Beautiful Mom: Alicia

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.” 

~ Audrey Hepburn

This is the final and 11th installment of my Beautiful Mom Project.  Read my explanation and thoughts here.  This project has been an amazing experience for me.  I have been uplifted and inspired by these beautiful women.  I wish I could take photos of every single mother and hear her thoughts on life and motherhood.  And hopefully it's something I can continue to do in the future.  Mostly I want all of you mothers and women to know that you are beautiful.  Beauty is in your eyes when you laugh and mirrored in your children's faces.  It's the selflessness, the service, the late nights, the worry, the love and the hope.  Beauty is how you want to be better, give more and do the right thing.  Beauty is written in your wrinkles and your smile.  Beauty is the way you walk and the way you talk.  It's the lessons that you share, the games you play, the memories you have, the time you spend and the laundry you fold.  Beauty is you.  

Alicia
Mother of Two
Crafter
Twin
Seamstress
Friend
Outfit Artist
Leader

What is your favorite motherhood moment?

Meeting my daughters was so powerful. I'll never forget holding them for the first time. It changed me. I really wasn't prepared for it, and I don't have words to describe it.  On a more day-to-day basis, seeing my girls play happily with each other brings me pure joy. Sometimes it only lasts a couple of minutes, sometimes longer. I feel so privileged to be witnessing the start of a friendship that will last forever.

What is your favorite time spent with your kids?

Reading stories and doing crafts. We read at breakfast every morning, and my girls would be happy to sit and read stories all day. Watching them craft and create feels like a little peek inside their minds too. Scissors, crayons, glue, glitter and we're all happy.

What is your least favorite chore?

Dishes! I love to cook big meals but hate seeing the sink fill up. Luckily doing the dishes is my husband's favorite chore. He says it's relaxing, but I think he's just being sweet.

What inspires you?

Knowing that all the time and effort I put into raising my daughters is like a deposit into their future. Hopefully they will choose the path that will lead to our family being together forever. That's all I want. I love knowing that I'm not on this beautiful, exhausting, messy, joyful, endless journey alone. My husband and I are in this together, and we are relying on Heavenly Father to help us not screw up. He listens and quietly inspires us and encourages us to keep going. Of course, the perfect Parent is the perfect teacher of parenting. With Him on our side, we can do this!

What is your go-to dinner?

If I have 10 minutes I make angel hair pasta while I sauté tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, then top the pasta with the tomatoes, basil, a little salt and shave on Parmesan. Everyone loves it!

Do you have any cleaning/organizational/motherhood tips?

I'm certainly no expert, but lately I have been trying to tackle two projects a week, on top of all the ordinary stuff, from organizing my spice cupboard to finally making the game closet useable (and not a hazard!), straightening up the linen closet or rotating out the sizes in the girls' closets. This way it's not overwhelming thinking of doing it all at once, but I'm still making progress, little by little.

As far as motherhood, again, I'm no expert, but recently I have found that dedicated one-on-one "mommy time" with my daughters every day makes me and them much happier. It might be time spent learning numbers, singing songs or setting up and performing "dance recitals" - the only rule is we have to do what they choose.