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Hey there, mama!
Are you an Amazon Prime junkie fan like me? How pumped are you for Prime Day 2018?!
If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime membership then today is, definitely, definitely the day to become one.
You can get a FREE 30 Day Trial to Amazon PrimeHERE, just in time to take advantage of all the deals for Prime members only, beginning on July 16th, 2018 at 3:00PM EST.
I save HUNDREDS of dollar a year by shopping for everything from the comfort of my home, car (as a passenger, of course), waiting in lines, etc. Groceries, toddler gear, home decor, electronics, clothing, music, movies, even groceries now…Is there anything Amazon Prime doesn’t get you access to (+ free 1-2 day shipping/returns) these days? For busy moms, Amazon Prime is nothing less than a BFF. The amount of time saved in not making trips to multiple stores, and energy saved in not getting T in and out of her car seat, is invaluable!
Okay, so onto some of the Amazon Prime Day 2018 deals I have my eye on for babies, toddlers, and their mamas! Head over to my Facebook Page and shop with me all day beginning…..NOW! The sale starts at 3:00PM, but I’ve already spotted some sweet Early Access promos! I’ll be posting every chance I get when I find a deal for you:
Let me know if there is something, in particular, you’ve been on the hunt for and I’ll see what I can find! Happy shopping and saving!!
We officially have a (Peppa Pig OBSESSED) 2-year-old in the house! Admittedly, I may have gone jussssst a little overboard with the Peppa Pig Birthday Party decor, but to see her delighted, little face when she came down the stairs… #worthit
It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since her “What A One-derful World” 1st Birthday Party (I’m still pretty much in denial!). There have been A LOT of changes for our family this year, but I couldn’t be more thankful to be living a life we’ve intentionally designed to allow me to be present for ALL of Taylor’s growth and changes for the years to come!
In her birthday party recap post from last year, I shared our 1st Birthday Party Planning Checklist. To plan T’s 2nd Peppa Pig Birthday Par-TAY, I followed the exact same list to keep me organized, minus things like the Smash Cake and gathering pics from 0-12 months! If you’d like a copy of that list, you can access it through this link!
Before I share a few pictures of the par-TAY, I want to chat with you about something that’s been on my heart, especially as someone with a little, itty bitty corner of influence on the internet…
Don’t Stress Over Making Everything Perfect!
It’s so easy for us moms to put pressure on ourselves based on the perfect images we see on Pinterest, Instagram and social media in general. To the moms who are able to pull off picture-perfect party-scapes, I am impressed by/applaud you! You are so talented, and you inspire us! To those of you who, like me this year, choose to keep it simple – that’s totally OKAY too! If planning and decorating an elaborate party brings you JOY and feeds your creative spirit – do it; If it stresses you out mentally or financially, don’t feel like you need to impress anyone, because you truly don’t. B A L A N C E in life and motherhood is not about being able to do “it all,” all at once; it’s about choosing what you need to put down for a few hours, or days, or years to focus on the essentials for YOU and YOUR family- and asking for/accepting help when you need it!
When it comes to birthday party planning/execution (and life in general!), focus on what matters! What matters is time with loved ones (whether that be just your immediate family or a group of 50!), celebrating another sweet year of life with your little one, and another parenting anniversary for you!
Aside from the gobs of Peppa themed EVERYTHING, we kept it simple and focussed on surrounding Taylor with her closest family and friends to love on her (and spoil her with WAY TOO MANY gifts!). I honestly think, based on the fact that she STILL asks for her “birthday party” every day, it was the best day of her life!
Here are a few imperfectly perfect pictures from Taylor’s Peppa Pig Birthday Par-TAY!
In the morning, Taylor opened up one of her Party Favor Bags for herself, but we didn’t let her get into her actual gifts (this Peppa Pig dollhouse, and this Princess Bubble Blowing Wand which ended up being her FAVORITE gift of the day!)
Then, it was time for her “party dress” ($11.97 on sale right now!!) and shoes, and to check out the various mylar Peppa Pig balloons (including the infamous “Walking Peppa” who Taylor has chosen as her partner in battle/wrestling for weeks following this part!). and decor around the house before her guests arrived!
