Looking at Katie one would think that she has it all together. Adorable family, fun job and awesome clothes. She will be the first to tell you that this isn’t true. Everything takes work and she works hard for her family and herself.
Having a husband who is a pilot, working, taking care of a toddler and doing it all without a lot of family around is rough. Katie takes it and knocks it out of the park. She even has a blog and Instagram following for affordable fashion.
Thank you, Katie, for answering our questions honestly and for being so deserving of the title ‘mom of fame’!
What is the best piece of advice you were given about motherhood? Did you take it? Would you give that piece of advice to someone else?
I can’t think of any specific advice that I’ve gotten, but I do remember one thing that someone said once that stuck with me. We were on a flight home from Denver when my son was just a little over a year old. My husband and I were both stressed and trying to get Jack settled into our seats when one of the flight attendants came up to us and started talking. He was telling us how he remembered having kids that age and how now he’s a grandpa. Then he said to us “Just remember, the days are long, but the years are short.” I had never heard that before, but it made so much sense. Each year seems to fly by, but each day drags on. I try to keep this in mind always, because I am so often thinking about the future or reminiscing on the past that I forget about what’s in front of me right now. I try my best to live in the moment and enjoy the place that we are at in our lives, but whenever I get stressed or overwhelmed, I try to remember that man’s words. This is definitely something that I would pass on to all new parents.
How is motherhood different than you imagined it would be?
I knew motherhood was going to change my life and not always be easy, but I think the one thing that’s the most different than what I imagined was how much things would change with my husband and I’s relationship. It’s been really hard trying to find that balance to keep our marriage a priority and still be good parents. We don’t have our family close by and we don’t know a lot of people to use as babysitters, so we don’t get to go out on date nights like other couples. I really just miss the one on one time that we used to have together. The good news is that my brother and sister-law just moved to Las Vegas, so we are thinking about taking them up on their offer to babysit.
What are your three strengths when it comes to motherhood?
Patience
My patience is tested everyday all day. I work with 4 and 5 year olds who have extreme behavior and emotional problems at my job all day. Then when I come home from work, I usually have a tired, hungry toddler on my hands. There is no reasoning with that. I try my best to stay patient with my son, but it can be hard sometimes. I do lose it every so often, but every time I yell or get mad it does nothing to help the situation. It only makes things worse. I try to use the skills I learn at work to help work through our tantrums and toddler moments at home.
Understanding
I try to understand my son. He is strong willed, independent and when he doesn’t want to do something he lets you know. I’m very easy going, so I always say that he gets these traits from his dad. I try to understand his triggers and know how to help him when I can. I’ve had a lot of practice being married to his dad, but at least I know that he’s going to turn into a really great man one day.
Loving
I never want a day to go by that my son doesn’t feel loved. I show him and tell him everyday. I know I’m never going to be the “perfect mom”, with the perfectly clean and decorated house. I buy my baked goods at the grocery store and I will probably never be able to sew a cute Halloween costume for him or throw him the best Pinterest perfect birthday party, but I will whatever I can for my him out of love. At the end of the day all those other things don’t make you the perfect mom, but love will always be the most important thing. That’s what I learned from my own mom.
Describe a time where you were completely overwhelmed as a mother.
Most recently, my little guy got sick after our trip home to Michigan. He’s a pretty healthy kid, so it’s rare that he gets sick for very long. He got sick on a Sunday night, so I decided that I would stay home with him that Monday and get him into the doctors. I figured that he would get on antibiotics and be back at school the next day, because that’s usually how it goes if he gets an ear infection. That was not the case this time. His fever didn’t go down and he only got worse. I felt so helpless, because I couldn’t help him. Everything I tried to do to help him feel better, he refused. On top of dealing with him being sick, I had to go into work the rest of the week, because I had used my last PTO day for the year on that Monday. It was a horrible feeling knowing that I couldn’t be with him when he needed me. When I was with him though, I couldn’t make him happy, so that was even more frustrating. All I did all week was cry.
Is there anything you feel that you have lost about yourself since becoming a mother? What have you gained?
I’ve definitely lost a lot of freedom. It’s harder to meet up with friends for coffee or just going into a store and browsing by myself. I do think that becoming a mother has made me gain a better sense of style. I know that seems weird, because a lot of moms would say the opposite of that, but I promised myself when I got pregnant that I would never lose that part of me that enjoys getting dressed and putting myself together. I feel more confident in how I dress and more comfortable with myself than I have ever felt before.
What do you want your child(ren) to learn from you?
I just want my son to learn how to be a good person. I want him to learn to be kind to people and care about others. I want him to learn how to be successful and happy in life. I pretty much want him to be a better person than me.
You are a teacher, you blog, you’re married to a pilot and your family isn’t around to help. How do you find any time for yourself?
Good question! I honestly don’t have a lot of “me time”. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have been at my house, by myself since I became a mom. The one thing that I do for myself when I have the time is work on my blog. I love having my blog to share my interests and thoughts with others. I started it a while ago with just sharing my daily work outfits and some money saving tips, but it wasn’t until after I became a mom that I really started to enjoy writing it and sharing my journey through motherhood on there as well.
I love being able to connect with people through blogging in similar situations and inspire other women. It’s really been the perfect outlet for me to have as a mom. I have to admit that it’s been getting harder to keep up on writing blog posts as my little guy gets older, but I try to set aside time for it whenever I can. Usually while I’m drinking my coffee in the mornings or during nap time on the weekends. It’s important to me that I keep that one thing for myself for as long as I enjoy doing it.
Momfaming 