As in, the journal that you excitedly purchased after becoming a mom and swore you would write in diligently every day and record all of your precious child’s accomplishments?
Yup. That one.
You would think that as someone who enjoys writing, especially about motherhood and babies, and even occasionally gets paid to write about these topics, that I’d be excellent at keeping a journal.
NOT SO.
Not so…at all.
Imagine this scenario:
It’s winter.
It’s cold. So very, very cold.
You and your small kids haven’t left the house in DAYS.
Your toddler keeps asking you to retell the story about the time you guys took a train to the toy store (which, by the way, has never happened), and your other child is eating Play-Doh.
It’s 4:30PM and you forgot to put dinner in the slow cooker, and so far today you’ve only consumed coffee and string cheese (okay, okay, and half a bag of Goldfish, WHATEVER).
You have approximately 600 loads of laundry to do, and your brain feels like it is actually buzzing with the amount of items on your to-do list. (One of these items is to give the dog a flea bath, so that buzzing may in fact be fleas. Not sure.)
Because you’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about throwing together an outfit at 5:17AM when your toddler wakes you up asking for whipped cream.
That cute linen shirt that you bought three years ago and haven’t worn once because it’s Dry Clean Only?
Nope. Not in your capsule wardrobe.
Your trusty, really, really soft bathrobe that you like to wear around the house for the first eight hours of the day?
Yup. You bet your bippy that’s going in your capsule wardrobe.
Having a realistic stay-at-home mom winter capsule wardrobe will make getting dressed each morning a BREEZE.
Even if you haven’t slept in three years.
NEW ARTICLE ON HER VIEW FROM HOME
Naptime can be the best.
Finally having the chance to sit down with a nice cup of cold coffee and a pack of Oreos a bowl of quinoa and watch four episodes of Grey’s Anatomy in a row?
YES. Sign me up. I freakin’ love naptime.
But the actual getting-child-to-nap part?
The 1.5 hour struggle, the reading of Elmo’s Night Before Christmas 12 times in a row even though it’s nowhere near Christmas, the tears, sweat, and complete and utter frustration?
Let’s go into this in more detail, shall we?
Your days will be full of wondrous activities, such as:
-romping outside in the fresh snow every day
-building snowmen
-drinking hot chocolate
-reading books by the fire
-and cuddling under blankets together.
Ah, sweet winter bliss.
-spending 1.5 hours attempting to put on a single pair of gloves
-repeating the phrase, “Yes, you need a jacket; it’s minus fifteen outside!” until the words no longer hold meaning
-waking up at 6AM to your toddler asking, “Playground now?” Every. Single. Day.
-texting your partner to pick up pizza and a treat on the way home because your child is “in a mood” again
-and basically spending most of your time trapped in your home and relating FAR too much to Emma Donoghue’s novel, Room.
Surviving winter with a toddler is tough. But it can be done!
I’ll show you exactly how you can not only survive winter stuck indoors with your rambunctious toddler, but how you can THRIVE while doing so!
Here is the ultimate guide you NEED for surviving winter with your toddler!
They’re the words every blogger hates to hear: PINTEREST IS DOING AN UPDATE.
-A sudden huge drop in your site’s traffic
-Your usual pinning tactics no longer working
-General mania and mayhem in all of your social media blogging groups
-And a 300% increase in the amount of times you scream at the Pinterest section of your Google Analytics, “WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?!” while your partner slowly backs out of the room in fear.
While seemingly minor, a Pinterest update and change in algorithm can actually be a pretty big deal.
You see, many bloggers (myself included) receive the majority of their traffic from Pinterest.
So when the Pinterest algorithm changes and traffic takes a nosedive, it’s cause for concern. It’s like everything is slightly askew. Mercury is in retrograde. The world is off-kilter. Nothing feels right.
You know that weird sound you hear at night when Pinterest is in the middle of an update?
It’s not raccoons.
It’s the sound of mom bloggers around the world, creeping out of their homes and howling at the moon, begging forgiveness for whatever they’ve done to anger Mother Pinterest.
(I’m not speaking from personal experience, mind you. I mean, I’m out there howling at the moon nightly, yes, but for entirely different reasons.)
It’s time we learned some coping strategies for Pinterest updates.
After many, many hours of research and a close examination of Pinterest trends, I’ve forecasted five potential Pinterest updates that could likely happen in the future, and strategies we can use to save both our traffic AND our sanity.
(NOTE: These haven’t OFFICIALLY been implemented yet, but I think it’s a wise blogging strategy to anticipate trends and plan ahead.)
The time has come to plan your baby’s FIRST birthday party.
Can you even believe it?
Weren’t you JUST in labor? Didn’t you bring your little wrinkled bundle of joy home like three days ago? Wasn’t it just yesterday you were trying unsuccessfully to transfer your babe from a bassinet into the beautiful white crib you purchased but was ultimately never used except for storage of dirty laundry?
Man. Time flies, eh?
And now: it’s time to plan your baby’s first birthday party.
And you need something special for this occasion. Something REALLY special.
Disney? Nah.
Jungle? Meh.
Under the Sea? It’s been done.
No problem. I read you loud and clear.
That first year as a new mom is a completely life-altering experience.
Holding your baby for the first time.
Just living off of that sweet new baby scent.
Soft, quiet, blissed-out cuddles.
The first smile. That first laugh. The first word. (Seriously, “dog”? I CREATED YOU)
There is absolute joy beyond measure.
I mean, come ON. Just look at that face.
But man, if it isn’t also one of the toughest years of your life.
And maybe you’re in a phase right now where it’s more tears than smiles.
Where you’re ending each day feeling like a failure and also like you stress-ate an entire cake on the couch while Googling “whatever happened to the cast of Family Matters?” (Just an example, okay? Just an example.)
That it’s okay if you feel like you aren’t a natural at being a mother.
That it’s okay to want a break. To feel like you’re not strong enough. To count the hours until bed time. To not embrace every single moment, because holy cow, that’s a lot of moments.
For those of you currently in the trenches, let’s talk about the struggle.
Here are the seven biggest struggles that I faced as a new mom.
Welcome to OOTD with Mother Haggard!
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Ugh, these stylish, clean, and properly-fitting clothes are fine and all, but I just wish I looked more like a Mom Blogger”?
Of course you have. You’re human, after all.
Well, you’re in luck: this week we’re breaking down exactly what you need to style yourself like a Mom Blogger.
Are you ready? I sure hope so, because we’ve just gotten the kids into bed, the dishes washed, and the coffee prepped, so for the next three hours it’s PRIME MOM BLOGGING TIME.
Today’s Look: “Mom Blogger”
So, you’ve just signed up for Mom and Baby swim class.
And you’re excited!
You know it’s important to start the water education journey early, and that there are tons of benefits to baby swimming.
Okay, and yeah, maybe you’re mostly just pumped about your baby wearing that adorable bathing suit with the ruffle on the butt. (Slightly less pumped about your faded grey tankini that doesn’t quite fit your new mom bod, but it’s fine. Totally fine.)
But you’re also nervous: what exactly happens at these classes, anyway?
Let’s walk through the ten things that happen at your first Mom and Baby swim class.
(Warning: there’s way more singing than you think.)
Teething, man.
I thought I had a grip on it.
“Aw, honey—are your teeth bugging you? Here’s some frozen fruit and a hug.”
And then the molars started arriving.
Me: “Good morning, sweetheart! What should we do today?”
Toddler: *Screams* *Drools* *Chews on fingers*
