Happy early Mother’s Day to all of you friends who are celebrating this weekend, in any capacity! For those of you who are a mom yourself, know that I have full confidence that you are doing the very best job you can. Part of the reason I can say that is because I have a hunch that you love to learn (I think that’s something that unites all of us here!). And if, each day, you’re learning and applying something that moves you a small step in the right direction, you’re doing a great job.
This is something John and I have taken to heart from the very beginning. In one of my earliest parenting posts, I shared advice from friends that has stuck with us over the last five years. Remember, they said, you will know more tomorrow than you know today. And you know more today than you knew yesterday. Like us, they didn’t have too much “baby experience” before the birth of their son, and they marveled to us how much more they knew at the end of the first week of his life – like, light years different. That was so encouraging for me to hear, and I’ve found it to be true over and over, even beyond the baby years.
Some of my favorite people to learn from about parenting are our in-real-life friends, and of course I’m always learning from and inspired by our own parents. And books. I love parenting books! But over the years I’ve collected a few other sources of parenting wisdom, ideas, inspiration, and expertise that are closer to real-time companions, in my ears or at my fingertips when I need a mid-day boost or encouragement to keep fighting the good fight of parenthood. I thought I’d share that list of parenting resources with you today! In no particular order…
Favorite parenting podcasts
Walk in love podcast | This is most definitely not a strictly parenting podcast, but T.J. and Brooke share often about the intentional ways they’re building their family culture. Our philosophies and goals feel similar, and our kids are around the same age (maybe 6 and 3 for them?), so it feels like we’re in the trenches together. Their episode about their Sabbath and weekly rhythm is a good place to start, and I always enjoy T.J.’s twice-yearly reports from the intentional dad mastermind he’s a part of (most recently here and here).
Raising Boys and Girls podcast | Of all the resources listed here, this podcast undoubtedly qualifies as the most “expert.” Hosts Sissy Goff and David Thomas are both authors and long-time practicing family counselors at DayStar Counseling in Tennessee. What a treasure trove of wisdom and experience they are! Each season of the podcast is a bit different, from interviews to walking through stages of development, but overall, their goal is to “help you care for the kids in your life with a little more understanding, a little more practical help and a whole lot of hope.” I really enjoy this one.
Merrick’s Art | Merrick is Janssen’s sister! She has three boys ranging from about 6 to 11, and though similar in parenting ethos to her sister, it’s fun to see how she applies it for a family of boys. The topic of Merrick’s blog (fashion) is of slightly less interest overall to me than Janssen’s, but I find many of her parenting posts helpful, like life skills she’s teaching her boys, their one-hour mom dates, a family economy, and tips for raising boys.
Risen Motherhood | Risen Motherhood “exists to encourage, equip, and challenge moms to apply the gospel to their everyday lives.” In the midst of the more fluffy things I read, it’s a solid reminder of what matters most in my role as parent, sometimes in more philosophical and sometimes in very practical ways.
NieNie Dialogues | I love reading about all of the intentional ways Stephanie and her husband build their family culture, live out their faith, share their faith with their children, and make much of celebrations big and small. The Nielsons have five kids ranging from about 8 to 18 and as with many of these resources, I love getting a peek ahead to what life might look like in a few years. I’ve particularly been inspired by their back-to-school dinners, complete with family theme for the year.
Favorite parenting Instagram accounts
Shay Cochrane | Shay is a commercial photographer and business owner who I’ve had the pleasure of working with in several capacities over the years. She is another total kindred spirit, including our shared love for intentional parenting, healthy and joyful marriage, and financial freedom. With two daughters about ages 9 and 11, she might be my absolute favorite person to follow on IG for the thought-provoking and practical parenting tidbits she shares, like talking about sex, thoughts on experiences over things, what it means to build a home, and strategies for navigating a crisis.
Alice Park | Alice is another photographer and business owner, and though I think our parenting styles might differ slightly more than some others on this list (she’s a little more Enneagram Type 3 than me, ha!), I love the nuggets she shares, like balancing mothering and working, raising resilient diverse children, and creating a home where your kids know they’re valued. She has a daughter who’s about 7 and a son who’s about 10.