Once her guests arrived, our extroverted sweetie was in her ELEMENT. Bubbles, coloring, mini pizzas, chocolate cake, presents, several new vehicles to ride around on, and almost all of her favorite people in the world – she was in absolute heaven!
It was like she had been rehearsing this moment for months!
You’re in!! Thank you for your interest in the Modern Mompreneur Lounge Membership!!
We can’t wait to launch and get you into this VAULT of awesomeness that’s going to help you scale and take your influence and income to the next level!
You’ll soon be receiving an exclusive email with LAUNCH details!! Stay tuned…
In the meantime, you can check out some of the AMAZING content, resources and coaching you’ll be able to access through the Modern Mompreneur Lounge Membership:
I know, it’s a lot of change, but to design a life we love – making decisions and change toward that life are essential. I’ve found my MOMpreneur sweet spot and I’m excited to share it with you.
When I left my career as a Special Education teacher turned School District Administrator, the plan was for me to return to work in a couple of years when Taylor was school-aged. Maybe even work part-time before then consulting or advocating within the Special Education field/community.
MY REALIZATION
However, about 3 months into my time as a stay at home mom and ALL the moment-filled days I got to spend with my little girl, I realized without a doubt in my mind, that I did not want to go back to work outside the home.
I thought even more about all the moments I had missed being away from her that year I went back to work outside the home, and I didn’t want to miss any more of them – not a drop-off or a pickup from school, not a smile, not a tear, not a single thing if I don’t have to.
I truly loved my work in Special Education but, if I’m 100% honest with you, it was emotionally exhausting for me. When I commit to something I am passionate about, I give it everything I have. I would come home after 10 hour days, drained, and I couldn’t ever stop thinking or worrying about the cases I was involved in. Those cases, those children, those families deserved that energy, but…
My emotional energy needs to go to my husband and Taylor, not my work. I feel called to be at home for them. It was worth the huge financial and lifestyle changes we made as a family.
That said, I WANT to work. I WANT to make money for our family and to have to spend on fun things for myself when I want to. I love to pour myself into things that I’m passionate about, as I did with Special Education. I want to have a career that allows me to continue to help people and utilize the gifts I’ve been given and the skills I developed through time, education and practice. But I want to do all of that at home.
I prayed about it and didn’t know where it would all end up, but committed to trusting and figuring out what I would need to do to make it happen. I started my journey in the Social Marketing industry in September of 2017, originally intending for it to be a side hustle to my part-time work with my Motherhood + Lifestyle blog and to my full-time job of Mom.
My original goal was to replace the 6 figure income I was when I left my previous career by the time Taylor started Kindergarten. After one year in the industry, I’m halfway there with 3 years to spare!
WHAT I DO NOW
Every day I have the blessing and responsibility of helping other women to start and run their own businesses as well; making sure they are connected with the training, high duplicatable system, tools & resources available to them to experience whatever level of financial success they desire.
“When you find your calling and you design your life in such a way that you can share your gifts with the world on a consistent basis, you feel like a rock star. When we share what we were brought here to give, we are in alignment with our highest, most powerful selves.”
– Jen Sincero
Beyond the positive, unexpected financial impact of this branch of my online business, this “job” also pushed me to be more myself than I EVER have been in my life, and to share that with the women all across the country that I have the pleasure of meeting. Each day I wake up excited to share, to create, to plan, to learn, to grow, and to become more of who I’ve been created to be – on my own terms and from my own home – AND to inspire and help others to do the same. It’s a blessing I’m so grateful for and that I’m passionate about sharing with other who have the same desire for purpose, time freedom and financial freedom that I did..
I’m home with my daughter and my husband. I’m working on my own schedule and loving that work. I’m making an income and an impact. I have time to take care of myself so that I can pour back into my family and others around me.
I have the best of all worlds. This lifestyle IS possible, but it took making some difficult decisions, big changes, hard/smart work, and closing doors so that others could open. If you’re in a place where your heart, that little voice inside that you can’t ignore, is prompting you to make a change or try something new that just might change your life, I encourage you to make a plan, roll up your sleeves and GO FOR IT; Live your life by design, not by default.
Each day during my morning routine, I pray to CONNECT with the right women. This includes business partners, as well as the people who will never impact my income but whose lives I can add value to in some way. I wonder if one of those people might just be you?
