In the days and weeks after your new baby is born, it's so important to focus on yourself and your postpartum recovery. Find eight ideas for postpartum self care for the natural mama! You've made it through labor and delivery and are snuggling your sweet babe. But, you feel like you've been hit by a truck! You're exhausted, you're sore in places you didn't know could be sore, and you find yourself crying and have no idea why. I've been there too. I'm now eight weeks postpartum and want to … [Read more...]
10 Healthy Pregnancy Items I Can’t Live Without!
It's still a little hard for me to believe, except for my hugely bulging belly, but I'm 31 weeks pregnant and in the final countdown to sweet baby boy's arrival! If there's one thing I've learned through this fourth and surprise pregnancy, it's that you can never be fully prepared for all of the side-effects and symptoms of pregnancy that you will experience. As you strive to have the healthiest pregnancy that you can, some of your symptoms will be the same as previous … [Read more...]
25 Inspiring Date Night Questions (Written by my Husband!)
Ready for date night? Inspire conversation and have fun with these 25 date night questions, written by a husband, they're perfect for married couples! My husband and I went on a date night a few weeks ago, and he brought out this list of questions he had put together to inspire our conversation. I thought it was one of the sweetest and most romantic things he could have done to make our date an intentional and fun time. We took turns randomly picking a number between one and … [Read more...]
A Summer Self Care Plan for Moms
Prepare yourself with a summer self care plan! Take steps to fill up your cup and enjoy your days with your kids this summer! My kids are done with school in just over a week, and I know some school's summer breaks have started already! While I'm definitely looking forward to sleeping in and lazy mornings, not having to wake my kids up every morning and get them out the door, I also realize it's going to be an adjustment for all of us to be home together all day. Every day. So, I've … [Read more...]
14 Inspiring Green Living Books to Read!
Looking for great information and inspiration for going green? Check out these 14 Inspiring Green Living Books to Read! Reading is one of my very favorite pastimes. I love to get lost in the characters of a novel, or explore new topics and learn new things from non-fiction books. Lately, most of my reading is done in the form of listening to audiobooks on Audible, but I also love discovering new books at the library and reading on my Kindle too. When I was just starting out on my green … [Read more...]
5 Strategies for Coping with a Surprise Pregnancy
Unexpectedly expecting a baby? You can take care of yourself and process your feelings using these strategies for coping with a surprise pregnancy. I don't know about you, but I am not really a happy pregnant person. When I found out in early December that I was unexpectedly expecting our fourth child I wasn't super thrilled about it, because me and pregnancy just don't mix very well. And while sometimes I just want to curl up on the couch and have a nine month long pity party, I know … [Read more...]
Simple Changes Can Lead to a Greener, Happier Life
From the beginning of my green and natural living journey, I have always believed that making small changes to my lifestyle would have a big impact on my home and family, and also on the world around me. And that those small changes would add up to greater overall lifestyle change over time. Then, the small steps I took would add together with the small steps I was encouraging other people and families to take, and together we could change the world. While that might seem like a lofty goal, I … [Read more...]
12 Ways to Make Your Day Better When You’re Feeling Down
Do you ever have one of those days when you just want to sit on the couch and watch Parenthood all day? (If you do, make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy!) Or sit on social media and read articles, look at pictures, discover beautiful things on Pinterest, and waste your day watching other people live their lives? Or maybe you have those days where you just feel blah and unmotivated. It's February in Indiana and the sun is not shining much these days. It's really easy for me to get into a … [Read more...]
On Marriage as Mutual Submission
After my post last fall about the lessons we've learned in 12 years of marriage, a reader asked if I would expand on my thoughts about being equal partners in marriage. I must admit that I am a little nervous about this post, because I realize people on both sides of the issue hold strong ideas and opinions. And I don't pretend to be an expert or have all of the answers. No two marriages are the same and there is no one perfect formula for a happy and fulfilling marriage. However, I truly … [Read more...]
When You’re Not Thrilled About Being Pregnant
Two lines. Two lines. What in the world?! How is that possible? No. That can’t be right. I’m pregnant? Two lines. I’m pregnant???! I can’t. believe. I’m. pregnant. These were the thoughts running through my mind as I took a pregnancy test at the beginning of December and it came back obviously positive, within seconds. No waiting 3 minutes for that thin blue line to appear. It was there as soon as the liquid moved across the test strip. This was completely unexpected. A … [Read more...]