Simply on Purpose | Ralphie is another mom to four girls, ranging from about 8 to 16, and she is a font of wisdom and practical tips for positive parenting. Out of all of these resources, I feel like she’s truly the coach in my ear, daily reminding me to look for the good, create momentum, be a safe space, and simply enjoy the gift of having kids in our home. She is REALLY good at breaking down explanations and providing examples, so if these topics are new to you, I think you’ll find her account really helpful!
There you have it! There are other moms and parenting platforms that I love and am inspired by, but these are the ones that consistently help me learn: the ones that teach me new ways of doing things and approaching situations, give me new ideas to try, and have me taking notes and screenshots.
I would love to hear: do we share any favorite parenting resources? Or do you have another to recommend? I’d love for y’all to continue my list in the comments!
Occasionally, one of you will ask me how I come up with my monthly goals. Here’s the short answer: I choose the things that will move me closer to the person I want to be, the family I want to have, the life I want to live, and the legacy I want to leave. I try to make sure they make sense with the season, the sequence of where I am in the project or process (i.e. what is the next logical step), and what else I have on my plate and calendar for the month.
The breaking-it-down part comes fairly easily to me; what might be the better and bigger question is how I choose the direction I want to go. The short answer for that is my annual PowerSheets Prep Work, a series of guided questions that lead me to my yearly goals. Once I know where I’m going, the getting there becomes easier – and usually fun :)
P.S. A heads-up that I updated a few recent posts: my maternity planning post with thoughts on the dresses I ordered, and the road trip post with thoughts from our Jekyll Island trek!
On my calendar this month: — Mother’s Day! — Picking all the strawberries! Our local pick-your-own farm opened last week and we’ve already been for our inaugural after-school trip. — A weekend trip to Charlottesville with my brother- and sister-in-law, loved ones we haven’t seen in a year and a half. — June’s preschool graduation celebration, which my parents will get to attend!
What I’m loving right now: — This kids’ conditioner is cheap and has worked wonders on untangling June’s hair after washing! Highly recommended. — The Feel Good Classics playlist on Spotify (“happy tunes from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s) most definitely makes me feel good. — We’re using one of these acrylic frames to showcase a baby sister ultrasound photo, and now I’m imagining all of the other sweet mementos they’d be perfect to hold! Just what you need for those oddly-shaped or sized items that can add so much meaning to a mantel or table-top display.
What I read in April: — The Dutch House | Five stars, for exquisitely-painted characters and spaces alike. This is the kind of narrative that is all-consuming, in the sense that you almost forget where you are and the people around you when you dip into its pages. I’ve heard the audiobook, narrated by Tom Hanks, is absolutely superb. — Women of the Word | This short book is very practical and very needed if you’re someone like me, who was never formally taught to read the Bible. Her suggestions are easy to understand, but now I’m left trying to figure out how to apply them in my life, because they’re certainly more in-depth than I’m used to… — Olive Kitteridge | This Pulitzer-Prize winner promised to be controversial (people seem to either love it or hate it), and when I turned the last page, I still wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. I appreciated the small-town Maine setting and the carefully-drawn portraits of the townspeople, and thought it was neat how Olive’s influence was woven into each to all different degrees, but it is relentlessly negative. It seemed like the worst possible parts of each character were being highlighted (in most cases), and while the portraits didn’t ring untrue, that’s just not how I’m accustomed to viewing the world.
Revisiting my April goals: Make a new design plan for the Magnolia Room (Done!) Magic Eraser/touch up paint in Magnolia Room (In progress! Have the paint and planning to brush it on this week.) Plan maternity/family photos (Done! They actually happened last night and PRAISE for sunshiny weather!) Try twice a week meal prep/chopping nights, inspired by Lisa! (Didn’t do a single one – going to try again this month!) Have my Fearrington tea + pedicures date with June, one of her Christmas presents (Scheduled for later this month!) Assist with June’s bake sale (Decided to postpone this! She hasn’t mentioned it in a bit, and I’d rather it be driven forward by her :)) Proceed with garden party planning (Plans are underway!) Clean out our pantry (Done! Watch me work on Instagram Stories! :)) Order our 2010-2014 family photo album (I chose MPix and have laid out 2010 so far! There are a lot more pictures to choose from than with the 2005-2009 album, ha!)
