Q & A :: Skincare Routine, Blogging, Beauty, and Motherhood

Well, hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? It’s kind of funny, because when I asked for questions from you guys, one of them was about how I do it all? Haha. That made me laugh. It’s been forever since I’ve shared a blog post, so doing it all clearly has not been happening.

Before we dive into some questions, let’s catch up a bit.

• This is Us made me cry terrible tears.
• Charlotte is turning 5 next week, and I sent invites via a text message. Pinterest mom of the year!
• Colin is almost 18 months (next month), and I am busier with my kids than I have ever been in my life. Why do an exercise regimen when I chase Colin ALL DAY.
• I started selling Young Living essential oils last month because I freaking love it, and I think every mama needs oils in their life. Seriously. They’re the Mary Poppins of life hacks. Obsessed. I even made a new Instagram account to share my love of the little gems and how I use them.
• I’m really mad at the groundhog for giving us 6 more weeks of winter. Major eye roll over here.
• I’m going to New York tomorrow for a much needed get-away with my stud muffin and I CANNOT WAIT. A huge roundup of our favorite restaurants will be up next week!

Q & A

Now to the questions. These were questions from readers and follower friends just like you, and I didn’t change up the wording one bit. Enjoy!

Q: How do you do it all? How do you find time to blog and balance motherhood? Do you blog while baby naps? Do you have help? Daycare? Just work late at night?

A: I DON’T. In all honesty, when I want to do something, I make it a priority. Lately, my kids have been my priority. It’s a total seesaw of accomplishing things when you work from home. When you’re killing it with work, you’re probably not at something else. There is no perfect. There is no 100% in all facets of  life 100% of the time. Marriage, mothering, working, self-care, home care…something is going to suffer when we try to DO IT ALL, because we can’t. I’m a firm believer that we can do all the things, but we can’t do them all at once. It truly is about making things a priority and sticking to your guns to get those priorities done.

When my laundry is a piled a mile high, my kids are happy. When I’m taking a break from blogging, I’m enjoying time with my husband. When my house is clean, my blog is suffering. Sometimes I think going back to work would make things easier, but I would miss a lot by doing that as well. You can’t win for losing.

I wish I could outsource and hire help, but that’s just not in the cards right now. It would be easy to say outsource what you can’t do, but when you can’t, you do what you can when you can. Charlotte is in school three days a week, so I do try and do some work when she’s gone. I only have a few months left of her being home with me full time, and I’m trying to make the most of it.

Right now, I’m blogging during Colin’s nap time with Charlotte curled up next to me. The laundry is done because Michael helped me fold last night, but now dinner needs to be made. My mom used to say this all time, “A mother’s job is never done.” And my goodness was she right. Thank a mother today, friends!

Q: Do you have a housekeeper or are you just naturally super mom?

A: To the person who said this, you’re a doll! But see the answer above. My house is clean but lived in. We do not have a housekeeper, but how awesome would that be?! We still have boxes that have yet to be unpacked and hardly anything on our walls, but our kids love playing in our house, and we love that they enjoy it.

My husband is amazing and is the biggest helper and team player ever. He helps SO MUCH with cleaning because he knows my hands are full all day. He makes me super mom, and he’s super dad for helping out so much around the house after coming home from a long day at work. I try to do what I can during the day, but we divide and conquer when we’re together. Team work makes the dream work!

Q: Your skin always looks amazing! What do you use?

A: First of all, thank you to the person who asked this, you are amazing!

For the past year, I’ve used Rodan + Fields. My friend Tricia first sent me a regimen, and then Rodan + Fields sent me a few more things to try as well. When I use the regimen consistently, my skintone is even and I rarely, if ever, get a breakout. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had a pimple now that I think about it.

At 36, I think I’m in maintenance mode. I have a few wrinkles and I’m trying to keep any more at bay. I think I’ve done a good job so far with all of these products.

This is my skin with no editing and without any makeup.

My absolute favorites are the micro-dermabrasion paste, the roller, renewing serum, and Lash Boost!!! The under eye cream is also phenomenal and using this combo really makes my skin glow.

My friend Tricia is a doll and has this promo going for the month of February. If you want to learn more, definitely reach out to her or join her Facebook group. She’s the best, I promise!

As far as makeup, I shared my makeup favorites here, and I’ll add a spring routine soon, but I’ve added a new Magic BB Cream Anti-Redness to the arsenal that you need to know about now. It gives me an extra glow when I use it as a foundation to my makeup. One of my lovely friends just sent me the BEST message about using this and how it’s been a game changer for her. I’ve had a few others who have told me they’ve had great results with it as well. And for 7 dollars, there’s really no reason why this shouldn’t be in your Amazon cart. ;)

Q: Favorite nail color? Favorite brand of polish? Are you a gel type of gal?

A: I love Essie and OPI the most. When I do my own nails, I use a gel setter or gel couture top coat. I have been using Shellac for forever, and my go-t0 colors are pale pink, gray, white, red or black.

Q: Does Charlotte have a strict bedtime? Does Colin?

Yes! I have always been a sleep Nazi. Ever since we sleep trained Charlotte, I have been super strict. The older she’s gotten, the less strict I’ve become with exceptions (traveling, family visiting). Colin is a different story. I get super agitated when I can’t put him to bed at 7. He goes down first, then Charlotte.

Our sleep routine is jammies, brush teeth, fill up diffusers, turn on sound machines, read a book, prayers, and good night!

As many of you know, Charlotte has been struggling to sleep in her own bed, but for the past two nights, she has made it all the way to 6 a.m.!!! So proud of my big girl!

 

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All right, people. That’s all I have time to type up today, but I’ll be back with bells and whistles on next week.

Thank you so much for following along and helping make this community what it is. You’re the real MVP.