I do all the things for them. Sometimes I do them for me, so I can be whole for them. But, when it really comes down to it, I do them for them.
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Like tonight, for instance. Tonight I went to a “Toastmasters” (public speaking) group meeting. I signed up for it weeks ago. But when tonight actually got here, I nearly talked myself out of going at least 10 times. What if everyone knew each other already? What if I couldn’t learn something? What if it made me uncomfortable? What if. What if. What if.
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But I went. I went for them. I mean, I went for me. But I really went for them. Let me explain.
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I’ve always loved public speaking. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed of being a professional speaker. Inspiring people. Being a keynote. Changing lives. It’s part of why I got into sales.
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But, somewhere along the way, I lost that dream. I stopped perusing it. Sure, I speak for a living now in sales. I get to inspire people. But, on stages? To masses? I haven’t practiced that in years. If I’m honest, it makes me nervous as hell.
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So, tonight, I took one small step towards that dream. Of being a regular public speaker. You know why? FOR THEM.
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A few months ago, I heard something on a podcast that really stuck with me. I could write a whole post on this one thing. But, to sum it up, the speaker said that we can’t spend our children’s whole childhood telling them that they can be anything. Encouraging them, coaching them, telling them to follow their dreams… if we don’t also follow our own. He said eventually, one day, they would notice. One day they’d ask “What about you mom?” The words made me cry as I heard them “What about you?”
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So, tonight, I followed a dream. I set the example. I did the thing. Because if I do one thing on this planet. If I set one example, if I leave one legacy, I will be a mother who never stoped chasing her dreams. Even if I’m 35. Even if I’m a mother of 2. Even if it’s scary. Because it’s what I want them to do too. And, they are watching. ✨
Author: laurenwesley6280
This body.
This body right here?
Sometimes it feels good.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
Sometimes it feels strong, and fierce, and amazing.
Sometimes I wish it looked “better in these jeans.”
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Sometimes I don’t post a picture because I don’t like the way it looks (perhaps like in this photo from 2018 that I never shared).
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But F that.
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THIS BODY?
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It grew two healthy babies.
It walked me down the aisle.
It won the county swim meet in 1996.
It scored winning goals, and won dance contests in Tahoe (remember that one girls 🤪)!?
It nursed two tiny babies for almost 10 months each.
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These arms?
They’ve hugged my loved ones in times of need.
They are strong enough to carry 30 lbs. of 3 year old, and 24 lbs. of (almost) 2 year old… AT THE SAME TIME.
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This body right here? It is everything.
So, enough with not posting the pic. Enough with caring how it looks in jeans, or a swimsuit, or on our next Christmas card. I am so very grateful for this body.
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And, this body now that I’m a mother?
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I move it almost daily. I exercise to make it *strong*.
I exercise to FEEL good instead of to look good.
I move it to keep up with my kids, and I move it so I can *be here* for my kids.
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I love it.
I praise it.
I am joyful about it.
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For me… and for her. For teeny tiny Gracie baby. Because I know she’s watching. And, eventually, one day the media, and even well-meaning friends and family, might try to tell her that maybe she shouldn’t love her body too.
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But, not today. Not in this house.
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Because HERE, we love our bodies. So, wear the suit. Post the pic. Be the example, mama. Because, our girls are watching, my friends. And, come to think of it, our boys are watching too.
See more sunsets.
See more sunsets. It’s something I’ve decided I want to do.
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There was a time, back in my twenties, when I’d catch a sunset almost every day. I worked hard and days were busy, but free time was truly free. And, I’d almost always jog after work. The sunsets on those post-work runs grounded me.
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No matter how stressful my day was. Or how many “no’s” I got in sales, or how behind I felt in anything, the sunset brought me back to earth.
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Sunsets were free. They were constant. They were something I could count on (except, perhaps, for on a rainy day). They were something I looked forward to.
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But, then life happened. Busy-ness happened. Teeny tiny amazing (best thing ever) kids who take up lots of time happened. And, somehow, here I am: a person who almost never sees the sunset.
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But that changed tonight. Tonight, on a Monday…on a regular old weekday, the Wesley family loaded up in the car, and we went to watch the sunset. Because it’s something I really love. And it happens every day. And I didn’t want to miss it.
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For you, maybe it’s not sunsets. Maybe it’s gardening, or going for a run, or baking the perfect pie. But, there’s something. That thing that used to ground you when you were younger. That thing that you did consistently back when you had time. Could you work it back in this week? Because if you don’t have time for it today, on a Monday, after work. When will you? Let’s stop waiting for “some day” to do the things we love. Let’s do them today. ❤️ Especially if we can do them with the ones who we love most.
