Photo credit of my sweet Dominic goes to Digital Graces

From fear to bliss. I am a new mom, but an old one. And the things I thought I once wanted in life are now no more.

The idea of being a stay-at-home mom never interested me before. A corporate working mom who traveled for business meetings and then rushed home to put her child to bed is what I always envisioned. Not because of the supposed glamor of it all (is it, really?), but because I thought I'd find equal value and joy in a corporate job, and that I would find satisfaction in balancing that with a child.

But now, in my late thirties/early forties (not telling you which), all I want to do in life is to raise my baby. I can't even believe it. I can't believe I have a beautiful baby that makes me question my life's choices for the future and I can't believe that I want to be home with him. I still shake my head that the only reason why I wake him up after a two-hour nap is because I want to see his beautiful eyes and hang out with him. I know I should let him sleep a little longer, but two hours of him sleeping makes me miss him! Friends from fifteen years ago never would have thought this about me. They'd probably laugh if they read this post. Not probably. They would.

I want to guide him and protect him and love him, and be the one he comes to when he needs a hug. I don't want someone else to do that while I am gallivanting about trying to write the proper corporate email.

Sadly, it doesn't make sense for me financially to be a stay-at-home mom. I need to keep working because of a silly little thing called bills and saving for the future, so it's such a battle for me internally to know what needs to be done, but dreaming of something else. Didn't I do all that daydreaming when I was a kid?

But one day, one day soon? I desperately hope something comes along that doesn't require the same amount of travel or stress. I've done the corporate life for fifteen years. I feel confident I can choose a different path and my self-esteem won't crumble in the least bit.

So today is a cold morning. The reality of maternity leave coming to an end soon looms over me. But I have a hot cup of coffee right now. A good book. And a very, very sweet baby to curl up with.

How can I not want to be a stay-at-home mom when I look at his sweet face?

That's right, my friends. What our sweet Roma is trying to communicate to you all is that this chick right here is five months along and will be reading for two very soon. Actually, I'm already reading aloud to the little one (but sometimes I skip the scary parts if it's a Stephen King book). My husband and I will welcome our first baby, A BOY, in November. I cannot tell you how thrilled, nervous, and excited I am!

And here's the baby bump! This is a hockey house, and my husband just finished his game in the local league here in Virginia Beach. I'm sporting the Boston Bruins' maternity shirt he got me which has the hockey sticks shaped into a heart over the belly. Can you tell that we hope our little boy plays hockey when he gets older?

A special thank you to my incredibly talented sister for taking both photos and then doing all of her editing tricks to produce this one-of-a-kind announcement (I love the caption!). You can visit her at any of the below for her photo advice, children's portraiture, artistic shots, and more!

• Her website at Digital Graces Photography
• Her Facebook page
• Her Twitter page
• Her Instragram page

My sister is an accomplished photographer and I had the good fortune to help her out last week to take a picture at a local air base. I love this picture of her taking shot after shot!

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshots, visit Alyce with At Home With Books.