It’s been months since I’ve written this blog, and A LOT has happened since then.

For one, I am no longer a single mom.

My boyfriend Justin proposed to me on Mother’s Day and I married him nearly four months later. This is obviously a huge life change that happened quickly, but it’s a great one. And it makes for excellent writing material, so from now on, I’m going to write about my new life and the many wonders it brings. Of course, I’ll also continue to tell my usual stories of Isabella’s wild and imaginative antics.

And speaking of Isabella, she’s dealing with the transition very well. She had been pushing me for a long time to get married because she desperately wanted a stepdad. Before I met Justin, she was even begging encouraging me to go on The Bachelor so that I could find a husband. So when we told her that we were getting married—and soon—she was elated.

Of course, there are many nuances that require some adjustment, for all of us. Justin’s not used to having to share the TV with a little girl. Isabella’s not used to having to share her mom with a boy. And I’m not used to being in the middle, walking on tiptoes sometimes to make sure I’m giving adequate attention to both child and husband. It’s a delicate balance, to be sure.

But there are also times when I have to pinch myself because I can’t believe that what I’ve been wanting all these years—a husband, a complete family, a “normal” life—is actually happening. I’ve been waiting for it for so long and now that it’s here, it’s almost surreal. When Justin, Isabella and I have dinner together at the kitchen table, when we laugh together at a movie, when we sing together in the car… all of those moments are so much more fulfilling now than they were when it was just me and Isabella.

Isabella recognizes it, too. Every once in a while I’ll catch a glint in her eye, a sparkle that shows she’s thinking the same thing: “Finally, things are the way they’re supposed to be.”