Are you?
-Determined
-Hard Working
-Teachable
-Positive
-Passionate about helping others
If so, then we should absolutely connect! Maybe you’ve been following my journey for years, or maybe this is the first post of mine you’ve read – either way I would love to find a time to chat with you one on one about your goals.
I would love to get you more information to see if something like what I do is a fit for you too!!
Thank you for your application!! Details on Social Retail + working with me within my network marketing team are on their way to your Facebook Messenger inbox now!
If you don’t receive an email within the next few minutes, double check your SPAM folder. If you have any issues locating the email, please email me directly at ashley@taylor-mademama.com
I can’t wait to chat with you soon about your goals, and to see if this may be a mutual fit!
Hello there friend! It’s been a while, but I have something to share today that I hope speaks to your heart if you’re a fellow introverted mom.
I’ve sat on this idea for a long time because I don’t want to be perceived as “selfish,” but I KNOW that some of my readers are introverts as well and I want you to feel A) validated, and B) understand that “me time” for you is NOT being selfish; it is also non-negotiable if you want to be your happiest self and keep burn out at bay.
This is a post that is near and dear to my heart because, for me and so many other introverted moms I know, daily self-care and “me time” is the difference between being happy+ content, or unhappy + burnt out.
The heart of the matter is that you need to fill up your cup in order to continue to pour into others, most importantly your children. If you’re running on empty, you’re not able to give your best self. Taking time alone isn’t being selfish; In fact, when done with this intent, it’s quite the opposite.
An introverted mom can burn out quickly and sometimes not realize why or how she got there. I knew this about myself going into my new role as a stay at home mom (who’s extroverted hubby also works at home!), and have never felt happier, which I credit largely to the routine I’ve established for us that includes daily alone time for me.
I hope that by sharing some of the things that work to keep me from feeling drained as an introverted mom and wife, you will then find ways and give yourself the permission to have the alone time you truly need each day!
But Ashley, how can I find “me time” every day? There’s just no way – my kid stopped napping, gets up at 5:00 AM, I’m a mom of 4, I work full time outside the home!! No matter how busy even the most introverted super mom among us is, I promise you that you can find a way to make that “me time” DAILY. I would argue that it’s non-negotiable if you want to feel content and happy as an introverted mom. The ideas I’m going to share with you are not ALL going to be possible to do every day, or at all depending on your circumstances, but I KNOW that it’s possible to fit at least one of these in each day even if only for 5-10 minutes. And, those 5-10 minutes will make all the difference for you.
So, how do I know if I’m an Introverted Mom?
The core of introversion can be defined by this simple distinction: you predominantly derive your energy from being alone versus from being around other people.
Being an introvert does not necessarily mean you are shy, although many shy people are introverts. Being an introvert does not mean you are necessarily self-conscious either, or that you don’t enjoy being around other people. Being an introvert doesn’t mean you don’t like to talk. Being around others and talking is enjoyable to most introverts (at least they are to me!) but definitely, drain our energy resources. Just as an extrovert feels filled up through and seeks out being around people, introverts are filled up through time spent alone.
Being an introvert just means that, in order to feel balanced and filled up you need solitude (AKA quiet, “alone time”)…daily.
Why does it matter?
Why is this important to realize, particularly as an introverted mom?
As a mom/wife/friend/etc. constantly giving of yourself to others around you have to be creative and intentional about finding the alone time you need to feel centered and re-energized. ALL moms experience some degree of burnout from time to time, and we certainly all need to practice self-care and find space for “me time,” but for introverted mamas, this need is at a whole other level.
Before we became moms, it was easy to find ways to be alone each day, and mostly these things were naturally occurring. But as soon as our incredible bundles of joy arrive gone are the days of solo commutes, quiet time around the house, regular trips to the gym, or even trips to the bathroom or showers in some cases! We wouldn’t trade the hours upon hours of reading to, talking to, singing to and playing with our kids for ANY amount of alone time, but I don’t want you to feel guilty about missing that quiet, alone space; It’s my hope to help you think of ways to infuse it back into your daily routine in new ways that fit with your busy life as a mom!
