"Being" Be-YOU-tiful

**Weeeeeeeee** Don't know how you landed here but I hope you enjoy the ride!! :) Its Thursday and I'm lounging and browsing the internet having some "me time" while Baby K takes a nap. I'm having one of those "I don't want to get out of my pajamas until she smears her lunch all over me" days. My hair is piled on top of my head, I'm wearing my glasses and I don't have ANY makeup on (eek!) but I'm feeling okay with this.

Baby K is 16 months now and let me tell you she is my first and only child (as of now) and no one could prepare me for that first year! I'm just now losing the last of the baby weight and hoping to lose some more...and it wasn't until a few months ago that I finally conquered the task of taking a shower AND styling my hair while keeping her entertained! That first year was rough and I felt anything but BEAUTIFUL in fact I can remember many moments (okay minutes, er hours) where I felt like a disgrace to the word "woman". I'm fortunate to have fellow mommy friends who have shared their own feelings about that first year and what it does to the woman we were before our sweet cheeked little blessings came into this world. It does indeed make us different. That is okay. We are still Beautiful. I was browsing through my facebook album of when she was just a little pink blob and I noticed I hardly have any pictures of myself posted. Imagine that. So I searched through my files on the computer and found some. Yes they are unflattering but there really is something beautiful about them. Yes my husband has told me this before, but when you are covered in baby spit up, have milk leaking through your tee shirt and your last shower is turning into a memory the word beautiful feels like a harsh reminder.

We of course have the beautiful moments with our little angels to help sugar coat the emotional obstacles most of us try to overcome when we are thrown into Mommyhood. These moments combined with the power of overcoming these obstacles and becoming a stronger woman for ourselves and our loved ones make us more BEAUTIFUL than ever! I honestly try my hardest to see the beauty in everyone and everything and my biggest challenge was looking for this beauty in myself.

I came acrossed this play on words accidentally on Pinterest.com (If you haven't checked it out yet it's life changing!) stamped acrossed a pretty vintaged framed chalkboard....

Be*YOU*tiful.

I though what a very cute and empowering phrase to put in my daughters room! LOL! Then I thought hmmmm maybe I need to pay better attention to this message!

I hope YOU continue on this journey with me as I continue searching for myself and searching for beautiful inspiration, products, gear, recipes, etc.....

P.S. I'm also often beautifully grammatically incorrect!!