A new year always brings so much excitement with it. A fresh start, a chance to try to be a little better, a time to do a little more. 2015 was easily the most amazing and sleep deprived year of my entire life. And so when I started thinking about resolutions, that seemed like a lofty goal. Resolutions feel designed to fail for so many reasons. But I kind of love the idea of having a particular focus. 

I polled my Facebook friends this year and asked if they had to come up with a one-word mantra for 2016, what would it be? Their words were powerful: Inspire. Simplify. Trust. Joy. Words that would be meaningful and rejuvenating all in one! 

And thus, I decided on my word for 2016: Thrive. I toyed around with others: Flourish. Passion. Savor. But I kept coming back to thrive. 

The first year of parenthood is hard. It's wonderful. But it's so flippin' hard. But it's so flippin' amazing too. And I want to do more than simply "survive" it. I want to THRIVE. 

I want to thrive as a mom. I want to be loving and innovative and give Henry good, positive energy. 

I want to thrive as a wife. I want to be loving and strong and supportive and let Dan know I'm the luckiest woman in the world because I got him as a husband. 

I want to thrive in our home. I want to get it organized and decluttered and beautified so that our home becomes a sanctuary and not just a place to put all of the things. 

I want to thrive in my business. I want to work hard and help people tell their stories and support my team and help them achieve their goals too all while working at home. 

I want to thrive as a friend. I want to get back to making the out-of-the-blue phone calls and really making time for the people who matter so much in our lives. 

Generally speaking, I just want to thrive in all things! So where am I starting? 

1. Take a few minutes for yourself every day. 
My sister-in-law got me an awesome journal I'd been looking at on Amazon - Mom's One Line a Day. It's a five year journal where I can record just a sentence or two a day about what Henry is up to. I've always been an avid journaler, but I've stopped in recent years, and I look forward to starting back up, even if just in a small way. I also picked up an awesome daily devotional I'm going to read. Just one or two pages a day - less than five minutes. But it'll be something to make sure I'm thriving first before I spread the thrive around! 

2. Simplifying and organizing. 
Much of my thrive gets sucked in to the daily monotony. Cleaning up. Laundry. Looking for something I need and can't find. So this year I intend to make our home thrive too! I found the Declutter 365 Facebook group and signed up for the mailing list. Each month, the site owner puts out a declutter calendar. Each day's task only takes 15 minutes, but the goal is to have an organized home by the end of the year. I can commit to 15 minutes a day! 

3. Be in the moment. 
A multi-tasker at heart, I'm the queen of trying to do a million things at once. In order to thrive, I'm going to focus on what's in front of me. Live in the moment. Be present. Savor where I'm at. 

Do you have a mantra for 2016? Or a New Year's Resolution you've committed to? Share it in the comments! 

Having an eye: Henry's 9 month photos

As much as I would like to believe I have an eye for things, I can assure you, I do not. Our home is sorta decorated with some unique interior design ideas. I sorta have some thoughts on how to best display Henry's keepsakes. And while I try to take sweet, artsy pictures of our little man, they often lack the depth and character I hope they would have. 

And that's one of the many, many reasons I'm glad we have the incredible Kaity Fuja of OMG Photography as our family photographer. Because let me tell you - she has an eye! 

For Henry's 9 month photos, we decided to double up and use them as our Christmas card photos too! Kaity suggested we meet at Butler's Tree Farm, and as long time members of the artificial Christmas tree club, we happily followed her suggestion. The farm itself was cute, and PACKED, as it was the first Saturday of the season. Our unseasonably warm fa-winter had given way to a cool and breezy day, but wanting to capture the right look, we'd left our coats in the car (much to the anger of our cold, little hands). 

When we got to the farm, Kaity told us she had a few spots in mind off the beaten path, so we set off for our photos. When we got to a shed that housed logs, Kaity announced that we would be stopping here first. 

