April's Friday Question - or, What Did I Miss?

Question: What are the things you miss the most about your pre-baby life but are so worth giving up to have Baby Loquacious? What haven't you given up? What things did you give up that you are surprised that you don't miss?

 Ooooh...I do love a good game of Q & A, and this one's at the invitation of dear April (First Time Mom & Dad).  Yes of course I will respond! :)

1) What do I miss the most about my pre-baby life (but they were so worth giving up for Baby L)?

• Stretchmark-free stomach
• Day-long shopping trips
• Bubble baths and hot-tubbing with Hubbs
• Sleeping in and not having to share my half of the bed with a baby
• Teaching Gr. 4
• My hair
• Random weekend adventures with Hubbs
• Much more frequent sex life (sorry, was that TMI? If you have young kids, you know what I mean)
• Foie gras (aka fine dining)
• Being able to spend hours immersed in a good book, uninterrupted
• Having physical space (our place, including kitchen counter, is filled with baby stuff)
• Watching my TV shows

2) What haven't you given up?

• Jesus
• Dining out
• Massages & Pedicures
• Caffeine
• Multi-step make-up procedure
• Shopping
• Traveling
• My friends :)
• Blogging & FB & Twitter and other forms of social media
• Reading 
• My career - I do plan to return to it one day; it's just "on hold" for the moment

3) What things did you give up that you don't actually miss?

• Alcohol (I didn't drink much but I did have the occasional cocktail, once upon a time)
• Wearing high heels
• A very involved skin-care routine
• A few extra pounds (yay me! I'm down a couple of pounds from my pre-baby weight)
• Swearing (not that I did this very often, but I am so careful what I say nowadays!)
• Reading magazines slowly, combing over every page
• Doing my hair - turns out, I don't mind ponytails!
• Driving by myself; I like the company that Baby L offers
• Processed foods 
• The idea of being DINKs and childless forever

So, in summary, Baby L rocks.  My life is different qualitatively and there are few areas that haven't been significantly impacted by the arrival of my little girl.  However, in the grand scheme of things, I am learning daily how to be less selfish and to love in a whole new way, and these are growing me into a (hopefully) better person in Christ.  Sure, there are some changes that make me look back wistfully at days gone by, but there is absolutely nothing that is better, or more important, than my calling to be a mom and to love and nurture Baby L with the hope that she one day will know and love Jesus.

Besides, with a face like this, can anyone really resist?