Being a mom changes everything.

When I was pregnant, I had this whole plan in my mind -- I was going to work while Ava slept (because newborns sleep 15-18 hours a day so there's plenty of time, right?), I was going to have dinner ready every night before Frank got home from work just like normal and we were going to go out to dinner, hang out with friends and run errands just as we had before. Our lives would be just the same but with a beautiful little girl to share that life with.

And then Ava came along and it was not at all as I had envisioned it. For some reason no matter how much she sleeps, there just aren't enough hours in the day to work and I end up starting my work once she goes to sleep at night. It is such a pain running any errands because I am constantly in fear on getting barfed on and having her cry because she gets hungry every 45 minutes it seems, let alone getting everything prepared just to leave the house.. Oh yeah, and it's impossible to purchase a package of water bottles while pushing a stroller. Totally impossible.

And then the other day Ava and I were headed to dinner with her Auntie Kristin and Grandma and she just wouldn't fall asleep like she typically does in the car. She screamed and she cried, which is very unlike her, let alone while in the car.

We were driving along a nice, smooth freeway and then the freeway changed. It got bumpy and rough and immediately, she was asleep. Dead asleep. And then I thought to myself: just a couple of months ago, a bumpy freeway would have annoyed me like crazy but now, I just love a bumpy road and can't stand those newly paved streets.

And that is totally what motherhood has been like for me -- My perspective on life did a complete 180. A 180 that I absolutely love.

Next time you hit a bump in the road of life, just know that bumps are there for a reason. And we will encounter thousands of bumps along the way. And just like the bumpy freeways that I now love so much, we must learn to live and grow from each and every bump we hit, and realize that these moments are what make us mommies and what make our lives so imperfectly perfect. It may take me an hour just to grab a gallon of milk from Trader Joe's, with a screaming baby in the Boba and throw up all down my back, but these bumps are what make mommyhood the perfect adventure, and I have come to love and cherish them.