I’m not sure where you are in your journey of motherhood. Maybe you’re waiting to welcome your first baby. Maybe you are juggling six or more kids at home. Yours might be grown up and starting their own families. Wherever you are and whatever your experience is, you’ll likely agree that as motherhood is gift. A really difficult one we might wish we could trade in at certain moments of the day, but a gift. I wanted to start Motherhood Monday for a few reasons. First of all, so we can all laugh together at some of the funnier moments in motherhood. And secondly, so anyone reading this knows they aren’t alone. You’re not the only one constantly one telling your three-year-old to to take her hand out of her pants.

Since this is the first one, I’ll start by introducing my kids. My firstborn, Paisley, is a spirited, independent, strong-willed three-year-old. She thinks she runs the world (and she very well might one day.) We joke that she’s Jekyll and Hyde, because one second she’s the sweetest girl in the world, giving hugs and kisses and telling you she loves you. The next she’s shrieking at the top of her lungs right in your face because you said she couldn’t have chocolate milk. She’s silly and never sits still. She’s also smart, observant and picks up on everything, which is particularly frustrating this time of year. Most mothers can sneak a Christmas gift into their shopping cart without their three-year-old noticing. I cannot.

She is the best big sister to my not quite one-year-old, Seth. He is a happy, sweet, affectionate little guy who has been expressive since he was just a few days old. From the time he was born, he’d stare people right in their eyes. He’ll greet you enthusiastically from across the room, and always gives Mama special hugs and kisses. He loves anything with a face and can often be found hugging his stuffed animals. But he has a tendency to get into everything. It takes ten extra minutes for us to get out of the house because by the time I have his jacket on he’s somehow taken his shoes off, pulled my backpack apart and is chewing on my boot.

Like I mentioned, I wanted to start Motherhood Monday blogs because being a mom is hard, and sometimes lonely. But we wouldn’t trade the job for the world. It’s a job you are never fully qualified for, with no training, no breaks and no pay. If it were any other job, we’d all quit. But these sweet little minis we’re raising make it so worth it, somehow even while they’re making it so hard. It’s a funny balance between never wanting to be away from your kids and constantly craving time to yourself. In the good moments, we often find we can’t wait to share how amazing our kids are. In the less so, we need to know someone is going through the same things.

A friend sent me these comics about motherhood and they are so relatable I feel like she wrote them about me. They are great at capturing the tension we live with as mothers, the things only a mother truly understands, and the ridiculous situations we find ourselves in. My hope is that this series will be both entertaining as I make it up as I go along while raising these two little ones, and encouraging to those who need to know they aren’t alone.

Hear more of my story and how my kids inspire me here.