These are the days.
My sister and I woke up to the same song every morning for years: “These are the Days.” It was a great way to start the morning, and always a reminder to make the most of the day, because one day we’d look back on those middle and high school days and they would be amazing memories.
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Fast forward to today. I’m 35, and while I no longer wake up to that song every morning, I’m realizing, yet again, that THESE are the days.
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So, I’m writing down the little things. I’m taking the pictures. I’m soaking it in and enjoying the moments, because these ARE the days.
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This morning was the best kind of lazy Saturday. We stayed in pajamas until late morning. I didn’t even make it to my coffee until we’d all be up 2 hours. We played baseball in the house. I chased the kids in circles in the kitchen while Dustin and my wedding song played on repeat (because I’m cool like that). We had plans to go a bunch of places, and never left the house.
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Dustin got up early and ran 20 miles because he’s training for the Austin marathon. I write that detail too because I’m SO proud and impressed with him. And, seeing Grace hug him when he walked back in the door was really basically everything. It made my heart burst.
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Not all of our days are beautiful. Some are messy, and hard, and exhausting. But THIS Saturday, this was one for the books. I’m writing it all down and sharing it here because “these are the days that we’ll remember.” ✨
Getting stinky throw up smell out of a room.
Hello! Welcome to my glamours blog! ;).
I had planned to focus on the “things that matter most” in this blog. Keeping us all focused on family, love, making the most of our one life. Being our best selves. Taking care of ourselves. Intentionally being present. All the things. For, those are the things that matter most.
But, sometimes, getting a super stinky smelly vomit smell out of a 22 month old’s bedroom matters quite a bit. So, here we are.
If you follow along on instagram, you know that baby G (I know, I know, she’s almost 2. She’s not a baby. But that is what I call her.) threw up earlier this week when I was out of town for work. I know you working mamas out there know the pain it is to be away and know your little one is sick. It was the worst.
But, I made it home last night, and thankfully she was feeling much better. Shout out to the best nanny on the planet for cuddling her all day, cleaning up the puke, getting Jack to school, and everything. REAL LIFE: Along with these clean crisp blog like photos are also a lot of people who help to make it happen. Husband who does a ton around the house and is the world’s best dad. And, a full time nanny who is here 5 days a week while Dustin and I work. Just wanted to be clear on that. #reallife
Anyway, the point of this post: Any time our kids puke, even after we clean it up, the smell tends to linger once it’s in the carpet. And, I really wanted to get it out of there. So, I turned to google (my BFF) to see what I could do. And, a few different articles and posts lead to this solution:
- About 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- a small squirt of dish soap
So, I mixed it all in a spray bottle and sprayed it in her room on all the places that there was throw up (before it was cleaned up). I blotted a bit with a towel, and left the room with the fan on for a few hours.
And, I must say, it worked!
Now, I do think that TIME helps as well. But, given how her room smells now, I’d definitely call this a win. I also read that putting a bowl or mug of plain white vinegar in a room works almost immediately to get the smell out of a room. I didn’t have white vinegar on hand, so I didn’t get to try it. But, if you do, I’d try that too!
That’s all. Hope this helps some parents out there. And, as for us around here, everyone is feeling much better. xoxo.
Mobile Photo Editing
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Edited
Some of my favorite influencers have shared their tips and tricks for beautiful, light, and bright photos. And, I was so grateful for them sharing this info. So, I’m passing it along to all of you. First we’ll start with tips for great photos. Then, we will dive into the two tools that I use to edit my photos before I post them online.
First things first, tips for a great photo:
- Use Natural Light – I think the best photos are taken in natural light. Ideally, earlier in the morning, or later in the day (late afternoon/evening) when the sunlight isn’t too harsh. For indoor photos of people, turn off all the lights in the house – and get near a window. This lets the natural light do it’s thing. From there, you can always brighten up with Lightroom (one of the tools I love) if you feel like it’s too dark without the lights on.
- Clear the clutter – This one is easy, but so often overlooked! If you’re taking pics of kids, or people, or something in your house, get rid of all the clutter in the background! If you push any toys or junk out of the frame of the photo, the eye will draw to the subject of the photo. And, the image will look clean and crisp! *Note – this one doesn’t really matter if your just trying to capture memories. Capture memories! Capture real life. Let it be messy. But, if it’s for a Holiday Card, or for another reason you want a professional looking crisp photo, clear the clutter. 🙂
- Take a million pics! – Seriously, to get one good photo, especially of a family or kids, it’s going to take a lot of tries. Be ok with taking 20 pics to find the ONE you want to edit and share. Plus, sometimes when you take a ton, you end up getting a really good “real” and natural photo of the kids or you in your element that you wouldn’t get if you only took 2 or 3 pics.
