Valentine's Day (1)

Dear Diary,

Before I became a mom, I rarely hosted holidays at my house. In the past decade, I made Thanksgiving dinner twice and a Christmas brunch once. I can cook. I just don’t like to cook, well unless the food’s An you know what? I actually enjoy it! I know I have a long way to go before anyone compares me to Martha.

Valentine's Day 1

But being a mom makes me do things outside of my comfort level, which includes crafting! To make sure I have fun making memories and making artwork, I made it simple. I bought a pack of foam hearts, several sheets of stickers and markers. The $5 investment put a smile on my daughter’s face, which was priceless.

Valentines Day 2

The food also made everyone happy. I made something I never heard of until last week–Walking Tacos. My daughter asked if we could create a taco bar. So we bought every ingredient that would be yummy on a taco–lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, corn, sour cream, salsa and avocados. The kids then scooped the meat and toppings into snack bags (Doritos or Fritos).

Valentines Day 3

The day ended with my stomach and heart full. I never felt this type of love until I became a mom. Yes, I cooked for guys I dated, but it was mostly out of an obligation. Something I had to do. Not something I really wanted to do. It wasn’t because I was selfish–as mentioned, I wasn’t really a cook. I’ve since taken baby steps and began to build my house into a home, one taco party at a time!

Hey DFTM Fam–How are you stretching beyond your comfort level?

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

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