Well, here I am. Almost a year and a half into raising three little ones.

I figured since my friend + go-to photographer, Felise, came over and captured us baking in my kitchen, that it was a good time to give a life update and share some motherhood thoughts that have been on my mind a lot lately!!!…

Sometimes I look back on this last year and it seems like a blur. Motherhood has been a mix of just trying to get through the day, but then also not wanting to blink and let it pass by too quick. That pretty much sums it up for me! Now that George is walking, I finally feel like I have a lot of children under my roof!!! When he would just sleep in my carrier last year, it was easier to carry him around with me to the park and everywhere. Now, things are a bit more crazy because he is so mobile. There are moments they are all screaming and I don’t think I can do it, and then there are peaceful moments that make me love everything about my life. Isn’t it funny how motherhood and life is.

Lately I’ve also been hyper aware of the pressures mothers are facing in society and feel the need to address it and share some mindset tips I have been telling myself over the last several years raising young children and feeling a lot of pressure to be a certain way or do things a certain way.

It’s now also been over a year since I left the corporate world, leaving the law firm life, and took a leap to be home more and have more time to advocate with Beautycounter (and honestly feel like I got my life back). It’s opened my eyes to what my life used to look like versus what it looks like now. Opening my eyes to the reality that our jobs CAN be whatever we want them to be, not what we think it “should” be.

I think a lot about what working mothers go through on a daily basis, and how hard it can truly be to be everywhere at once and feel like you’re doing anything right. When I couldn’t keep up I wondered how everyone else was able to do it, but I couldn’t. And now more than ever, I’ve really have seen how society needs to get up with the times and make work more compatible for mothers. (this is all not to say stay-at-home-moms don’t go through a lot, too!! Being home more I definitely have had a taste of the work it truly takes to be a SAHM, by the end of the day I am so tired!!!) Basically, the societal pressures for ALL mothers are very, very, very real. And mom-guilt is more real than ever. The feeling of not doing it right or being enough. And I have conversations with so many of you about this topic. A topic no one really understands unless they go through it.

So in this post I want to share with you all some advice I tell myself on a regular basis over the last 4 years and what I talk to a lot of new moms about. I truly feel like I am developing confidence in being happy with where my life is right now, and not caring as much about how everyone else does life. None of our lives look the same and that is what is beautiful about it.

MY MOTHERHOOD THOUGHTS:

• Do what makes YOU happy. Not what you think should make you happy.

• Do what is right for YOUR family. We all do things different, and do what works for you.

• Embrace the imperfect.

• Do not compare yourself to anyone else. Most of the things you see on social media are not reality and are usually staged.

• Be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace. Life is so hard because there are so many pressures around us, coming at us from all directions.

• Follow your heart. Sometimes I find I am too emotional and I literally make everything an emotional decision… but seriously, follow your heart.

• Money does not buy happiness.

• STOP CARING ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT THINK!

I still find myself feeling guilty or comparing myself to someone else’s life. But I do try and remember that we are all so different and what works for me will be different than someone else. That is the beautiful thing about life! And I do think it’s important that we share that mindset with our children. Everyone is different! Every life is different. And every life is beautiful.

Now, below are some photos of my children because they are my entire world right now and my motivation behind everything I do…

Thanks for being here!!!

xo,

Anna