May goals: — Order custom roman shades for the Magnolia Room — Clean out the Magnolia Room dresser and closet — Order and hang curtains for our master bedroom — Plan (and maybe hold?) the garden party — Make my Big List for baby girl (Basically, a Google Doc where I’ll list out everything related to baby that needs to happen between now and July – then, I’ll break it down month-by-month. Helps me wrap my head around what can seem like an intimidating list! I’ll make a separate one for work things, too.) — Research EFM book options — Make EFM content plan through Q3 — Camp in our backyard — Prep for trips to Charlottesville and Connecticut — Try again with the meal prep/chopping nights
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
Whew! That’s a lot, but it’s all things I’m excited for! Since I didn’t do a survey this year, and I’ll be working on content planning this month, I’d love to hear: is there anything you’d like for me to write about, or that you think would make a good topic here?
File this under classic third child situation: baby girl will not have a dedicated nursery.
BUT – we still have some special plans up our sleeves, and since where our newest addition will sleep has been one of our most commonly asked questions, I thought we could chat about our plans today!
In our home, the master bedroom is downstairs, and we are grateful to have three bedrooms upstairs. June is in one, Shep is in another, and the third is our guest room. The guest room was the very first room we painted in this house (Benjamin Moore Healing Aloe – the prettiest soft green, which I still love!), and after we hung a pair of magnolia art prints on the wall, we dubbed it the Magnolia Room. It’s perfect for welcoming our mostly northern guests to our Southern home! Here is what it looks like today:
Since we live far from loved ones and my sister and her family visit for weekend trips often, it’s important to us to keep a queen bed upstairs. Because of this, this room will largely stay intact, but we will be making a few adjustments to accommodate baby girl! (On that note, I am very glad that baby is, indeed, a girl and not a boy, because the existing decor definitely skews feminine! We could have made it work if we were welcoming a boy, but it’s a much lighter lift this way, ha!)
Here’s a look at the plan, and then a few more details:
First, of course, we’ll add a crib. We’ll use Shep’s same white Jenny Lind crib, even though he’s currently occupying it. We figure we have at least until the end of the year without overlap (if we need it!), since our babies usually sleep in the bassinet in our room for the first few months. Once we move the crib into her room, we’ll add this beautiful magnolia crib sheet (with this floral design as a back-up) and eventually this muslin quilt.
We’ll also switch out the curtains. While I love the current curtains, they’re not black-out and don’t even exactly cover the entire window when closed. (Oops – one of my earliest commissioned projects :)) I’m planning to find a seamstress to make black-out roman shades with the gorgeous Poppy fabric by Lulie Wallace, which I think will tie together lots of the colors in the room and be a fun, feminine touch for baby girl.
Finally, we’ll hopefully switch out the dresser. There is currently a dresser in the room, which was a free hand-me-down from one of our cottages in Maine. It is lovely, but smells AGGRESSIVELY like mothballs. We have tried various things to air it out over the years, but none have made much difference and we don’t have much hope of further progress. We’re currently storing a few things in there that don’t really absorb smells or we don’t care if they do, but ideally we would like some storage for baby girl things. So, we may opt to replace this dresser with another one – maybe this one. If I could get an exact dupe of the dresser in June’s room, I would in a second – I still think it is the most gorgeous honey wood color!! Alas, it was a one-of-a-kind flea market find.
We’ll also likely take the opportunity to switch out the lamps for a matching pair, add some happy yellow artwork over the bed, and frame a few family photos for the dresser!
For those who are curious, we figure the room in this configuration should be just fine for at least the first 2-3 years of baby girl’s life. Our kids don’t keep too many toys in their room until they start quiet time, so it shouldn’t be an issue to preserve the guest room feel. After that, we might consider having two of the kids share a room, or shifting the guest room to be more custom for baby girl (but still keep a queen bed). Or, we might be in a new house entirely! We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it :)
Sharing these posts is always good motivation to nail down the details – now I just need to execute! T-10 weeks to go…
After scouring the lower half of the Eastern Seaboard, we landed on Jekyll Island, Georgia for our spring break this year. Another blogger’s post was actually what made me look at it in the first place, so I’m happy to return the favor today! Though the island was largely what we were expecting, there were some things that I didn’t fully understand until arriving, so I hope this post is helpful for anyone considering a trip to Jekyll. The short version: it was delightful!
