Trust Me, I'm the Mom

As I'm sure every person reading this has as well, I have been absolutely floored by the evil crap that has gone viral on YouTube. I refuse to post the picture of the person doing that and won't even say the name, but it scared the hell out of me as a grown woman, and has cost me sleep the last two nights. I felt like I needed to share it with my husband, so I texted him a screenshot of an article with the image and then immediately deleted the picture out of the message thread as well as my phone. He was pretty disturbed and didn't even want to have a conversation about it. I've felt the burden of protecting and teaching and sheltering my kids become heavier than it ever has been. These little people are the most tender, most impressionable, most vulnerable, most precious resource on earth. The amount of utterly vile crap they are assaulted with these days sometimes feels beyond comprehension. When I was growing up, we had videos. Like, a video cassette. There ...

Today was one of those days where I just didn't feel like I was doing right by anyone I hold any responsibility towards. My baby had an 8:30 doctor's appointment, and the doctor was running 45 minutes late. My toddler was bored about 5 minutes in to our wait in the tiny exam room and both of us had exhausted each other's patience by the time we left at 9:30. The baby had a massive blowout, in his carseat , at the doctor's office, and I only had a spare onsie to put him into for the way back. I realized at the doctor's office that I would need to drive an hour round trip to pick up some business cards from my husband's car for a work appointment I had later that afternoon - so after the doctor, we hurried and drove down and then back to the house to eat a quick lunch and read a book before putting the boys down in hopes they would take a super brief nap before I had to wake them and drop them off at their Grandma's while I went to work. By the time we...

I pretty much live on a soapbox, so I should probably just set up a nice, sturdy shelter directly overhead and set up camp on it. Anyways, there's been something I've been thinking on and feel compelled to share. It's not earth-shattering, I'm not the first one with this idea, and I'm certainly not the first to say it out loud, but I'll say it anyways. And it is this: you need to OWN your choices. Who you are as a person, the habits you have, the way you spend your time, and the product of those habits and those hours spent are on you. You  have control of your choices. Only you  have the power to change your habits. And only  you can take a look at what comes of the way you spend your time and determine if it's the best way you could be using it. This seems to be a lesson I need to learn over and over in my adult life, but I feel like I learn it quicker each time. The first was when we were first married. I was still 18, I had a lot of growing up...

I am an actual savant when it comes to dealing with solicitors. Truly. First of all, I worked in car sales for a few years so I am suuuper familiar with every single pitch tactic you can think of. Second, I get really creative with No Soliciting signs. Pretty much everyone either prints one off of their computer to tape to their screen door during soliciting season (which lasts from March to October here in the great state of Utah) or buys one of those classy ones at the store. NOT AT MY HOUSE. I make my own. They're uber professional looking, usually written in crayola marker. One said something along the lines of: If you're selling pest control, I have a guy. Solar? My father in law works for the power company.  Steak? I'm tempted. Kind of, but not really, because food poisoning. Security systems? I've got two dogs and a husband who's bigger than you. No Soliciting. When that one didn't work, I made another. This one was actually in...

I was late to jump on the glorious bandwagon that is full of Rachel Hollis fangirls. And I can call it that, because I think she is absolutely incredible. The girl radiates energy and go-getter morale and as a chick, I dig that. Last fall I started listening to her podcast. For Christmas, my husband surprised me with my very own copy of Girl Wash Your Face. And I began reading - slowly, because with a newborn a couple pages at a time is sometimes all I could get and then it would be a few days before I could get back at it. I. Was. Hooked. Ms. Hollis is the queen of relatable story telling and she has an absolute GIFT of climbing straight into the hidden depths of any woman's soul and filling it with courage and enthusiasm and a deep desire to overhaul her entire life starting with.... everything. She shares her struggles, her embarrassing moments, and her triumphs - and the little bits and pieces along the way that made her the successful woman she is today  - mom of fou...

I have the biggest soft spot for pictures of new mamas with their babies. There's always something so tangible about them... you can feel the love and the pride and the relief and the "holy cow, look what we have here!". What a blessing to be having babies in an age where those first moments can be immortalized forever. It's amazing to me how you can actually witness a woman's face change the moment she becomes a mother. I asked you guys to share your favorite picture from the birth of your child and aw, they make me want to have another baby RIGHT NOW.  Thank you for sharing such precious memories with all of us! This picture happens to be my gorgeous sister-in-law! The caption did not save in my messages, but this is her with her firstborn daughter. There's nothing like holding your brand new baby for the first time and knowing that they know exactly who you are! And seriously, if I could have looked half that gorgeous after having a baby, right?! ...