5 Self-Care Ideas for the Introverted Mom
1. Asking directly for what you need to feel refreshed.
The first and most critical piece of self-care for an introverted mama is for your partner to understands and therefore support your biological need to be alone each day, in some capacity, in order to feel centered.
Since I left my career to stay and work at home, our family situation is somewhat unique and awesome in that my husband (AJ) works from home also, so our family spends A LOT of time together. Taylor and AJ are both extroverts, and I am most certainly an introvert.
Probably THE most beneficial thing my husband and I have ever done for our relationship is to take the Myers Briggs personality test as part of our premarital counseling. Until then, he perceived my desire for alone time as me not wanting to be around him, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. The two are not mutually exclusive; As an introvert, in order to be a good wife and now as a mom, I NEED alone time each day, and he understands that. If your partner, especially if they are an extrovert, doesn’t quite “get it” I would recommend taking one of those tests and reading through the results together as a first step in creating that understanding. It really helped us to understand one another, and I hope the same for you.
The reason this understanding is important is that you will need to ASK your partner, or even your mom, to give you alone time.
One day per week AJ takes Taylor on a special outing and I stay home. This is something I asked him for, and he quickly agreed to do because he realized 1) this is awesome for their relationship/bond, and 2) I would benefit from time alone in our home to recharge. Happy wife, happy life right?
Ask your partner for a block of time alone, either in your home or out of your home (some intro-mamas love going and sitting at a coffee shop for 30 minutes, or even cruising the aisles of Target solo!) and explain why you need this to be the best mom and wife you can be. I bet once he sees how much happier you are, he’ll be asking YOU if you need that time!
2. Get up before your kids wake up.
Even if it is only 10-15 minutes before your earliest riser, I cannot say how much of a difference this can make. Drink a glass of water to rehydrate, think of or write down the things you are thankful for, take a shower, do 100 air squats, drink a cup of HOT coffee, or just sit on your couch and watch the news. Whatever it is and in whatever time makes sense for you, enjoy those quiet moments before your day gets going! I started this ritual after reading Miracle Morning, and I’m never turning back. Now that Taylor is waking between 7:45 and 9:00 AM, I am able to have a couple of HOURS of alone time to think, write, pray, meditate, etc. and it’s glorious.
3. Take advantage of gym childcare.
Finding a gym with childcare we trusted has been an absolute game changer for me. Taylor loves going, and I am able to get the endorphins and solo time I need to feel re-centered!. We do this 4 days per week as part of our mommy and toddler routine! Even if you aren’t a big fitness buff, just go walk on the treadmill for an hour and listen to a podcast. I bet you’ll feel better on several levels once this is a routine! You can read more about how to fit fitness into your busy life in this post!
There are many gyms, at many different membership cost levels that have childcare. If a gym membership isn’t something in your budget right now, but this idea resonates with you, make it a priority to tweak things or save in other areas to see if you can make it happen. There are women I work with through my SeneGence/LipSense business who get started with the goal of making enough money monthly FOR that gym membership – and then far surpass that! What difference would an extra $200, $400, or $1000+ a month make for you? If you’re interested, I can show you how to make that happen (read this blog post, send me an email or comment on this post and we’ll chat!!
4. Take a walk.
If you have a supportive partner, have them watch your kiddo when they get home (or when you both get home if you work outside the home!) and get out for a quick walk. Listen to a podcast or your favorite playlist, or just have silent space to think and be as you also get in some exercise.
If you’re home alone during the day and have a little one who will sleep in their stroller, take a longer walk with them and (gasp!!) let them have one of their naps as you walk and enjoy some quiet, reflective time as well as the benefits of movement/calorie burn! I did this every day during my maternity leave (read about our routine at that time in this post!) when Taylor was a newborn and I swear it saved me in so many ways.
5. Hop in the bath at night.
AJ and I switch off every other night with who does the bedtime routine. Most nights I have “off” you can find me in the bathtub with a bath bomb, glass of wine and maybe a podcast or music playing. A bath, regardless of what time you take it and for how long, is one way you can care for yourself and get alone time. This is one that could actually be done daily after the kiddos are asleep. I can’t think of a reason why this wouldn’t be possible. Even if you don’t have a bathtub, you can relax in your shower for 10-15 minutes accomplishing the same thing!
