Tag: mommylife

Blogging again …

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I haven’t blogged in a bit. Truly, it just hasn’t been on my mind, Etsy either, or all the school stuff, etc. I think I just needed a moment to just “Pause, relax … breathe!”

I sometimes feel ahhh – 🤯, life just has it’s way at times. There are five (5) of us in this little family of ours 💗 and I absolutely love it, but it is indeed busy. As you have read I am a Stay-at-Home-Mommy, so we take on even more than we once did! Which, honestly I do love our schedules, our to-do’s, our roles, and our busyness, but I just get to a point, at times, where I am 🤯 … Where I need a minute, a minute to think, a minute to breathe, and a minute to pause!

and this last month I am over here thinking that I am almost forty (40) years old and I am truly shocked over this, like where did the last ten (10) years go? This is the first time (where my age), has me feeling a little down too. I am not sure why? I think it’s just because those new beginnings of all are now just in the next chapters in life (which is awesome too and such a blessing) but much that was new, like graduations, buying our first home, getting engaged, planning a wedding, then getting married, our friends’ weddings, getting pregnant, having babies, nursing them, promotions, buying our family home, promotions again, and so forth. All the “news” are now in the next phase of different “news,” (which as I am writing) that’s pretty darn exciting too!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

All since, my early twenties (20’s), has just been super busy, exciting and like I said, “new.” It’s had its moments of stress too, but over all it’s been enjoyable. So, I want to do it again, and on repeat! HaHa! 🤣 I mean, I look back with the awe factor often …

Someone asked (family of course) why do you care about turning forty (40)? … I said, “It isn’t the number exactly, part of me is like WOW (in a good way), look where you are, at almost forty (40) years old, like my accomplishments, my family and their accomplishments, the goals that I have checked off ☑️, etc.

For me, it’s more about the aches and the pains, that take longer to heal at times. It’s the working out soreness that is just a bit different, lotions that are now needed, it’s the finding out all of this info. like don’t use that, don’t eat that bc it causes this or that, hydration is even more important now, it’s politics, and the opinions, the woes of adult life … and other not so great news of loved ones that we now hear too! 🙏🏼

I am just writing, but as I am writing I feel a little bit better (see blogging, helps ☑️) because “You’ll never be any younger than you are today!” and “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!”

So I am going to continue, continue in trying. I will try to read more and try to do my skincare more, and “try” to remember to schedule in self care, like nails or facials … do SOMETHING for me more!!! (I am sooo bad at this, especially since becoming a Mama.) I am going to try to continue in my runs, my work-outs and my over all healthy eating (I just feel better when eating better!) and working out (is for me I guess) but it is indeed “work!” 😉🤣😬 I am also going to try and give myself and others a little more grace!!! 🙏🏼😉💗

Also, love a “new beginning” on happier note that is … Not exactly a fan of change though, but starting new, starting fresh on a better path!

Well, cheers then to “new beginnings!”

Fresh Start …

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Have you ever seen a picture of yourself and said uh oh, time to change up some “stuff” … like seriously!

Well, that was me about a month ago. So, back to collagen, hydration, selfcare, stretching, more clean eating, running, fitness, etc.

Oh, and I went lighter for the summer too 😉

YES … it’s Summertime and I just needed to feel rejuvenated. Like vacation/spa like rejuvenated. (Like I have time for any of that, maybe a vacation though? 🤷🏻‍♀️😉)

You see, our little loves 💗💗💗 just finished up the school year, and this year was just 🤯 and although much has now calmed down. It’s still a little all over the place …

Like I know I am not that twenty (20) year old College girl anymore. With all that ENERGY!!! In college, I was always on the go (not much has changed), but I slept in often too, I was eating whatever and sometimes not eating at all 😬, but was living in the moment more so “I believe” because I paused more …

Now, as a Mama to three (3) little loves 💗💗💗 and a wifey. I want to feel my best and look my best too. 🙏🏼 Don’t get me wrong, since becoming a Mama, I have embraced the Hot Mess! That’s for sure! 🤣

However, I am still going to “try my best” and like I just said, “No longer that 20 year old college girl” Life is busy, and sometimes I just feel drained and weighted down in this world!

My focus more so, at the moment is on God 🙏🏼, self care, house projects and diy things too, new beginnings, fitness, skincare, tuning in on my hobbies, etc. … I’ll be honest as a busy Mama and wife, all isn’t as easy to do on the daily anymore. So, maybe a little of this and a little of that, here and there and giving myself a little more grace too in realizing, “You’re doing okay!”

Anniversary Date Night …

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We don’t get out much “like just us two (2)” on dates and things like that … but My Hubby surprised me with an early anniversary date night the other night.

