I realize there is a time and place for professionalism. To separate family life and work, but things just really aren’t that way for me day in and day out. After six years trying to fit the mold, I am embracing mompreneur.

I guess I should back up a little bit and explain. When Jeremy and I got engaged (and probably while dating), we decided that when we had children one day, I would stay at home. An early decision, yes, but one we both felt strongly about. We were both brought up with stay at home moms and wanted to give the same to our kids. (Side note: Working moms, you rock! The stay at home thing was just our family vision 🙂 ) From the get go Jeremy was intentional to budget his income to take care of our bills and my income for extra fun.

the back story

When we first got married, I was a $13 an hour medical assistant. Can you believe it!? Ha! Me, giving the sweet 80 year olds B12 shots? I tried a slew of different jobs to find something interesting, and that one almost had me going back to college to pursue a medical degree knowing at least I could be going somewhere with that. It wasn’t my passion, but I liked how it kept you on your toes.

Then things changed.

Four months into our brand new and exciting marriage adventure together, Jeremy and I had a surprise pregnancy that resulted in miscarriage. It was an emotional rollercoaster that rocked me to the core, but it also brought a rare moment of clarity about life: It is too short to do things that don’t absolutely fire you up.

the first dream

So even though we didn’t have a child in our arms, I quit working as a medical assistant and started my own little business. I bet you’re thinking Jeremy must have been bringing in big bucks at the time, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He had an entry-level corporate job that he didn’t love all too much and we were counting every penny to buy our first little home. One that was a dump and in order to fix it we had to do everything ourselves including laying every single tile. A childless wife quitting her job was an unconventional move for sure, but we just decided to start writing our family story a little earlier than expected.

It would be over a year before we got pregnant again with Kennedy, and in the meantime, I fell in love with running my own gig. I wasn’t “killing it” in terms of what people think is successful these days, but I finally found something that truly fired me up. And to me, that is worth more than money can bring. Running and growing my own business became the dream I never knew I had. In the early days I ate, drank and slept learning everything I could about entrepreneurship.

Let’s just say balance wasn’t a trendy topic at the time 😉

the second dream

When sweet Kennedy arrived, my eyes were opened up to a love I wasn’t prepared for. She was my world and had my heart in a way I could have never imagined. She was a dream I knew I had, but never knew would change my every fiber. I couldn’t get enough of holding her, kissing her, caring for her and loving her.

After a lot of snuggling, I eased back into working on my business and began tending to both dreams. I tried really hard to fit the “professional” mold as a business owner. To hold “office hours” even though I was really covered in spit up and couldn’t afford a babysitter to come let me focus on work. To be available for my clients as soon as they needed me even though I craved to just stare at my little girl for awhile.

Two different dreams. Two different worlds. Two different versions of me.

Believe me, I know that is just how it is for most working parents. But what I have come to realize over the past six years and after welcoming our second baby, Esley, is that I don’t perfectly fit either mold of the CEO or the Stay At Home Mom. I’m not in two different worlds. I’m chasing two dreams under one roof and most likely responding to emails while Doc McStuffins is playing in another window on my desktop. I am in a whole new category of women who are learning the ropes, navigating the juggle and cultivating two passions. We don’t have a manual for this thing. We are mompreneurs.

the mompreneur diaries

Over the past two years, I have slowly let go of the quintessential professional mold and let my family life be a part of my brand, but I want more. I want to peel back the curtain and open the conversation of doing life as a mompreneur together. After several emails and conversations with women who are getting ready to grow their families soon and new moms-to-be asking me what to expect after baby arrives, I have decided it is time to start talking. And I don’t mean showing glamorous photos and income reports to look like I have it all figured out.

No. It’s time we dropped the facade and talk the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m starting here with this new little blog series, The Mompreneur Diaries. You can expect a lot less of “8 Ways to Crush Productivity as a Mompreneur” and a lot more real talk, honest thoughts and candid moments of what chasing two dreams actually looks like around here as well as inviting other mama-bosses in to share.

Want to join the conversation? I’d love to have you! I’ll be sharing more in the moment thoughts and letting you know when new blog aka diary entries are up on Instagram with the hashtag #themompreneurdiaries. I’d love to hear your stories and see your real life mompreneur moments over there! I have a few more dreams in my head around what this could become, but I will save that for another day 😉

Here’s to the women chasing two sweet dreams. <3

Photography by Sarahdipity Photos