My name is Corrie, I am momma to two, baby J and little A. They’ve inspired me to find my true self, & along this ‘self awakening’ of sorts I have found joy in this blog!
Sharing motherhood with other moms from all over, feeling like I have a place where I can connect and be able to share things I’ve learned along the way.
Motherhood can be lonely and with anxiety like I have, it becomes even more so. I hope that I can take away some of the worry from other momma’s, by connecting and listening! I can be an ear for any mom that just needs a break today.
If this sounds like it suits you, whether you’re a parent or not, please give me a follow! Read my posts and comment I enjoy feedback!
How many of y’all were able to complete challenge one? Getting out of the house!
Now it’s time for,
Challenge Number TWO!!
This is all about getting out there in the blog/social media world 🌍‼️
One important lesson I’ve learned so far with my blog is, that it’s super important to get out there and “promote” if you will… your posts.
It’s good to connect with other bloggers.
Just like a group of friends at home. Like-minded people typically stick together and can thrive with one another.
It helps to have support with a new blog. Commenting on each other’s posts, following each other, learning and taking tips from one another.
So go follow 5 new friends!!
Super simple and can make a big difference!
Once you start following, you might find it hard to stop… extra points for a comment 😉
So go on!
Follow 5 new bloggers
If you’re not doing this challenge with your blog, you can get on Instagram and follow new friends/profiles close to what your niche is. Like 5 Facebook pages , or 5 new Pinterest boards.
Whatever it is, it’s challenge number two time.
Comment one person you followed and I will follow both of you!
Follow my page for more challenges to come! Like what you see? Check out my Pinterest.
Really it’s Saturday I know guys, I fell asleep before I could post this. I just couldn’t change it anymore, I’m sorry #momfail
Is this you right now…
You haven’t left the house in a couple days. {recreationally anyway, kids and their needing picked up from things…geesh}
You’ve forced yourself to do JUST the necessities {My thoughts...J & A could care-less about what momma looks like}
You’re certain it’ll be a whole ‘nother season before you make it out with actual adults {those exist?}
our family doesn’t budget outings much, especially in the winter. {wait what’s a budget?}
IF this sounds like you, then I have the CHALLENGE for you.
Anxiety Mom Challenge
Pin this for later! Stay tuned for more challenges.
Challenge One- Leave the house!
“Bonus points if it’s free or with another Parent.”
We moved to where Marc is from…I am from the next state over. I’ve been many of times, somehow I still end up lost. AKA a brand new route to where I am headed.
Which has forced me to really get out there. On top of, picking A up from her first year of school, standing in line with other parents, and, little A making friends. My anxiety ridden, extroverted, but introverted self, sort-of freaked out!
Little A and I were invited to go to the Public library one day after school. The sweetest little one invited her, and of course we couldn’t say no. Baby J, A, and I headed there and it was awesome!
They had a pretend grocery store set-up, they had LOTS of other activities, and they even had a sectioned off area for just baby J’s age.
ALL FOR FREE.
Time to get out there momma!
What are we gonna do? GET OUT OF THE HOUSE AND DO SOMETHING When are we gonna do it?
NOW… or sometime SOON!
If you do please tag me in your post!
Or comment what you did! Like this challenge? Comment if you do please.
Last night at around 11 J woke up crying, I was having such a hard time getting him settled.
I’m trying not to breastfeed as often, as we are “weaning” breastfeeding. {I put quotes because I don’t think it’s happening any time soon, slow weaning here!}
I didn’t want to put him in to bed as this momma wants more of her nights back.
So here I am… a little quick sanned.
At almost 13 months, J has NEVER slept through the night.
Wow that hurt a little to type, that after all my hard- work, at trying to do right at every little thing.I have failed him at one really big thing.
Falling asleep on his own
11:11 I asked for help at wits end, I thanked the angels for their guidance until this far and I begged that my focus be put on J and his sleeping habits.
The rest of the night wasn’t any better but, this morning I found AMotherFarFromHome.com
I found her post about the tried and true sleeping method.
It felt like something shifted, He took one nap around 2 hours or so.
It was fantastic! It felt like I was being encouraged to put my focus on this.
Day 2, J needed a morning nap, he just couldn’t make it any longer let alone an hour or more like it would need to be. He only napped for 45 minutes in the morning and around an hour or so in the afternoon.
