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Category: motherhood

Milestones and Updates

posted in family, kids, lifestyle, motherhood by Sara on

Maybe you haven’t noticed but I’m pretty good at being fashionably late and here is yet more proof…Halloween pictures almost a week after the fact! But who can resist posting cute pictures of their kid? Not me! Plus, this Halloween was a big milestone for Addie…her first pigtails! It is about time!

As a quick update about things to come, I’ve started some fabulous sewing projects over the weekend and can’t wait to share them with you! Also there is a great new addition coming to my shop this month with some even greater holiday discounts so keep your eyes open for that!

I hope you’re all having a great week!

I’m Back!

posted in faith, family, home, lifestyle, marriage, motherhood by Sara on

Hi everyone, remember me? It’s only been like what, three weeks since my last post but who’s counting right? To be honest  real life has finally come and hit me square in the face and I’ve had to come to terms with what I can realistically do.

For the past year and a half I have enjoyed the luxury of being a “stay-at-home-mom”. It wasn’t always easy and there were days I wished it was me going to work instead of my husband. There are some people with the misconception that being a “stay-at-home-mom” means sitting at home all day and doing whatever you want (I know because I used to be one of them). However, this couldn’t be any farther from the truth! There is always a diaper to change, laundry to do, errands to run, and meals to cook. Then you have those occasional days when your children demand all of your, time, attention, and energy. It is at the end of days like that when I’d gladly trade my husband jobs.

Now that my husband is in school full time with a demanding schedule, it looks like my wish has come true. I’ve been greatly blessed to find a wonderful job that will allow me to provide for my family while my husband finishes school, but it has been a rough adjustment for all of us. I hope to one day find a good balance in my new situation, but for now I feel confused, guilty, and torn. Over the past year and a half my role has been to be a mother. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at home and devote all my time to taking care of my baby and the home. It too was a rough adjustment at first but I came to find great joy in it. While becoming a mom is by far the greatest thing I’ve ever done, it has also been the hardest. It wasn’t always necessarily the sleepless nights or the 24/7 care that a baby requires that was hard but finding my own identity within  being a wife and a mother. I can honestly say that since having my baby I have come to find myself.

While being a mother and a homemaker is still a major role in my life (and the most important), I am now having to take on the role of provider, at least until my husband is done with school. It is a sacrifice I agreed to and am willing to make to help my husband fulfill his goals, but it certainly doesn’t make leaving my baby any easier. Since I started working a little over two weeks ago my time at home seems much more precious. With less time at home and more time away from my family I’ve been struggling to balance and prioritize my life. I’ve been force to really ask myself what things are most important and what things are not. In order to determine this I decided to make a list of what my underlying goals and priorities are in life. Here is my list:

1.  Be an attentive mother.
2.  Fall more in love with my husband everyday.
3.  Continue to build my relationship with my Father in Heaven and act in His will.
4.  Remain true to who I am and what I love.

These basic yet profound lifelong goals are what influence my daily actions and priorities. With all this being said, I also love blogging and am determined to continue what I began only four short months ago. I may not be posting as often (hopefully more often than every three weeks) but I hope you’ll continue to follow and enjoy my adventures in life as a working mom, wife, seamstress and blogger!


Inspiration Monday: Finding Balance

posted in faith, inspiration Monday, lifestyle, motherhood by Sara on

I came across my inspiration for today when searching for a little pick-me-up. It has been three weeks since the move and only two weeks since my husband started his doctorate program and I can already begin to feel the wait of it all. Even worse is how torn I feel about my role in this new chapter of our lives. Somehow I need to be a wife, mother, and bread-winner all at the same time and quite frankly I have no idea how. Being a supportive wife, an attentive mother, and dedicated homemaker while trying to provide an income and find time for myself has been a struggle. Balancing life has never really been a strong point of mine, but I know if I’m going to make it through it’s something I’m going to have to learn.

I light of this new found revelation, below are some great posts/articles I’ve recently read that have truly inspired me and have brought great comfort in the fact that I am not the only person out there struggling to balance a hectic life.

