Life Lately {5/24/16}

It's been almost two weeks since my last post. My life has been all over the place. I have been all over the place. Life has not slowed down, in fact we are full speed ahead as we reach the end of the school year! I've written post after post in my head, but I have yet to stop and write them here. Sad, but true.

My last post on this blog was to announce the suspension of #threethingsthursday. There were many reasons behind the decision, the biggest being my dear friend Renee's diagnosis. Despite her diagnosis, I think that the three of us ran out of steam. It's okay to admit that we felt strapped every week, real life obligations circling around us. Blogging ain't easy, which seems laughable, but it's true. It's not easy to continue to come up with content daily. And as I become stretched in real life obligations this blog takes a back seat. That hurts me a little to admit, especially since my resolution for 2016 was to write.

I went to Elevate and returned from Elevate just over a week ago. I'll write a few posts on that very soon, but I will say that it was worth every penny and stress that I spent to get there. I saw some of my favorite bloggy people. We hugged and laughed and bonded even more under the Southern California sun. I walked away with that same overwhelming feeling of being ready for next, whatever my next may be. I won some pretty fabulous prizes. I received some serious swag. Details to follow. I promise.

Alyssa and Kristine. Love them.

Last Friday was the school carnival at my kiddos' school. I somehow found myself on the planning committee. I've been working with my co chair and other committee members since March to make sure it went off without a hitch. If I'm honest I didn't do as much as others, but I wrapped baskets and wrote bid sheets, solicited donations, and worked the food booth for about three hours. I snuck away twice to get photo booth time with my girls, but I didn't take a single IG worthy picture the entire night. Instead I was dipping my hands in ice tubs for sodas and waters. Trying to add food prices in my head on the spot. Tricky for someone who doesn't math. My dear husband spent the evening corralling our kids, waiting for them at the inflatables, making sure they ate their hot dog combos. I went home and feel asleep on the couch. In the end it was worth it, but I'm glad we only do it once a year.

Photo booth love with my big girl

I spent the past weekend cleaning and reorganizing. Hoping to get back to a more normal life. What is normal anyway? We are just a few weeks away from our last day of school. Soon Caitlin will turn nine. I'm looking forward to long nights with neighbors, and some time spent with my keyboard.

Because my life lately was been messy and chaotic.

Isn't it always?

Something Different {threethingsthursday 5/12/16}

Hi friends! We are switching up our Three Things Thursday Link Up a bit. The reality is sometimes life and it's curve balls forces us to prioritize, and if we are being honest we are completely OK with that. Our sweet co-host Nay is going through some rough stuff right now, and we know she'd appreciate any prayers and get well vibes you'd send her and her family! Since we know what this blogging community is capable of, let's show her lots of love! Thank you in advance. 

We have been using Instagram as another platform for Three Things Thursday, so we've decided that's the direction we want to go moving forward. No set rules, no mandatory tags - we would just love it if you use the hashtag #3FriendsThursday so we can find you and connect that way. Below are our IG handles so feel free to tag us in your posts so we don't miss them and can give shout outs to you! 

The Foley Fam - @thefoleyfam

Coffee-n-Ink - @coffee_n_ink

Absolute Mommy - @absolute_mommy

Thanks to all of you who have joined us the last 15 weeks of us hosting! It's been so fun, and we've loved meeting new friends and connecting with old ones! We hope to see you on the flipside! Remember to use the hashtag #3FriendsThursday.

The above is running on our blogs this morning. I'm not going to lie, my heart is breaking a little. My goal this year was to write more, and post more on this blog. I've been trying my hardest, but suddenly I find myself knee deep in end of year festivities. My kids have their school carnival next week. We are ending our Girl Scout year with an art show, with art the girls created themselves. ELEVATE CONFERENCE IS SATURDAY! It's all happening so fast, and with a part time job and full time kids, I'm left with little time to write. I'm looking forward to summer, possibly hosting a link up here on my own for whatever ails or pleases us. That could be fun. I'm also looking forward to lazy mornings and evenings outside with my neighbors. Thanks so much for linking up with us these last few months. It's been amazing to feel the community again. And feel free to leave a link to your most recent blog post in the comments. I'd love that!

PS: If you are at Elevate this Saturday, track me down and take a selfie with me.