Jekyll Island is a small barrier island in very far south Georgia. It’s actually a state park, which surprised me (I guess I didn’t expect that, since there are hotels, shops, and homes on the island!). This means you have to pay a daily fee before crossing over the bridge (when we visited, it was $8/day), but it surely helps maintain its vibe, which is natural, relaxed, and un-crowded. There was abundant natural beauty and enough activities to keep our young family busy for a 5-day trip, but no traffic and very few lines. A win all around in our book!
From the Triangle, Jekyll is about a six-hour drive, which we decided to break up with an overnight stop in Beaufort, SC (one of our favorite small Southern towns!). We stayed once again at City Loft Hotel, which is perfectly COVID-friendly – it’s a restored roadside motel, so every room opens to the breezeway. The affordable suite we booked allowed our kids to have a separate room with a shared queen bed, which was a little wild settling in the first night, but actually totally fine after that.
Our brief Beaufort stay included a horse-drawn carriage ride, a pizza dinner at Hearth (we ate outside but the interior looks very cool!), ice cream on the riverfront swings, breakfast at Lowcountry Produce (right across the road from City Loft!), a leisurely stroll around the Point historic district (right behind City Loft, and my favorite part), and time at the riverfront playground. I will always advocate for a stop in Beaufort if it’s on your way!
On to Jekyll Island! We booked it for the beach immediately after arriving. Freedooooooom!
We stayed at the Jekyll Ocean Club, a sister property with the Jekyll Island Club. We considered both, but decided on the Ocean Club because we wanted to be close to the beach and the Ocean Club is made up entirely of suites. I think I drove John nuts in the lead-up to our trip because I could NOT for the life of me remember which one we were staying at, but in reality, they are very different properties.
The Ocean Club is modern and casual in feel (it opened in 2017). Like I mentioned, it’s all suites (great for traveling families!), and every room looks out at the ocean. The view we had is above!
The bottom floor is made up of a large lounge area and the resort restaurant, Eighty Ocean. Windowed, garage-style doors roll up to walk out to the pool, and then the beach is just a short walk over the boardwalk from there. The Ocean Club is set in the “hotel district,” so it shares a parking lot and is in close proximity to several other large hotels, like the Westin and a Home2 Suites by Hilton.
The Island Club, on the other hand, is a historic property. It was built in 1888, and reopened as a hotel in 1987. It looks like an elegant yellow castle (complete with turret!) set on sprawling grounds and surrounded by azaleas, historic homes, and huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss. The hotel is bordered on one side by the river and horse-drawn carriages roll by regularly :)
Though it’s elegant and historic (there’s a legit croquet course on the front lawn!), it also felt family-friendly to us – there were lots of multigenerational groups enjoying the pool and restaurants, and kids riding their balance bikes along the fern-lined porches. (Sea Island, another barrier island right above Jekyll, felt a bit more stuffy to us when we visited a few years ago.)
Dotted around the Island Club are a number of historic “cottages,” some of which are available to stay in, as well. I could be wrong, but I don’t *believe* there are any suites in the Island Club.
The nice thing is that because they’re sister properties, as a guest at either, you can access the amenities of both. This was especially helpful during our visit, because during COVID most of the property restaurants were only open to hotel guests. But, even if you visit Jekyll Island and don’t stay at either property, you can still walk the lovely grounds, which I would highly recommend doing! The Ocean Club and the Island Club are less than a five-minute drive apart.
We visited in late March, and the weather ranged from a high of 55 one day (!) to a high of 80. We lucked out with sunshine and blue skies most days, but because it’s on the coast, definitely remember to pack your sweatshirt no matter what time of year you visit!
Here are a few of the activities we enjoyed during our stay:
The beach! The beach at Jekyll is expansive in all directions, and never felt even a bit crowded. We didn’t go in the water much, but our kids had a great time building sandcastles and just generally digging :) Hotel guests can request beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas be set up without an extra fee, and between not having to pile everything into the car or lug heavy equipment to and fro, beach trips were SO easy. We could pop down for even just a half hour without it feeling like a burden!
