Heyy Mama

Why mama needs her coffee

It is 2:00am, my 1 year old is still waking up to nurse. I have not slept through the night in over a year, my husband snoring loudly in the same room. He has to work tomorrow. He needs his sleep but I have to work too.

I have to work too!

I start thinking of the never ending to do list. Laundry, dishes, breakfast, dishes, vacuum, grocery store, sign the kids school slips, senior night tasks for my oldest, the other one is going to be driving soon, I wonder how my moms health is, I need to go see her, I need to visit my mother in law and it just goes on and on. No one else in my home has these thoughts or feels these responsibilities. It infuriates me sometimes but I have to remind myself how important all these things are even if completely unseen.

I set the coffee maker for my husband to start at 3am, at 8am I pour myself a cup after the big kids are off to school and reheat it. My sweet girl points and says drink, asking for a sip. I tell her she’s too young but one day, I hope she calls me to talk while she drinks her reheated coffee, while the weight of motherhood and marriage, and life all feel heavy. I hope she calls the same way I call my mom. I ask “what ya doing?” My mom almost always replies “drinking my cup of coffee”.

Every morning I drink my cup of reheated coffee, I reset. A little caffeine, a little sugar, and some hydration. I take a few minutes just for myself. Some days when I’m out running errands and frazzled I stop at Starbucks and I alway feel so fortunate to be able to.

So when a mama says she needs her coffee, get her the coffee. The world is heavy and we’re trying to carry it for our families, we need to prep for our day, recharge from the night, and just take minute for ourself before we give the rest of what we have selflessly.

Enjoy your cup of coffee today Mama. You’ve earned it.

Roni Chicken Casserole

Winner winner chicken dinner

1 box chicken rice a roni

8oz sour cream

1 can of cream of chicken soup

Chicken breast diced up

Shredded cheese

Optional : mushrooms, ritz cracker topping, biscuit topping, broccoli

Season chicken with what you prefer. I used smoked paprika, garlic powder, pepper.

Cook rice a roni as directed but only coooing to about 80% done. I microwave this and it equals about 8 minutes.

Spray your pan and add your diced chicken.

Mix rice with sour cream, soup, and a handful of cheese and any other ingredients you want to add. Pour over chicken. Cover tight with foil and baked 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove add a handful of cheese to the top and any toppings you’d like and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

You’re done!

When the school year ends

Heyy Mama,

I see you.

Your alarm went off this morning. Or your baby woke you. Or you haven’t been to sleep. Or you’re just getting off work. No matter what your morning looked like, you realized another school year is over. You beam with pride. You both made it through another year. No matter the grades, awards, teams, the school year is over and you feel some relief. You also feel a small piece of you desperate to go back to the start of the year when they were a little shorter, there shoes a little smaller, they’re steps were a little more in line with yours and you had just a little more time.

The end of a school year always feels so final. I don’t see k-12 as chapters but as a whole book each their own, in a series. All the fun of finishing that book, but now the suspense waiting for the next one to come out. wishing you could go back and read the previous ones for the first time again.

My son will be a 5th grader, my daughter a freshmen, and my oldest daughter a senior at the end of today, while I sit at home holding my newborn baby girl. It’s an overwhelming realization to see all these phases of life at once. Excited to meet the next version of them all while missing the old versions of not only them but of myself too. The emotions circle your head. Happiness, sadness, excitement, guilt, pride, worry. Oh, the worry. I anxiously ordered bulletproof backpack inserts last night. For some, their children didn’t see the last day of school this year. How absolutely heartbreaking. It makes mothers around the world cry. If I could physically reach those families to hug them I would. If there was a way to help mend there hearts I would. Just know all of us mamas see you, our hearts and prayers are pouring out to you.

I didn’t get a picture of my kids before school this morning. My baby was nursing, my oldest rushed out to meet her entire class for breakfast and I just told them all I loved them as they ran out. I didn’t pack healthy lunches 5 days a week, my son had mismatched socks more than he didn’t, not all there grades were honor roll, I didn’t prepare breakfast most mornings and they didn’t go the whole year getting along with all the other students but we made it. I hope I’m not the only one feeling like this. With Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook. Everyone else seems to have it so together. I want to be that person but I’m just not, so to all of you mamas…

No matter how you started your morning happy, tired, sad, excited, working, sick, or grieving the day is going to end. Time will go forward. I want you to know mama, I see you, my hearts with you. Feel all those feels you got going on, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s ok. You did a great job this year mama. The book may be written but the story isn’t over. Here’s to summer.