When I was in my early twenties enjoying college life back in the Midwest, I would’ve laughed in your face if you told me I would be living in Japan as a stay-at-home mom living a military life. I had big dreams of scaling my nursing career ladder, breaking the glass ceiling, and being a strong independent woman like nobody’s [...]
What It’s Really Like to Live as a Military Family Stationed Overseas
When the opportunity for Japan came up, my husband and I volunteered to move there. Really we did. People are always surprised to hear that. “Oh, Japan. Really?” “Yes, really!” We saw Japan as an amazing opportunity to gain life experience, learn another culture, and do something we never did before. Of course, we would miss our [...]
Military PCS Moves: Building a Strong Community After Moving
As a military wife and mom living overseas to Japan, I am very familiar with starting over following a military PCS move. With each military move comes an opportunity to build new friendships and community. It may feel incredibly daunting and scary sometimes, thinking about moving far from friends and family, with whom you've worked hard [...]
3 Important Goals to Consider Before Baby Sleep Training
Sometimes baby sleep training gets a bad rap. There are countless misconceptions about what baby sleep training really involves, and readers frequently are ask questions about first steps to take and overall sleep goals for baby. I relate so much to that feeling... How do you know which baby sleep tips are best for healthy sleep [...]
9 Phrases That Change Life With a Toddler
I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I could still hear my kids screaming through the bathroom door, as my face fell into the palms of my hands. It was the toddler day from you know where. I wanted to say and do some really mean things to my kids. I reached my limit. Do good moms even say things like that? I told myself [...]
Toddler Anxiety: 3 Strategies That Really Work
Recently there was an opportunity for me to join a local women’s group. I was beyond excited since several times a month I would get to gain fellowship with other women, nurture my often neglected self, and there would be childcare provided for my son. A win-win! There was an added benefit here: My son would have to opportunity to [...]
The Key to Creating a Successful Stay-at-Home Mom Schedule
So excited to have my friend Katelyn from What's Up Fagans? sharing her wisdom with all of us today! When you have multiple young children at home, a good stay at home schedule is pretty important, at least if you want to have order and not lose your sanity. This schedule will look different for every family, and every situation, but I [...]
Sit Down and Shut Up. You’re Just a Whiny Dependa!
A few weeks ago I published a post called The Real Reason Being a Military Wife is So Hard, and while the responses were overwhelmingly positive, there were several responses showcasing the self-destructive military spouse wars occurring in the community. Written months prior to publishing, I wrote it sitting on my couch alone in a [...]
Mommy to be? Best New Mom Survival Tips
If hang around this blog long enough, you will start to notice that that I had a heck of a time figuring out the right baby sleep tips to follow after my son was born. As a mommy to be, I read all the books and did all the right things, and yet my son had a grand plan of his own. It wasn’t my journey into the world; it was his, and I was [...]
Best Gifts for New Moms: A Guide to the Perfect Registry
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine. Becoming a mom for the first time is incredibly scary and exciting all at the same time, but it’s hard to know what exactly to put into a baby registry. What are the best gifts for new moms anyway? Do you need all the fancy gadgets or just the minimal [...]