Seeking Balance as a Mom...

One day this week I was scanning my Facebook timeline and scrolled over a video of Jada Pinkett with her mother and daughter. Intrigued by the caption on the original post I decided to give Jada and her girls a few minutes of my morning.

I'm so glad I did.

Lately in my quest to become more fulfilled and balanced I have been trying to figure out exactly what I need to do to feel more well rounded. How can I feel that I have given my best each day? Is it possible to not feel like something or someone didn't get enough of my attention?

Through lots of trial and error (and the use of a planner) I realized that on the days where I actually feel like I've checked off all my boxes are the days where I have purposely taken the time to pay attention to myself.

Whether it means going to the gym, taking the time to pamper myself or getting something done on my personal to-do list I found that I am more at peace when I have done something for me. I'm not as stressed and things do not seem to bother me as much when I am taking care of myself.

Doesn't this seem like an obvious observation? You can not give what you don't have. And even though I have known this to be true doing it has been a struggle. It's no one's fault but my own if I'm not making sure that I'm truly happy and feeling good.



Sometimes it's so hard to remember to make that time for myself. Then I'm reminded that I have to be an example to Savannah. I know she's watching me. I don't ever want her to think that as a woman your life should be spent only focusing on those around you (even if you love them immensely) and never focusing on yourself.

As a role model for her I want to be a woman who does it all without becoming undone. I think the only way to do that is to make sure I'm not cheating myself out of anything. I need to continue to pursue my own dreams and do things that I enjoy.

And I know it sounds strange but I handle things so much better when I feel like I'm getting it all done. Because I'm not carrying around so much resentment, frustration or anger I'm not easily unraveled when my baby cries for an hour (or more) non-stop. I don't feel like pulling my hair out when Savannah wakes up with an extra dose of sass.

I am unbothered. Completely.

So Jada's answer to her daughter's question resonated with me because I have found it to be true for myself. What do you think?

Stylish Baby Wipes from Huggies

I would like to thank Huggies for sponsoring today's post. All opinions about these super stylish baby wipes are my own.

When I first learned of the new stylish wipes from Huggies I was super excited. One -Because with a three year old and a one year old I am constantly using baby wipes.  And two - Because I am a sucker for anything with a print.  I use baby wipes for everything. They clean faces, bottoms, sneakers, carpet and so much more. Trust me. I have cleaned literally any and everything with baby wipes. These Clutch n' Clean wipes come in three different designs and can be refilled with your Huggies wipe of choice.
They also come with a very convenient carrying strap. Savannah even carried them purse style at one point the other day. Here they are hanging from my stroller at the H&M grand opening. It was so hot out there. Baby wipes are also good for cooling off small faces.


Huggies Clutch n' Clean stylish baby wipes can be found at retailers nationwide. They are even trendy enough to be carried in a designer handbag. Ya know. When you happen to be leaving the house without a diaper bag.

Will you be trying out these new stylish baby wipes? So many of you fell in love with them when I shared them on instagram. Clean your messes in style. I do.

Preschool at Home: Paintbrush Tip

The unusually cold weather we've had these past couple days has given Savannah a great opportunity to play with a lot of things around the house. She's recently gotten back into painting a lot. The other day she wanted to paint a picture of her brother. Since he wouldn't cooperate and sit still (imagine that for a second, haha) I happily filled in as her model.


Here's my tip for the day. Normally after she paints I soak her brushes in a cup and then I wash them later when I'm cleaning the kitchen. Today when she was done painting I couldn't find my 'soak' cup. Pretty sure I probably threw it away. So I grabbed a set of popsicle molds. I put a brush in each mold with it's own water and cleaning solution. This was just so much cuter to look at during the day, haha...


The popsicle molds are so inexpensive I can always buy another set. The molds work well for paint sponges too. I noticed during the day that the water didn't get all gross the way it normally does in a cup too. What do you think of this idea? Does your child's paintbrushes get nasty like Savannah's?

Make a List of MUST and Maybe's

Today I wanted to share something that I have found to be extremely helpful. Sometimes I find myself running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. At the end of the day I know I've done a lot but I can't really remember exactly what I did. Not fun. Or fair. Especially since I'm the type of person that likes to have that sense of accomplishment at the end of each day.

Since I've pretty much ruled out being able to do it all everyday I came up with a solution that gives me the best of both worlds. The Musts and the Maybes. Everyday I make a list of five things that I must do during the day. Then I make a list of five things that maybe I'll do if I have the time or the energy. 