One of the greatest sources of inspiration I receive on a daily bases is from my twin sister. While she often seems like it, I know she is not perfect and is a mom like me just trying to make it though the day sometimes. I know I can always turn to her for help or motivation. She recently wrote a post on her blog about taking charge of her life and am ready to join in on the challenge!

Another source of great inspiration and encouragement is my faith. It is often what keeps me going and brings more joy and comfort than I could ever describe. I absolutely love this talk from Elder M. Russell Ballard on ,”Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance”.  He gives eight wonder suggestions on how to balance our lives so that we may live it to the fullest. I invite everyone to read it and benefit from it as well.

I sincerely welcome and encourage any advice, tips, comments, or inspirational articles you have on finding a good balance in life! Thanks for reading and happy Monday!

Home Sweet Home

posted in diy, family, home, motherhood by Sara on

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been working hard to turn our apartment into a home… our home. While it is still an ongoing process, I thought I’d give you a little peak at the heart of our new home. The living room is well, where we live. Being in a small apartment, the living room is where we spend the majority of our days and it is the first thing you see when walking in the front door. While we still live on a meager college-student income and don’t have the nicest pieces of furniture, I try and do what I can to make our home a welcoming and relaxing environment. As a wife, mother, and a homemaker I wish to establishing a safe haven for my family– a place where they can feel at home; a place where they can be happy; and a place where they know they are always loved. While maintaining a peaceful, clean, and orderly home is often easier said than done, today that goal was met…at least for a part of the day. But to be completely honest anywhere seems like home, no matter the state, with this cute girl! She truly brings our home to life with her adorable smile and fun personality!

Oh and I’ve left out a picture of our TV stand as it is still a work in progress, but I have big colorful plans for it! Pictures to come later! Also be sure to stop by again tomorrow for Step 3 of the Wardrobe Basics series! 

A New Beginning

posted in family, lifestyle, marriage, motherhood by Sara on

After hauling our little family and all of our belongings 1050 miles and then spending the next week cleaning, unpacking, and recovering from a nasty cold, I can finally say that we are beginning to settle into our new home. While I must admit that traveling 17 hours in a car with a 1 year old seemed daunting, Addie was a trooper through it all. As long as we kept the snacks flowing her way she was, for the most part, a happy camper. With that being said, since the move she seems to have developed a low tolerance for long car rides– can you blame her?

Having lived in Nevada and Utah up until now, Oregon is a complete change in scenery for me. It is so serene here with forests, vineyards, and fields as far as the eye can see. Not only is the area breath taking, but the people here are so welcoming and friendly. It definitely makes being far from home a little easier. Being in the heart of Oregon, there seems like an endless array of places to see and things to do. I can’t wait to see what this chapter in our lives will bring. While I am excited about life and for the opportunity to experience a new place and new surroundings, I’d be putting on a show if I didn’t admit that I am a little homesick and scared as well. It was not easy leaving my home, my family, and most everything I’ve ever known. Before beginning our journey, I stayed strong as I hugged my mom and family good-bye (we have been living with my parent’s for the past 6 months to save money for graduate school) but once I got in the car I cried like a baby.

That first night in our new apartment I laid close to my husband who cuddled our precious sleeping daughter in his arms. I normally don’t enjoy sleeping in the same bed as my baby but I was glad to have her close as I did not fully trust this new place or the people, not to mention the comfort I received from holding the two of the people I love most in life close. The next morning we began work on making this place our home. With each unpacked box I began to feel more comfortable and more at home. I even have room for all my sewing, fabrics, and crafting! Besides cleaning and unpacking, we did allow ourselves some time to roam around and explore a bit. We’ve only been in Oregon for less than 2 weeks and I can already feel myself falling in love with it.

Collin starts his Psy.D program next week and I couldn’t be any more proud and excited for him. Addie has been more smiley and playful then I have ever seen her, although she has learned the word “No” which seems to be her response to just about everything as of late. And due to the wonders of today’s technology we were able to video chat with both of our families and see their glorious faces even though they are hundreds of miles away from us. As for me I am grateful to be so blessed.

