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Don’t Be Scared To Show The Real You

Last week was a difficult week on many levels. Personal challenges were coming at me left and right and at one point, I burst into tears in public, sobbing quietly on my way to the car. I went home to do what I always do -- get in the bed and cry privately, hoping somehow that the tears would be cleansing enough for me to be functional by the time my kids got home from school. But something … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Health + Fitness, Love + Family, Mom to Mom, Quit stressin' ·

Are You Giving Yourself Permission To Be Happy?

My 30th birthday is a little over a month away and this weekend, I took the bold step of purchasing two plane tickets (one for me and one for my hubby) to head to New Orleans to ring in 30 properly! Some of you might not realize how huge this is. I hardly ever travel if it isn't for work or a vacation with the kids. I will hop on a plane in a minute for a conference or something that will bring … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Health + Fitness, Love + Family ·

When Self-Care Starts With A Bottle Of Nail Polish

At the recent self-care retreat, our Sunday speaker Mia Redrick talked to retreat attendees about the concept of "blending"—where you fit in your me-time throughout the day. It was like a light bulb went off. When you think about it, waiting until the end of the day to feed yourself sounds foolish and a direct path to failure. I immediately tried to think of ways to include myself more fully … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Health + Fitness, Love + Family, Mom to Mom, YML Retreat ·

The Bonds Made And Stress Released At My First National Self-Care Retreat

At the beginning of this year, I decided to lift my foot off the brake. You know how when you're first learning to drive and you slam on the brake at completely unnecessary intervals because you're scared and you don't quite know how to maneuver and focus and you don't want to crash? That was me, but with life. I was scared of fully going after the things that I wanted, not because I could fail … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Love + Family, My favorite posts, YML Retreat ·

What’s Your Superpower (And Yes, You Have One)?

For a long time, I used to feel self-conscious about how sensitive I am. I cry at the drop of a hat over good and bad news (I bawled when my husband told me his co-worker proposed to his girlfriend). When someone I know has a bad day, I will spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how I can make it better. Violent movies and TV shows make me physically sick and unable to sleep. (I still don't … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Love + Family ·

The Seven Rules Of Happiness According To My Seven-Year-Old Son

During one of our random "What do you want to be when you grow up?" conversations, I told my son Thomas that he would make an amazing teacher. And I fully believe it - he's energetic and always looking for the "funner" way to do something. Kids would love him. "I'd be a happy teacher!" he told me. "Oh yeah? That's great that you'll enjoy teaching," I told him. "Nooo," he corrected me. … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: #SurvivalGuide, Family, Featured, Love + Family, School-Aged Children, You + Your Kids ·

#StudentParentSuccess – Know Your Rights As A Pregnant Or Parenting Student

When I discovered I was pregnant during my spring semester and that my due date would fall in the tail end of my fall semester, I didn't know what to do. Do I sit out a semester and just take care of the baby? Do I attend classes anyway and just cross my fingers that, I dunno, I give birth over a long weekend? What was the proper thing to do? I tell this story often and whenever I'm in a group … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: #SurvivalGuide, Education, Featured, Love + Family, Money + School, Student Mama ·

[GIVEAWAY] “The Date Deck,” A Must-Read Book For Couples Stuck In A Date Night Rut

For a strong four years after we had our two kids back to back, my husband and I rarely had date nights. Sure, we'd sometimes find ourselves on the couch together at the same time on a Friday or Saturday evening and we'd pass the time by watching a movie together, but that wasn't "date night." That was "I'm tired and you're tired and these kids wore us out and my God why did we decide to have two … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Giveaways, Love + Family, Sex + Relationships ·
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