Mama's I Have To Tell You Something - You Are Doing Great


I could tell you this to your face, but you're not here. You're at your house, or in your car, at t-ball practice, waiting in line at the grocery store, at work, or any number of other places.

I'm going to write this down for you to read because the baby is sleeping so we should be quiet, or you're away from your computer, on the phone, running after the kid(s), probably doing lots of things at once, and I really just want to get my words right.

You are doing great.



Let me repeat that. You are doing great.

I mean it. You are doing a fantastic job. You are a great mama to your baby/babies. I don't know when it was the last time you heard that (hopefully recently), but I really want you to know that truth.

That truth that whatever it is you are doing, you're doing a fine job at it. You are doing your best. Raising kids is hard. You are giving it everything you've got and doing it with all your heart. These precious little guys don't come with a manual, and each one is different, so really a manual probably wouldn't do much good, haha!

Don't worry if you turned Jake and the Neverland Pirates or Octonauts on for a while just so you could get some work done. You are not ignoring your baby. It's ok if you closed the door when you went to the bathroom, or let baby cry in the crib for a few extra minutes. It's acceptable to want (and have) a few minutes alone to breathe. Don't worry that you bought another container of Gerber Cheese Puffs so the little guy could make it through Target without fussing, or gave in to another nursing session. You are doing just fine, your baby is just fine, and you both are going to be fine.

Us mama's are told we should raise our kids are certain way, discipline them a certain way, when to stop nursing, how much weight we should have lost already, what foods we and our kids should be eating, what we should be doing with every minute of our day. We're told this from so many different people, from so many different directions, before we know it, we start questioning our decisions and our ability to be a good mother and to do a good job raising our kiddo's. I don't like having to question every decision I make. I want to be confident in myself and to know that certain things work for me and my family, and that makes it ok. I want you to have confidence too!

We can only really do what we are able to do, and we do that with every ounce of love, every fiber in our being. That is good enough.


What works for some people might not work for you, or for me. It might take a while, and multiple tries, but we'll figure out what does work eventually. If nursing a few extra months works for you, then do it. If letting your baby "cry-it-out" isn't working for you, don't do it. Did you put the baby-gate up in the bathroom to contain the babe while you did your hair and makeup this morning? Cool, I did too. It worked and I feel pretty darn good about myself today. Hopefully you do as well.

If you are struggling know you are not alone. I am here, as well as lots of other mama's who are going through (or have gone through) the same thing. Let's come together as mama's to support each other when things get cray-cray. I'm not here to judge, just love. So keep up the great work, mama. I love you.

P.S. You should 100% absolutely buy those shorts you've been eyeing. It's summertime and it's hot, and don't you dare think you shouldn't buy them because you don't think you'll look good in them. My dear, you will rock those shorts! And if some idiot thinks otherwise, they are an I D I O T so don't you worry about them. Also, YOU WILL ROCK THEM!

Nunnally Blanket Knitting Pattern

Today's post would not be possible without the help of fellow Ravelry member, rhiannonmrl. She has helped me find one of my long lost (and most requested) patterns! Thank you so much Michelle! I honestly never thought I'd find the pattern again.



This blanket is so fun to knit up with it's easy lace pattern. It's the perfect project for someone who has never done lace before because there isn't much to the design. The lace design is only a dozen or so stitches long so it's easy to remember and keep track of.



I have made three of these blankets, (1) [2] {3}, and it was the perfect project to do while watching Aaron play games or while we watched a movie. After the first few rows muscle memory takes over and the blanket practically knits itself.



You can get your copy of the pattern here, here, or here.

11 Minute Mommy Hair and Makeup - Mini Interruptions Included


Let's talk about getting ready in the morning with a baby around. Long gone are the days of spending an hour on myself each morning primping, doing my hair and makeup. With a baby crawling around (soon to be walking) getting into things, needing up, wanting down, getting him ready and out the door so we can take Aaron to work... mornings can be hectic. (Understatement of the year, hah!)

Since Dean has been born I have worked on a routine to get myself ready quickly and as stress free as possible. Here is a little video of how I get my hair and makeup done in the morning with baby around. I hope you like it!



I need to work on the lighting and I was very nervous recording this video.

First off I stick Dean in a little jumpy thing with toys so he's contained and busy while I'm getting ready. He doesn't always like it in there but it works long enough for me to get done. Of course the day I filmed this video he was an angel and hardly interrupted me at all- yay!


My curling iron is pretty hot, which allows me to curl all my hair fast. So on mornings I blow-dry and curl my hair I put a heat protection product on it so keep it from becoming too damaged. Starting from the left front and working towards the back I curl my hair in ringlets. Then I work the right from front to back. This typically takes me about 6 minutes. I don't touch my hair once I'm done, I'll come back to it after I do my makeup and it has time to cool down.

