Welcome to my blog. I document my life lessons in hopes that it will encourage, equip and entertain.
I was listening to this podcast the other day while I was driving. And the guy was talking about the power of thought. He said - our brains are ancient (like caveman status). They are wired to survive, not thrive. Our brains naturally function in a fear based manner trying to keep us safe and alive. And that it takes an intentional “rewiring” or retraining of our brain to get out of survival mode and start to function in a more positive + thriving way.
A few years ago, my husband and I bought our first house. We were so ecstatic. We watched way too much Chip and Jo and thought we had it all worked out. And while we were so thankful for the opportunity to own our own home and fix it up exactly how we wanted it - we soon realized that it was a money and time pit. And it wasn't what either of us wanted, at least not right now. Not in the season of raising babies, soccer games, work meetings, first steps, first words, family vacations and more.
Some of you might be thinking - foundation? How hard can it be. But the truth is, this is one of the trickiest and most vital steps to perfecting your quick and effortless daily beauty routine.
We’ve all seen those memes reminding us that our time with our kids is limited, we only have x amount of summers, x amount of christmases, x amount of first days and last days of school. And I get it. It is super easy to get caught up in the “I’m never going to sleep again” lie. (I may or may not have uttered that last week before I stopped nursing my almost 12 month old). But somehow this” encouragement to savor the moments” has turned into moms completely losing themselves in their kids and abandoning their own body, mind and sanity.
My girl, Angela, from Minty Beauty Co sent over a Maskcara Beauty palette and brushes for me to try. I was SO excited because this is all the rave right now and I needed to see what it was all about and compare it to "my way" of things.
We are "on the go" a lot. We did have a nice slow season before we had Olivia, but since her birth we have started school, started soccer for 2 kids, I started a new job...(announcement coming soon), and everything else started up...moms group, small group etc.
I LOVE this season of life. It is so full. But one thing I started to notice, is we were having to eat more "convenient" meals as we are limited on time. Sometimes I can meal prep, which helps us a ton! But sometimes, I just don't want to or nothing sounds good.
One thing that is super important to me is feeding my kids healthy, fresh and nutritious options daily. I think that in order for our bodies to fight off all the germs that kids naturally just share and spread around, we have to make sure we are feeding our kiddos (and us) WHOLE foods consistently. This doesn't mean we don't eat sweets, carbs or treats. We definitely get our fill of yummy goodies. But I've always encouraged my kids, that in order to remove the guilt from treats, you need to fill the core of your diet with whole foods. So how do I stay on top of good nutrition for all 6 of us in our household?
I am a baby-wearer to the MAX. I studied cross cultural parenting in college which gave me a whole new outlook on baby wearing. Not only is it convenient but it has AMAZING benefits. Personally, I practice Attachment Parentingand something called "The Second Nine Months" , and it has honestly been incredible with all 4 babies. I have 4 very secure babies, who sleep great and are very confident. Confident enough to play on their own without hanging all over me. Which is why I can survive with 4 kids!
Motherhood is full of so many ups and downs. I honestly love motherhood more than anything in the world. I love every stage so far from newborn to my oldest who is 9. I feel honored to be able to wake up with them every day and lay them down each night. But there are so many aspects to motherhood that can leave a momma down at the end of the day.
I am a total book worm. I could spend hours reading book after book. Thankfully, my kids (most of them) have taken after me in that aspect. My oldest LOVES books so much. She usually reads chapter books in a day or two. But when she was younger, it was easier for me to get reading time in with her. She was interested AND I had more time to give just her. But ask the family grows, its harder to find time to spend with each child reading individually. Yes, the husband and I conquer and divide, but sometimes we want to all be together too.
I love hearing what questions you all want me to answer. This is a really popular question. "How do I prepare our kids for a new baby?" This is such an awesome question and one that many parents have when they are considering adding a new baby the bunch or when they get pregnant.
Getting out of the house is challenging to say the least. I was so worried about how I would get around with all the kids plus everything we have to carry with us. Most double strollers have no space for diaper bags or any shopping bags. So you are stuck holding bags and its just too much work to do anything. When I found the Austlen Stroller, I knew I had to have it.
