10 Mom Truths to Help You Realize You’re Not A l o n e

It’s no secret that being a mom is hard work. But I think that’s the beauty in it. You become this multi-tasking superhero that has tiny humans looking up to you, depending on you, and loving you unconditionally. How freakin’ awesome is that?!

Some days you feel like you’re crushing it and doing everything right, and others you feel like you’re drowning and don’t know what the heck you’re doing. But one thing is for sure, you were chosen to be a mama to your baby/babies. You are equipped to be exactly what your children need and nobody else can be as good of a mama to them as you.

You’re not alone in this crazy journey of motherhood.

1. Your coffee is always cold. // Yes, it’s true, no matter how many times you re-heat the coffee, it’s always getting cold after all the chasing and playing and picking up and feeding and doing all the mom things. Iced coffee is a great option.
2. Half your day is now spent picking up toys. // Embrace the mess, mama. It means playing has happened and memories are being made in your home.
3. You don’t get an award for how you “mom.” There’s no award for having the best sleeper, eater, napper, or how soon your kids walk/talk. // Do what works for you and your kids. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, you parent and do what works for y’all, even when it feels crazy. (Krew slept with us until he was nine months old. And we did not care one single bit about it. It worked for us, and we transitioned to his crib when it felt right for us.
4. It’s okay to not have it all together. // Dishes will be left in the sink, laundry will have to be re-washed, and probably sit in the dryer for days…and IT IS OKAY. You won’t get out of pajamas some days, and your hair will go days on days of needing washed, and IT IS OKAY. You don’t have to have makeup on, hair fixed, dressed nice everyday to be a good mom. Let the dishes sit some days and spend time with your kids. You don’t want to look back and say you wish you spent more time loving on them instead of doing chores. The chores will be there, the time with your babies will pass.
5. You. Will. Cry. // You’ll probably cry more than you ever have when you’re a mom. You’ll cry happy tears about accomplishments, sad tears about them growing up, stressed/overwhelmed tears. You may cry in your kitchen floor, in the shower, in your closet, let it go mama. It means you care. You’re doing a good job, mama. Keep going.
6. One day your kid(s) will be growing up and doing things you used to only talk about them doing. // This smacks you in the face how fast time got away from you. Nobody prepares you for that feeling.
7. Your camera roll is now filled with all things kid related. // Pictures of you kid(s) sleeping, eating, when they learn walking, talking, videos of them laughing, and 167 shots of the same outfit (gotta get the best one).
8. Hats, dry shampoo, mom buns are your life now. // Seriously, you’re trying to make the last time you washed your hair last as long as possible girlfriend, spray the dry shampoo and pop a hat on. No shame. It’s okay, you’ll wash and fix your hair eventually.
9. Your body is different now. And that’s not a bad thing. // Give yourself some very much needed and deserved grace. Your body carried and helped God make a human or humans. That’s as big of a blessing as they come. Love that body, it’s amazing.
10. Your kid(s) are the reason you’re losing your mind, but also the reason you keep it all together. Crazy, right?

These babies of ours are tiny versions of us that are our built in best friends.

They make life worth living, even in all the crazy moments.

They make your heart explode on the daily (along with your head sometimes.)

Most importantly, your little one(s) need you mama.

Motherhood is a crazy blessing. You’re doing a great job and you’re not alone.

I’m just a mama that knows these 10 truths all too well. I love every single thing about them. •

Weekly Startup

Happy Columbus Day and Happy Monday!

Oh Lord y’all last week was one of those weeks. Whew! It started out fast and great with a bang then kind of came to a screeching halt for Thursday and Friday. Anyone else??

Let me give y’all a quick story about how Friday morning started…I walk out of our room at 7:20ish a.m. because Koda (our German shepherd) was full on barking and whining, which is not usual. Brandon takes him out before work so this was odd to start. As soon as I walked out of the room to check on him, the smell knocked me in my face and I knew exactly what I was about to walk downstairs to. Yep, poop ALL over the crate, some on the floor, on him. *cue me scrambling to get him outside, clean up, light every candle in the house, spray all the smell good stuff I have* I was thinking to myself “come on, this is not how Fridays go…” Oh, but my Friday was just getting started.

