Monthly Archives: October 2018

Motherhood and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Posted on October 17, 2018     2 Comments

Today was a rough one. I woke up with a headache. I burnt my espresso. I’m fighting some killer cramps. I received some very sad news about a dear friend of mine. I’m all kinds of emotional. And my kids have needed me all day. Like really needed me… as in, demanded every single ounce […]

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Overated ‘Pinterest worthy’ crafting

Posted on October 5, 2018     Leave a Comment

“Kids! I have a surprise!”, I yell as my kids come running into the kitchen to find a table filled with paints, brushes, pumpkins, old t-shirts and a momma with a vision to construct some cute little painted pumpkin faces with her toddlers. 15 minutes later…. You know what I got?  A mess. You know […]

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Hi, I’m Kayla! I’m a mom of three sweet toddler tornadoes who have taught me that parenting is one great big oxymoron. My life is controlled chaos, full of contradicting elements, ideas, and thoughts! If you enjoy stories of real moments and raw parenting, then you’re in the right place! Thanks for stopping by!

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We live in a society filled with incredible diversity of people, personalities, interests, and ideas. Life would be boring if we were all the same. Let us remember… It is impossible to please everyone. You can live your life any way you please. The approval of others is not something you need to seek. You should celebrate your individuality without comparing yourself to others. You should express yourself without feeling the need to defend your thoughts. You should be proud of the unique person that you are. You are not in competition with anyone else. You are in charge of living your best life. So go do what makes you happy and let go of worrying how others might react. You do you. And let them do them. . . . #youdoyou #wordstoliveby #wednesdayinspiration #inspirationalquotes #letthemdothem #momssupportingmoms #motherhoodsimplified #momsofinsta #momsofinstagram #motherhoodinspired #quotesdaily #goodadvice #womensupportingwomen #acceptyourself #acceptanceofothers #realtalk #beconfident #bekind #believeit #momblogger #honestmom #stayathomemom #momssupportingmoms #motherhoodcommunity #momcommunity #unitedinmotherhood #liveyourlife #momtruth
Tonight, my inner 13 year old self was cringing as I watched my trio of toddlers remove all those coveted TY tags from my childhood beanie baby collection. Those stupid little animal shaped bags of beans were my babies before I had babies! I used to spend hours looking up the value of each animal while carefully covering their tags with special heart shaped protector sleeves. I once had all their names and information memorized and was certain that I was sitting on a gold mine, just like every other teenage girl who grew up in the nineties. But here we are... 18 years later and newsflash! They didn’t grow in value. Shocker, I know. They did take up a lot of space and they did travel from closet to attic to basement over the last two decades! Hey Marie Knodo, I’m ready to admit that these overpriced bags of beans definitely no longer bring me joy! In fact, the only thing they do bring me is the reminder that we shouldn’t always believe everything people say or write. The magazines were wrong. The collectors were wrong. We were totally wrong. Were you a beanie baby collector? Do you still have yours? If so, it’s time to get ‘em out! Pour yourself a glass of wine, take a deep breath, and let your kids cut off those stupid tags. Those beanie babies probably didn’t bring you millions but I am confident they will bring you some sweet feelings of nostalgia as you watch your own children play with some of your most coveted childhood possessions! . . . . . #beaniebabies #tytags #beaniebabycollection #nostalgia #childhoodmemories #childhoodmoments #letthembelittle #toddlerlife #lifewithkids #lifewithtoddlers #motherhoodlens #joysofmotherhood #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #momentsinmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #90sgirl #growingupinthe90s #mariekondo #momlife #momlifeisthebestlife #parenting #parenthood_moments #momlifeisthebest #momlifeisgood #stayathomemom #stayathomemomlife #sahm #sahmlife #feelingnostalgic
Presidents Day is a pretty tough one to teach to preschoolers. To be honest, I think I’m working hard enough just to get them to understand things like flushing the toilet and putting the caps back on markers... so I think it’s ok to save the subject of American history for a later date. With that said, we did talk a little today about being a leader and making good choices. We spoke of kindness and the importance of thinking of others. I asked my kids, “If you could be president for a day, what would you do?”. My eldest daughters response? “I would take care of the world”. . Alright, sweet girl. I think we’re done here... because today, I don’t think it needs to go any deeper than that. Sometimes, the simplicity of a child’s response is the best one given. ❤️ . . . . #stayathomemom #lifewithkids #presidentsday #momlife #happypresidentsday #teachinglessons #lifewithtoddlers #motherhood #motherhoodlens #stayathomemomlife #presidentsdayforpreschoolers #preschoollife #sahm #sahmlife #joysofmotherhood #motherhoodunplugged #childhoodunplugged #parenting #parenthood #motherhoodinspired #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodsimplified #childhoodsimplified #momtruth #honestmotherhood #momtruths #honestmothering #myhonestmotherhood #presidentsday2018
