Summer Love

My tripod finally came in the mail, so we had some fun with it this week in the backyard. Walker is 7 months old now! I can't even remember what my life was like without him. I am one blessed mama. I've been feeling a lot of pressure lately to just have it all together. Sometimes between working and being a mom and keeping up with household things I feel like it's impossible to find time to devote to developing my style or growing as an individual. I'm sure I'm not the only one! How did our moms do it?! As important as it is to invest in my family I know that if I am going to teach my kids to be strong and confident I need to have that strength and confidence to pass on. I made a list of things that I feel are the most important to pass on to Walker and other future babies, and I'm trying to prioritize them and work hard to fit them into my schedule.  I want to sacrifice for my kids in every way, I want them to have everything. I also want them to have a mature and put-together mom to learn from and rely on. Do any of you have any practical ideas on how to not "lose yourself" when becoming a mom? I'd love to hear them!

Honestly

I recently read Jessica Alba's book, The Honest Life, which documents her experience in researching, finding, and creating safe and environmentally friendly products and food for her two children. It was a very engaging read to say the least. I understand that reading just one book can't give someone all the answers, but this is a great resource for anyone wondering what kind of processes and chemicals are really being used in our babies' food, diapers, soaps, etc. and what research has shown the affects of those processes to be. It has me thinking a lot lately about the quality of the food and products I am giving to Walker. I have to admit that I am one to read something like this and freak out a little bit and go buy all organic groceries and throw away all of Walker's diapers and plastic toys. Thankfully I have a very low-key husband who keeps me grounded, but I have been making conscious decisions with Walker's food and the things I am eating for a start. I think it's good to start small and slowly implement life-long, healthy habits. I have really been putting an effort into making wholesome meals for our family from scratch that include lots of local fresh veggies, organic meats and whole grains and slowly cleaning out all of our over-processed, sugar-filled pantry norms. I feel great, and I'm really excited about the next steps. Here's to learning how to provide the best for our babies!