life

DRESS (true to size and on sale! More colors HERE) | TEE | SANDALS (size up 1/2) | NECKLACE | BAG | SOPHIE’S BOW | SAM’S SHOES

TEE | SHORTS | SHOES | BACKPACK | LETTERBOARD

Well, just like that, mister Sam Sam has begun pre-k 4! He went to the summer program, so really there wasn’t a big break between summer school and the new school year (one week to be exact). And for him, this was perfect! He was READY to go back at the end of that week. ;) So were we. Since his school is also his ABA therapy, his growth and progress depends on the consistency that comes with school! Thankfully, his same aids (ABA therapists that are in the class with him and support him throughout his school day, help him stay on task, guide him in projects, set up peer play, etc) are with him again this year, so he has that familiarity. And his first week has been so great! No accidents at school (YAY!) and he’s really taking the changes so well! I couldn’t be prouder. :) He has a new classroom and new teachers, but he’s at the same (awesome!) school and he’s the same sweet boy. Except, not the same.

I look back at where he was last year on this date- on his very first day of school. And I’m in absolute awe of the strides he has made in just one year. He has grown immensely- we all have. One year ago, he wouldn’t sit still in circle time, he couldn’t attend chapel at school (too noisy and too many kids was overwhelming for him), he didn’t follow directions well, he wasn’t saying any words at all. And now. He LOVES circle time and actually participates, he goes to chapel every week and isn’t bothered by the noise, he follows directions and listens so well, he plays with his peers, and he’s beginning to talk!!! It literally brings me to tears when I stop and see how far we’ve come! And there’s so much more to go- his future is so bright! I can’t even tell you how excited I am for this new school year and to see my boy learn, grow, thrive and keep moving those mountains!

TANK (tts) | CARDIGAN (tts) | SHORTS (tts) | SUNGLASSES | LEOPARD MULES (size up 1/2)

Besides the first day of school, this week has consisted of LOTS of coffee ;) and organizing our lives. Something about a new start that just makes me want to get everything in order and bust out all of my colored pens (just got these and LOVE them!), calendars, planners (this one’s my favorite and is just $25!), notepads, highlighters, the WORKS. haha who else is with me?! I just cannot live by a digital planner- sorry, Google planner, I have to have a tangible planner with paper and pens, or I go crazy.

I digress. Have a great weekend, friends!! I hope it’s super fun! We don’t have many plans, and I’m pretty excited about it! #introvertedextrovert

xo

We have family photos coming up in November, and of course I am already planning for them (I mean, duh, right). But this got me thinking, oh crap. I need some tips to make them go as smoothly as humanly possible. From my personal experience (two toddlers, one who is on the spectrum, one who is 2.5 ;) lol) I do have some things I’ve learned about getting great photos with some extremely uncooperative subjects. ;) But I also asked for other’s advice on my Instagram and got some really great replies that I’ll share here as well! Because we can alllll learn from each other, and isn’t that what the internet is for, anyway? :)

My Tips:
– BRIBES. Bring on the snacks on snacks on snacks. The lollipops for smiles, the special treats (fruit snacks are good because they don’t melt!)
– Be natural. Go with the flow. If sh*t hits the fan, laugh it off! I always say, SMILE through the chaos!!! Meltdowns are part of our story right now, so if that’s what happens, it’s fine. I’ll embrace it and chalk it up to this being our lives right now, ha!
– Get some photos of just you and your hubby. Pretend you’re doing engagement photos again and get romantical with your man. Before them, it was just you, and I think it’s sweet to remember that and capture some moments just you two. :)
– Let the kids be kids!!! And do what you can to get the smiles out. Tickles usually are surefire ways to do that over here!

Okay, now for the amazing tips for family photos from other real moms and women, who know a thing or two about photoshoots with the family…

We did family photos during naptime…started out HORRIBLY!! But we spent some time playing and not focusing on pictures…the photographer just followed along and we got the BEST pictures out of it!! Not originally what I wanted going into it, but maybe even better. So advice…don’t have major expectations…just go into it and hope for the best!!

Oooh girl, we did this with a 6 yo and a set of year old twins and I walked away thinking they turned out horribly but they were sooo good! I’d recommend lots of snacks, that’s what got us through. And some of the babies favorite toys. Good luck!!!