July 4th is actually our Wedding Anniversary, so Happy Anniversary to us! 🎆

but, for our date night, he took us to this super fabulous restaurant. It was a roof top restaurant with yummo delish food and we watched the sunset too. 🌅

It was a beautiful night indeed. We dressed up. I put some make-up on, I did my hair, and it was nice for both of us to just “be” for a few hours.

We smiled and we laughed, we held hands, we talked about our girls 💗💗💗 (of course.) We also discussed that we both know we need to do this more. We truly have to find the time to pencil in date nights more … (maybe every couple of months.) 😉

My besties have been telling me this for years and most recently one of them had a discussion with me on, “You need to fill your cup, he needs to too, you both need to fill your cup!!!” 😉🥰

I mean, since having babies we still can count on one hand how many times we have been on a “date night!” Don’t get me wrong we have been to weddings and in quite a few too, in the last eleven (11) years. Yes, our oldest little love 💗 is ELEVEN (11) years old, WOW – man time flies when you’re having fun!!!

Again though, what a fun night …

So, possible goals – plan on “dating” more again soon, maybe? 😉 …

Onto New Beginnings …

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I am a girl, who’s mind is always going. This year like I have said, has been NONSTOP!!! Actually, we picked up even more so, on our “busyness” during Covid. Crazy right?

It’s true though, my husband got promoted during Covid. Our girls were in school remote and took on Soccer ⚽️ in a whole new fashion because it was their only outside outlet. I was insanely busy with Scentsy and so forth …

It’s crazy looking back. Things began to open up, the schools opened up fully too. My husband was now “in person” at work due to him being an essential employee and we were trying to go back to some sort of normalcy.

So now, it is SUMMER ☀️🍉⛱ time, so we are home 💗💗💗 and all the pile up to-do’s that have been piling up, and piling up all school year long. Well, it’s time to tackle them! I am going to pause as I write this and say, “Give yourself a little grace because there is a lot to do, so take your time and don’t rush it!”

That ⬆️ is not easy for this Mama, but here goes … one thing at a time!

First up, craft/school room and check ☑️ at least it’s now cleaned out, organized and much was donated!

and the pantry ☑️

one of the closets ☑️

(there’s two (2) sides to these closets ⬇️, but we want to change out the doors and add some lights! 💗 So closet change-up to follow 😉)

Okay, taking a break today … It is Friday and our little loves 💗💗💗 want a pool day and a day to just relax. So, penciling this in, along with some haircuts too.

I am making progress though and you get the idea of what my goal is … 😉

The Turkeys …

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So, let me discuss a little about mom life, or let me say, “parent life!” We try, and we try daily … No wait, actually it’s more like hourly.

Our girls 💗💗💗 they are indeed sweet girls, but they are still girls (which means emotional, for us) and they are also good kids, but again they are also still kids.

We raise them to have manners, be respectful, and we are currently teaching them to have confidence, be the bigger person when dealing with “the turkeys” in this life.

Yes, “turkeys” a co-worker told me this once, when I was dealing with quite a few turkeys myself while in the working world before babies. She explained how we deal with turkeys in life and then said, “don’t let the turkeys get you down!” 🤣😉

Well, currently, we are dealing with “turkeys” from every angle.

As are our little loves. 💗💗💗

Now, at the end of the day each situation is “small!” However, when dealing with “it” from this angle, and then this angle, and then this angle, and then this angle, etc. You get the picture!!! Currently, we are 🤯🤯🤯

I woke up early today (like before 5AM) because my husband is off to work super early. (There’s an event today,) but all was on my mind. I must have been dreaming about it?

It’s weird too, because I can tell certain people are backing away from us because they know something is up, but don’t know much because (we are private people.)

Which to be honest, is smart. Sometimes, you just need a breather to collect all of your thoughts …

I mean, we are calming down compared to a few weeks/months ago. We are starting to be able to process all, stay away from certain individuals, watch all a little clearer, understand a little more, but again although much is “small” … from all angles combined, “it feels big!” 🤔

I can honestly say that I have dealt with “turkeys” all of my life. So, I see it so clearly when our girls are telling me things. I get it too, it’s part of life, but it’s hard as a parent to teach your child, that this is how life is … they’re like, “but I am doing the right thing.” They’re playing their cards right, they’re being the bigger person, so they ask, “Why does this person get this or get that, when they’re not doing the right thing!” 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s sad, and I think that’s where I am at … it is just SAD!!!

I get it, we all want our kids to shine, but they shouldn’t shine when they are being a turkey in this life and to be honest, we all know, that they sometimes still do!

