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Meet Ashley Life has changed. In 2012, I traded PRADA for pacis as I added another title to my resume – Mom. My husband and I welcomed our baby girl, “Bear,” in August 2012. Blessed to have entered into the elite club of motherhood, it’s hard to imagine life before our precious girl. But is was a pretty great. In 2001 I met my husband. We were juniors in high school – High school sweethearts some might say. We spent every waking moment together that year. The school referred to us as a “unit.” My mom would get phone calls from the principal’s office expressing their concern about the amount of time we spent together. Maybe it was unhealthy, but we were just two 16-year-olds head over heels in love. Fast forward 8 years later to 2009. We got married that year. We soon built a house and welcomed our first child – a yellow lab fur baby named Peak. After really enjoying the time to ourselves the first 2 years of marriage, we decided we were ready for a real human baby. Unfortunately, or fortunately because we now have Bear, it took us longer than anticipated for any baby news. Almost a year passed when we found out on Christmas Eve 2011 that we were expecting. I still remember the feeling, the shock when the plus sign (all 3 of them – because I couldn’t believe it) appeared. We spent that year preparing for our little Bear’s arrival. Looking back, all the nursery decorations, stockpiling of diapers, and pacifier stashing couldn’t prepare us for a newborn. In early August 2012, we welcomed Bear into the world. I still can’t believe I became a mom that day. Watching my husband hold our daughter gave me more joy that I ever thought I could feel. But while the longing gazes, toothless grins and cuddles those first few weeks were indescribably amazing, I found myself crying on the nursery floor at 3 am praying for sleep. That’s when this blog was born. I needed an outlet for all the new things I began encountering. This is my chronicle of change – change from a 28-year-old self-indulgent, worry-free, make my own schedule woman… to a… Mom. Here, I let my hair down. No more sugar coating. I’ve nearly broken down, felt like the worst mother ever, felt like the proudest mother ever, and even shared my breastfeeding struggles. I also found a love for DIYing and deal hunting while on maternity leave. After all, we need to pinch pennies where we can since we took a huge leap of faith and right before my maternity leave ended, my husband quit his job to go back to school and finish his degree while being a stay-at-home dad. UPDATE – I am proud to say that my hubby is no a proud college graduate with his BA! In January 2014, we received some very exciting news that we’re pregnant again! Now, we beginning the planning for our newest addition to our family and begin this journey ALL over again… So sit back, relax and let me say everything you were thinking. While you’re here, you might win a few things too.