Now, I would never doubt Kaity's professional opinion, but my first thought upon stopping there was, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? This is going to be the perfect backdrop?!" But, never one to doubt Kaity's talent and ideas, we went with it. 

And naturally, Henry's pictures turned out like this. 

And this.

And this too.

Because Kaity has an eye that I just never will. She can see a background that looks ordinary, or even drab, and she knows that it's the perfect spot to capture all those expressions and little moments that we'll want to hold on to forever. 

The moral of Henry's 9 month photos is that I'll never doubt Kaity again when she says, "Hey, stand in front of that pile of logs." Because those yucky logs are going to be the most amazing place to show our sweet little man's personality off. And that's exactly what we'd hoped for! 

A Serendipity Story (aka How I never thought I'd be in Direct Sales and how KEEP Collective changed my whole life)

When I decided to be stay home with our son, I wondered if I would miss work. My husband has long referred to me as a to-doer... I always have to be to-doing something to stay busy. 

And after the newborn glow wore off, I realized I really did miss working. I missed the interaction I got with people. I missed setting goals and achieving them. I missed feeling like I had a purpose outside of our home. I missed feeling productive. 

I knew, though, that I wasn't ready to go back to teaching. I LOVE teaching. It's my passion and my heart. But it's a lot of grading and a lot of outside hours and a lot of time away from Henry that I wasn't ready to do yet. So I started looking for other options. And that's when I jumped in to KEEP Collective, my favorite direct sales company of all time. 

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be doing direct sales, I probably would have thought you were nuts. I've never sold a thing in my life. I was an English major with an education minor! I never took a business class. The closest I'd come to being a businesswoman was working at our local grocery store as a cashier when I was in high school. So to say I wasn't a natural saleswoman is the understatement of the year. But I wanted something flexible that I could do from home, and direct sales seemed like a natural fit. 

And so direct sales it was. Generally speaking, I feel like DS companies get a bad reputation. And arguably, there ARE some bad DS companies out there (just as there are bad... everythings... out there). I knew I wanted one with an excellent reputation, excellent customer service, and a great entry level starting point (because I truly thought I would never build a team to work with me and I wanted to make sure I could still make money without others involved). I also didn't want to have a lot of inventory. Our house is already overrun by baby. I didn't want to add a lot more clutter to our home. 

So why KEEP? So, so many reasons. First, I fell in love with the company the first time I laid eyes on it. A company that focuses on telling stories through beautiful jewelry is right up my alley! I LOVE the story telling aspect of KEEP. Not only do I get to show (and wear!) gorgeous jewelry, but it's special and unique and it represents what we hold closest to our hearts. That's a company I can get behind. 

As a company, our mission is clear and purposeful. KEEP wants to help women live their happiest and best lives. And they give their designers the tools to do that. The training materials, resources, and human support they offer sold me immediately because I clearly didn't know a lot about direct sales or how to get started. But KEEP made sure I got off on the right foot and hit the ground running. 

I also LOVE that I keep no inventory on hand. Everything is ordered by the customer directly through the company, so I never have to worry about a surplus of items sitting around. And when a hostess throws a Social, she never has to worry about distributing the orders. Everything ships directly to each customer, which means no one is waiting on a busy hostess to sort and deliver. 

But let's talk about serendipity. I absolutely believe life leads us exactly where we're supposed to go. And everything fell in to place when I joined KEEP. The company had just announced an incentive to trip to go to Cancun for free. It was just a few months before the holidays, and the holiday season was projected to be a big one for us. 

So I jumped. And I've never looked back. 

Besides having a thriving business, I've met some of the most amazing women in the world. They're both my teammates and my customers, and I wouldn't trade my interactions with them for anything in the world. I literally talk to my mentor and my pacing partner daily, and when I miss a day talking to them, things feel, icky. I've met women who have taken the leap with me, and they've joined my team. These women are smart and funny and motivated and tenacious, and working with them daily is so enlightening. 