What we tell our girls … “It doesn’t matter, it won’t work in the end, because God 🙏🏼 is always watching, so always remember that!”

The Things …

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Back to “the things” and the list goes on …

I remember years ago, especially as a new mommy. The “real” to-do list began!!!

Now, listen there was always a “to-do list.” However, the overwhelming-ness that attached to it, definitely increased once you became a parent. Along with the NOW factor!

I know we all have our things, our schedules, but then we add in our house things, parent things, and your kiddies’ schedules, sports ⚽️.

My lanta!!! – right!!! lol

Now me, I am type-A, a perfectionist type of a gal, but let’s just say “HOT MESS!” That’s how I feel most days!!! I found a way to embrace this “Hot Mess” too! Which, meant that my hair would not always be done, my make-up would not always be on …

Yes, I would wear sweatpants, leggings , and work-out clothes as my “SAHM mom fashion!” 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

However, the to-do list, it is non stop in this house. I mean I am a SAHM, and the “to-do list” never ends. I drink my coffee in the AM and when I can, I will blog. Which is what I am doing at the moment. I am actually at the car garage because I have to get a new tire and then after, I need to run out and get some things for the house and for our girls. 💗💗💗

Like “all,” we try to just manage. As we know, “the things” will always be there, and always need to get done. We also know, we are not alone. I mean I talk to parents, mom friends, our friends, family and it seems to be the norm for all.

I look at our schedule though … and it has been a “My Lanta moment” most recently!!! 🤷🏻‍♀️😉🤣

My husband though, is more of a calm, let’s just do and get it done, check off ☑️ the to-do list kind of guy. Where due to my type-A, perfectionist personality, things like a “to-do list” can overwhelm me at times! 😬

I had a talk with one of my dearest the other day and she truly brought much to light for me. We were just talking about life and the simplicity of being in our twenties (20’s), before babies. She said, “In the busyness, we also need to fill our cup.” This was an “ahh moment!” for me. It is something that seems so simple, but to me/us, we often forget this.

Ohhh to fill our cups, okay how to pencil this in too? That’s truly how my husband and I think, to go on a date night, out to eat, away for the night … Without kids, Ha!!! Yeah, nope!!!

It’s something to think about though … 🤔

Mama …

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Love being a “Mama” …

I often will watch/listen to how people will write the word or even say, “Mama” …

I watch and I listen … many when talking about this role often say, “mom” of course. They will say, “mommy”, but I smile when I see others say or even write momma and truly what gives me more of an aweee 💗 is when I see it written out as “mama.”

Mama is near and dear to my heart. This was my title for awhile in this house. Our first little love called me mama when she was first learning how to talk, and then one day switched it to mommy. I remember crying when she said mommy too, (listen it’s a mommy thing for this mama, okay! 🤣)

However, out of no where she said mommy one day and she was confused as to why I was now sad … She actually went in our bathroom and grabbed me a tissue and brought it over to me, looking at me confused! 💗

Yes, my sweet little almost two (2) year old, knew to bring me a tissue whenever I was sad!!! Cute, right? 🥰

So, here’s the thing … she actually always thought she was saying “Mommy,” but since talking was all new to her, it was coming out as “Mama!” 💗 I truly loved that she called me Mama. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that she was now calling me Mommy too! 🥰 but Mama … is just, 💗 tear!!! 🥺

Oh those Mommy stories, so I will often write “Mama” and whenever I see someone else write out “Mama” I just smile, because it’s just near and dear to my heart! 💗

The Scentsy Life …

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Here’s the story with Scentsy …

My sister was trying to get me to switch from Yankee to Scentsy. My husband and I use to have shelves upon shelves of Yankee candles and a scent in each room of the house too. My sister would tell me Scentsy is more you, it’s a healthier candle approach and the scents are amazing, etc.

I would say, “Nope, not letting go of my favorite scents!” and to be honest I still have quite a few! 😉

… but I finally gave in, and I bought Scentsy one Summer day, then a scent sold me to Scentsy. “Summer Holiday!” Yep, I was SOLD!

So, from then on Scentsy was our new candle scentsational scent of fun. Not to mention their super cute WARMERS too!!!