Next I prime my face, put on concealer, foundation, bronzer, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lip balm. This takes me about 5 minutes. Very last, I ruffle the roots of my hair pretty vigorously- just the roots though. This loosens up the curls for a more natural look. Hairspray and done!

Products used:
Maybelline FitMe Foundation Stick
Maybelline FitMe Matte & Poreless Foundation
Maybelline FitMe Powder
Physician Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls
Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tatoo Eye Shadow
Rimmel ScandalEyes Jumbo Eyeliner
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

Even with little interruptions from Dean and a call from Aaron I can get this done in about 11-13 minutes. Not only am I ready but I feel good about myself. Confident. Maybe it's just me, but I'm way more productive when I'm feeling confident. Like some bad-ass mommy super hero. It is just me? Haha ok, that's alright in my book.


Do you have any tips or tricks that work for you? Do you do anything special with your little ones to help you get ready in the morning?

This post was originally written four months ago (when Dean was 12 months old) and, while I don't keep him inside the little jumpy-thingy, I still keep this routine

Hot Mama Pancake Recipe


There are mornings when everything falls into place perfectly: the baby wakes up content to play in his crib while I make everyone breakfast, I have time to put all my makeup on before leaving the house, and there's time to pick up a cup of coffee on the way to dropping Aaron off at work.

Then there's most mornings when the baby sleeps until I have to put him in the car, I only put on foundation, and nobody had breakfast. It's mornings like this when I wish I had something already made up. That way I can eat something quick and feel good about my morning. When I'm not running on an empty stomach I feel great. Not only do I feel great, I feel like I look great.

I decided to take an afternoon to make up and freeze a big batch of pancakes made with some of my favorite things. These pancakes are loaded with lots of yummy ingredient that are tasty and good for me:

• chia seeds for omega-3
• ground flax seeds for fiber
• peanut butter for protein
• chocolate because why not
• coffee because yes

By adding so many tasty ingredients toppings aren't necessary. This makes them good finger food, and perfect for eating while chasing a toddler.


Like most of my cooking, I "eyeball" measurements so this is more of a guide than an exact recipe. Definitely change it up and make it to your personal likes.

■ 1 1/2 cups Bisquick
■ Coffee (instead of water)
■ 1 tbsp chia seeds
■ 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
■ 1 tbsp peanut butter
■ 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

I like my pancakes thin so I use quite a bit more liquid than the recipe on the box calls for. Some other tasty additions to this would be: cinnamon, crushed nuts, dried fruit, or chai tea powder or the actual tea in addition/instead of coffee. My coffee was freshly brewed so when I poured it into my batter it melted my chocolate chips. My tired brain was surprised at this little bit of science-y magic, haha!

What sort of ingredients would you add? Do you have a favorite make ahead breakfast food? ♥

About That Whole Blogging Thing


Well hello there! You might remember me... I'm the author of this blog. Earlier in the year a started a different blog, one that I felt was more me, but that was just silly. This blog is me. It's my home on the web and it was goofy of me to think otherwise.

This summer has flown by! So fast, in fact, that I couldn't tell you when it was the last time I blogged. I mean, I could totally go look but I'm kind of embarrassed about it. So instead, we won't look, and we'll just talk about what's going on now. This instant. Right now the baby is asleep cuddling with his fave blanket and his Burt doll (this is the first time he's done that to my knowledge), Aaron is working away on a birthday present for his nephew, and Welks the Destroyer is trying to figure out why there isn't room on my lap for him. In other words- life is good.

How has your summer been? It seems like most everyone is having an enjoyable summer, which is lovely to hear!

The blogging "bug" has been nibbling at me quite a bit lately and so I'd really like to start blogging again. When I started the other blog, I wanted to do a mommy blog about life with baby, keeping sane, keeping crafty, and keeping pretty-fied. It was fun, but before long I realized I loved just experiencing my life with baby instead of documenting it as it happened. This tripped me up and that's pretty much why I haven't been around. If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you know Dean keeps me busy and we're constantly on. the. go. This constant motion of life makes it a bit hard for me to blog as regularly as I thought I wanted to.

I hope this doesn't sound dumb, but I'm going to repost entries from the other blog on here in between new content. I am proud of those posts and I don't want them to just disappear.

Dean is teaching me new things every day and I want to share my experiences with the world. This won't turn into just a mommy blog, there will still me makeup posts, vacation posts, as well as fashion posts (I'm tossing around the idea of doing another capsule wardrobe series).

Anywho, I feel like this is a good place to stop before I stress myself out about whether I wrote enough, or too much, or if this content is worth writing.

Hope you have a wonderful hump day! ♥

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