I've earned that trip to Cancun. And I've promoted high enough that I get to attend our Director's Retreat in Napa. To say direct sales has changed my life is the biggest understatement of understatements. 

The moral of the story is, sometimes serendipity intervenes and leads you right where you're supposed to be. It absolutely did for me. Direct sales has changed my life, and I know many other women (and men!) who can agree. This holiday season, remember the Direct Salespeople in your life (I know KEEP's Black Friday sales are amazing, and I bet other company's can say the same!). Chances are the customer service they offer will be second to none!

Stitch Fix #15: AKA the time I contemplated spending $38 on leggings

Time is absolutely FLYING in our world! Our son turned 8-months-old, I've been running being a crazy KEEP Collective lady, and we've been planning all sorts of fun activities with our family and friends! I almost forgot that I had another Fix coming... ALMOST.

If you don't know about Stitch Fix (<--Referral link!), let me give you a little rundown. Stitch Fix is a clothing subscription service, and you decide how frequently, or infrequently, you'd like a shipment. You'll fill out a detailed style profile about your sizes, style preferences, and budget (and it's super fun to fill out the profile to see what your style preferences are!). 

Then, you decide when you'd like to receive a shipment! Stitch Fix will send you five clothing items or accessories to try on in your own home! This is perfect for seeing if the pieces you receive will work with the pieces you already have. Your Fix also arrives with detailed styling cards to give you ideas of how to wear each item. Each Fix costs $20, but the fee is credited toward anything you decide to keep. When you've decided what you don't want, you simply check out online and mail the items back in the prepaid mailing envelope. If you keep everything, you score a 25% discount! I love that I can work with my current wardrobe to see what will work best with what I already have. 

And, if someone signs up through your referral link, you get a $25 credit to use toward your next purchase! 

You can see my previous Fixes here:

Stitch Fix #1

Stitch Fix #2

Stitch Fix #3

Stitch Fix #4

Stitch Fix #5

Stitch Fix #6

Stitch Fix #7

Stitch Fix #8

Stitch Fix #9

Stitch Fix #10

Stitch Fix #11

Stitch Fix #12

Stitch Fix #13

Stitch Fix #14

This time around, Tan chose a few swings and a few misses for me, but I would really love some outside opinions. What would you keep? And what would you ditch immediately? :) 

1. Mystree Jalila Mixed Material Knit Top, $58

Normally Tan hits it out of the park, but this top is just, no. I don't love the mixed material. I don't love the flouncy hem. I just. Don't. Love. It. 

2. MTLA Kristin Fleece Legging, $38 

3. Crescent Tinsley Lace Detail Blouse, $58

I think three years ago, I would have LOVED this top! But my first thought now is, I can't wear a real bra with this, and that's annoying. Super cute, but not necessarily something I need in my closet at this top. But these leggings. Oh. My. Gosh. They feel like what I would imagine wearing a fluffy cloud feels like. So, so soft. And they're $38, but they're a perfect shade of burgundy and did I mention that they feel like wearing a cloud.

4. Fun2Fun Danika Split Neck Beaded Blouse, $54

This top was the surprise of the box! I really didn't expect to like this off the bat. It looked a little boxy, but once I put it on, I kind of loved it! I could dress it up, dress it down, wear it with the cloud-like leggings... 

5. Everly Sherm Dress, $58

This dress is so gorgeous, and I already have another gorgeous dress by Everly, but the top is just too darn big. Like, gaping because it's so darn big. Maybe a size smaller, and it would be perfection, but this one just doesn't work. 

So, what do keep? Return? Help! 

On what makes you thrive

This Fall, I joined MOPS, which technically stands for Mothers Of Preschoolers. I clearly don't have a preschooler, but what I do have is the desire to connect with other moms in my area who are raising their kiddos too. Although we've only had a few meetings so far, I really love the conversations we have. I also really love that we essentially get to eat dessert and drink tons of coffee and call it breakfast, but that's another blog entirely. 

