I’ve talked a little bit on social media about how, as Stephen gears up for his next deployment, his work schedule has been extremely demanding. The poor kid has been working 12+ hour days regularly and sleeping on the boat (which means about a half night’s sleep for him or less) twice a week. This…

Here’s where I’m at: with both my pregnancies, I underestimated dramatically how long it takes to get back to my ‘normal’ self. Both times I’ve had Summer babies and so the excitement to wear jeans again when Fall rolled around has been almost indecent. Then that moment comes where I think to myself, ‘they might…

There’s no denying that Fall is another fresh start. Something about the turn of the year and that back-to-school rush feels like a new beginning the same way January 1 does. Here in FL, the weather has stayed hot and humid. As much as I am super excited to wear jeans again and Fall clothes…

Your permission to delegate Overwhelm. It’s something we all face at one point or another; doesn’t really matter what our vocation is, how old we are, or how many followers we have on IG. Currently, I see overwhelm happening with some frequency to young stay-at-home moms. We don’t have support at home because, for the…

As you may already know, I am a big advocate of helping women look and feel their best—especially during the TOUGH season of pregnancy. While part of this is certainly more psychological/emotional than physical, it would be a straight-up lie to say that physical products don’t help. For this pregnancy, I had a small capsule…

Navigating mom guilt + balancing home/work/mom responsibilities A few months ago someone asked when I get housework done. Specifically, she wanted to know if I do those types of tasks while Monica is up. When I told her that I get 99% done while Monica is running around (with a few exceptions), I could feel…

An Argument for Authentic Self-Care When I lived in Latin America I remember using this face Nivea face cream that said on the top, “La belleza es cuidado,” which translates to: “Beauty is care.” I was around 11 when I came across this product, as you can tell the tagline stuck with me in a…

How I kept my spirits up + dealt with the physical challenges during my pregnancy I’ve joked with Stephen that if 5 kids suddenly showed up all at once at my doorstep, I don’t think I would be too fazed. It isn’t the sleepless nights, babies crying, taking care of little people all day, dealing…

A few years back I wrote another post on this same topic. If I remember correctly, it was C.S. Lewis who coined the term Little Resurrections (but don’t quote me on that). When I first came across it, I was going through a particularly Lenty Lent in Ohio. I was participating in the rigorous Fiat90…

I really hoped this time around would be different. I guess I had heard vague comments (or thought I had) that subsequent pregnancies were easier than the first. I also hoped that “being prepared” for what was coming, that would somehow dilute the symptoms. I was wrong. (First time ever). The first time the nausea…