Don’t focus on it being a photo shoot, run around with them, pick them up, tickle them, tell them you are going to explore whatever area you are taking pics in, and if all else fails bribe them with treats 😂😂

“Try not to stress because the kids will feed off that stress”

I’m a photographer! Bring candy, lollipops (I know I know, before bed but trust me haha!!) bring music (favorite movie sound track) and have fun! The best family photos are candid. Don’t worry If your kids are freaking out or crying. It happens every single session and your photographer will know how to work with it! Swing them. Throw them in the air. Spin them around. Tickle them. Just keep the fun and worry less about posing. Good luck!!!!!! Try to be outside already before the photoshoot starts so they aren’t melting down on the way to the shoot but are used to already being outside!

Take gummies or something they like for bribery. You and your husband focus on the camera and just smile! Let the photographer deal with the kids. I also tell the photographer to have fast fingers and move it along quickly. I have 2 difficult boys and our last family photoshoot was literally 15 mins opposed to the hour it was supposed to be. Photos were some of the best we’ve taken!

I usually do golden hour (an hour before sunset) and my kids usually are a hot mess. BUT, I suggest bringing treats, having the kids photos be done first, and bringing someone to help watch them, or help give back up when needed. Especially to help get them look over at the photographer and such. My photos have NEVER gone as planned as far as their attitudes, but they’ve always turned out great! You’d never know my kid was screaming most of the time lol

“Authentic is better than fake”

No kids personally, but I’m the photographer usually! My best tip is just go with the flow! So many people try to force their kids into posing, like “do this, sit here, blah blah”. I usually pep talk people that authentic is better than fake. They will pose the entire rest of their lives for pictures! But I think you already do a great job with that.

I always shoot families at golden hour. Try and get a nap in but honestly just go with the flow. Try not to stress because the kids will feed off that stress. Make sure they eat a good dinner and have good treats/snacks with you for bribes. It’ll be great, can’t wait to see them!



So there ya go! Go with the flow, have FUN, smile, bring bribes and it’s going to be great, no matter what. ;) Let me know if you want to see a post on family photo outfit ideas!! I’m thinking of rounding one up!

And if you want to see, some of our family photoshoots LAST YEAR HERE and THE YEAR BEFORE HERE!

xo

BLANKET | DEVOTIONAL | JOGGERS | TEE

As I mentioned previously this week, I have been feeling extra stressed out lately. Lots of anxiety and stress has been building up in my life, for a number of reasons, and it’s literally all-encompassing sometimes. It’s awful, truth be told. I’m feeling relief and freedom from that stress, but I know so many can relate and suffer from stress on a daily basis. And it SUCKS. So I took to my Instagram and asked all of YOU for your ways to cope with stress. And let me tell you, the responses were pure GOLD. So here they are, all compiled into a neat little post for anyone to turn to in their darker moments, me included. Because we are stronger than our stress. We are able to rise above. We’ve GOT THIS! Amen hallelujah. Now let’s get into some stress relievers…

First, my personal stress relievers:

Go for a drive and blast my favorite music.
WORSHIP.
Get on my knees and pray and remember who’s I am and that He is my peace.
Exercise. Endorphins are magic!
Have a glass of wine. Or two. ;)
Take a nice long bath or hot shower, do a face mask, paint my nails.
Read a book.
Journal and write all of my feelings out.
TALK to someone I love, usually it’s Zack. :)

Okay, now for the responses, from real women…

I read Psalms. Those prayers worked for David, they can work for me.

Light a candle (always shocked on simplicity of this!), walk, bath/hot tub sesh, singing alone in my car (or not alone lol), pedicure, breathing exercises, little sayings my husband & I have come up with reminding us not to stress. & HUGS are pure gold.

Take time for you. I like going on walks and listening to Podcasts.

Is “drink wine” an appropriate response to that question?..

I clean!

Pray! It gives me peace knowing God has a plan even if I can’t see it yet.

Watch Gilmore girls and a glass of wine!

Pray. Put on worship music and pray some more. There’s breakthrough in worship. It can do wonders especially in hard situations. I recommend Kim Walker and Jesus Culture. Kim Walker has a gift and will bring you to your knees in the presence of the lord in the best way possible.

I pray and then work it out on my stationary bike! My husband works out of state and MY family lives in another state so most of the time it’s just me and the kids so once they sleep I hit my knees and then exercise!