Ok, now for the best tools I have found to easily edit pics on the go. Seriously, it takes me 1-5 minutes to edit a picture. And these are the two best tools I know of:
- Lightroom (cost: I use the free version. Upgraded version is $9.99/month). This tool allows you to edit exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks, as well as adjust the temp, tint, and vibrance. You can also crop with the basic version of this tool. For light and bright photos: up the exposure, decrease the contrast, always get rid of a lot of the “shadow” and increase the “whites.”
2. FaceTune (cost: $2.99 – worth it) : I use FaceTune for 2 things: to blur the background of a photo, and to brighten the “whites.”
So, here’s the deal: FaceTune can technically be used to blur out wrinkles, fix blemishes, whiten teeth, etc. I don’t do any of that (anymore). I believe we already filter ourselves and our images enough – smoothing wrinkles and whitening teeth is too much. It’s too fake.
That being said, I for sure use it to edit my photos. The “blur background” tool is really easy to use, and I like to use the “whiten” tool to make my whites brighter. (Like if I have a white kitchen in the background – I will use it to make the white’s pop).
I also occasionally use FaceTune to “patch” something like a stain on the kids’ shirts, or a spill on the ground that looks messy. (I did this for our Christmas card this year – we were standing in front of a big old mural, and the gravel on the ground had a bunch of dirt spots and spills – I just made them all one color so the image would be cleaner and so that people could focus on the cute saying on the wall and the people in the picture, instead of the dirt on the ground).
Ok, that’s it! These are my tips to get (what I believe to be) great photos! Have a great day everyone.
Oh… and please let me know if you found this useful. Either here, by commenting on the blog, or on the original instagram post. I would SO appreciate it. xo.
Take three slow breaths.
A wise leadership coach once told my team at work and me no matter what our day looked like, no matter how tired we were, how stressed we were, how hungry we were, or how annoyed we were with our day, to take THREE . SLOW . BREATHS . before walking in the door when we got home.
Since I work form home, for me it was actually three slow breaths before I walked OUT the door of my home office and into the rest of our home. When I learned about this practice, it was before we had kids. It was just Dustin, Coop (our dog) and me. I think it’s even more important once you have a family. But, the reason for doing it was the same then as it is now: to stop, transition from hectic day, and approach the people you love as the person you most want to be. Not as the tired version. Not as the stressed version. Not the hangry version of yourself. But, as the one your loved ones signed up to share their lives with. To show up as the best version of you.
So, I did it back then. Three slow breaths before I finished work and joined Dustin in out in the kitchen. I showed up with a smile. I showed up with energy. I consciously showed up without complaining about whatever stressed me out that day. I tried, when I remembered at least, to show up consciously as the best version of me.
Flash forward to present day, and this is more important than ever. For many of us, we’re parents now. And, when we walk in the door, it’s not just to our partner. But, it’s to our family. Our people. Our teeny tiny tribe. The ones who call us “Mom.” And, because of that, I’m doing it again: Three. Slow. Breaths. before I walk in the door. I had lost touch with this practice for a while. But, it’s back because I want to show up for them. It’s back because walking through that door with positive energy, will lead to positive vibes for everyone. At dinnertime. At bath time. At bedtime. It sets the tone for the whole routine. It sets the tone for the night.
And, the night may seem like just one night. But, when you really think about it, we live that night every night. And, those repeat nights become our life.
After all, life is not about big things. It’s not the birthday parties, or the vacations, or the long weekends at the lake. It’s not the days at the zoo, or Paw Patrol Live shows, or anything else big, cool, or monumental that we do together. The moments that make up our lives are the things we do repeatedly. The moments that happen over and over, day after day, night after night. These are the moments ARE our life. So, with that, I’m going to show up.
I’m not going to get it right every time. I’m not going to be perfect. But, I am going to try. Because as much as all the other stuff matters…. What matters the most is how I show up for my family. What matters are the moments with them. So, moving forward, night after night, I will take those three. slow. breaths. I will SHOW UP as my very best me.
So, before you head home from work, or your work out, or errands, from volunteering out of the house. Before you come home from whatever it is, try the three.slow. breaths. ❤ I hope it works for you, like it has for me before.
xoxo,
Lauren
And, P.S. Dustin does this so well too. Better than I do, and I admire him for it. Hence the pic on instagram sending you here for the read.
