Thursday, 18 September 2014 by Irene Hoofs

One of our favourite columns on Bloesem kids is our thursday Instagram Mom features... so we thought we'd get to know our favourite moms abit better by asking them a few questions .. this week Ashley of @thestorkandthebeanstalk was so kind to give us abit of her time. We love how open and honest she is and of course her beautiful photography of her 2 boys as well as other families ( she's a photographer!).

I N S T A M O M:

I am in love with banana chips, banana bread, and bananas baked into pancakes, but I hate bananas by themselves.

Number of kiddos: I have two boys, aged 2 & 3. Most days I'm dying for just one more; other days I tell people to punch me in the ovaries for considering such a thing.

Sundays involve trying to pull my husband away from football on the TV so he can help me get stuff done around the house. I kid. We like to have as much fun on the weekends as much as we can. We go to the desert, visit family in Arizona, hit up flea markets, and spend a ton of time at the beach.

You can't leave now.. the rest of the question and answer sesh awaits you after the cut..

My favorite Times of the day are in the morning, when the kids wake up, and at night, when they go to sleep. Such is motherhood, right?

At the moment I am hot. We are in a mean heat wave here in Southern California and do not have air conditioning. The pumpkins at the grocery store keep telling me it's nearly fall, but the stagnant air in the house is making summer look more stubborn than ever.

My day consists of a lot of typical mom activities: making meals, cleaning dishes, attempting to keep the kids from strangling each other, taking our dog Jimmie out to do his thing, playing whack-a-mole around nap time so I can get a moment of "me time", and so on and so forth. And then there are the days where we throw it all to the breeze, tell routine to more or less kiss our behind, and go explore a new area or do something we've been wanting to do for a while or even something that just popped in our head that morning. Those are my favorite days. Despite the messy house, unkempt kids, and inevitable tantrums, those days are the memory makers. I live for those days.

Other passions include: Music. I can't sing or play an instrument to save my life but I strongly believe everything in life is better when set to a soundtrack. I'm also passionate about birth and support women in taking control and educating themselves about the process. Before I became a mom, I traveled all over and that helped shape who I am today,so I guess you could say I'm passionate about self-exploration, autonomy, and adventure. Oh ya, and greasy french fries; specifically, McDonald's.

Being a Mom, for me, means accepting that all phases in life are temporary. When I struggle with my role, I remind myself that it will pass. And when I'm head-over-heels in love with my role, I remind myself to stay present in the moment.

Thank you Ashley for being part of our instagram moms, we loved getting to know you better!