Well, one day I am smelling the scents and (as many know, I am gluten free and labeled, undiagnosed celiac), so I smelled a scent called “Blueberry Cheescake” and suddenly I now wanted a Blueberry 🫐 Muffin! – lol 🤷🏻‍♀️

So, I added this scent to my order. When it arrived, I put it in my warmers and loooved it. My husband and our girls 💗💗💗 loved it too! So, I ordered more right away, and after spending close to $200 on Scentsy in one single month. I joked and said, “Maybe I should just sell this stuff at this point!” The girl I bought from responded with, “‘You should, you alone would keep yourself in business!” lol 🤔

So, asked a few more questions and talked it over with my husband and I signed on that Month as a Scentsy Consultant and began my little business in June of 2019. So, it’ll be three (3) years this June. It is just something small I have on the side of mommy life, family life, etc. Something part-time for me to have and it brings in some extra cash too! (I actually make more now than when I was working part-time, while pregnant with our first little love 💗)

Scentsy is slower right now though, but it’s still busy too. Not as busy as it was in the beginning of Covid, but once people’s smells were effected (like this gal) and the gas prices increased. People slowed down with it, but it’s a great product, and it’s a healthier candle approach too. So, if you’re interested in this “wickless candle approach, that’s cleaner, safer and healthier!” Contact me and if you want a part-time little business, contact me too! 🥰

Busyness …

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Okay “busyness” … well, it is the new “norm.” in this house.

(Especially, once you become a mom and dad, and more specifically when your kiddies are old enough to all be in school and play sports, or cheer, dance, etc.)

We have been nonstop, like NONSTOP lately … I mean, we quadruple booked this Easter 🐣 ✝️ Weekend. We had two (2) Soccer ⚽️ Tournaments (that’s six (6) Games), our good friends’ wedding and Easter Sunday. Now, because of the craziness we spread out the games for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but we also had to coordinate getting to the wedding, did not host Easter this year, etc.

Not to mention, earlier in the week our littlest love caught a bug. Poor little thing 🤒, she’s doing better now. 🙏🏼 Still fighting off the tail end of it, with a cough, but her fever is gone, energy is back, and her appetite is back! Praise God! 🙏🏼

I think I lost it for a brief moment 🤯 I mean #mommying, in between the phone calls, the soccer ⚽️ things, germs, events, work, etc.

My husband and his calmness though, as he says, “We will figure all out and never book our schedules like this again!” 💗

So, here we are … It’s Monday morning, we all are tired 😴, but all turned out pretty good! 🙏🏼 Our one little love won 1st 🥇 place in her division. ⚽️ My husband rocked as a coach and our other little love handled poor sportsmanship well from the other team she played! 💗 I got glutened of course, so still fighting that off 😬 and our littlest love has been fever free for over 48 hours!!! 🙏🏼 and Easter was very nice! 🐣✝️

My Hubby has events today at work, so I am home with our littles. I am cleaning all, doing laundry, and the pup 🐶 needs to get to groomer, there’s errands, etc., but all that was 🤯 is now ☑️ …

It’s now mid way through the month and I have not written out our calendar. 📆 I need to do this today or maybe tomorrow? 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I need to regroup/think and just pause! 💗

All the Things …

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Bringing it back to “cozy” … after all, my new blog is called “Cozy Styling” and like I said in previous blogs/posts, “I think we all need to find that cozy in life, from time to time.”

Oh and Happy Friday!!! – now this is Cozy, well, later tonight that is … all at home, eating yummy food, playing games, maybe a cup of hot tea. ☕️

So, what is your cozy?”

Okay, so if you follow me in my IG story posting, Scentsy posting, blog posting … I am a pinterest gal. To be honest, a good amount of my ideas, stem from Pinterest. I’d love to sharpen my photography 📸 skills too, so I can add to my now pinning and blogging, … but there’s only sooo many hours ⏰ in the day 🤷🏻‍♀️

On many mornings, I wake up and before my coffee, I find a coffee stock photo on pinterest, to post onto my Scentsy page.

Scentsy website – http://jenniferbendas.scentsy.us

In my searching, I see all the things ✨✨✨

A little of what catches my eye or grabs my attention. Fitness pictures, Healthy foods, Posts on Faith, Coffee photos (but ironically don’t “love” coffee 🤷🏻‍♀️ only in the mornings.) Fashion, cozy fashion in the winter, even in the summer, and just cute fashionable things. Nail pictures, I love my nails painted, but DISLIKE getting my nails done 🤣 (this is a new thing I now “know,” but the piggies love them painted and love a pedicure too.)

More on cozy … facials are another new thing, loving at home facials or scheduling one at a salon or spa.

I love, like looovvveee organization. It’s interesting (and my husband often jokes about this) nothing like a clean house, my bed made, angles, a new comforter, an organized pantry, a new journal/planner, etc. just looovvveee!!!

Speaking of journals, I love notebooks, odd yes 🤣 but I do … nothing like a fresh notebook, journal or planner! 🙂

and loving leopard, WHAT!!! … what happened? I am now loving leopard too. 🐆

Just a little of this and a little of that on this Friday, time to get some errands done! ☑️