Category: Mamahood

Cha Cha’s Two-nicorn Birthday Party

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase usingthe links in this post.

If you told our little Cha Cha that she just turned two, I’m pretty sure she’d look at you like you had three heads. Cuz as far as she’s concerned, she’s been ruling this roost for a hundred years at least, and we’re all just here for her entertainment 😉 But truth be told, as much as we joke about our little “boss baby,” I must tell you – she’s also the kindest and silliest soul. She loves her bubba the most, and calls out to him every morning from our bed. She adores daddy and frantically waves at him with exclamations of “HI DADA!!” barely letting him in the door every day he gets home from work. As for me, I always knew I wanted a daughter, but I never would have imagined she’d be the sheer spitting image of me and I live for her sweet mama snuggles.

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Mom Jean Confessions: Why I’m Proud To Have A Strong Willed Child

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It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about this topic, and my how things have changed. If we thought Cha Cha was strong willed before, then we absolutely, without a doubt, and whole heartedly know this to be true now. But here’s the thing. At what point did “strong-willed” become synonymous with “bad-behaved,” or “stubborn,” or even worse – “problem child?” My child is anything but a problem. My child is strong-willed, Yes. But she’s also mind-blowingly perceptive, and what if some day she wakes up and starts perceiving that this world isn’t meant for her? That her strong will is yet another thing society tells us we need to correct for her to “fit in.” Well screw fitting in (pardon my French). I honestly think we need more children like Cha Cha, and here’s why…

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Visiting the Magnolia Silos in Waco, TX

The Murray Family Guide To The Magnolia Silos

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Like half the population of 30-something year old women – I’ve been fostering my love for Joanna Gaines for some time now. It hit its peek right around the time when we moved back home to Texas and started living out our “Fixer Upper” dreams. I’d like to think if JG ever strolled past our little Murray cottage – she’d give me a wink and a thumbs up 😉 So naturally, the sweet hubs that I have has been scheming a trip to Magnolia Market at the Silos for the past couple of years. The first time we tried, it was for my bday when Cha Cha was a mere 3 months old, so that was out. The second time we were coming back from our quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, but unfortunately they were closed on Sunday 😕 So third time’s a charm and as luck would have it, we made it back early enough from our July 4th Virginia trip (which I’ll be blogging about soon!), and were able to swing by the Silos with the kiddos earlier this week 😊 Just for fun, I thought I’d round up a quick guide if you’re planning a visit to the Magnolia Silos in Waco – hope it helps!

Visiting the Magnolia Silos in Waco, TX

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Mom Jean Confessions: Dear Younger Self, Be Grateful

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A couple of days ago, a friend of mine shared a meme in her Facebook group & it’s stuck with me ever since.

I scrolled past it at first, until literally the next post on my feed was an article shared by my sister-in-law. All I had to do was read the title “Neuroscience Reveals How Gratitude Literally Rewires Your Brain to Be Happier.” I went right back and commented on my friend’s post – “Be Grateful.” It seems so simple, and as I read through the dozens of other comments, “Have Faith, Don’t Stress, Slow Down,” I couldn’t help but wonder – why does it take us so long to realize these simple life lessons?

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10 Ways I Met My Goal of “10K by May” on Instagram

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I don’t know about you, but when I have a goal I want to hit, I always give it a catch phrase. Maybe it’s the marketer in me, but I just can’t help myself 😋 Which is how my slogan “10k by May” was born. About 6 months ago, right around the holidays, I was looking at my Instagram and realized I was so close to hitting 5k followers and thought it would be fun to set a goal to hit it by the end of the year. I ended up hitting it before Christmas, and it gave me the boost I needed to start setting goals for myself in the new year. The one goal that I’d always felt unattainable – was hitting that magic number “10k” on Instagram. Since I’ve never been one to give up easily, I started doing the math in my head and decided based on my exponential growth up to this point – that it was totally doable to hit “10k by May.” So here’s how I did it…

10 Ways to hit 10k followers on Instagram

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CH2T Styling: Day to Night Easter Spring Outfits for Moms

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links in this post. I received complimentary products from PinkBlush in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Is it just me, or is Easter like the sneakiest holiday ever? For Christmas, we start planning two and half years in advance. For Easter, it’s like, “Hey, I’m back! Hope you remembered to buy all the random things for your kid’s Easter party at school” (which the answer is of course, “No” 🤦‍♀️). However the one thing that seems to never slip my mind (must be the stylist in me), is shopping for the perfect Easter outfit for the kids and myself. Luckily, Cha Cha was easy cuz all her clothes are hand-me-downs, and really freaken cute ones too 😉 Garrett’s also pretty easy since he takes matters into his own hands, and already picked out the perfect spring plaid button-down that he’s been holding onto for over a month saying “I’m saving that one for Easter, mom.” 😂 So that just leaves me, and as luck would have it – I was able to partner with PinkBlush to style what I’m calling “Day to Night Easter Spring Outfits for Moms.” 😊

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Mom Jean Confessions: Top 10 Work-At-Home Myths Busted By Real Moms

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So I realized the other day, it’s been exactly three years since I made the freakin scariest decision ever to leave my “stable” full-time job in digital marketing. I say “stable” – because shortly after I left the magazine I worked for, it was sold and several of my friends and colleagues were blind-sided by a slew of lay-offs. But as life would have it, we’ve all since gone on to pursue careers that fulfilled us in ways we never would have imagined possible had we stayed in our comfort zones. For me personally, it meant fully transitioning to working from home primarily on my blog, as well as getting my first real taste of the freelance world. I learned very quickly that trying to juggle a career from home, while being a mom to two little ones, and keeping up with my first house after living in a 1 bedroom – was challenging to say the least. Any preconceived notion I had about the work-at-home mom life went completely out the window and into the gutter.

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How I Trust and Protect My Family’s Gut Health

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This post is sponsored by Probulin but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Ever since moving back home to Houston, and experiencing it’s yo-yo weather aka 70s one day, 40s the next – I feel like my family has been on a non-stop merry-go-round of antibiotics. I was so glad our pediatrician recommended we all start taking a probiotic to offset the good bacteria that gets depleted even from a one-time usage of antibiotics. Children are especially susceptible to this, since they have a less developed immune system, leaving them even more vulnerable to infection and sickness. You may remember I started Cha Cha on a probiotic when she was just a baby. After seeing the amazing difference it made, I realized quickly that I needed to find a probiotic supplement for the rest of us to help replenish the good bacteria to support not just healthy digestion but overall immune health. Enter our hero – Probulin! We love their new probiotic supplement Total Care Probiotic for Adults and My Little Bugs™ Total Care Probiotic for Kids. So I thought I’d share how my family is protecting our gut health, thanks to Probulin, and why it’s been the perfect choice for “my little bug” 🐞😊

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