I laid back down after I got the dog poop situation under control, and then get up and go get Krew out of his crib around 10:00ish a.m. I kid you not when I tell you guys I walked into his room, turned on the light, and there it was…poop ALL over his crib sheet (luckily not on him and I still don’t understand that one). Y’all, I felt like I was getting freakin’ pranked on Friday morning. It was one of those “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments that you literally don’t think will ever happen, oh but they do.

So there was my Friday morning, and all I could do to try to turn the day around was to breathe through it all and literally speak out the parts I was grateful for through anything that happened all day. Plus, we did go to Target Friday night so that helped too. Target always helps.

Saturday we did a grocery run, and our neighborhood had a cookout with tons of food, a fire, kids running around everywhere, and good company for a Fall night. Fun fact: I never thought I’d like to live in a neighborhood, but the experiences we’ve had here with our neighbors have been great and we’ve loved it! I guess that means we should keep an open mind!

Grocery List for the Week

• Mac n cheese for Krew
• Rice Krispie treat stuff (frosted Rice Krispies, mini marshmallows, butter)
• Chimichanga stuff (chicken breasts, tortillas, cheese, salsa)
• Black beans
• Steaks
• Hashbrown casserole stuff (cream of chicken, sour cream, hashbrowns, cheese, onion, butter)
• Blueberries
• Apple cider
• Lunch meat
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Pancakes for Krew
• Pumpkin donut holes
• Chicken breasts
• Steaks
• Bacon
• Green tea
• Diet Pepsi
• Flamin’ Hot Chips
• Crackers
• Avocados
• Feta cheese
• Bread
• Dishwasher powder
• Italian dressing
• Sugar

Nothing fancy about our list, just some meals for the week + odds and ends

**We didn’t know we needed and forgot to get Pam**

Crafts with Krew didn’t happen during the week through all the chaos, but we did get to do a pumpkin one with him this weekend. We did a little pumpkin painting by the fire (with the wood his daddy found today, picked up, and chopped up). We did his handprints more like hand smears on a little white pumpkin, and let me just say that those moments are gold you guys. Even the one when he tried to eat the paint and laughed when mama kept saying “no.” I swear I live for those kind of moments. The ones that can’t be replicated but will always have a replay button in your mind and a special place in your heart.

Some Quotes to Get You Through the Week:

“Be the same person privately, publicly, and personally.” // This quote goes back to one of my favorite lessons I’ve learned. People are going to judge you no matter what you’re doing, so don’t change depending on who you’re around. Be yourself unapologetically and do what makes you happy, around anyone and everyone. Life is way too short to not.

“Direction is more important than speed.” // Life’s not a race y’all, do your best each day and you’ll get where you want to be as long as you’re heading in the right direction. Focus on where you’re going and how you’re going to get there so that you do it right.

“Think of all you are instead of all that you are not.” // GIVE YOURSELF SOME PRAISE, SISTA! You don’t even know all that you are doing because it’s so much easier to focus on the bad over the good. Focus on the good and see how far you’ve come, how great you are, and it’ll show you how far you’re gonna go. You are your worst critic, so put your hair in a ponytail, drink some coffee (or whatever you like), put on whatever music gets you in a good mood, and work it.

“Why be moody when you can shake ya booty.” // This quote just made me smile when I read it so, here it is! I so desperately needed this quote yesterday because I wasn’t feeling too hot and it made me pretty moody. I definitely should’ve just shook my booty instead. Sorry for the mood, hubs!

“Creep it real.” // In the spirit of Halloween coming up, I had to share this one. It was too corny and funny.

Random Thoughts and Tips

Alright you guys, I don’t care what you’re doing right now. Stop whatever it is, turn on some worship music, and clear your head. Trust me now and thank me later. This always brings me back whenever I’m upset, stressed, whatever the case may be. It works wonders. Next on the random tips is to drink your water. We’re supposed to drink AT LEAST half of our body weight in ounces each day. (Example: if you weigh 120 lbs. you should drink at least 60 oz. of water daily). Drink your water, it helps your skin, helps hair grow, keeps bloat down, flushes out sodium and toxins, and keeps energy levels up.

So Fall is really here now weather-wise and that means we can actually bring out our vests, flannels, boots, and scarves without getting called crazy! One of my favorite things to do in Fall is layer layer layer my outfits. I layer thermals or henley tops under flannels, then maybe a jean jacket or cargo jacket on top of that. Sometimes I’ll do a longer white t-shirt that has some length on the back underneath shorter sweaters/sweatshirts too. Another way I like to layer is a plain sweater, a printed shirt or plaid flannel, then a vest on top. Putting a print between two solid colors is the key to keeping layers look put together (and keep you warm as heck.)