Update on night 2, J has been asleep for THREE hours on his own. Can we say win?? I am feeling confident in this you guys.
What are your sleeping tips for me?
Any of y’all have a kiddo like baby J? If so, I am sure you can relate!
Liked my post? Comment your littles one’s first birthday theme. I really want to do a post about birthdays!
The last holiday or birthday was more then three days ago.
So you’re looking for something to do with the kids. You come across some ideas… but, you don’t have the right supplies. Or the prep time is far to long. Whatever the case, if that’s you…
I have something!
Unless you don’t have 5 dice… then I’m sorry… I’ve failed you 😐
I wasn’t even looking for something to do, it just popped up on my feed. Like it wanted us to play…
It’s called “drop dead dice game”!! Pause, it’s kid friendly, don’t worry! It was a learning game AND it was super fun! Which in my book… is kinda like winning the lottery.
It can be played with 5 or 10 dice 🎲 for 2 players, if you use 5 you’ll have to share. You could play with more but I would stick to 5 dice.
• You’ll need something to keep score on and write with.
That’s it!!! Seriously I can’t make this up.
You play until all of your dice are gone, you start with five dice,
•Roll 1- if you
A. Roll a 5 or 2 take those out and roll again. Don’t add any numbers yet.
B. If there are NO 5 or 2’s you add up all the numbers on the dice. Roll again with ALL dice.
Which is PERFECT for our little beginner math kiddos. A counted the dots and told me what she had.
You get so excited when you’re playing this sometimes you forget the rules 😂
You’re frustrated, baby won’t latch, you feel like you haven’t gotten a minute to yourself in weeks.
You’re overly exhausted, and baby needs more food… all night long you feed..your boobs are filled with milk or maybe not filled enough.. nipples hurt ahhh!
How will you keep going on like this? Will you ever shower again…
the answer is yes! You can do it momma, and if you’ve tried it all and can’t, don’t feel obligated to. Fed is best! You’re doing great.
I was terrified to breastfeed
It was always my plan to breastfeed baby J, so even when it got REALLY difficult… and let me tell you, sometimes it was really hard. I tried my best to stick it out. I was lucky enough to only have problems for the first few months.
It will get better!!!
It’s true, I don’t know how long…
but it will get better. I kept seeing this everywhere when I was looking for advice and to be honest I don’t really know if it helped or not. I think it can never hurt to try. So many times when J wouldn’t stop crying or when he couldn’t latch correctly I thought-this will never get any easier.
“Don’t cry over spilled milk.” Or do, if it’s breast milk.
{ I know you can relate}
There might be roadblocks
When J was born he was 7lbs 6oz which was way bigger than any of us thought he’d be! In the hospital I felt confident about our feeding, I really recommend to use the lactation consultants!! Their amazing, and so helpful. I was somewhat sure I had breastfeeding figured out. But once I got home, that wasn’t the case. J was dropping weight, even a couple weeks after birth.
We then were put on a STRICT schedule of waking him to feed every 2 hours (pumping after that) and feeding the bottle. He did gain weight this way and it really helped with getting feeding down! We also visited a Lactation Consultant again (She said J was actually feeding well, it worked as a good brush up & confidence boost)
After all though, it did in fact, get easier! Now baby J is One and it’s not even something we think twice about. He can very easily latch on his own, and my milk supply is very evened out, it’s just a normal part of every day. Seriously he could latch onto my breast upside down (yes he’s tried)
Take the help
Did you hear me?… Take the help!
Don’t forget that as a momma, you need to give yourself the time of day. Brush your teeth and hair, eat a meal (hey eat 2 meals), and accept whatever help you are offered. If you’re offered a shower so that you’re swollen boobs can relax, T A K E I T.
So many times, Marc would feed me ice cream or dinner just so that I could continue to breastfeed J. {lucky gal=me} It really meant a lot to me to have a good group of people around me. Between my family and Marc’s I’ve had a lot of help around.
For the longest time I wouldn’t accept help from anyone else besides Marc, and I was so exhausted. Not always was someone around of course, but when you’re exhausted and worn out; Even a pee alone can help. So if someone is offering to help… T A K E I T.
Do Your Research
I’m a pinterest and google queen, need a deal let me check Amazon really quick for you.
