Unfiltering Our Social Media Feeds
There is a movement of sorts happening on social media right now and it is one that I am here for!. There is a filter that shows your face filtered. Your skin is smooth and flawless, your eyes are bigger and deeper, and you look… filtered. And then you move your face into the space that takes away the filter and you are left seeing your true face. I have seen Instagram story after story of influencers sharing their filtered face versus their unfiltered face. I have seen influencers posting long thoughtful posts about how damaging filtering is for women and for the younger generation who is coming up in a society of filtering ourselves.
Read full storyMy Start to Motherhood As A Young Mom
Young motherhood gets a bad rap. It’s hardly celebrated. I was 20 years old when I found out in a doctor’s office that I was expecting my first child. I thought I had mono. I was so unbelievably sick.
Read full storyMy Son Quit Baseball, And This Is How I Handled It
My son was two years old the first time I took him to a major league baseball game. He sat still in his seat the entire game, in utter awe. Everything from that day forward was about baseball. He stopped watching cartoons for a period of time and only wanted to watch baseballs on tv, highlights, and clips from the games. He went to preschool every day and would tell his teachers the stats of each players. His teachers were good sports and encouraged his love for the game. I often think about how much easier it would have been to not listen or dismiss his new obsession.
Read full storyCreating Emotional Intimacy in Your Relationship
Emotional intimacy as depicted by GoodTherapy is, “When people feel safe sharing their feelings with each other, even uncomfortable ones. Example, a woman confides in her sister about her body image issues. She trusts her sibling to offer comfort rather than using her insecurities against her.”
Read full storyMotherhood Versus Perfectionism
Let’s talk about perfectionism in motherhood. There are many ways perfectionism can show up in motherhood and there are effects on the mother, the child, and the family unit. It is important to unpack some of these ideas women and society has around how women should show up in these roles and what is not a realistic expectation. So, let’s dive in.
Read full storyWhat Does It Look Like When Someone Violates Your Boundaries?
When people impose on another person’s boundaries, it is known as a boundary violation. This can happen with one’s physical, mental, emotional, material, sexual, and time boundaries. To further understand these six types of boundaries you can refer to my previous boundary article here. This may present in an action such as showing up without warning, denying one’s recount of an experience, or maybe showing up late. Regardless of which boundary is the topic of concern with the individual in your life, your boundaries are valid and deserve to be respected.
Read full storyWhy Is Motherhood So Lonely?
I find motherhood to be particularly lonely. I started a social media platform to combat this problem in motherhood. The mission of this platform is to support, empower, and connect. You see, when I started my motherhood journey at 21 years old, 10 years ago, there weren’t Facebook mom groups or Instagram, and my peers were not yet having children which left me without the community that can act as a lifeline for mothers. Especially new mothers need support and community. Someone they can shared experiences with and know they aren’t the only person in the world who is struggling with feedings, sleep, and the long list of motherhood struggles. As a young mom, it became a passion of mine to get to a place where I could help other young moms feel not so alone.
Read full storyFriendships In Motherhood Are Hard
Motherhood creates many new challenges for women. The balance between a career and home life can be a difficult one to navigate. Add in all the other things that fills your cup or that were once important to you and it can feel like an impossible task at times. The mother who is still an individual person aside from her motherhood duties still needs time for her personal self-care, her other relationships, and for the things that make her who she is. With the new demands of raising children and caring for a family it can be easy to put some of these things on the back burner.
Read full storyThe Six Types of Boundaries
Boundaries are healthy and essential limits one sets for themselves in their relationship with others as well as with themselves. It is important to understand what boundaries are, what they look like, how we can uphold them, and the positive benefits to establishing healthy boundaries in order to protect ourselves and respect ourselves. There are six different types of personal boundaries and each serves an important role in maintaining our peace and safety.
Read full storyReasons Motherhood Keeps Me Up At Night
Insomnia in motherhood is not a new thing. There are many studies which link insomnia to pregnancy and the postpartum period as a common symptom. However, once mothers are out of the baby stage are they back to sleeping?
Read full storyHow Is Your Communication Style Impacting Your Parenting?
Communication is the way in which we send and receive information. It is a basic human function that each individual utilizes to get their needs met and survive in their environment. While there are many types of communication and some being nonverbal, in this article we are going to focus on the four types of communication: passive, passive aggressive, assertive, and aggressive.
Read full storyIs Gratitude Toxic Positivity or Is It Survival?
Toxic positivity has become more of a topic of conversation in the clinical world and in the world of feelings in the past couple of years. Toxic positivity has become the dark side of positive vibes as defined by The Psychology Group. “We define toxic positivity as the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations. The process of toxic positivity results in the denial, minimization, and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience,” (thepsychologygroup.com).
Read full storyToday, We Played in the Snow and I Needed it Just as Much as They Did!
Today, it dumped buckets of snow where I live. It has been a long time since we got a big snow like this. A light dusting or even a couple inches to play and build a snowman has been the extent of our snow coverage for the past several years. But last night it began to fall as I was putting the kids to bed. When I woke up in the middle of the night to nurse the baby it was still falling. By the time morning arrived it was a deep, magical, and beautiful winter wonderland.
Read full storyIdeas to Make Your Quarantine Valentine's Day Full of Love
Valentine’s Day looks a little different this year with a pandemic continuing to keep us at home, but that does not mean it has to be any less special. In fact, chances are, if you are a parent, your Valentine’s Days may have looked different for some time now and it might not be related to a pandemic. It may have been lack of childcare, lack of availability, or lack of additional income.
Read full storyIt Takes a Village, but Where is the Village?
The modern world has created a society that moves families further and further apart. Parents raise their children, maybe they go off to college, maybe they find jobs in other cities, maybe they move out of the state, maybe they study abroad and meet the love of their life. There are many factors at play for families being more dispersed than they once were, but the question is… what is this doing to modern motherhood? What is this doing to the parents of this generation?
Read full storyFinding Happiness in Connection
Breathe. Breathe again. Now close your eyes and imagine the thing that makes you the happiest. Really dive into it. Imagine every detail. What does it looks like, what does it smells like, what does it sounds like? Take yourself to your happy place.
Read full storyTell Me You're a Mom Without Telling Me You're a Mom
Have you seen the trend on social media going around, “tell me you’re ______ without telling me you’re _____?”. The trend has been done for every different group of individuals it seems and it has brought humor and connection in a fun way. I recently polled a group of mom’s on my social media account, Mimosas with Moms, and the engagement and laughter we shared was refreshing.
Read full storyThe Worst Part About the Ten-Year Age Gap
I am the mother of four beautiful little people. My first came as a surprise when I was 21 years old. I felt like just a kid myself when I found out I was expecting him. I know my family sure as heck still viewed me as a kid when my news came out. He’s ten now and oh boy, have we been through some things together. I feel like I’ve grown up with that little boy. He watched me graduate with my Bachelors Degree and then my Masters Degree. He watched me go through heartbreak and rebuild myself. He watched me get married and bring three siblings into our home. We have had some amazing adventures and some hard times together, me and that little boy.
Read full storyCombatting the Pandemic Burnout in Mental Health Providers
Forbes recently published an article titled, “We Need To Talk About Another Pandemic Mental Health Crisis: Therapist Burnout,” and oh boy, were therapists near and far nodding and shouting, “oh do we ever.”
Read full storyA Goodbye Letter to My Breastfeeding Journey
It’s been a long, exhausting, bonding, miserable, joyful, and everything in between road, and as I feel this chapter coming to an end,. I’m sad. I’m grateful. It’s very bittersweet.
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