whole parenting family

Summer Postpartum Fashion Favs

May 17, 2017

Summertime and the living is . . . still a wee chilly up here in Minnesota. I mean, we’re no Christy or anything but it hasn’t burst into full on oven-door-open living. I put on my new jeans and the white linen shirt the other night. I wanted to feel like a human being, not a milk-making mama bear. It wasn’t forty minutes in to this novel experience that the baby directed an enormous poop right at the shirt, the toddler spilled his dinner plate on the jeans, and my earrings (yes, I PUT ON EARRINGS) got caught on my mom-bun and yanked ever so staunchly on those tiny fly-away hairs that are evidence of re-growth and postpartum hair biz. Right back into the bathrobe I zoomed. Linen It’s breathable and lightweight, but more forgiving in its flowing than a knit cotton. I gathered a bunch off off the inter web and then kept nearly all of them! The buttons make the shirt, as far as I’m concerned. Thank you for a little wooden button, designers! White one & pink one & butterfly one (for my sister) & brown one. All three of mine have been put in the dryer on accident and made it out relatively unscathed! Stretchy jeans Oh, as I confessed, I haven’t packed away my maternity jeans just yet (she’s a mere 5 months!) but that was, in large part, because I only have one pair and my non-maternity jeans were either too high waisted (not really ready to dive back…

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Being Affirmed as Mothers

April 30, 2017

Are you also an affirmation person? I need that verbal pat on the back–well–ask my husband–maybe often? But more keenly, as a mother, I’ve wanted to have external validation that I’m doing it all correctly. I’m doing it all right. I’m making the best choices I can for our kids and for my health. I want it from my doctors and care providers. I want it from my own mother. I want to hear it from my community. My sense of validation starts to pull apart, seam by seam, as I grow deeper into my role as a mother. The time I felt worse and worse postpartum but had multiple care providers tell me I was fine, and it turned out my uterus was infected (a rare condition!) and I needed to be admitted to the hospital right away for IV anti-biotics. The time I felt judged as a wannabe homeschool mother when we knew, just knew, that school was best for our oldest. The time I knew that I had to step back and let my husband parent or it would kill our marriage. You see where the grounding erodes away? Where the hems are pulled apart? When my validation for decisions came from O U T S I D E of me. When I was counting on those around me to make me feel affirmed. Affirmation from within would make a difference. What kind of questions could I ask myself, inform myself on, pray for grace & guidance on? How could I find…

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Is There Room for You?

March 27, 2017

I had the distinct privilege of being asked to speak at the Catholic Women’s Blogging Network // Twin Cities this past weekend. My talk was on branding and social media and monetizing. But the true kernel of my talk answered this question: is there room for you? Another blogger? Another creative? Another woman looking to be known and to feel connected? The answer was and is always; yes. Yes, there’s room at the cool kids’ table for another blogger or maker. Yes, the whole blogging world should feel like the cool kids’ table. Those distinctions aren’t found in our network. We are all cool. We all have something distinct to offer. There is audience enough for all our voices. This doesn’t mean we don’t need to hone our craft! Room for improvement abounds over here on this lil blog of mine. It’s humbling to look around at how much better and smarter many of my blogging sisters are hustling. It’s a good kind of humbling because it inspires me to put more energies here. But when women who attended the conference asked if the world really needed their voice? Yes. The answer is always yes. Yes because I want to learn from them. I want to hear their peaks and valleys on this life journey. I want to be a reflection of God’s love for them. We do this sharing online thing for lots of reasons. Sometimes I share because I am insecure about my experience and hasten to find…

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SweetCheeks Birth Story

January 10, 2017

Our fourth babe made an appearance a few days before Christmas, just in time for me to be able to enjoy Christmas pies without throwing up! She’s already my favorite! TLDR: She was big! She was stuck! She and I suffered some injuries that physical therapy and time will heal! She is obsessively loved by her older siblings! And she’s a total sweetie snuggler. I love birth stories. Grace has a whole link up! I love reading about how my friends’ (and strangers’!) children come into their families after growing in their wombs or hearts. I love the scary parts that end in a happy way. I hate the sad parts that end sadly. But mostly I just love this time-old tradition of sharing the miracle of meeting that new baby in our lives. SuperBoy’s birth story is here, SweetPea’s here, and MonsterTot is here. Gosh, am I really going to call him that on the blog? He’s not truly a monster. Maybe we’ll call him SecondSon? I digress. I had prodromal labor for about a week before having our little SweetCheeks. That means I thought I was really in labor, we watched the contractions get stronger and closer together, and we headed in to the hospital. It also means after a number of hours there and I never dilated, we were sent home with well-wishes and assurances that yes, she would arrive someday, but that day was not today. The contractions went on and on for hours on end. They…

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My Under $20 Gift Guide

December 16, 2016

Don’t panic. Do not panic that Christmas is within spitting distance. I have to admit (in anticipation of early ((hopeful, I know)) labor) I did all my Christmas shopping a few weeks back, wrapped it all up, and barely remember what I actually bought. Then I remembered and was so delighted! We’re doing a minimalist Christmas for the kids (thank God they can’t read the blog . . . yet) so I wanted to share my finds with you so you can see how Grinchy I am  get inspiration. YOXO PBS Build It Kit for everyone. My friend Jeff runs this amazing toy company and shopping small is so important at the holidays! Check out his newest partnership with PBS Kids! And use the code “wholeparenting” for 25% off the whole site!! My kids love his stuff and the fact that it can become many things means it lasts so much longer as a toy of interest. Dog-Opoly for all of us. Life changing. Laura’s kids introduced us and I don’t know if my kids will every go back. Dog-opoly is hilarious. Gel glide crayons for all of them. We can never, ever have enough coloring utensils around here. People crush them, eat them, peel them, lose them, fight over them. This was a nice big pack. Baby Organic footie pj.  For if LittleLady every decides to be born. She gets something, too! MonsterTot (2.5) Massive Excavator. Usually I’d just hit up Goodwill and see what toys they had around for even cheaper,…

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my favorite photo art for the house {britt fisk photography giveaway!}

June 20, 2016

Britt and I met two years ago–TWO years already!–and she’s been one of my favorite e-friends ever since. She and her husband and littles live & work on her ancestral ranch in New Mexico. Aren’t you already following her on instagram? And her blog? Her eye for photography is par none and I’ve so loved experiencing the joy that her work brings to those I’ve gifted it to–my dad for one and my daughter for the other. Then she sent this print and I about died. Britt offers in life photography services for people in the lovely state of New Mexico, but the rest of us get to experience her lens through her shop! Shop with your 15% off discount “WHOLEPARENTING” through the end of July right here AND scroll down to comment and maybe win a 5×7 print of your choice. Don’t we all feel nostalgic twangs with sunsets and horizons? Maybe just me. Her smaller prints come backed on sturdy foam board that make for perfect mounting or framing. I can’t decide where I want my sunset yet. I just know I want it to be in our bedroom (which was finished and tidy and then, well, life). The mantle is a work in progress–and this little tin box holds all the love letters my sweet love wrote me while we were engaged and separated for a year–he wrote almost every day! And two special bottles of wine for us surrounded by two fav icons we found thrifting.…

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