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.

A New Year's Resolution: How To Manage Difficult Emotions

Before I had Winter, my New Year’s resolutions leaned on the side of being cliché’. I wanted to gain more muscle, become more flexible, be better about what I ate, etc. It wasn’t that I didn’t have depth to my intentions before kids, it’s just that my intentions run deeper now than they did before because I know that my goals affect her too. I want Winter to grow up in a household where her parents are happy, healthy and well-balanced. So even though I still want to workout more and eat better foods, my real resolution lies in the depths of my heart.

Weekends In the Wintertime with Kids

It's that time of year where there is so much going on in the city so it's tempting to fill each and every weekend with parties, appointments, festivities and play dates. I go through moments in my life where the stillness scares me, the quiet is uninviting and the slow vibes start to make me feel uneasy. But having a baby really makes you see these moments at home with a different lens.

Fashion, MotherhoodTerra LaRockDecember 24, 2016weekend events with kids, things to do at home, wintertime pleasuresComment

Christmas Traditions For the Whole Family

Although this is Winter’s second Christmas, it feels like the first all over again. She was so tiny last year at around 5-weeks-old and essentially slept through the entire Christmas Eve gift exchange. This year, she is walking, talking and showing interest in all the things I love about the holidays, like the lights, the parties and the holiday music and cheer.

Easy Christmas Crafts with This Tribe of Three

The holidays are around the corner and I just can't help but get caught up in the magic of the twinkle lights, hot coco and sharing some of my favorite holiday crafts with Winter. Winter is slowly growing out of the "I put everything in my mouth to make sure it's real" phase, so I figured I would take a stab at making a gingerbread house with her. To be on the safe side, I stuck on the larger pieces of candy and let them dry before I introduced the gingerbread house to Winter.

{Photo}Synthesis Vol. 2. : What Bohemian Plant Dreams Are Made Of

Hi! My name is Kara, which I am sure you have gathered by now. Not really the kind of girl you can sum up in a “Hey, nice to meet ya,” conversation. Just like my home, I am layered. I live slightly outside Boston in a 1700s Victorian mansion. I live in one of the eight apartments that it is now made up of. The character is amazing and one of the main reasons I still reside here. My apartment is only 800 sq. Ft, so I am definition Small Space Squad. My style is a mixture of mid mod/bohemian. It’s super eclectic and layered throughout. I am packing it in because “less is more” doesn’t ring true to me. I have a “more is more” attitude with an addiction to thrifting. I believe green heals and have an enormous collection of plants throughout the apartment. They are my babies. I love the color they bring to a space. I love the unique shapes and textures and the way they stand tall when the light beams in. My apartment is a jungle. Sometimes, I think I've overdone it. Then I remember that basic is boring and that my mid-mod/eclectic/plant loving space is wild and quirky and 100% me.

Plants + AbodeTerra LaRockDecember 11, 2016bohemian interior, bohemian design, interior plants, boho interiorComment

Parenthood Simplified with Lillypost

I am slowly starting to put the life vest back on. The life vest that I always knew was there but was maybe too proud or too weak to grab for. For the last year, I have set unrealistic expectations for myself. When I am at work, I give 150%; I pumped three times a day while I was nursing, which meant I never got a lunch or any other break and I often felt like I was failing my colleagues because I couldn’t stay late for meetings. At home, I gave 300%; I took care of Winter, I grocery shopped, I tried to cook, I stayed up late to clean the house, worked on my blog, texted my family and friends, and responded to comments on Instagram all while trying my best to stay positive and enthusiastic.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockDecember 7, 2016early literacy, kid book subscription, children'ts books, motherhood, motherhood blogComment

Weaning At One

So weaning happened and all I can say is holy hormones! When I first had Winter, I thought breastfeeding would come naturally for us. I literally thought that you just put the child up to your boob and they got milk. My naïve self snuffed at the thought of a breastfeeding class and never thought to ask any other mother I knew what it was like for them. When I first launched this blog, I wrote about my breastfeeding journey here.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockDecember 4, 2016breastfeeding, weaning at one, weaning Comment

Staying Warm with Chasing Windmills

It's almost December and I am beginning to wonder where the snow is in Denver? Temperatures are dropping but we haven't had snow stick around for longer than 24 hours. Last year around this time, I had a tiny newborn and we were up to our knees in snow. Regardless of the weather, we somehow managed to keep Winter warm by bundling her up in a bear suit (long live those bear suits!) and would walk for miles on end.

