Meet Yezlanna Xiqira Herrada– the apple of our eyes who caught us by surprise on January 12th, 2022 (my second daughter’s birthday) when I ended up in a total “movie moment." I had right lower abdominal pain and immediately thought appendicitis, so my husband takes me to the ER just for the ER doctor to come back an hour later to say: “Solved! That lower abdominal pain you’re feeling is because you're pregnant.” *insert shocked GIF here*

It started off with some complications and scares, but by 20 weeks we were super healthy! What we didn’t expect was for her to be exactly what our family needed.

I immediately started my maternity leave and this teacher mama FINALLY got to take a break after having worked all school year and summer. It felt amazing.

The last 4 months have been a wonderful experience. I have been bonding with our newest addition, spending quality time with my other daughters, and focusing on my self-care. This leave allowed me to re-evaluate my next steps in my educational career, such as: working on my Elementary Mathematics masters degree, becoming a private tutor, and creating resources for my TPT store.

So although I am returning back to the classroom in one short week after a MUCH needed leave with my baby, I am both excited and sad.

I am excited to get back to doing what I love most, yet sad to change the routine of spending my days with my baby.

But I am so grateful to have utilized my maternity leave to rest, reflect, and reset.

~a.h~