Woah. Talk about a major break from blogging. I have been so swept up in motherhood and in launching my wellness company, Mindful Mamas, that I haven’t even had time to breathe let alone write for Love & LaRock.

It’s been my biggest honor to take you behind the scenes into my life. Shy away from the hard topics? Not me! I’ve taken you into the depths of postpartum depression, the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood, navigating career changes, and more. Today, I want to pull back the curtains a bit and talk about what it’s been like to pour our entire life-savings into my new business venture, Mindful Mamas—a wellness company geared toward teaching moms and moms-to-be how to live their best life through self-care and mindfulness.

So ready to get the deets? I am answering the top question I have received on how running a start-up company has affected and enhanced my marriage. Let’s do this.

Marriage After Baby: Division of Labor

A little bit ago, I polled you on stories asking what you wanted to see from us in terms of marriage posts. One of the topics that was mentioned the most was how we divide, conquer and balance household responsibilities, childcare, work and social life.

I recognize that everyone has their own way of doing things…ours isn’t perfect, but I think what has helped is that we really honor each others’ strengths and acknowledge our weaknesses. I know what I thrive at and what I don’t. Perry knows what he is a capable of and what he prefers not to do and somehow we overlap each other to make it work. When we moved in together when we were engaged, it took us a longggg time to figure this stuff out. But after eight years of living together, I think we are on the right track!

Marriage After Babies: How Our Marriage is Doing After Baby #2

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post about marriage. I have been pretty quiet postpartum after having Lennon for a few reasons, but I am ready to open back up and begin sharing candidly on this space.

This time around, I felt like I have been very protective about not sharing too much too soon. I have needed time to process events such as my birth story (which I promise, I will share in the near future), adjusting to a family of four and how my son’s birth has played into my ever evolving identity as both Terra and a Mom.

Marriage After Baby: How Counseling Is Going Update

We are less than five weeks away from welcoming baby and our household has been in full swing. We are purging things we don’t need, washing things we do, and setting things up. Last night, I didn’t sleep well (hello pregnancy insomnia) and in the middle of the night, I opened my eyes, grabbed Perry’s hand and thought about how all in I am with this man.

MarriageTerra LaRockSeptember 14, 2018marraige after baby, marriage blog, motherhood and marriage, marriage counseling, marriage adviceComment

Marriage: Why We Are Going to Counseling Before Baby #2 Comes

Next week, Perry and I will begin couple's counseling. From a communication standpoint, our marriage is stronger than ever. We are both really happy, but we feel like we need some extra support in our life as we move towards life with two kids.

Baby After Marriage: This is Us Right Now

I love writing about marriage. I think it is going to be so cool to read these post out loud to Perry as we sit on our front porch, rocking in our homemade chairs that Perry built, sipping tea and reminiscing about the phase in our marriage that challenged us to grow the most together.

I love all the bits of our marriage, from the intimate, most sacred conversations that we have to the real, raw and broken bits of excess turmoil, animosity and beautiful chaos.

Marriage After Baby: In A Really Good Place

After I wrote that blog title I looked down and saw chills all over my body. You see, when Perry asked me to marry him, I didn't have one inkling that we would be a couple that would struggle as much as we did after having Winter. Sure, there were things we needed to work on, but our foundation, how in love we were, and our hopes and dreams for the future, were never signs that we would begin to crumble like the weight of the world was set upon us. But we weren't immune to stress. Our relationship bent and withered and frayed. We had to fight long and hard to keep it from breaking and now that we are on the other side of it all, I couldn't be more proud of us.

Marriage After Baby: What's Been The Hardest & Most Joyful Moments So Far

I started writing the Marriage After Baby series to document the good, the bad and the raw bits of marriage. I think it is so important to be transparent about relationships because it is definitely not like the a romantic movie may depict it, as marriage is no walk in the park!

Marriage After Baby: Seeking A Marital Boost

Winter is nearly 14-months-old now. I’ve heard that once a baby turns a year old things get "easier". While Winter is becoming more independent, has always been a joy to be around and is beginning to develop quite the personality, I don't know if the word "easier" really rings true for my family right now. I am having to do a lot of cognitive re-framing and instead of wishing or waiting for it to get "easier", I am hoping to and working on finding vitality and resilience when faced with the stress of being a parent.