• What Loving Yourself Looks Like | Motherhood Journey

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 18, 2022 , No Comments

      Motherhood allows for some interesting opportunities, quite often. This month, I was driving with my kids. I don’t remember exactly how it came up, but we were talking about who we love. We were possibly making up songs about loving people, because we are a family that turns anything into a song. I said something about loving a few people. My oldest repeated me, and said that I loved myself. I had t said that the first time around, but I did when I continued my list. He then asked me how do you love yourself. I instantly had a […]

      Motherhood
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    • Capturing Life During a Pandemic | Go Where the Light Is

      by SimplyHollyJo on April 24, 2020 , 7 Comments

      As a photographer, I have actually been leaning a bit on my photography to help with the stress and “new normal” caused by everything currently going on. I have been trying to pick up my “big girl” camera more often and capture life in and around our house. Simple moments that create snapshots of our lives. As I was compiling them, I realized they kind of fall into different categories or strategies, so I’m going to share some short tips on capturing life during a pandemic. Quiet/Independent Play When your kids are quietly playing or interacting, try to get it […]

      Blogging + Writing, Kids, Motherhood, Photography
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    • A Mother’s Love | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 24, 2020 , No Comments

      I’ve talked about how having kids has changed my relationship with God, and how it has changed my relationship with myself. Now I’m going to talk about how it’s changed my view on a mother’s love. Specifically when it comes to my own mother. As a mom, some days are great, some days are ho-hum, a some days are awful. The why’s behind any of those types of days are vast. My attitude, their attitude, weather, sleep, activities, growth, interests, family, outsiders, etc. So much. There is A LOT that goes into making a marriage work. You’re marrying two people […]

      Babies, Faith, Motherhood
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    • Loving Yourself as a Mom | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 18, 2020 , No Comments

      Loving yourself as a mom. So much to unpack there. Right now I want to talk about how having kids has changed how I view myself, how I talk to myself, and simply how I love myself. We are our own worst critics. We are the ones that we talk to the most day to day, and we often don’t say very nice things. This is something I’ve been aware of, of course, but the significance of it has only heightened since becoming a mom. I am so much more aware of how I talk to myself, in my head […]

      Babies, Faith, Kids, Motherhood
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    • God’s Love in a New Light | Love After Babies

      by SimplyHollyJo on February 10, 2020 , No Comments

      Having children changes your life, and you yourself, in so many ways. One of the aspects of change that I didn’t think through until after I had kids, was how it would change my understanding of God. I’ve definitely seen God’s love in a new light. Once I had kids, I suddenly had this whole new outlook on God’s roll in my life, as well as just how patient He is with me on a day to day level. In the everyday struggle of teaching and disciplining (discipling), my boys, I am constantly reminded of my own shortcomings and imperfections. God […]

      Faith, Motherhood
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    • Playing in the Leaves | Fall Tradition

      by SimplyHollyJo on November 18, 2019 , No Comments

      Can I call it a Fall tradition if it’s only happened for two years? Is that a tradition yet? I plan for it to be one. The boys LOVE playing in the leaves. My oldest talks about it all year with joy and excitement. He continually asks when the leaves will be falling again and how long until we can rack them up and throw them around. He dives head first into piles. My youngest was very excited this year as well. So much so that he had a meltdown when we actually picked the leaves up. He soon calmed […]

      Kids, Motherhood, Photography
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    • 5 Strengths of Mom Introverts | #MotherhoodMonday

      by SimplyHollyJo on September 16, 2019 , No Comments

      As I’ve said previously, I am an introvert. I am also a mom. I am a part of the mom introverts clan! That can bring all sorts of struggles within motherhood when you are almost constantly surrounded by people who need something from you. With that being said, we can’t forget about the benefits of being an introverted mother.  I mean it’s so easy to look at extroverted mothers and wish for what they have. To get discouraged by seeing how easy things seem to come for them. They are involved in their community, running all over town with their […]

      Motherhood
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    • Struggles of the Introvert Mom | #MotherhoodMonday

      by SimplyHollyJo on September 9, 2019 , No Comments

      Hi, I’m Holly. I am an introvert mom. We all have our own struggles in life, and motherhood, but today I’m going to share some of the top things that I often struggle with as an introvert mother. Lack of Alone Time Introverts, by nature, recharge through alone time. That doesn’t mean we don’t like people, we just need alone time to recharge. As a mom you don’t get very much alone time. I spend my days as a SAHM feeding, playing with, driving, feeding again, and deep breathing with my kids. Any time I have without the kids is […]

      Motherhood
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    • Realistic Expectations for My Kids | Surviving Parenthood

      by SimplyHollyJo on May 31, 2019 , No Comments

      As a mom of two toddlers, I sometimes have a difficult time keeping the expectations of my kids within normal range. I don’t have a lot to base my gauge on  since I was never really around a lot of small kids while growing up, or ever really. I’ve only recently dove into the world of little ones.  Some days it’s easy to remind myself that they’ve only been on the earth for a very short time. They are just trying to figure out the many, many things that are happening to them and around them. Other times mom guilt […]

      Photography
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    • Four Ways to Ditch the Mom Guilt

      by SimplyHollyJo on May 3, 2019 , No Comments

      Mom guilt is real. It is rough and can feel constant. Especially in this day and age. Today I’m going to share some things that greatly help me fight the mom guilt monster. Get around other moms As the saying goes, “It takes a village.” True story. When you surround yourself with other parents, in community, you share stories. You share your lives. When you open up about your experiences you start to realize that a lot of us are all going through the same exact things. Rough days, awesome days, in between days. It opens your eyes to realistic […]

      Motherhood
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    • Mommy Wars | Can’t We All Just Get Along?!

      by SimplyHollyJo on December 18, 2017 , No Comments

      Mommy wars. I hate them. So much. I am a firm believer that everyone should do what works best for themselves and their kiddos when it comes to parenting. Not all parents are the same, not all kids are the same. What worked for your first kid, might not work for your second. What worked for your sister, might not work for you, that’s okay! Love your kids, raise them how you want to raise them, and be supportive of your mom friends who are roughing it without a manual just like you! Then One Day a Lightbulb Went Off… […]

      Motherhood
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    • The Minimalist in Me

      by SimplyHollyJo on December 11, 2017 , No Comments

      Some will read this and think I’m crazy, others will think, “good luck while having kids!” No matter the reaction, this term has been on my mind a lot the last year or so. I’ve always been intrigued by the minimalist movement, and I was kind of thrown into it last year. We decided to move, which meant showing our house. I needed a way to make sure I would be ready for sudden appointments. So I packed up half the house. I got rid of things, and I boxed things up and put them in closets. I reduced the […]

      Cloth Diapers, Kids, Motherhood
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