I started blogging as a hobby when I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. As a former makeup artist and fashion enthusiast, I was scared to death of losing myself in motherhood as you see all those women on the makeover shows do. I didn’t want to wake up one day and be a shell of myself just because I love my kids. At first, it was just a creative outlet. Sharing how to make a t-shirt and jeans look cute while at the park with your baby. Tips and tricks for the everyday makeup wearer. Fun finds and gadgets I’ve found that make daily motherhood tasks more simple.
When Bexley, my second baby, turned 1 I decided I’d give it a real go. By now I’ve been a mom for 3 years and I was shocked by what I had experienced in the realm of motherhood. I had joined a few mom groups and what I witnessed hurt my heart. I have this overwhelming joy being a mom. I love my kids and love being a mom. Sure, some days are tough, it’s the toughest job there is, but it’s also the greatest. I found moms that were already lost only a year into their mom journey. I found a generation of women so quick to judge one another on parenting styles. The amount of spite and bitterness in these mother’s hearts made me ache. I knew I had to use the small community of moms I had already built and begun a movement.
Look better, feel better, do better. It has always been a motto of mine and it became my platform to wrap a blanket of positivity over these amazing moms who are suffering. Suffering from feeling exhausted, feeling like a failure, and feeling alone. It doesn’t have to be that way. We just have to change our thinking to positive and empowering vibes.
Dressing for the part in life you want has been something I’ve practiced for many years now. I have always been successful. No one wants to be the Hot Mess mom. We don’t get up in the morning and think, the baby spit-up on this shirt really brings out the color in my eyes. We don’t think, oh these sweatpants make my ass look great! Nope. We roll out of bed after being up all night with the baby and try to resemble some kind of human being. In the beginning, it’s survival. The problem is, we never get the energy we had before the baby back, ever. From this point on we are a mom and sleep and energy will never come easy. And, let’s be real, most of our pre-baby clothes probably don’t fit.
When we dress like a slob, or a bum, or hot mess mom, whatever you want to label it, we will also feel like it. Unless we take the time to get dressed, even just in jeans and a t-shirt, or some comfy athletic wear, we won’t be the thriving mother we had hoped to be.
So. Now that we are dressed we have a little more pep in our step. We feel like a human, like an adult, like a woman. When we feel good about ourselves, we are more sympathetic and empathetic to those around us. We aren’t so quick to judge the other mom across the playground. We have a little more energy because we are smiling when we feel good, and we can get a few things done around the house. Every time we complete one task, we want to complete another. This is how feeling better leads to doing better.
When we feel better and do better we can support those around us. We can lift them up instead of becoming misery’s company. Motherhood will always be hard. There is so much more to think about these days and consider when raising children. So much more pressure with all the eyes on social media watching your every move, just waiting to see you fail. Mainstream media shows us repeatedly that moms are supposed to be struggling. That we should be in sweatpants, letting ourselves go, giving ourselves over to the pressure of failure. Well, I won’t allow it! We are all mothers. While we might make different choices for our families they are all the best choices for OUR families. I am here to redefine motherhood. I want to lift mothers up so high we start a revolution. I’ve started a private Facebook group for moms where I challenge each mom to a look better, feel better, and do better challenge each week. They can participate in all or none of the challenges. It’s all so simple, but if we can make these seemingly small gestures become a habit over time we will conquer motherhood and be living the best life we dreamed of when starting a family was only a wish.