Mr. Mom

Today I want to give a shout out to my dear husband, Brian. This morning he left to take his computer to get fixed and he discovered his car had a flat tire. When he finally got to the Apple Store, he learned that his Mac has pretty much died and he's lost everything stored on it...pictures, music, etc. Then he came home and immediately came down to the bakement to wash the dishes (one of the many daily chores I ask him to help me with). He listened to me grumble about how it hurts to talk and how tired I am (I'm fighting a cold) and how I have so much to do, yada yada yada, and "oh and will you please run to the store for me and fold the laundry, and..." Not once did he complain. And I started thinking, wow, my husband is one-of-a-kind.

Last Friday as I was scrambling to finish decorating a wedding cake for delivery in Charlotte the next day, and packing up another wedding cake and a baby to leave for the mountains for the weekend (not an easy task!), Brian was upstairs vacuuming while carrying Isabelle in the Baby Bjorn! When I came up to check on things, he looked at me and said, "I guess it's official. I'm Mr. Mom."

Mr. Mom is not exactly a title that Brian has been striving for, but he has learned to embrace it. After getting laid off last December, both of us knew we were in for a hardship and that our marriage would be tested. I was preparing for my own huge paycut with unpaid maternity leave (not many brides want a 9 month pregnant person or a sleep-deprived, brand new mom making their wedding cake!) and for a nice little expensive addition to the family. Looking back, I actually think my pregnancy couldn't have come at a better time. With all of the excitement that comes with expecting a new baby, we couldn't help but feel so blessed and so happy! And when our little miracle arrived, we knew God was watching over us - what more could we want than a healthy, beautiful baby?

Even through these past few months of sleepless nights, dirty diapers, piling hospital bills and rising insurance costs, our marriage has stayed strong. And during these last few crazy weeks when Isabelle isn't with one of her amazing grandmothers (at least 3 hours about 6 out of 7 days a week!), she is very often in the trusting hands of her sweet daddy.

As much as I desparately want my husband to land a job, I must say how grateful I am that Brian has had this time to bond with Isabelle (not to mention learn how hard it is to take care of an infant all day!). Nothing makes me happier than seeing Brian look at Isabelle with such great adoration. He still has to ask me when she needs to be fed, and I don't think he's yet given her a bath, but he can shush her to sleep, change her diaper, feed her a bottle, put her to bed and even fix us both a delicious meal all in the same day. I'd say that's a darn good Mr. Mom!

Mr. Mom looks forward to having a new title, "working dad" very soon...