About the Blog {#threethingsthursday 5/5/16}

Welcome to #threethingsthursday a fantastic way to engage with other bloggers and readers in our blogging community.  We'd love for you to link up with us. All you need are three things to talk or write about. Any three pictures from Instagram. Three complaints about your day/week. Three of your favorite treats. Seriously. Any three things! 
So write it. Publish it. Yell it from the mountain tops! 

Just be sure you come back and link it up here!

For some extra fun follow us on Instagram for some three things posts! 

Use the #threethingsthursday, and let's start talking!

The Foley Fam

Coffee-n-Ink

Absolute Mommy

This week's #threethings is going to be all about this blog. In nine days I will be attending the Elevate Blog Conference. Let me tell you, this conference delivers. Every year I come home from Elevate motivated and in touch with my blogging goals. The networking opportunities are off the charts, and it's the chance to make life long friends. Trust me, the two gals I host #threethings with used to be my blogging besties, now they are just my besties. Elevate gave us the chance to meet in real life!

Since Elevate is just nine days away, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to my fellow attendees, and perhaps to some of you. This blog has changed in so many ways since 2011. I'm different, my voice is different, and I find that the time spent here has also changed. What hasn't changed is my passion to write, and my passion to write about life, love, and motherhood. I found these questions on Pinterest earlier today, and I felt they were a perfect way to say hello, nice to meet you. If you get the chance, check out the Elevate Blog Conference. Until then, here are #threethings I bet you didn't know about Absolute Mommy, the blog!

ONE/ WHY DID I START THIS BLOG?

I started my blog late one afternoon when my husband was late coming home from work. At the time I had a three year old and an 18 month old, and I was literally climbing the walls. I had been thinking about starting a blog for over a year, and had started out by starting the Absolute Mommy Facebook page. I would write status about being a mom, drowning in diapers and bullshit. I always kept it short and sweet, until I didn't. I really wanted to connect with other moms to let them know they were not alone. The entire first year of Caitlin's life I felt so alone and out of touch. I felt like every minor hiccup was a major failure, and I always wondered if it was just me. Was I the only one majorly sucking at this? Well, once I started writing, I found out that I was not alone. In fact there was an entire tribe of women out there waiting for someone to say what they were too afraid to. I was afraid too, don't get me wrong. Still, the more I wrote, the better I felt, and the more people I connected with. I started this blog to rediscover Megan, who seemed impossibly lost at the time.

TWO/ WHAT KEEPS ME BLOGGING?

My readers and friends. Strangers I see at Target. The Mom in the drop off line with one screaming baby on her hip, and one pissed off first grader. Every time I see a mother struggling with life, love, or their tiny humans, I want to reach out to them. I want to smile at them with grace in my heart and on my face. I keep blogging, even sporadically as of late, because I think it's important for everyone to find their peace. I keep writing and posting because more often than not, I'll get a comment that says, "I needed that today". Motherhood is impossibly hard. I say that not because I'm lazy or because I'm really terribly at it, I say it because it's the truth. Motherhood is happiness and sadness;guilt and joy. Motherhood fuels everything I do now. I can't make a decision without giving my status as a mother consideration. So I keep writing and posting because my story isn't unique. My story and stories on this blog have been universal, even if they have just been routine and status quo as far as motherhoood goes. Still, it continues to inspire me daily.

THREE/ WHAT DO I HOPE MY READERS WILL COME 

AWAY WITH AFTER A VISIT TO MY BLOG?

I hope that when someone visits this blog they walk away feeling better about themselves and how they mother. I hope that I have made them laugh and inspire them visit this blog again. It's always been a goal of mine to make moms feel like they are doing best job they can. I feel like there is not a "right" way to mother, there is only "your way". Motherhood is different for everyone. I want all mothers from all walks to feel welcome on my blog. I hated breastfeeding, my kids still sleep in my bed sometimes, I'm a yeller. My hope is that by being honest about these things, I can make another mom realize that she's not effing this thing up royally. Currently, I hope that my readers continue to visit my blog and that they never give up on me since my writing has dropped off dramatically this year. I'm still writing. I'm still inspired by motherhood. And I'm still trying to keep this blog alive.

Thanks for visiting our link up today. If you are visiting today in anticipation of Elevate, please take a chance to read my "best of", by clicking the Best Of tab above. My "best of" tab really is some of my best writing. If fiction is more your bag, check out my short story under the "Dinner Party" tab. It was fun to dive into some fiction for a change.

I'd love to hear your answers to some of these questions if you blog, and I hope you link up with us today!

An InLinkz Link-up