A few meetings ago, we had a discussion about thriving. What makes you thrive? Not just simply survive, but what really makes you thrive in your own life? Even now, I think I'm still pondering my answer because it's such a hard question. 

Where lies your passion? What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning? What's the first thing you want to talk about when you see people? Where is your happy place? What helps you to flourish?

My definition has changed so much in the past year. I used to say teaching, because I gathered so much energy from being in the classroom and working with my students. And before teaching, I would have said taking classes. I have always loved being a student and learning new things regardless of my age. 

Today, if I had to answer that question, there would be so many answers. Family. Motherhood. Friends. KEEP Collective. Faith. Exercising. Food. Coffee. Perfect days. Rest-filled nights. I feel like I could use more of all of these things in my life. 

I'm challenging myself to really answer this question because I want to continue focusing on the good in life - the things that make me thrive - the things that put me in my happy place. 

I'd love to hear what makes you thrive! 

An accidental blog-cation

A month?! Has it seriously been one month since I last wrote a blog?! Shameful. And completely on accident. And yet, it's true... the entire month of September slipped away, and here it is October, and I have nothing to say except I'm sorry for not blogging for so long! 

What have I been up to? 

Well, being a mom to our almost 8-month-old (who is hardcore teething, by the way). We got him baptized in September. And he's literally learning and growing every day. I love seeing his personality developing! 

And I've been building my business. KEEP Collective  is literally opening so many doors for our family! I LOVE working with people to tell their stories! I love the extra income! And I LOVE that I'll be headed to Cancun on KEEP in April for working hard and earning my incentive trip! 

I've also been trying to be a good wife. I cooked dinner tonight for the first time in... a long time. Like, a real dinner with a meat (oven roasted pork chops!) and a starch (brown rice!) and a vegetable (asparagus!)! That hasn't happened in sooooo long! Our home is inundated with baby stuff, which we love, but it makes it so hard to work around! 

And I definitely have NOT been running. Oiy. There goes my pipe dream of running another half marathon this year! It's just not in the cards. Suffice it to say, I don't love it like I used to. Maybe it's just because I'm worn out. Maybe it's because pushing 50 pounds while doing it slows me down an incredible amount. Maybe I just need a little break. 

And so that's the story! No good reason. But I promise to be better about it! I've missed you all! 

Henry turns six-months-old!

We took Henry's six-month-old photos a few weeks ago. Our baby is six-months-old. How is this happening? Some days, I just want it all to slow down so I can savor his sweet, toothless smile and his chubby, rubber-band wrists just a little bit longer. I know both of those things will soon be captured in just our memories and our photos. 

We set out to Notre Dame for our six month shoot with OMG Photography. Henry was just getting over his first virus, and, yet again, he became incredibly shy for the cameras. He must know the pressure is on during picture days! I was nervous that we hadn't captured any smiles, and that yet again we would be smile-less at this shoot. 

But Kaity did. She captured the mother of all moments. My husband, bent over, tickling Henry's tummy. Henry, purely happy and smiling his trademark smile. And me, watching the two boys I love most in this world sharing an incredible moment together. 

Kaity captures so much more than just our photos. She captures the admiration I have for my husband now that I get to see him as a father. She captures the pure joy Henry has as he and his daddy have a special moment together. She captures my husband's beautiful connection with our son (no one can make him laugh like daddy can!). She captures our family in its most perfect state: happy and loved and so, so blessed. 

When Kaity sent me this photo, I couldn't help but cry. In my car. In the Michaels parking lot. Because this photo is exactly how I see our family. I just never knew what it looked like with all three of us in it. 

As Henry grows, everything is changing. He's more curious. He's more active. And I know it won't be long before it will be torture for him to sit still and cuddle with his parents. But for this moment, he did, and I am grateful that he gets to be our little baby just a little while longer.