Pause Pages: Rolling With It, Little Milestones, and Life in Transition
a monthly care package of thoughts, faves, and little joys — plus some prompts for a little mom self-care woven into your day.
Welcome to the monthly roundup! Think of this as a little care package of all the things I’ve been loving, thinking about, and obsessing over lately — books, baby stuff, articles, and random life joys that deserve a shoutout. It’s also a time to pause, reflect, and nurture yourself — a little mom self-care woven into your day.
July Intention: Roll with it (and pack our life into a suitcase)
This month, we officially move. Most of our things are about to get packed into a 10x20 storage unit in Dallas, but we are staying in the Austin-area at my parents house that we had to take off the market for now. About 1,400 square feet, two grandparents, me, the hubs, one very busy toddler, two silly dogs, and all of our houseplants. For who knows how long? November? December? Time will tell.
I finally feel ready to let it be what it is.
So this month, my intention is to roll with it. To declutter, pack light, hold everything a little more loosely, and trust that home is wherever my family is.
💭 Prompts to Ponder:
What can I embrace during this time of uncertainty?
If you had to pack only what you truly needed for the next few months, what would actually make the cut?
What makes a space feel like home to you — beyond the walls, the belongings, the square footage?
Reflection: 23 months into motherhood
We’re in the swing of potty learning! Fully Keira-led, as she’s the one who has been insisting on using it. But, it’s chill. Not doing a crash-course method or anything. We still use our HealthyBaby pull-ups for nights, outings, and nap time. At home, she runs around with a naked booty as we’ve found it easier for her to connect the dots. I’ll be writing up a full post on this soon.
Keira is talking up a storm. She’s putting 2-3 words together. It happened overnight like everyone says, and ahhh it’s so much fun.
Some days are one nap, some are two naps, some nights she wakes to nurse 5 times, some she only stirs once. Still haven’t slept through the night, but I’ve truly stopped waiting for that moment. I’ll let myself be surprised whenever the day comes.
Really wish I felt ready to try for baby number two at this point… because I do feel so excited to take that next step, but we’ve got too much going on. I want to properly prepare myself and feel healthier before I put my body through all of that again.
Life Lately: things worth sharing
This claw clip! — for the mamas whose hair lives in a clip 24/7, this is the most comfortable one I've found. No pulling or digging into my scalp. It's made in Korea, has cute little charms, pretty colors, and it’s bendy/flexible (my hair tends to break claw clips with it’s strength).
Hypochlorous acid wipes — New find from my cousin and I love. Great ingredients, and naturally kills flu, rsv, covid virus… keeping these stocked.
For Keira’s birthday, I purchased this wooden beam that stacks onto her stapelstein stepping stones, but now that it has arrived, I wish we bought the XL Twist version instead of the OG beam (OG feels too short, too easy/wide…)! Going to see if they will let me exchange, but we’ll see.
New Yoto cards in the rotation — 5 minute sleepy stories, Winnie the Pooh storybook collection, and this Travel Pack
A tiny espresso-sized mug for the toddler, because she requests her “hot tea” every morning.
What I Wrote About This Month
A Round Up of My Toddler’s Favorite Things (And Things To Do!): What my almost-two-year-old is loving right now from art supplies to obstacle courses to chores
Meals From My Camera Roll: A Week in June: Healthy, simple, and delicious meals I made this week — plus a couple no-recipe recipes
Anyone else find parenting in public quite vulnerable?: I’m talking about parenting in public, nunchi, and taking up space
My Best Tips for Moms Who Work During Naptime: After two years of WFH motherhood, here’s how I work during naps and keep the house flowing the rest of the day
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🍵 Also from me: Slow Brew Sunday — Every Sunday morning, I share reflections, intentions for the week, and things I’m currently loving. If you like the vibe here but want something less motherhood-specific, it’s for you.
✨ Got any topic requests or questions? Let me know in the comments!
See you next month, mamas!
You Might Also Enjoy:
Brave Girl, Brave Mom: What I Learned from a Very Awkward Dinner
We were sitting at dinner one night, a mix of family and friends around the table. my daughter (22 months) was in her booster chair between me and one of the older guests.
🫶🏼 read more slow & thoughtful reflections here
☁️ browse my favorite cozy tools & resources here
💌 come say hi in our mom group chat
On the same theme as the tiny adorable mug, we got little metal espresso cups (no handle) to use as my 13m sons water cups and they work really well! He can hold them very easily to drink on his own. They hold such a small amount of water its not a big deal if he knocks it over. If you look for "Montessori style" weaning cups they are all crazy expensive but they are basically the same size as espresso cups.
Ok this is a random question but I want to know more about how yall use the yoto player. Like do you just laying it in bed with yall to listen? How does it help her wind down. Does she sit still, hold it and listen. How are the logistics here, lol. I got my son one (26 months old) for his birthday but we haven’t used it yet.