Go for a long walk at night by myself after it’s cooled off, headphones in, blasting my favorite music (usually not something kid-appropriate!)

Essential oils and a good sweat!

Have sex.

Pray! Stress and fear are lies from the devil. The only way to combat those lies are to shove the Word in his face. “Be anxious for nothing!” “Be still and know that I am God.”

Meditation!! There’s a neutrality meditation that is super helpful for me with neutralizing feelings of stress.

Ahh nap and avoid all the things. But for real, worship music and just crying it out. Also essential oils (lavender) help me sometimes as well as journaling.

Give yourself Grace. Whatever you feel, feel it and don’t let anybody tell you but it is right or wrong and find your people! I have recently forced myself to take a night that is completely just self-care like nothing fancy just a bath and cut my toenails cut my fingernails do my cuticles do a mask and read a book nothing fancy… And a glass of wine or whatever tickles your fancy poured next to that bath has been a must! But honestly let yourself feel!

Essential oils were such a game changer for my stress and anxiety!!!!

Memorize Psalm 23! Stop, take some seep breaths and recite it to yourself and meditate on the TRUTH. I do this at bedtime if I’m feeling overwhelmed or can’t get my mind to slow down.

Pray darling! Give yourself a spa day! Lean into Jesus! My daughter has severe medical issues and during her low times, I can become extremely anxious and on edge. I always give myself some time to read my Bible or even a book I love and just decompress. It can be hard to walk away and can sometimes feel selfish but you can’t pour from an empty cup.

I go to Orange Theory which helps a lot but my very favorite thing is taking candlelit bubble baths with a glass of wine after the kids are in bed and I’ll listen to Frank Sinatra.

How do I cope with stress? I stop and say “what can I do right now to love my family?” If that means laundry, grocery run, cleaning toilets… I do it. If it means self care. I do it. And I pray over and over again. I read Oswald Chambers. I stop and say that the God of the Universe is more powerful than this bill, this insurance repeal, this next step that seems so huge is nothing compared to my God. Jesus did not die on the cross to leave you guys drowning in despair.

Yoga, diffuse essential oils, meditation, reading. Sometimes simply focusing on deep breathing helps! Also an Epsom salt bath with “I am” positive affirmations💗

Allllll the wine.

Well I have high anxiety but I know for me talking to someone about it helps me feel better. If I try to sit with whatever I’m stressing over it just seems to fester. So talking to a friend, my mom, and THEN my hubby (he doesn’t handle my freak outs well) seems to help.

Barre3 Class or a good long run. I also eat pasta haha.

Exercise if I’m feeling ambitious (boxing class really gets those frustrations out), but mostly drink wine and watch a chick flick. To just vegg it out.

Alone time to think.
Even if it’s just me taking a book to Starbucks for a little bit, I have to clear my head and not be mom for a few.

xo

SWIMSUIT | BANDANA | SUNNIES | SOPHIE’S SWIMSUIT (sold out, similar here and here)

It was another hot one around here, so the weekend was centered around lots of WATER and staying cool! ;) We swam in our pool every day (we have this one and LOVE it! Best investment for the summer!) and spent lots of time together. Just how I like it. I’ve been battling with some pretty crazy intense anxiety for a little while now, and lots of stress, so a weekend to relax a bit and enjoy life with these crazies is just what the doctor ordered!

Also, stay tuned for a post full of great tips on combatting stress, coming to the blog later this week!

TANK (similar here and here) | LEGGINGS (my faves! true to size and on sale!) | NIKES (here too!) | SUNNIES | STROLLER

Saturday morning, I worked out with my Fit4Mom group in the park with Sophie in tow in the stroller (as usual) and then Zack and Sam met up with us at the playground afterward and we walked over to our fave sandwich spot (Roxie for any Sac town locals!) and brought our sandwiches back with us to have a little picnic in the park. It was so fun. I mean, mixed with some screaming and fits (from Sophie, not from Sam), but hey. C’est la vie ;) It was still so fun and so perfect and makes me want to do more simple things like that. The simple things really are the best things.

I could just eat her up!!

Then we came home and decided to skip Sophie’s nap (YOLO!) and we all hopped in the pool instead. THE BEST. That evening we headed to Zack’s parents for dinner (homemade lasagna AND strawberry shortcake get in mah bellyyyyy) and it was the most fun!