Inspiration Monday: When Your Mother Says She’s Fat

posted in inspiration Monday, motherhood by Sara on

By now I’m sure you all have seen this article that has been circling the internet titled, “When your Mother Says She’s Fat” written by Kasey Edwards– if you haven’t I strongly recommend you read it! I read it several weeks ago and it’s words have inspired and haunted me ever since.

Several days after reading the article, after having just finished getting ready for the day, I found myself staring into the mirror with a look of disapproval and low self-esteem. Knowing I did not have time to change or devote any more time to such a trifling matter I left my sad looking self in the mirror to get Addie out of bed. While still deep inside my head, dwelling on all of my little imperfections, I felt a little hand stroking my dress. As I looked down at my sweet little girl, she smiled at me as if to say, “Mom, you  look beautiful!”.  I thought back to the article when the author had hear her mother call herself “fat, ugly, and horrible” and how it completely changed her views of her mother and herself.

Growing up I struggled with my body image. While almost all of it was built up in my head, all I could ever see when I looked in the mirror was how “fat” I was and all my flaws and imperfections. As I’ve grown older, and become more comfortable in my skin and with who I am, I have gained a greater confidence and learned to be more accepting of myself but it is still something I battle with almost on a daily basis. After having a daughter of my own, I’ve realized that my negative body issues are not just about me anymore. If I want to raise a strong confident daughter, I have to be a strong confident mother.

What if one day my little girl tells me I look beautiful and I respond by tell her that what she thinks is beautiful is actually fat and ugly? Would that change the way she viewed her own body? Would that lead to her having a negative body image of herself? After reading this article, it is clear that the answer to these questions are YES!

I’m human, I’m not perfect and I make mistakes but I hope to raise my children to be health, happy, and confident in the fact that their body’s are perfect and beautiful. If we want to raise more confident children, we cannot leave it up to the world to teach them what beauty and happiness is. It is in the home, through our examples that I believe confidence and positive self-esteem can be accomplished.

Life’s Simple Joys

posted in lifestyle, motherhood by Sara on

You know when you have a long list of things to do and then life happens and not a thing on that list gets done? Well, that was my week.

I seem to have been sick for most of June but not bad enough to keep me in bed. With an active one-year old, a new blog, and an array of many other projects to get done, I just simply did not have time to be sick. I mean, who has time to lay around these days anyway when there is so much to do?!

Unfortunately, my efforts to work through my sickness eventually came to an abrupt halt. My body finally called it quits and I have been in-and-out of the doctor’s office and practically bed ridden for the past four days. While it served me right, all I could think about while lying in bed was everything that was not getting done (and being miserable of course). Thankfully, after a physical and emotional roller coaster of a week, and with much help from my loving husband and family members, I have finally started to regain my health.

For the 4th of July we went and watched the local parade and then had a quiet BBQ at my grandparent’s house. Since I was still not 100%, we spent the rest of the day napping and lounging around. Later that night as I laid out on the trampoline next to my husband watching the fireworks, I thought back on how worked up I was earlier in the week about not being able to accomplish everything I wanted to and how silly it seemed now. And while that long to-do list is still waiting to get done, I came to the realization that some things in life are not always as important as they seem. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in everything I’m doing and wanting to accomplish that I tend to overlook the simple joys in life.

Life gets crazy, that I know, but it is all of life’s simple joys that keeps me going and that make life worth living. Simple joys like being able to watch my daughter’s every growth, witness all her goofy smiles, receive all her slobbery kisses and know that she is happy and healthy. Or sharing a pint of Ben and Jerry’s with my husband, talking and laughing as though the world around us no longer exists. Or taking a quiet moment to sit out on the porch right after it has rained when the world seems so fresh and peaceful.

There will always be laundry to do, bills to pay, dishes to wash, and projects that need finishing, but may I suggest that we make some time each day to enjoy the simple things that make life so great!

And hopefully, it won’t take becoming badly ill next time in order for me to take my own advice.