Mommy-Life: The Baby Blues

We've all been there. If you are a mom then you've experienced some form of what they call the "baby blues". According to Mayo Clinic, there are more than 3 million cases of postpartum depression reported yearly in the U.S. alone! I didn't think it'd happen to me at all. The honeymoon phase of mommy hood lasted a good 5 months for me. I didn't understand how anyone could dislike being a mommy. Something had to be wrong with these women. 

*cue sleep regression*.. And I suddenly wonder what the hell I was thinking when I thought I was fit enough to become a parent. My child is screaming at the top of his lungs at midnight for the 3rd night in a row and I'm .5 seconds from busting out into tears with him... alone... because his father works overnight. And now I'm wondering if I'm a bad mom cause I just for the love of everything that is holy want him to shut up! And that's not right is it? He's so little. He can't help it. 

Being a mom makes you superhuman but you are still HUMAN. As mommies we become so wrapped up in our child's love that we forget to take a step back and decompress. And we need it.. God knows I need it! We spend all day meeting the needs of our household and it's super important not to forget to take a good step back and think about yourself. Take a moment to do something to make you happy. I am THRILLED when I get to take an uninterrupted, un-rushed shower! LOl big dreams right? But it counts! And frustration doesn't make you any less of a rockstar! It makes you all the more normal! Keep rocking it out mommas! 

*If you think you or someone you know is suffering from severe postpartum depression please seek the medical help of a doctor or other professional.*

photo credit: Growing Better Baby Crying Life Kids Being Kids via photopin (license)

Fathers Day 2016

We're traveling today so our first Father's Day is going to be uneventful. It sucks cause I'm a sucker for holidays even if they are commercial. I love celebrating and I think if you are deserving then fatherhood is something that definitely should be celebrated. 

A salute to the end of the black male stereotype! Happy Fathers Day! 

Blog-Life: 5 Tips to NOT getting overwhelmed with Blogging and SocialMedia.

It is so easy when your blogging to get wrapped up in the chaos of social media. Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, vine, blogger, periscope, on and on and on and on. It truly and honestly feels never-ending and quite often it can become overwhelming. Here are my top 5 reminders for when I start to lose my cool in this crazy blog/social media world.

5. You don't have to do everything.

Sure it's great to give other applications a chance and anything that drives traffic to your blog is great but you can't master everything. Trying to do too much will result in you spreading yourself way too thin and that's no bueno! You definitely want to give your all in whatever you take on. So don't try to take on too many!

4. It's OK to get help!

We live in the age of technology so this crap is FOREVER evolving. If you have any kind of life then you can't keep up with everything all the time. So when you do catch up, it's OK to ask for help learning a new app. Heck, that's what YouTube is for! There's seriously a tutorial for everything. Use it! And don't be shy to ask a friend. I look forward to the days RJ is old enough to teach me about technology and I can peer over my grandma spectacles and mutter something about how kids nowadays have too much time on their hands LOL

3. Schedule your posts.

If you must do everything then stay organized! There's an app for that! Apps such as HootSuite allow you to schedule posts to different networks that way you can just Set it and Forget it! (Remember that infomercial?)

2. Quality not Quantity. Interaction vs. Following 

It's not necessary to upload 50 pictures a day to Instagram or tweet every 5 minutes. No ones paying attention to that! Trust me girl! Your real followers will appreciate when you truly have something to say. And at the end of the day brands often look at engagement so if you post 20x a day to your 5000 followers and only one person tweets back guess what? You're wasting your time bro! So don't stress yourself out with a daily quota!

1. Stick with what works!

Kinda like the first thing I said. We can't all be pros at everything. So stick to what works for you and your blog. If you get a lot of engagement on Twitter, tweet ya heart away. Instagram pics on fleek? Pose for the camera! Don't cheat your supporters by trying to do it all. Once you've mastered it then by all means venture out but if something isn't working for you, it's OK to let it go! Don't force it!