In April my intention was to SLOW DOWN. And while I feel like I did that to an extent... I think May has been the month that I've really come through for myself. It's been unintentional but my body let me know that it was time to take an out breath. It started with a migraine. They're icky but they always pass so they don't get me down too far. After that I scaled back a little bit but I got another one. Okay body, I get it, you want a break. And so I've made a conscious effort to work when it's time to work and put it down when it's time to play. I'm not perfect... and my phone has email so you know... but I've been trying a lot harder and that's what makes the difference.

Everly and I had my sister Cori take some pics for us yesterday. I'm in love. My lady, she's just perfect. And I made the giant flower crown on my head. I want to offer them in my shop but I almost feel like they're too special to do that. I make them for myself, my friends, my family, and my pregnant mamas that I work with. I make them because they make my soul happy. Tomorrow I'll share more pics. For today it's just a glimpse! 

xo Sue

If you've read this blog for any amount of time you probably know that I love being a mom. Everly isn't my whole world but she's my favorite part. And lets be honest, while she's tiny she's most of my world. One thing I really love now that I'm a parent is connecting with others who are on a similar journey. Shelly is my best friend and I love that we're at the same point in our lives. We both have small children and we talk about them a lot. How do we teach them to share? How do we teach them to be in control of their little emotions? How do we teach them to say "no" when it's appropriate? It's a never ending talk between the two of us. How do we be the best mom we can? Some things Shelly and I do are similar and some are different but we can always talk in a nonjudgmental way about things going on in our lives and I LOVE that. Shelly is my strongest parenting connection but I love that I have so many more.

This year I've teamed up with MommyCon to help spread the word about them and what they do. If you've never heard of MommyCon this is as basic as it gets: "MommyCon is a boutique style natural parenting convention focused on bringing modern families together to discuss, learn and grow together. A day at MommyCon features over a dozen speakers, workshops, shopping and more!" How wonderful does that sound? I'm hoping to get to an event later this year and I cannot wait!

Today we're teaming up to offer a pair of tickets to all three days of Camp MommyCon in Denver! That's right, TWO TICKETS TO CAMP MOMMYCON! The three day event starts at 4pm on Friday, June 20 and goes till 10am on Sunday, June 22. There are all sorts of events over the three days. A few that sound extra wonderful to me are...

• Babywearing 101 (you get to try on all different types of carriers and learn how to properly use them)
• Cloth Diaper 101 (because they're adorable but intimidating if you don't know what you're doing)
• Birth Choices (hello, I'm a doula, HOORAY FOR BIRTH CHOICES!)
• Toddler Cooking Class (anything with food, right?)
• Body Love (I am ALL about the self-love)
• Essential Oils (yes, please!)
• Mommy & Me Yoga (E & I already do this!)
• SO MANY MORE! If you want a full list of events for Camp MommyCon visit their page! 

So if this appeals to you (it's for ALL parents, really) click on the little gadget below and enter to win those tickets! If you can't make it to Denver there are a few more events this year that the tickets can also be used for. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

honest disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post in any way. I just really love MommyCon and the parenting connections they encourage and I was excited to help spread the word! Images c/o MommyCon.

xo Sue

Yesterday was my second Mother's Day. Aaron said for Mother's Day he'd "give me a break" and take Everly to play on his own. I said a big no thank you to that. She's the one who made me a mama! I wanted to celebrate being a mom with my daughter. Now that I'm a mom I appreciate my own mom in a way I never could before. It's a hard job! But it's so rewarding. Everly is my favorite person. She's so smart and spunky and fun to be around. She's got a huge personality that bursts out touching everyone who knows her. To know her is to love her. I feel so lucky that she chose me to guide her through this life. Every single day is beautiful and difficult and emotional and hectic and fun. No matter what we're doing we always enjoy each other's company and I absolutely love being her whole world. I love this little lady more than words can express. She is my light.

xo Sue

Oh May, you've surprised me with your arrival! April went by so quickly that I hardly had time to blink. I'm pretty sure I said the same thing about March... We managed two family pictures in a month though. Impressive, no? The top one Aaron's dad took while he was here visiting. It's awkward and I'm in my sweats and Everly is blinking because of the bright sunlight, and yet I love it. The one below counts as a family pic. E is sleeping but it's so sweet! We were at Comic Con in that picture and Aaron was dressed as Captain Hammer. It was the best costume. Everly was dressed as Super Girl. I was her chariot. Or something. Also I'm still stinking at reading one book per week. I'm currently working on The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain. She's a local Utah author and I've followed her since her first published book. I've met her a few times and I picked up her book at Comic Con (and of course had it signed!). It's really good so far but truth be told I'm not too far into it. I'll get there! I'm still posting on the blog (obviously). Some weeks are more than others. Some weeks I have more to say... some weeks I have more minutes to write. That's just the way it goes, right? But I keep on writing, mostly just for me. I am loving my soul work and definitely loving myself! 

In April my intention was to slow down. I think I did it. I still had a full schedule and a full life but I really tried to slow it down and take moments each day to treasure this life. Everly grew right in front of my eyes and it was beautiful. I'm finding a wonderful balance between being a mom, a wife, a student, a doula, a web goddess (official title), a friend, a sister, and just being me. It's a work in progress but I'm loving the progress. 

In May I will...

• Pick my newest path. I'm researching a few amazing programs to further my education and become a healer or herbalist (because I'm not weird enough yet). I'm going to find my way with one of them and I'm really excited about it.
• Finish our ecourse for June release! Shelly and I are so busy with it and I am SO excited to share this work with others. It's been amazing to write this course with my sister. I hope some of you will be joining us!
• Create with my sisters. Vague I know. Let me explain. My sister Morgan has moved back for the summer before she embarks on her next life adventure and Shelly and I are loving this summer air. Cori will be spending most of the summer away but until she leaves we're all going to be creating together. I have a few very ambitious Pinterest projects that Morgan is motivating me to do. I think with the full force of all four sisters we'll get a few things done.

I'm keeping it simple again. I know these things seem inconsequential to some but this will be a full month for me. I'm pretty sure I say this every time, but it's going to be wonderful. 

I love this beautiful life.

xo Sue

Funny things... 

Aaron said to me today... You smell pretty. Did you shower today? I started laughing and still haven't stopped. That man knows how to make me giggle. Even when he's not meaning to.

Everly wore a dress today and tried to find her belly button. It was hilarious. 

When Aaron doesn't have a shirt on Everly always points to his nipples curiously and he responds with "I know baby, I don't know why men have them either."

And this lady. She's my everything.

I'm so excited! Shelly and I have finished the writing portion of our course and we're moving on to the designing side of the project. At first I thought the writing would be the hard part but now that we're done with it I'm thinking the design will probably be a lot harder! It's one of those things that we've been dreaming of for a long time and now that it's all coming together the perfectionist in me wants to get it just right. It's a tall order but I'm pretty sure we've got this! I'm so lucky to be working with Shelly on this course. She's such a calming presence in my life and she motivates me to work harder and be as awesome as she is. 

If you want to be a part of The Journey to Self Love you can win a spot in the first ever run of the course over on Fran's blog right now! Just hop over there and click on the entries. I know you follow my blog if you're reading this so that's an entry right there. We don't have an official release date for the course yet but it will be the end of May/beginning of June. We're working HARD to get it out soon! 

Also, you know when you're flipping through your pics on your phone at the end of a long day (little E was sick!) and you stumble on a gem? This was my gem. I love my lady.

xo Sue