I like the idea of a list of five because it's not overwhelming and it still leaves plenty of time for play with my kids. Sometimes I'm able to knock out a few things while BabyM naps and Savannah does an activity in her workbook or plays independently. So. Instead of giving myself a long laundry list of things that I know I can't accomplish in 24 hours (because let's face it -- I clock out at 8 unless someone is crying, bleeding or really needs their Mommy) I stick with a list of must-dos and maybe-dos.

What do you think? Does making a list of 5 must and maybes sound helpful?

Feel free to print or download your own list of 'Musts & Maybes', it's FREE!

Mommy Mic Check

I came across this hilarious video while going through my FB newsfeed. It is beyond funny!

This is something I would do in real life. Except it wouldn't be made into a music video. We freestyle songs all the time around here. Kind of like how the Braxton Sisters do but our's are normally child related. Hope you enjoyed this video. Have a great weekend!

30th Birthday Countdown: What I'm Wearing in Vegas

I have finally narrowed down my options for my trip to Vegas. I didn't want to spend a lot of money shopping before our trip. Mama wants to make sure she has money to spend in Vegas you know what I mean?

Just when I thought I was going to have buy one of the dresses I showed you before Jesus smiled down on me with a 50% off sale at Express. While checking out the sale I saw that they had restocked my initial birthday outfit that was previously sold out. So happy that I'll get to wear sequins on my birthday and it cost less than dinner for two at a Vegas buffet. Win.

Party Looks by thechicsahm featuring a blue dress

Now y'all know I love black. I have said that many many many times here on the blog. So it's no wonder that almost all of my night looks are black. I can't help it. To switch things up a bit I am taking this blue dress with me. It's cute, comfortable and it has an exposed back zipper which I love. I'll be pairing the leather skirt with a sheer black top. So cute and sexy. 

I have this whole strategy for packing and doing a carry-on bag. It can be done. (i hope) What do you think about these looks?

Baby M Update: 4 Months

I feel like I just had Baby M like two seconds ago but he's already four months old. This morning we had his four month check up and shots. Things have been going pretty well. He's such a sweet baby. Steals my heart. I can see so much of my husband when I look at him. Sometimes it's frightening.

Baby M smiles, laughs and coos. My favorite thing to do is talk to him. He responds with all his coos and it's the best. He's a pretty good sleeper right now. In the morning he takes a nap for about an hour. Around lunch time he goes down for another two to three hours. At night he goes down at eight sharp (right after his sister) and sleeps until about three before waking up for a feeding. Not too bad, right?

I'm breastfeeding and I pretty much feed him on demand. I started Savannah on cereal and veggies when she was four months old. I plan to start him on solids by the end of the month. I ordered some more freezer trays with lids and they should be here by the end of the week. I'll share more about my baby food making process in another post. We'll more than likely start with peas or green beans. He's ready for food. He's started sitting on his own a little. He stares at us with pure jealousy when we eat and after nursing for a while he still wants more. I've started doing actual feedings and "snacks" via nursing. Cluster feedings I guess. It's time for him to have a little more of something else at least once a day. I'll still continue to breastfeed until he's at least twelve months.

During his appointment his Doctor was very impressed with his strength and how well he moves. She told me that it was time for him to start working out in an exersaucer or standing activity center. I'll be picking up one today. I plan to sell some of the baby gear we have here to a resale store. I can not believe we are already getting rid of baby things! 

I'm feeling so blessed and thankful that our little guy is hitting all of his milestones. When he was born early I was very nervous about how his development would possibly be delayed. Thank God for miracles big and small. Baby M is right where a four month old should be. I guess that means he'll be crawling and getting into everything very soon. Can't wait!

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The first day of Fall and I'm a little excited!

Chic Mom Style: A Tee and Jeans

Today we went out to run a couple errands and grab lunch. The typical family Saturday outing. I wanted to wear something relaxed, casual and cute. I decided to wear a cute tee and some skinny jeans. I scored the tee shirt during the big Labor Day sale that Express had. My sneakers are the Steve Madden wedge sneakers that I've been wanting since last year. I was able to get them at half the price during the Nordstrom Labor Day sale. The jeans are my favorite skinny jeans. They're probably six years old by now and they have the best fit. Skinny but not skin tight. 

Oh. And I wore my hair up in a top knot. It's so rare that my hair is straight and I'm loving wearing it up. I bought some of the marley hair I need to make twists so I'm thinking about attempting that this coming week. We're having our family portraits done tomorrow so I may start them after that.

