I’ve been doing my best to check social media only once a day. Mainly because mindless scrolling is not only a huge time-waster for me, but also because it feeds my anxiety. I’ve been mostly doing a good job of this, and I’m definitely noticing a difference in my mood and my productivity– highly recommend if you’re also finding yourself in a bit of a funk. Anyway, part of my daily check is looking at my Facebook “memories” because I’m a sucker for nostalgia, especially now that I’m a mom. Two years ago today, I was 5 months postpartum with my first daughter. We were entering swimsuit season, a ..read more

I have a very strong-willed two year old, and I sometimes joke that God gave me her to humble me and let me know that I’m far from a perfect parent. While she is incredibly smart and has the most infectious laugh, she feels things hard.  We were at a funeral this weekend for a family member, and homegirl had not had a single nap for two days in a row, and we had been traveling, visiting, and exposing her to new-to-her people all weekend. Needless to say, she was not in the best of moods at the funeral service. Despite the fact that everyone was kind about it, I kept catching myself tryin ..read more

I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. She loves to carry her mass bag on her own, and in addition to the mass bag, she’s usually got a dino or two in tow as well My first faithful reader (Hi, Mallory!) told me I should write a blog post about what we have in our “mass bag” that we take to church for our toddler, and if there’s one thing I am, it’s loyal to my tiny readership. We have a busy, rambunctious two-year-old who loves dinosaurs and ..read more

This post contains affiliate links which means I may make a small commission on any items bought at no extra cost to you! In this life, some things are unavoidable. You know, death, taxes, and toddler tantrums– just to name a few.  Tantrums are shame-inducers for many parents because we’ve bought into the perception that our kid throwing a fit somehow makes us bad parents, but in reality tantrums are necessary for brain development and therefore serve a very important purpose (you can read more about your toddler’s brain during tantrums here). And while, yes, we want to minimize tantrums ..read more

Screen time is perhaps one of the biggest shame triggers for today’s parents. So many of us are constantly faced with things that make giving our toddlers our undivided attention pretty much impossible, and when a moment of quiet is needed, turning on the TV is often the easiest and most effective way to keep our kids occupied. Most of us also know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screens until 2 and that screen time should be limited each day, with specific limits based on age, but for many parents, following those recommendations isn’t always practical, and in some case ..read more

A few weekends back, I went shopping. There was a time in my life when shopping was fun and exciting, but as a mom who’s spent most of the past two years being pregnant, it is less so these days. After weeks of trying to squeeze into my clothes that had fit me pre-baby number one, pre-pandemic, and pre-baby number two, I decided it was time to find some new clothes in which I could feel both comfortable and confident.  Prior to this outing, I could not tell you the last time I had been shopping in an actual mall. It was also the first time we’d taken our two girls out shopping in this ca ..read more

This post contains affiliate links which means I may make a small commission on any items bought at no extra cost to you! A few weeks back my oldest daughter turned 2, and since we weren’t able to have a first birthday party for her (thanks, covid), I wanted to make sure this one was special, but I also didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to rent a space at an indoor waterpark or bounce house center. I’ve seen some really fun, creative ideas for kids’ birthday parties on Pinterest, but almost all of them were outdoor activities, so I went to Instagram to ask for some winter/indoor-friend ..read more

This post contains affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! I love reading and I knew I wanted to instill that same love for books in my kids. My mom actually threw me a children’s-book-themed baby shower (which was so cool, by the way!), so we were covered with many of the classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Corduroy, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Green Eggs and Ham, but I knew I was having a girl and I really felt like her library was missing some representation of diverse and empowered females. I wen ..read more

I have spent a sizable part of the last few years trying my damndest to unlearn the fatphobia that many of us have had drilled into our heads since before we could even talk. It’s such a toxic and pervasive part of our culture, and a lot of people don’t even realize that these internalized ideas are incredibly harmful– even deadly in some cases.  I grew up and found that I hated my body, especially after I first became a mother. Since about the time I was twelve, I have engaged in many disordered eating habits in order to try to get my body to look a certain way. As I tried and failed, st ..read more

This post may contain affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! When I got pregnant with my first baby, my husband and I were both teachers. We knew raising a child could be a financial strain, especially on two teachers’ salaries, so we wanted to find ways to cut costs wherever we could. We also knew that disposable diapers can be a huge expense for parents, so after looking into it, we found that cloth diapering could be a smart money move for our new family. Luckily for us, my brother and his wife have us ..read more