The Lens of Jen

Mom: “What do you mean you are going to have a baby in FRANCE?!?!” Also mom: “Bonjour, France.” Grateful for you. ❤️ #americansinfrance #happymothersday

Post girls’ trip, I am rejuvenated in the soul and decimated in the liver. 🤷🏼‍♀️🍷 So nice to spend a few days away with @elliefufu and Thera! merci et bon voyage mes amis. Bisous! 😘

Part 2: Going from a 42-year-old woman who had never changed a diaper to a 43-year-old mama of a baby boy brought about some beautiful life changes and some really hard ones too (see Part 1 for the tough stuff). ❤️ Watching my parents be grandparents is at the top of my list of beautiful changes. They didn’t expect our little family to grow, but now they can’t imagine our family without him. ❤️ Watching Baby P learn is such a pleasure. He is a happy, healthy little guy and I get to see him experience the world for the first time. How cool is that? ❤️ I had an easy breastfeeding journey, so I am lucky to have had many precious hours just snuggled up with my kiddo. I treasure that special time. ❤️ When I held Baby P for the first time, I thought “oh, so THIS is what love is.” My heart expanded in a way that I cannot explain and it cannot go back. I will always hold him there in my heart and a little part of my mind will always be thinking of him. I feel so lucky to have a healthy baby. For every hard change, there are countless beautiful life changes. ❤️ (But I am also SO thrilled to spend the next three days in Bordeaux with only full-grown humans! 🤣🍷)

9 months in/9 months out! What a difference 41 weeks makes! 👇 A few things have changed since going from a 42-year-old who had never even changed a diaper to a 43-year-old mama of a sweet nine-month-old boy. 💩 My relationship with poo has changed dramatically. Instead of, “gross, poop!” it’s more like, “oh, it’s just a little bit of poop.” 💩 ☕ Hot coffee? What’s that? 🤣 I used to lounge with a big cup of steaming hot coffee in the morning. Now, If I can get to my coffee and it’s still lukewarm, I am winning the day. ☕ 🚿 Speaking of winning the day, if it includes a shower, I deserve a friggin’ trophy. 🏆 🚿 🚽 If that trophy-worthy shower does not include a little human staring at me from his playpen then it’s a really good day. The same goes for using the toilet. 🚽 🙃 Everything is half done. Laundry is NEVER done. 👕 🚦Red lights are not annoying; they are EVIL.🚦👶😭 ❤️ All in all, I wouldn’t change a thing. (Part 2 of this post will include some of the beautiful life changes.) ❤️ Who can relate? 👶 👶 👶 #lifelessons #lifechanges #newborn #motherhood #firsttimemom #newbornmom #lifechanges #parenthood #firstimeparents #paradigmshift #momsofinstagram #momlife

Just wait for the giggle. 😊 ❤️ Oh, I’m endlessly happy that he finds joy on the trails! #adventurous #letsgoplaces #lifewelltraveled #wanderwithlove #wanderlusting #traveleverywhere #globetrotting #hikingadventure #travelbloggerlife #travelbloggervibes #sheisnotlost #postcardplaces #traveleverydamnday #traveleverywhere #earthofficial #lensofjen #discoverglobe #naturewalk #havebabywilltravel #getoutsideandexplore #destinationearth #awesomeglobe #corsica #thegreatoutdoors #adventurethatislife #getoutdoors #fantastic_earth #greettheoutdoors #takeahike #hikingtrail

It’s the lion paws for me. 🐾 ➡️ 2nd slide for a better look at Baby P’s hat. Every good hat has a story, right? 🤠 ⬇️ A friend of mine walked out of her Chicago office building to find a (very) young entrepreneur behind a table filled with handmade goods. 👧 This young lady behind the table probably didn’t have double digits to her age, but what she lacked in experience she made up for in savvy. “I have an entirely woman-owned business,” she told my friend, who absolutely melted. ❤️ “How much is this hat?” my friend asked, reaching for her wallet and scooping up a blue knit with a lion, complete with protruding mane. 🦁 With a no-nonsense nod, our young business owner stated: “Forty dollars.” 💵 *Gulp* thought my friend who has three young boys at home and knows exactly how fast a $40 hat will be lost, stepped on, or forgotten. 🤦‍♀️ She wanted to support this young business owner, so she sucked it up, forked over the cash, and promised herself she would keep track of the hat and even re-gift it. 🤷‍♀️ That was *years* ago and, true to her word, my friend re-gifted the hat to Baby P, who adores it! 👏👏 Thanks @meluebbe! We promise to wear it as much as possible! Thanks also for your consistent support of women. You’re one of those successful businesswomen who lift up other women. We love you for that (and more)! 💪❤️ 🧢 👒 🎩 #femaleentrepreneurs #bossbabes #womenentrepreneurs #womensupportingwomen #femaleentrepreneur #leaders #ladyboss #mentorship #dreambigorgohome #solopreneur #businessminded #entrepreneurmindset #womenempowerment #learnfromthebest #bosschick #gogetter #hats #youngentrepreneur #womeninbiz #womenpower #inspiration #sheisnotlost #inspirations #inspire #motivator #buildyourempire #gogetit #mindsetiseverything #inspireothers #morninginspiration

My Valentine ❤️ I love you, babe. Together, we can do anything. #valentine #camino #caminolovestory #caminodesantiago #caminodesantiago #camino #pilgrimage #pilgrim #thewayofsaintjames #trek #saintjames #buencamino #pilgrims #theway #pilgrim #caminofrances #wayofstjames #stjamesway #travelspain #spaintravel #lovehim #romance #loveandlight #spiritualjourney #lifelessons #paradigmshift #enlightenment #lifeaftercancer #spiritualawakening #findingpeace

Wait ‘till the end to see the thing @ktaktajulyan liked the most from his 1.5-month tour of the USA. 🇺🇸 Was it NYC? 🍎🗽 Las Vegas? 🎲 🎇 Philadelphia and the Rocky statue? 🥊 The Oregon coast? 🌊🐳 Nah. It was a good, ol’ American burger. 🍔🤣 Also all the friends and family he and Baby P met along the way, of couse. Many thanks to the cities and people who welcomed us so graciously. We love and miss you all! ❤️ #americatrip #americanburger #usa

When there are no words to explain, sometimes, you have to find them anyway. #september11memorial #newyorkcityphotography #havebabywilltravel

We made it to New York City! Everybody is tired, but happy. And @ktaktajulyan likes ranch dressing and American-style crispy bacon, so we can stay together. 😉 #baconbaconbacon #newyorkcity #havebabywilltravel

The look on his face when I warned him about earlier dinners in America. 🤯 I am so looking forward to sharing the USA with him and Baby P! We are on our way! #usatrip #herewego #havebabywilltravel #earlybirdspecial

I don't believe that "everything happens for a reason," but I 𝗱𝗼 believe that grief can be the source of transformation so profound that you might not even recognize the person you were before you grieved. And, sometimes, that transformation provides some small sense of reason. #griefandloss #loss #grief #loveandlight #alwayswithme #lifelessons #paradigmshift #enlightenment #lifeaftercancer #spiritualawakening #findingpeace

His daddy and I met while walking across Spain and we plan to continue right on traveling. 🌎 So…who has tips for our first long-haul flight with a six-month-old? ✈️ 👶🏼 #havebabywilltravel

“Look how beautiful your mother is,” he says with all seriousness to the little guy while my nose is bright red from sniffling and my top knot is tousled (and not in a sexy way). Feeling better now and feeling grateful for both of my guys. ❤️ Thanks @ktaktajulyan! 😘 #sickdays #lovestory