What do you think of my easy Saturday style?

Chic Link Up: Face to Face Fridays

Welcome to the first edition of the Face to Face Fridays blog hop. I created this hop because I enjoy doing my video diary posts. More than that, I have enjoyed watching videos on some of my favorite blogs.  I thought this hop would be a fun way to find more Moms who vlog.

Feel free to link up your post that contains your video or the link to your video on YouTube. I can't wait to see what everyone is talking about this week!

My videos aren't that fancy but as I learn more about iMovie I'm hoping to step my game up!

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<a href="http://www.TheChicSAHM.com" title="The Chic Stay at Home Mom"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqye_m5a_WD3_e2N7Cb0tiaJTQsLjizzUtiEvwKSl3DhWJWTSHQnSvp0I4qHmXhEAK4jG17oS59eFTkOEZ5fZ4gBsNEG_bHXOGjaTQ8xtuuvPpzMcQ-vqZTmxg2YdqDvgESvS5eFn5pE/s1600/Blog+Hop+Pic.jpg" alt="The Chic Stay at Home Mom" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

How Nature Celebrates...

It's almost Friday. Yay. Oh. Wait. I'm a Mom. I don't get days off from my job. I still look forward to the weekends though. With my husband home I can truly relax a little. Before the weekend gets started I like to enjoy some quiet time with kids.

One of our favorite things to do is roll out a blanket and create some sidewalk art with chalk. I'm pretty sure Savannah could do this all day. Too bad it gets too hot here to be out all day. In the mornings we enjoy outside time. I can sit and relax while she plays. It's refreshing and a nice way to wind down before the weekend. 

The little guy hangs out in a carrier as usual. I love all of the trees that are on base here. I might not enjoy all the squirrels that are a little too socialized for my taste but I do think the trees are lovely.

When we're done with the sidewalk chalk we take a walk over to the runway to watch the jets take off. Savannah loves doing this. I was able to get one on camera taking off. I wish we could get closer but the runway is a restricted area. This is literally one street over from my house...

Every Friday, Deer Park® Nature's Blends™ Fruit Flavored Beverages is sharing beautiful ways that nature celebrates with a reminder to treat yourself to a celebration, too. Head over to the Deer Park® Facebook page every Friday for inspiration to celebrate naturally and share your own story on their page.

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own.*

Steam Up Your Me Time with Yes to Body Wash

One of the things I know we all have in common is loving that time in the shower. When it's just you and the peace and quiet of your thoughts. My time in the shower is slowly becoming one of my favorite times of the day. It's right up there with when both of my kids fall asleep. 

Since my morning shower is truly the only time I'm alone during the day I like to listen to music. I put on my Jill Scott or Toni Braxton Pandora station (because both of those will hit me with some good ballads to belt out). I know it's going to be a good day if I'm lucky enough to sing Toni's "Love Shoulda Brought You Home", haha!! Every time I hear that song I remember the scene from Boomerang where Halle Berry loses it on Eddie Murphy. Classic movie.

Back to discussing my morning...

Lately I've been using the Yes to Grapefruit Rejuvenating body wash. Talk about a wake me up. Y'all know I'm having some sleepless nights. This body wash is the best wake me up a girl can get. Since I've only been getting about three to four hours of sleep a night I NEED some rejuvenation in the morning. It smells so good. Get yourself a bottle and I promise a better start to your mornings.

I'm not a coffee drinker so in the mornings after my shower I like to make a glass of iced green tea and I start making breakfast. Sometimes I continue listening to Jill or Toni and some mornings I decide to get a good word from Joel Osteen. The rest of my day goes by pretty quickly and before I know it it's time for bed. That's when I switch it up and opt to shower with Yes to Blueberries. 

The lavender in this goodie by Yes to puts me right in that perfect drowsy state. That feeling you get when you know your body is ready to call it a night. I am in serious love with this stuff. My husband has been using the Yes to Carrots and he really likes it. I've been letting Sav take bubble baths in the soothing Yes to Cucumbers (the Yes to Cucumbers is safe for her sensitive skin).  It's been putting her out like a champ! Now if only I could get her to stay that way all night...

Now that I've told you all about how my family is loving all of the goodness that Yes to is offering get some for yourself. Yes to is offering my readers an exclusive Buy One Get One 50% off body wash offer. Use the code Y2LINQ during your checkout. 