TANK (runs small, size up) | JEANS (true to size) | NECKLACE | SHOES (size up 1/2) | SOPHIE’S BOW + DRESS + SANDALS | SAM’S VANS

Sunday was church and riding bikes around our hood. The sky’s been so smokey the last couple of days because of the terrible fire in Redding. It’s absolutely heartbreaking seeing the footage on the news and reading about it. My heart goes out to anyone affected. I can’t even imagine. It absolutely puts a lot into perspective, and makes me appreciate what we have and makes some of the petty things I’ve been stressing about a little less stressful.

Fear has no place here. Only love. (A daily reminder to myself).

Have a wonderful start to your week, friends!

xo

P.S. SALE ALERT!

PLAID SHIRT | LEGGINGS | BOOTS

My favorite Spanx faux leather leggings are on SALE for less than the anniversary sale price!
REGULAR FAUX LEATHER | MOTO FAUX LEATHER

I have both styles and love them! Size up, as they run small!

I feel like I haven’t done a life update in a while… Since the start of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and then Prime Day in the middle there, our time has been mostly caught up in that! So today it’s the perfect time to catch up on life, eh?

TOP | JEANS (sold out at Nordstrom, but found them HERE!) | SHOES (on major sale!) | SAM’S SHOES

SAM. This boy has been making huge strides just this past week!!! He is speaking so much more and playing around with sounds we’ve never heard from him! He’s saying things with intent, too, not just to say them- namely “YEAH” and “NUH” (no) and he’s even said “Mama” and “Dada” !!! *cue the happy tears* Basically, the words are COMING and we are believing in some major breakthroughs this week!!!

Coincidentally, that’s what yesterday’s sermon at church was all about. Breakthroughs and healing! That’s God. I just love when I am still even for a little while and He reminds me, ever so slightly, everything will be okay. Mountains will be moved. Healing will happen. We need only just BELIEVE. And shut up long enough to actually hear his voice!!! Ha. That’s my biggest problem. I never shut up. ;) But He. He moves in mysterious ways, and He is making big moves in our little man’s life! :) I’m just so so proud of Sam Sam and excited and hopeful for a bright future!

DRESS (this color is “purple taupe” and on sale!) | SWEATER | NECKLACE | BOOTS (size up 1/2) | SOPHIE’S SANDALS | BOW

And then there’s little miss Sass-a-frass. I mean, Sophie. ;) This girl is making some changes in the past week too, but not for the better. She has been having lots more random tantrums over the tiniest things, and if she doesn’t get her way life as we know it is OVER, basically. Little drama queen, for sure. I mean, everyone did warn me that three-nager is a thing. Guess it just starts at 2 1/2 sometimes. Trying really hard to rationalize and discipline her in the right way, without screaming back or tearing my hair out. Ha! It’s all a work in progress. ;) Any prayers our way would be appreciated.

And wine.

TEE (true to size) | SWEATER | JEANS | BAG | BOOTS | NECKLACE | DRESS | SANDALS | BOW

But really, besides that, she’s an absolute doll too and her cuteness and sweetness more than make up for the not-sweet moments. And the relationship she and Sam have is just on another level. It’s my favorite thing in this world.

I feel like we’ve been constantly working all day long every day since the start of the sale! It’s been a whirlwind, and I’m not going to lie, working from home- with kids!- is NOT easy! It’s a challenge to balance our time and make sure we’re really connecting as well as working (because, hi, gotta pay those bills!). Thankfully, Zack and I are in this together and we switch off who takes the kids on fun adventures while the other works, and then of course there’s naptime and let’s just say we haven’t watched any Netflix in the evening lately. I miss the Bravermans! It’s like we were becoming part of the family. Alas, they’ll just have to wait.

TANK (runs small, size up) | SHORTS (matching with my girl! True to size, more sizing options HERE!) | SANDALS

We had our housewarming/birthday party (Zack and I have birthdays two weeks apart, so we just combined them) last weekend! It was Open House style, all day, and SO much fun! I can’t believe I didn’t get a family photo though, boo! #bloggerfail But so much fun with friends and family! If I could throw a party every weekend, I totally would. The more the merrier, I say!

Alright, friends. Happy Monday! I hope it’s the best week ever for you!

xo