I know these ideas aren’t rocket science, but that’s the beauty of them – they can all be done by almost every introverted mom on a regular basis.I sincerely hope that you start incorporating alone time in some capacity daily and reap the benefits for yourself and therefore your family!
What are your favorite ways to put “me time” into your days? Did any of mine resonate with you? I would love to hear if incorporating “me time” into your DAILY routine makes a difference in your energy and happiness levels – would you let me know?
XO,
Ashley
P.S. When I understood what it means to be introverted, I understood myself. I also read the book Quiet – and recommend anyone who is or loves an introvert – which made me feel validated and positive about this trait and the things I could accomplish because of it. I highly recommend this book to every introvert I know!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PersilLaundry #CollectiveBias
Did you know that a typically developing child is expected to be able to feed themselves completely independently with a spoon by the age of 2? Well don’t worry if you didn’t, because I didn’t either until our Pediatrician told us at Taylor’s 18 month appointment! However, most toddlers are capable of learning to do this at a much younger age; Taylor is well on her way to independently eating with a spoon AND fork at 19 months old! Today I wanted to share 5 ways you can help your toddler learn to eat with utensils as well, and clean clothing stainsfrom the inevitable mess they’ll make withtrial size Persil® ProClean® laundry detergent. Persil® Original Pro10wasnamed “Best New Liquid Laundry Detergent” by Family Circle magazine in 2017, so I was curious to put it to the test! I have to say, I was quite impressed with the cleaning, brightening and whitening results, especially given the amount of time the marinara had to set into her bright white shirt (my bad because, #momlife)!
5 Ways To Help Your Toddler Learn To Eat With Utensils Independently:
Provide your toddler with utensils that are, well, toddler-sized. Silverware with thick, weighted, rubber/textured handles are best as they are easier to grasp and control. HERE are our favorites to use (the set comes in green, pink or aqua!).
Demonstrate how to use utensils with slow, exaggerated motions accompanied by a verbal explanation of exactly what you’re doing. (e.g. “Mommy is scooping some applesauce onto her spoon, now I’m going to raise my arm and put the spoon in my mouth like this… Yum!”). You’re basically their eating mechanics coach!
Start out with thick foods that will stick to a spoon, like yogurt or applesauce when scooped. When your toddler is practicing eating with a fork, I recommend easy to spear pasta shapes like penne!
Provide ample opportunities for practice eating with utensils. At first, your toddler may not have much control or accuracy, but it’s still important that they have the chance to learn to manipulate the fork or spoon.
Praise your little one for trying! Most toddlers prefer to use their fingers over a fork or spoon, so they deserve some applause for their efforts.
All of that said, one thing you can expect is A LOT of mess when your toddler is learning to eat with utensils, so you’ll want to have a laundry detergent you can trust to get the job done! I purchased the convenient trial size Persil® ProClean® laundry detergent last week at Target and challenged it with the marinara sauce stains featured in this post.
Persil® Original Pro10 was named “Best New Liquid Laundry Detergent” by Family Circle magazine in 2017, so I was curious to put it to the test! I have to say, I was quite impressed with the cleaning, brightening and whitening results, especially given the amount of time the marinara had to set into her bright white shirt (my bad because, #momlife)!
Persil Laundry Detergent To The Rescue!
By the time I got around to washing Taylor’s shirt after she finished her pasta, over an hour had passed, so I decided to pre-treat it with Persil® laundry detergent. I poured a very small amount of Persil laundry detergent into the cap, dipped a finger in and rubbed a very small amount directly onto the stain. After leaving the shirt to pre-treat for 5 minutes, I placed it in our washing machine with the rest of Taylor’s whites in the warmest water possible with a capful of Persil® laundry detergent, per the Laundry Tips on Persil’s webpage. Remember to check the results before drying. I really like that Persil® laundry detergent can be used in all machines, including an HE like ours.
The Results
WOW. I was honestly surprised at how well Persil laundry detergent was able to tackle the stain. I imagine that, had I pre-treated and washed right away, the results would have been even more impressive. Persil laundry detergent is certainly a great choice for everyday laundry as well as stain fighting!