This isn’t necessary for everyone, it might even fit into the ‘ask for help’ section. However, I LOVE to do my research on things that influence my life. I’m an “overachiever” in that way I guess.
On the same token there is only so much you can do before actually having your baby and breastfeeding. Try to breathe Momma you’re doing great, if there are dads reading this… just do your best to listen and help where you can & GET SNACKS HURRY.
One thing I’d really recommend is, Lanolin Cream the hospital actually provided this to me and it was amazing! You can put it on before and after breastfeeding so it’s totally safe for baby (HUGE plus on my Parent Points scale…)
Helps with the rawness, especially if there is trouble with latching. J in the beginning had a hard time staying latched (he would get super sleepy).
I earn a small commission for purchases made though all amazon links on this post. Click on the photo for product details!
J’s Favorite Books
So Big!
Baby J has been looking at So Big! since he was four months old. He loves the ‘surprise’ pop- up of Elmo at the end. It has really helped with his first set of words. Like Ma-Ma and Da-Da. He loves to throw his hands up for “So Big“. I recommend this one, by far one of my favorites! Parent Points score- 5/5!!
Baby Einstein Neptune’s Friends Book, Box and Plush.
J got this for Christmas, Neptune is the name of this cute little guy. The book that comes along with it, has a sound for each friend you meet along the way. It’s very “baby Einstein” Esque. It has just a few pages which can be on either end of the pro’s and con’s. Baby J does interact when I am reading this to him. Thumbs UP, Parent Points score- 4/5
Find the Teddy
Find the Teddy is also a duplicate from the 30 day blog challenge. However, Baby J didn’t like it near as much then as he does now at a year + old. He is beginning to point to the teddy in the book . Which is so exciting, I was wondering how long this book would stay! It ends with goodnight which is perfect for our long book reading bedtime routine. Parent Points score 4/5 (I recommend ages 7 months and up) “$ Looks like it’s a GREAT price right now!!”
Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?
This was Little A’s favorite when she was younger. It’s a super easy book to catch on to what is coming next. Now baby J is learning to appreciate it too! It works perfect for little ones like J or even those beginning to read like A. When she[A] first started learning, the images and the repetitiveness of this book really did wonders. On the same token if you are annoyed by the same song and dance just different music, this might be one for kids room only. CLASSIC Parent Points Score 4/5
I really enjoy reading with the kids. We spent a lot of Winter Break reading books that the kiddos got for Christmas. Little A has just gotten into reading on her own, sometimes with a little help from me. I am waiting to post her list until it’s more finalized, have you tried getting a “final answer” from a six year old? Yeah it’s not easy guys!
What books are your little ones into? I would love to hear more recommendations! Do you like the Parent Points score? Let me know in the comments.
Are you running out of Elf on the Shelf ideas already?
It’s basically bound to happen
There are 25 days to fill if you start on December 1st, and even more if you start shortly after Thanksgiving.
That’s why I am here! To scour Pinterest for the BEST Elf on the Shelf Ideas.
In today’s post I give you my favorites, of the two sites I am sharing with you guys today. They have Easy and Creative Elf on the Shelf ideas for my fellow parents out there. Please Follow their blogs as they are all credits to them. Happy Holidays!
31 Day Blog Challenge?
I am so b e y o n d o v e r it…
It’s the holidays and I am just over trying to complete it!! If there were any days that you guys REALLY wanted to hear, I will absolutely answer!
As parents I feel like we’re always searching for other ways to get our kids to listen. I don’t know what is so different about when I was little to now,-but kids seem to have a harder time just doing what they are supposed to do.
Which I think is why Elf on the shelf was created. It gives children an extra incentive to do better at home.
I have never done it for Little A, Baby J is still young of course, but I am watching my niece do it this year and it looks SO fun. I love coming up with different ideas on where to put the elf.
Until I feel like your four days in… and then you’ve run out of ideas and still many days to go! Since I am taking a hiatus on the 31 Day Blog Challenge, I’ve decided to post a few different sites each day with Elf on the Shelf Ideas!
Holidays are the best! Such a bright time, so easy to find affordable and free events around town. With lighting ceremonies and holiday concerts, so cheery.
At almost 13 months, J has NEVER slept through the night. 