“If you give the kids some cookies...”. (Written by a ‘cool mom’ full of regrets) When you realize it’s national kindness week, you might surprise your kids with cookies for breakfast. And when your kids eat cookies for breakfast, they’ll probably tell you that you’re the coolest mom ever. And because you’re now the coolest mom ever, you’ll go ahead and let them have another cookie. And as they laugh and happily eat their cookies, their bodies will fill up with sugar. And because their bodies are filled with sugar, it should be no surprise when they turn into toddler tornadoes, refusing lunch and fighting nap. And when they refuse their lunch and fight their naps, you’ll become full of regrets for that poorly chosen random act of kindness. And because you’re wallowing in regrets and frustration, you’ll decide that there’s only one way to solve the problem. So you’ll solve the problem by hiding from your kids as you eat a few final cookies and then pack the rest up to send over to the neighbors in celebration of national kindness week. Happy national kindness week everyone! May you all make better choices than I did! 🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🙆🏽‍♀️ . . . #momfail #momfailmonday #parentingfail #parentingprobs #parentingproblems #parentingfails #momfails #honestmotherhood #honestmom #honestmommin #honestmommy #momtruths #momtruth #momminainteasy #nationalkindnessweek #randomactsofkindness #ifyougiveakidacookie #motherhoodintheraw #ig_motherhood #lifewithkids #lifewithtoddlers #toddlerlife #stayathomemom #stayathomemomlife #sahm #sahmlife #sahmproblems #stayathomemomproblems #motherhoodlens
Apparently yesterday was #nationalrandomactsofkindnessday so my daughters class is dedicating the week to celebrating kindness with different themes each day. They’ll focus on making a conscious effort to smile more(Mon.), shower friends with compliments (Tues.), brighten the room by wearing neon colors(Wed.), rock their favorite team gear to teach the importance of working together as a team (Thurs.), and end their week with getting comfy in sweatpants and ‘not sweating the small stuff’(Fri.). You know, I’m not sure how well known this ‘holiday’ is BUT I can definitely get on board with any reason to remind my children (and my self) that being happy, taking care of others, and spreading love is a simple and great way to start any day. This week, today, and any other day, let’s make a conscious effort to give a compliment, send a smile, do a favor, offer a hug, make a donation, send a card, pick a flower, give a surprise, bake a cookie, tell a story, hold the door, say hello… make a difference! It’s not about being big and fancy, extravagant or well thought out. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost a dime! Being kind simply means taking the time to make someone else’s day a little brighter and a little happier by saying, doing, or giving something from the heart. Kind is cool and kind people are my kind of people! Have a happy day, friends! #nationalkindnessweek #nationalkindnessday #bekind #spreadkindness #motherhoodlens #kindiscool #kindiscooleveryday #choosekindness #toddlersofinstagram #toddlersofinsta #bethegood #mylittlegirl #kindnessquotes #kindnessmatters #parenting #parenthood #motherhood #childhood #childhoodunplugged #brightensomeonesday #brightensomeonesdayeveryday #joysofmotherhood #joysofchildhood #momsofinstagram #momsofinsta
Anyone looking for a new idea to keep the kiddos busy throughout these colder winter months? I’ve got one for you! Tonight, the kids and I transformed our living room into a full indoor waterpark! Everyone changed into their swimgear- complete with floaties, kick boards, swim goggles, sun hats, and giant summer beach towels. We created a ‘pool of water’ by spreading blue blankets across the floor and then rearranged the couch cushions to resemble a pretend diving board and water slide. Yes, this was one of the few times I actually gave the kids full reign to jump off our furniture and as you can imagine, they loved every minute of it! They dived. They swam. They slid. With the help of YouTube, we even had a beach backdrop with sounds of birds chirping and waves rolling. The kids had a blast ‘soaking up the sun’ while I enjoyed sitting back as the ‘official lifeguard’- taking pictures, recording videos, and soaking up the views of these sweet simple moments filled with imaginative play and happy kids! It was a fun night guys! Check out my stories to see more! ☀️💦 . . . . . #funforkids #motherhoodlens #activitiesforkids #winterplayideas #playideas #playideasforkids #lifewithkids #lifewithtoddlers #childhoodunplugged #childhoodmemories #childhoodsimplified #momlife #momlifeisthebestlife #stayathomemom #stayathomemomlife #pretendplay #imaginativeplay #playtime #weekendvibes #sundayfunday #toddlerplay #kidsplay #letthembelittle #motherhood #wherelearningmeetsplay #earlyyears #embracethemess #toddlermom #toddlermomlife #momentsinmotherhood