Here comes my “mom hack” that isn’t that groundbreaking for the week but it honestly helps me and may help at least one other person! I always shower for the day right when Krew goes down for a nap (unless I want to shower at night) and then I let my hair air dry while I do my makeup, and clean or do laundry or whatever house work I need to do. When I do this, my hair is almost dry by the time I’m done with whatever else I need to do so I can either style from there or pop it in a bun or a hat, which is almost always. #noshame

I have a question for you guys this week! Are you Christmas shopping yet or waiting a little longer?? We’ve started a little bit and we’re hoping to spread it out so it doesn’t all add up right before Christmas…fingers crossed! But, if you are shopping or are about to start or whenever you start, feel free to reach out and let me know if you need/want help searching for anything specific. My favorite part about blogging is getting to communicate and interact with y’all and I’d love to help in any way I can!

Potato Soup Recipe

This recipe has been much requested and it’s so perfect for this time of year! It’s my sister’s recipe and it is so simple and yummy! Here we go:

• 5 lb. bag Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 chicken broths (32 oz. containers)
• 1 white onion
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 lb. bacon
• 1 bunch green onions (scallions)
• 2 bags of sharp cheddar cheese
• Sour cream
• Milk
• Salt and pepper
• Bread (we use a loaf of Italian bread)
• Butter, Parmesan, garlic salt, parsley (bread toppings) **optional**
• Corn starch **you may or may not need this**

How to Make it:

• Peel, wash, chop potatoes into small pieces.
• Peel and finely chop whole onion. Chop green onions and put them aside or in fridge.
• Put finely chopped onion, potatoes, and chicken broth into a pot with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil until potatoes are tender. (This doesn’t take too long so don’t forget about them.)
• While potatoes boil, cook and shred about bacon.
• Once potatoes are tender, remove from heat. Add heavy cream, 1 bag of cheese, and half of broken bacon bits. Stir together.
• Return to heat on low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick enough. Salt and pepper to taste.
• If not thick enough, mix 1 tsp. of corn starch and tiny bit of milk to make a paste. Pour into soup and it will thicken it. If soup is too thick, add milk.
• For the bread, lay bread on a pan, butter, garlic salt, Parmesan, parsley, and toast for a few minutes in the over or toaster oven.
• Use scallions, sour cream, cheese, and bacon to top soup when serving.
• Enjoy!!

If you make this, let me know how it turns out! I hope you love it as much as we do!

Quick Workout

• 10 lunges per leg
• 20 squats (squeeze your booty)
• 10 pushups
• 50 jumping jacks
• 25 crunchy frogs for abs
• 30 second – 1 minute plank

Repeat 3x

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Mondays are for fresh starts. Crush it today.

I’m just a mama sending out good vibes for your Monday.

Journey with me!

Hey y’all! Let’s talk mama life. Wait, and wife life. Well, I wanna talk about fashion and style too. Oh, and beauty…hang on, maybe we should get a cup of coffee?

No, seriously, I’m writing to talk all things fashion, beauty, mom and wife life, fitness, home, food, – I’m learning this whole cooking thing so y’all can get ready for some laughs – faith, and daily experiences in this beautiful chaos of life.

I’m Cassidy, but so many people call me Cass, so I go by either! I’m 21 years old, a military wife to a hunk named Brandon, and a mama to a cutie named Krew. I’m North Carolina born and raised, and recently moved to take on life in Southern California with my hubby and baby! Whew, talk about an ADVENTURE. So, with a new baby, a cross country move, and a new dog, – yes, we also got a new puppy named Koda – you can see the beautiful chaos I’m talking about.

But, through all of the craziness, I walk by faith and try to find beauty in every situation and embrace each and every moment. This life is too short not to, y’all! I’m also totally southern at heart (in case you can’t tell by how much I say “y’all”) and a serious lover of food. My sweet tooth is on another level. I enjoy beach time, a good book, working out (and breaking into dance in the middle of working out), and time with family, hubs, and our sweet baby boy.

I’m just a mama and wife walking through life with my baby boy on my hip, coffee in hand, and my hubby by my side. Join me as I navigate this beautiful journey. I’m so glad you’re here!!