FashionTerra LaRockNovember 23, 2016toddler fashion, baby long johns, dressing baby for winter, kids fashionComment

Winter's First Birthday

Winter,

On November 6, 2016 at 6:39 PM, you turned one years old. I can’t describe to you the joy it brings to me, the honor I share with your father in wishing you a happy first birthday. From the moment you were born, my soul flew free, wrapped its arms around you and hasn’t left your side since. I picture this process often. I envision a warm, translucent light hovering over you as you explore your world, encouraging you to spread your kindness to everyone you meet.

A Bohemian Southwest Inspired Nursery

Winter’s nursery reveal is finally here! We had such an overwhelming move back in August (moving with a baby makes things exceptionally more difficult) and it feels so good to finally have at least one room where the closets aren’t busting at the seams and where everything has found its natural place.

HeyMama Denver: Socially Speaking

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of planning the second heymama Denver chapter event held at a gorgeous space called Union 27. The focus of the event was social media: how to speak to your customers, build loyalty and drive growth via your most relevant channels. We had the chance to sit with a wonderful mix of panelists who taught us the tricks of the trade.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockNovember 5, 2016heymama, social media marketing, motherhoodComment

Halloween: Winter's Last, First Holiday

A few weeks ago, Perry and I harvested the pumpkins that we grew in our previous house that was rented out over the summer (the tenants are amazing and still share the crops with us). When we planted these pumpkin seeds, Winter was a mere five-months-old. We both find so much enjoyment growing her goodies and we were super impressed with how big these pumpkins got this year.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockOctober 30, 2016kid's costume, halloween, pumpkin carving, parenting, motherhoodComment

Halloween Pumpkin Planters

I am always looking for fun ways to incorporate plants into my decor, so I couldn’t resist making these darling pumpkin plant holders. They may not last super long, but they are easy to do and will hopefully bring you as much joy as they brought me. I bought this tiny jade plant at Sprouts, but any type of plant will do.

Plants + AbodeTerra LaRockOctober 18, 2016diy, pumpkin crafts, halloween decor, plants, pumpkin plantersComment

Winter in the Fall with Element Boutique

Welcome to #TinyStyles. A new blog series that will highlight some of my favorite small shops.

FashionTerra LaRockOctober 12, 2016kids fashion, fall adventures, motherhood blogComment

A Social Media Break

I had the honor of being in one of my best friend’s wedding a few weekends ago. The day after the wedding, I had coffee with the bride and our other dear friend. I started telling them about how my postpartum funk had begun to show its ugly face again once I started back up to work in August. I keep thinking I am past it, but then stress hits and bam, I am completely brought to my knees by my inability to cope with it all. My friends asked me (more like begged me) to start putting myself first so I could get a grasp on things and when they inquired what helped me, I responded “to write”.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockOctober 2, 2016social media, motherhood blog, mom blogComment

Body Image + Food

Winter,

Every time we approach a mirror and you see your reflection, you smile. You grin ear to ear as you look at yourself in the mirror. I wish I could be more like you, grateful, non-judgmental and simply happy with the image staring back me.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockSeptember 13, 2016whole foods, healthy food, motherhood, baby nutrition, parentingComment

Teething 101

Winter has two bottom teeth coming in! It is such an exciting milestone but can be a difficult one to navigate for both parent and baby. So, I asked the greater community of Instagram to provide any teething tips and was overwhelmed with the knowledgeable responses. I haven't tried all of them but I figured I would compile a list in case you too are needing some ideas.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockSeptember 2, 2016teething, milestones, motherhood, teething tips, teething productsComment

Marriage After Baby: Update

Hi all,

A few months ago I shared how my marriage had changed after having Winter. You can read the first post here. I received such a positive response and talked to so many other women who could relate so I decided to write an update.

MarriageTerra LaRockAugust 26, 2016marriage, married with children, marriage after baby, love and marriageComment

Owlet Baby Monitor: A Product Review

As a first time mother, I was unsure about a lot of things. I was definitely one of those mothers who would wake up multiple times in the night just make sure Winter was not too hot or too cold and to check if she was breathing.

MotherhoodTerra LaRockAugust 22, 2016owlet baby monitor, infancy, baby productsComment