it going full force. Without daycare, that basically means I have two full time jobs. Mommy and writer. Finding balance is really the most difficult part of my life right now.

Blogging, unfortunately, falls somewhere way down the totem pole! I am still keeping up with everyone on my blogroll, though, and commenting there when I have time. I just looked at my last post, though, and realized it's been forever since I updated my own space here!

Of course, it's about 2:20 am and I'm still up working on my book. It's much easier to work and concentrate when the house is quiet and dark and the baby is sleeping. I'm taking a short break to post a few new pics, then it's back to the book!

Happy 4 months!!

Bathtime

Family portrait for Halloween!

Our Little Ninja

So expressive!

Tummy Time

Getting Back To My Career

Finding balance is probably one of the hardest things I've faced as a new mom. When I was still pregnant, I was so freaking excited to finally be expecting a baby that it was all I could think about. My brain just wasn't willing to work on my books the way it used to. I shopped for baby, thought about baby, talked about baby - ALL the time. When I finally welcomed Andrew into the world, he consumed it.

When my mom was here with us after he was born, I remember that once she laughed at me and said, "He's sleeping Sarra. You can put him down for a while." Only I couldn't! I wanted to hold him and stare at that perfect little face and his tiny hands and feet and kiss his head. I also wasn't getting much sleep myself, which made it hard to find any kind of balance. I was somewhat a zombie those first few weeks. A happy zombie, but a zombie still the same.

When Andrew turned about 7 weeks old, I started working on getting back to writing. It was very slow going in the beginning. I found it nearly impossible to find the time! At that time, he was crying a lot, especially in the evenings. When I finally did find some time to myself, all I wanted to do was sleep.

Well, now that our little man is about to be 3 months old, I'm finding some breathing room. He's been going to bed most nights right at 8:00 or 8:30 and staying asleep until midnight or one. This is such a relief. This is my 'me' time. I can catch up on all my emails, check my writing forums and industry blogs I love to read and yes, I can write! I also tried to find a nanny to keep him 9 hours during the week, but that didn't work out. Instead, my wonderful and sweet neighbor (who has a new baby of her own) is watching him a few hours a week so I can get some writing done. It's awesome. Thursday nights are also my nights for writing with friends. George takes over and lets me have some time, so it's great.

Now things are really getting back into full swing with my writing career. Last week I signed a contract with a publisher to create graphic novels from my series! This week I am going to reach a major milestone of 100,000 books sold. Hard to believe! Next month will be my 2 year anniversary since becoming an Indie author. I will also publish my 6th and final book in my Peachville High Demons series on my anniversary (October 29th). I have a new series waiting in the wings and am working with a cover artist on some custom cover art. I'm working on items for giveaways to celebrate the end of the Peachville series. There's just so much going on, and I love it!

Don't get me wrong, I cherish every moment I spend with baby Andrew. I love him so much and honestly can't seem to stop kissing him, haha. I am so grateful to have him in my life and to be his mom, but it's important to not let myself get too lonely as a mom. It's also important to keep being me, which means spending time with my husband talking about non-baby things, spending time with good friends, and writing. It feels amazing to finally be putting that balance back into my life. I know that some days will still be 100% Andrew when he needs me. And I'm 100% okay with that.