One cool thing: we were able to walk out to a crazy sandbar one afternoon! John and June are at least a football field away from the shore in this photo.
The pool! This was most definitely the highlight of the trip for June. We stuck to the pool at the Ocean Club, which was family-centric but not wild. She took a dip almost every day, even the 55 degree one :) There are fire pits at both pools, too, where we had s’mores one night. Pro tip: though they have s’mores supplies for purchase, it would be easy and MUCH less cost-prohibitive to bring your own if you knew you’d want to make them on multiple nights.
One morning we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which is basically on the property of the Island Club. We waited about 45 minutes to get inside, likely because of a triple-threat combo of gray weather, it being spring break, and limited capacity due to COVID. This would not have been a huge issue, but the no-see-ums were out in FORCE, which was a bit challenging – though the only time we were bothered by bugs!
Once inside, our kids enjoyed peeking into the treatment room, where you can watch vets and volunteers care for injured and sick turtles; looking at the kid-friendly info displays; and visiting the hospital pavilion behind the center, where you can stand on an elevated platform and see into tanks holding rehabilitating turtles (volunteers share stories and infos with you there, too!).
We were conflicted on how many days we should rent bikes, but in the end, we went with just one day, which ended up being perfect for our family (currently, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old). We opted to bring June’s bike with us, because it was easier to pack and already perfectly sized for her, and rented bikes for both John and me. Shep rode in a bike seat on John’s bike, which we also rented. (All from Jekyll Wheels, also on the Island Club property.)
We ended up taking a mammoth 10.5 mile bike ride on the day we rented, in a big loop from the Island Club out to Driftwood Beach and back. This was June’s first time ever riding a bike alongside us, as opposed to us on foot, and I’m as surprised as you she made it that far! This was only possible because Jekyll Island appears to be 100% flat, so it makes for very easy riding. Driftwood Beach was totally worth visiting – and easy to park at if you don’t want to bike there! :)
Our other big adventure was an afternoon trip to Cumberland Island. It’s another barrier island about 45 minutes south of Jekyll, and verrrrrrrrrry longtime readers might remember that John and I took a spring break trip there in college! It was fun to return after 12 years with our two (and counting) kiddos, and both enjoyed the ferry ride and the abundant wild horses. (We saw around 30 in just a quick loop, so if you’re going for the horses, you probably won’t be disappointed!)
We opted to go out on the 11:45 ferry and come back on the 2:45. We were worried it would be too short, but it ended up being great for the short legs we were traveling with :)
A quick rundown of the dining options we tried:
Eighty Ocean: This is the on-site restaurant of the Ocean Club. We had breakfast here about half of our days, and it was delicious! Very yummy pancakes :) We also ate dinner here three nights, and while it is upscale, there were always lots of kids. It’s also easy to burn off a little energy on the pool patio or rooftop deck nearby (above) while waiting for your meal, if needed :) For COVID-consciousness, we were able to be seated on the screened porch area for all of our meals.
The Pantry: This is a grab-and-go market with a menu of sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, and salads on the property of the Island Club. We had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert here during our stay. The expansive covered porch just outside, above, is a lovely place to eat your meal!
The Wharf: This is a pier stretching into the river, also on the Island Club property. They have indoor and outdoor options, though we only experienced the outdoor. Live music some nights!
The Pool House: As the name suggests, this is an open-air restaurant at the Island Club pool. We ate lunch here twice and it’s a lovely spot!
The Grand Dining Room: I reeeeeeeally wanted to have afternoon tea on the porch of the Island Club, but sadly it was not being offered due to COVID when we visited. Instead, we opted to have breakfast in the Grand Dining Room on our last morning, and though it was fun to see the elegant space, I honestly don’t think it was worth the money for the quality of food. And a little stressful with a wiggly two-year-old :) I would totally do tea if we go back in the future, though!
All in all, Jekyll Island was the perfect spring break respite for our family, and we are SO grateful to have gotten the chance to visit! I would highly recommend it for families of all ages, and particularly for multigenerational family trips. If you have any questions about our visit, I’d be happy to answer!
My blue tiered dress is from Old Navy and my pink cover-up is from Boden! Affiliate links are used in this post!