For the first time mamas.
This is one of my favorite pictures, but I never shared it…. mainly because I’m wearing Costco Christmas pajamas in the middle of summer and my glasses are out of style. 🤣
But, I was with a group of girlfriends recently, and when I asked a new mom how life with a newborn was, she said it was good, but that “no one talks about that it’s hard.” And, she‘s right.
We all post our pretty pictures. Our smiling babies. Our letter boards. But not enough of us talk about the rest. So, here I am sharing a photo from the newborn stage, and saying IT IS HARD! This picture is one of my favorites, but it’s also of a time when I was exhausted.
And, while I love a beautiful Instagram feed as much as the next gal, here’s some real life stuff to go along with my real life picture: Nursing was really hard for me with Jack. And, pumping was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Sleepless nights made me crabby, and my hormones were out of whack. I think I had postpartum depression after my first baby, but didn’t know it at the time. And, while it almost seems like taboo to admit it, teeny tiny babies were hard on our marriage. Why does no one talk about that? It was a time when I was covered in spit up, and blowout diapers, and spilled milk that I would – for real – cry over. A time when I’d be awake at 3am searching google when the rest of the world seemingly was asleep. And, it was a time when I sometimes felt isolated… even though I now know there was a tribe of other moms out there, going through the same things.
I share this today to say to other mamas out there, you are not alone. ❤️ There is so much joy in motherhood. So much love. So much good. We all share that on Instagram all the time. But also know, in the middle of the night, when you’re holding that baby, exhausted, you are not alone. There are other mamas out there doing that exact same thing, even if their Instagram feed only shows that smiling picture in the morning. ❤️👊🏻 And, for the record, you’re doing AWESOME, mama. People don’t say that enough.
Working Moms: We can have it all…just not at the same time.
Working moms: We can have it all. Just not at the same time. (Pictured here: me doing my hair before a big meeting, but also being a mom).
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I once heard Julie Rice (co-founder of Soul Cycle) answer the question of “How do you do it all?” with something along the lines of “I don’t.” To paraphrase, she said that some weeks she was a badass at work. Some weeks she took her foot off the pedal at work and spent more time with her kids because they needed her.
I also recently heard that of the following 5 things, we can only do 3 exceptionally at a time: Family, work, friendships, working out, and getting enough sleep. And that’s ok. For most of us, I think we try to keep family in the top 3 all the time. But, realistically, our top 3 will shift from day to day and week to week.
Some weeks we’ll be ballers at work and working out, but won’t see our friends at all. Other weeks we may date our spouse and see our friends, but not be as strong at work. It’s ok for it to ebb and flow. It’s ok to be balanced and lopsided all at the same time.
Life is all about expectations. And I think the media (and social media) give us the expectation that we should be able do all of these things exceptionally all the time. And, that’s BS. No one has it all together all the time. We can thrive at all of them. Just not at the same time. And once you accept that truth, you can get rid of the expectations to have it all, and instead enjoy ALL that you have.
Chasing Dreams.
Ain’t no shame in my game.
I want to be a blogger. Not because I want to be famous. Not because I think I’m cool, or that I know it all. (I don’t. And I’m not – see yesterday’s story about me wearing a dorky name badge around town for hours without knowing it 🙈). But because I follow a lot of other women, moms, friends, influencers who inspire me. They save me money, they help me with mindset. They encourage me to prioritize my health and work out. And, while I love to absorbe from others, I also like to create.
And, my heart wants to be a “content creator.” But you know what? You can’t be a content creator without creating content. You can’t be a blogger without having a blog.
But you CAN be anything you want. Want to be a blogger?! Write a blog! Want to be a runner? Buy running shoes. Run! Want I be a person who goes to Pilates? GO TO PILATES. That’s the coolest thing about life, we can do things. We just have to DO them.
So, I wanted a blogger looking pic of me at this cool coffee shop. So you know what I did? I propped my old iPhone on the windowsill and self timered this bad boy. Without caring what the kids who worked there thought. Without caring what anyone thought.
Here’s the thing: I’ve been scared to try…. because I’m scared what people will think. Because I’m scared I might fail. Because I’m scared you might see me fail. But, I’ve decided to let all that go.
Every time one of you sends me a message like “I like this content!” Or “thanks for sharing that!” I screenshot it. And, I save it in a folder named “keep going.” So, here I am… keeping going. And, I hope you keep going every day too after the things that your heart wants to do.
Lauren V Wesley 