Oh. And did I mention that Yes to products are over 95% natural? It keeps getting better...

How do you get ready for the day? Do you sing in the shower or have a special drink that get's you started?  Share your morning rituals with me in the comments!

feeding one baby & preparing one for a bath...multitasking at its finest

no babies were harmed in the snapping of this pic

*I have received compensation and product for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.*

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A BIG HUGE Thank you to all the Chic Moms that submitted their funny stories for Part II of What Not to Say to Moms. I enjoyed reading all your stories. Have a happy Tuesday!

Chic Gadget: The Fitbit One

Whew. First let's talk about smack down beat down tired I am. As you know I've been trying to workout and get in shape by my Flirty 30 (that's how I'll be referring to my birthday from here on out). Between the lack of sleep at night and living my life during the day this Mama is beat down. 

Anyway. You might recall that I had the opportunity to review the Fitbit One. (I spoke briefly about it in this YouTube vlog) The Fitbit tracks your steps, distance, stairs climbed and calories burned. It also tracks your sleep. You can sync to your computer or smartphone using BlueTooth. What I loved most about the Fitbit is that you can use the free app to track your meals, goals, weigh loss and water intake. You can even connect with friends. 

I absolutely loved it for tracking my activity and calories burned. It was also pretty cool to see how many calories I had consumed and how much water I was REALLY drinking in a day.

Now.

I didn't use the Fitbit to track my sleep. I'm pretty sure that feature is incredible but with a newborn in the house I knew the Fitbit would tell me that I suck at getting rest. No need to kick me when I'm down so I opted not to use it to track my sleep. Other than that I have nothing but love for this device. It's a great motivator. It's small enough to snap on to a bra or tank top strap. It also comes with an arm band if that's your thing. Has anyone tried the Fitbit?

*I received a sample product for this review. All opinions are my own.

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Here is another entry for my video diary. Please be gentle with your comments. I attempted to cook and do this video at the same time. I almost didn't post this video for very ridiculous and shallow reasons but then I reminded myself that I just had a baby and I got over myself.

Oh. And if you've ever wondered what a kitchen looks like in military housing here it is. Florescent overhead lighting, gotta love that! Other than that this is probably the "best" kitchen we've had on a military installation. It's actually pretty spacious compared to what we've had at other duty stations.

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Hope you enjoyed this video!! More to come!!!

30 Things: Describe Your Most Embarrassing Moment...

I've had lots of embarrassing moments. However, the most embarrassing moment of my life has to be the time I went to the ER for a laxative gone wrong. I really don't need to go in to too much detail because it will gross you out. So. In an effort to give you the story without changing the way you think of me here it is...

I had been sick and was having problems pooping. "Someone" advised me to take a laxative. I did. The laxative started working but nothing would come out. After dealing with this for a few hours we decided to head to the ER. Once at the ER things got REAL ugly. To make a long story short, I no longer had a problem getting things to come out. It was a hot mess. Literally. Poop was every where. Very embarrassing. The only thing that makes this story that much better (or worse) is that all of this went down at the hospital where my husband works. Nice.

Your embarrassing moment can not possibly beat this. Share your story in the comments!

What's your Mom Style?

Welp. Sorry fashionistas. This isn't a fashion post. I was thinking about those fun quizzes in magazines that I no longer have the time to take. If I were to take a quiz about my Mom style or personality what would my answers say about me? That got me to thinking. What is my Mom style or Mom personality?

In a nutshell. Here it is.

Way to Go! You're a "Regular" Mom!

And by "regular" we mean pretty awesome. You believe in play dates and routines. Eating veggies and occasional splashing during bath time. Bed time stories and consequences for broken rules. You think it's okay to stay up late every now and then. Eating from a drive-thru isn't necessarily your preference but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and you don't beat yourself up about it. You may or may not constantly be behind on laundry. Hey. Everyone has that one task that they hate. Folding clothes just happens to be yours. Moms like you laugh more than they stress because you realize that most of the crazy in your house is temporary. You consider yourself a domestic diva but agree that you're not quite Martha Stewart. You may not be the craftiest of Moms but you can out-source and shop with the best of them! You believe that life experiences and family vacations are more important than expensive trends. Moms like you realize that perfection is over rated and boring. Most importantly, you relish in the time you have with your little ones because you know they won't be little forever. See. Being "regular" isn't so bad, right?

Haha, this was fun! What would one of those quizzes say about you? Do we have anything in common? Feel free to share your on description in the comments!