If you haven’t tried Persil laundry detergent yet, I encourage you to do what I did and pick up their new trial size bottle at Target (AKA Mecca) for only $1.99. The trial size bottle (10.1-ounce package) washes 6 full loads of laundry! Plus, there is a $2 off coupon on the back of the bottle for a future purchase, excluding the trial/travel size.
Give it a try and see the results for yourself!
I would love to hear any other tips you have for teaching your little ones to eat with utensils independently. What successes have you had as a toddler/eating mechanics coach duo? Any epic messes you could have used Persil laundry detergent for?!Email me or leave a comment on this post.
This post includes some affiliate links. I may make a small commission if you purchase an item through my links. See the full disclaimer in my footer for details. As always, I only recommend products I actually use and enjoy.
After completing Taylor’s Modern Nursery 2.0, my next project in our new home was to create a modern, family-friendly playroom out of the loft at the top of our stairs. It’s the first and only thing you see when you walk upstairs (which is MANY times a day in my case), so I wanted to make it both functional + fun for Taylor and her friends, but also aesthetically appealing. The result is now my favorite room in our home, and I’m so excited to share it with you today.
I linked everything I thought you might be interested in at the very end of this post!
Creating A Space For Imaginative Play + Relaxation
What are your best memories from childhood, and do you intentionally try to recreate opportunities for similar memories for your own kids?
When I think back on my childhood, I am especially grateful for memories of imaginative play with friends. Sometimes I laugh at some of the activities we came up with! I credit my friends’ and my own mom for fostering such creativity in us by providing dress up clothes, helping to construct epic forts out of pillows and chairs, and generally providing us with tools, space and freedom to create our own worlds during play time. I want Taylor and her friends who come to our house to grow up with these special, formative play experiences as well. You can read about how playtime figures into our toddler + stay at home mom routine in this post!
Imaginative Play + Dress Up:
Now that I am working/staying at home with Taylor, it’s been such a blessing to have a dedicated area for her to play and be creative in on her own and with her buddies. I look forward to seeing her grow into this space, make memories with dear friends, and develop her play skills over the years to come!
The Kallax bookshelf and Knipsa seagrass baskets from IKEA were great purchases, if I do say so myself – ALL of T’s toy and book storage for less than $200. I rotate the toys, books, balls and puzzles that are in the reachable boxes about once a week, and keep a couple of them empty so that she doesn’t have too many options at once (less mess for mama to clean up!). In the upper boxes I store toys she has outgrown, and art and craft supplies I don’t want her to have immediate access to.
And, before I forget – how adorable is her Arabian Princess costume from Little Adventures Dress Ups? She has an entire trunk full of Little Adventures dress ups because I couldn’t choose just one! Her dress-up trunk is just an old ottoman I had with holes cut into it for the wooden hangers. I love it because it’s the perfect size for her to open and choose the costume and accessories she’d like to wear on her own now! When we’re all done, the trunk closes (hangers and all!) up leaving the room look clean and chic, and also allowing additional seating for when adults/guests are in the room. I pick up little accessories here and there, as well as stock it with my old costume jewelry, racing medals (“participation only” because I’m no track star), etc. I found this mirror at Target (I still need to actaully secure it to the wall!), which she and her friends use to admire themselves in costume!
The Family Friendly Factor:
Another reason this room is my favorite in our home is that when our friends (who also have little ones) come over, this Modern, family-friendly playroom makes the perfect spot for everyone to spend time together; the kids can play, sit at the table and chair set for arts and crafts or a puzzle, or chill out while watching a movie, and there is still plenty of room for the adults to sit + socialize. It’s pretty perfect, except for the fact that we have to bring up any snacks and beverages we want to enjoy while the kiddos play! We’ve joked that we should just put a wine fridge up there. Which is actually not a bad idea…but, I digress.
We do have a T.V. in the playroom because, although I’m all about the imaginative play, sometimes a marathon animated movie session is just what the doctor ordered. Also, my husband and I can also watch sports, the news, etc. while Taylor gets to play. We use one half of the media center below it as a bookshelf for Taylor, and the other side is child-locked to protect our cable box, etc.
