S'mores Life

Five, almost six years ago, I was exiting church after the service with steam coming from my ears. I was practically dragging a toddler, and carrying an infant in the Moby wrap, questioning if it was done right because a photographer had just told me it was wrapped wrong. Someone at church (I honestly can't remember who, which is good for both of us seeing as I work at this church now) said something to me along the lines of "Cherish every moment. It goes so fast." I had to walk away before I asked for her rose colored glasses and stomped all over them in the church entryway. I was a stay at home mom to two kids two and under, my now ex husband was working 4-6 weeks out of town (when I wasn't freaking out about his state of employment, or lack thereof), my nipples were raw from my little nursling being attached to me every 1.5-2 hours round the clock, my toddler had just tried to bite her friend on a recent playdate, my entire body felt foreign and achey and ...

Dear Second Child, I'm not sorry that I'm just now completing the photo book from the year I was pregnant with you, and haven't even begun your baby photo book. You turn five in less than four months. I'm not sorry that your older sister had her newborn pictures professionally printed within two weeks of her birth, and I just now ordered pictures to fill your "Baby every month" frame. I'm not sorry that in your sister's baby book, I marked the date for every new tooth, and she has a special compartment for hair from her first haircut. All I have for you is the statement I told the dentist "I don't know, she was a late teether because I remember being glad I only worried about being bit while nursing for a few months. I think she 11 months when she got her first tooth?" And I found a baggie with hair I'd saved from when I trimmed your bangs for the first time recently, but when I reached in and my hand unexpectedly came into cont...

The other day one of my daughters asked me if there was a college she could attend to become a Super Hero. As with many of our little ones questions ("But how exactly DID the daddy seed get into the mommy's belly? But, HOW?") I was not prepared with an answer for this so I replied "Well there is school to become a police officer or firefighter and they help people in the same way superheroes do." She wasn't satisfied with that answer, and so I've been thinking about the specifics of becoming our own Wonder Women, magic rope or not. I've been feeling pretty Super Woman myself lately. I've been listening to the Powerful Women of Pop playlist on Amazon recommended by my best friend, I've been responding to tough situations in ways I am proud of. This past year has brought a lot of change to my family, my personal, and my professional life and I feel like I'm finally finding my groove. I'm finding ways to be more efficient with my time,...

Here's a sign that you aren't regularly discussing your body: You have to google "leg muscle above knee" before you write a blog post about self-care,  self-love and your body. Part of my job is running the social media accounts for my employer. I enjoy it and it's great because I post at least 75% of what is posted which means I get to screen almost every picture of me before it goes up. Which means a lot of pictures of me do NOT go up. Another part of this job means people send me pictures from events I may not be at or may be unable to have my phone with me. A few weeks ago someone sent me a bunch of great photos. And one photo of me. I was in front of a crowd, speaking, and holding one of my kids. And I immediately started shaming myself. You look disgusting. You look pregnant. Your hair is so frizzy. Your face is so red. You're gross. Then came the rationalizing... Well your phone is in your pocket. That's why your butt looks huge. Those pan...