Kealie for Housewife Couture

As a much younger (read: stupider) mother of one, I spent a lot of my down time in bars. Mostly because I was bored, lonely and had no clue what to do with my time when my baby was asleep. 

I lived with my parents at the time (yay divorce), and basically saw them as built in babysitters during these hours and as a result, I ended up with a lot of "bar friends" who I only saw at night. Kealie was one of these back then and we were never particularly close, but we ran in the same circles so eventually we became facebook friends. 

At some point, Kealie disappeared completely from the bar scene and I eventually asked a mutual friend where she went out of curiosity. Turns out, Kealie was pregnant, so I crossed her off my "bar friend" list and happily followed her on facebook ocassionally instead.

Yesterday, several years after her initiation into the glorious lifestyle of little humans puking down your shirt, Kealie and I reconnected under very different circumstances... And it was so nice to see her on such a domestic and normal level. 

She showed up around 7:30 with a pizza, a bottle of white wine and her youngest child, an adorable two year old boy.  She and I chatted for a few hours while our kids played and watched "Frozen" and when she went home, I was pretty stoked knowing that I had made a new mommy friend... Because let's face it... Mommy friends may as well be currency in our world. They're THAT valuable. 

Kealie came over again early this evening for a get together we were having with my brother's family and some friends of ours from Louisiana. I like that she's not afraid to hold my baby even though baby is not super friendly with new people.  I like that she'll clean up a kid mess just because it needs to be picked up, even if her kid didn't make it. I like how she talks to her little boy and how obvious it is that he's completely nuts about her. 

And it struck me how much my criteria for friendship has changed over the years. 

"Oh, you're a mom?  My kids don't scare you?  You don't think Cheerios on my couch are a big deal?  COME OVER EVERY DAY."

My criteria for glamour and beauty has changed too. Because while Kealie is undeniably pretty, she is at her most stunning when she plays with her toddler as if no one is watching. 

So obviously, I couldn't let this moment pass without capturing it.