One of the best things about having this space is that the mess/toy chaos in our house is pretty much all contained in this one room upstairs, leaving our entire downstairs living area clutter-free (for the most part)!! I try and give it a once over during her naptimes (an exercise in futility, perhaps), but often wait until the evening when she’s gone to sleep to pick everything up.
A Comfy Space To Chill:
The piece that brings the biggest comfort factor into our family-friendly playroom is this daybed I found on Wayfair.com (a close second is the “Let’s Play” piece on the wall above it!)! Taylor and I often snuggle up to read books or watch a movie, or I’ll sit there working on my computer while she plays independently. The daybed also doubles as an additional guest bed (or bed for me when AJ snores too loud and I can’t sleep at night!), so we wanted to make sure we had a high quality, comfy mattress. was contacted by Tomorrow Sleep at an opportune time to try out their Medium Soft and Medium Firm mattresses. Tomorrow sleep makes the best hybrid memory foam mattress I’ve tried! We will probably use the twin mattress (currently on the daybed) for Taylor’s first toddler bed when she is ready to make the transition, so I’m glad we have such a quality, comfy mattress for her already! Check out this post for my review of both Tomorrow Sleep mattresses! You can also use code MAMA150to receive $150 off any $500 purchase from Tomorrow Sleep (expires 12/31/17)!
Play Kitchen + TeePee:
A few other areas of the playroom I wanted to show you are Taylor’s play kitchen and reading/chill-out teepee. What I really should have done was take a camera and do a 360-degree video around the room to show you everything, but hopefully, you can get the lay of the land. Taylor’s kitchen was this white one from Teamson Kids, but I wanted the hardware to match her teepee, so I used this spray paint on all the hardware before putting it together. I also used this chalkboard paint to paint over the decal on the refrigerator door. T’s favorite part of her kitchen is the working “ice cube” (wooden block” maker! Right now she does some pretend cooking, but also enjoys dumping all her cooking pots/pans, utensils and play food everywhere. An opportunity to teach her about being a helper for clean up time, right?
She likes to sit on the round, (faux) furry rug and read her books from the book box, which I rotate on a weekly basis. Sometimes she will invite me in, but other times she is content to enjoy “reading” on her own. You can’t see it, but I also store this 6 foot, pop-up tunnel behind the teepee – it’s SUPER fun but doesn’t exactly “go” with the rest of the room : )
Well, there you have it! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of Taylor’s modern, family-friendly playroom!
Below are links to almost everything that I thought you might be interested in, but please email me or leave a comment if you’d like a direct link to anything I left off!
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I can’t wait for you to get this information, and use it to enhance your business, life, productivity, and SO much more!!
As I was Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping this past weekend, I found myself again ordering way too much gravitating toward super comfy, cozy clothing – the kind you can lounge/work/play around the house in, yet still be considered socially acceptable when you need to go out to run an errand in. Comfortable at-home style is my jam.
Now that I’m no longer working outside of the home, I have tasked myself with rebuilding my wardrobe, and this type of apparel is definitely lacking. Over the last decade, my closet has consisted of 90% A) business wear or B) workout apparel, so I’m working on filling in the in-between now that I’m officially a stay/work at home mom!
Well, based on my online shopping tour de force this weekend, let me tell you that NOW is definitely the time to be stocking up on comfortable at-home mom style staples. There are SO many cute pieces out there – especially for these winter months when we want all the warmth and comfort (I’ll take a pair of joggers in each color of the rainbow, please and thank you!). Take this sweater for example which is essentially like wearing a chenille blanket around the house (but still totally cute, right?!):
So, if you’re a budding comfy clothing connoisseur like me, a stay at home mom who wants to up her mom-iform game, or a working mama who needs some comfy weekend wear, this is the round-up for you! I included items I purchased recently, ones I own, and also several that are on my wishlist – with a range of price points.
I hope you enjoy shopping this round-up, and being super comfy, cozy and cute all winter. Click on any of the images below to shop!
Comfortable At-Home Mom Style Staples:
Have you ever had to shift your wardrobe in a similar way? Let me know what your mom-iform consists of, and if there are pieces I must have in my newly minted stay at home mom wardrobe!
XO,
Ashley
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that I get a small commission if you purchase an item I like and recommend.
