beauty Archives - The Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Mama truth photography: Beauty in the everyday crazy

August 28, 2017catherinemryan

The morning Portland family photographer Ashley of Weeno Photography was scheduled to come to our house for a Mama Truth Session, I nearly called it off. Eric had been out of town for days. It took me two hours to get the girls to sleep the night before. And then they woke up at 5. But I didn’t cancel. Instead, I thought to myself, “Ashley is about to get more truth than she bargained for.”

Lately, the girls have been challenging. They’re chronically tired and we have been struggling to ensure they get more rest. They fight over ridiculous things (“I want the yellow bowl.” “No mine lellow!”). Kiwi cries and throws epic tantrums that we can do nothing to soothe.

So I’m not entirely sure why I thought I wanted a Mama Truth Session, where photographer Ashley LaMattino-Perlberg comes to your house to hang out for a few hours and captures whatever happens, from making a snack to soothing a booboo.

I think it was our initial contact. “The beauty in the everyday is always there,” she said. “And yet it’s so hard to see it ourselves. That’s why these sessions are so important!” Her words resonated deep within me. And it turns out she is so right.

I’m so grateful we did a Mama Truth photography session, which Ashley did for free for my family. The photos are beautiful, yes. Even more, though, the photographs showed me the beauty of my everyday life with my kids. And get this: Below, you can enter a giveaway for a chance to win half-off a Mama Truth Session with Weeno Photography. And anyone who mentions this blog post by the end of October will get $100 off a Mama Truth family photography session. Read on to find out more and enter!

We received a free family photography session in exchange for a blog post. As always, all opinions are my own. Read more →

Clothes for moms who do all the things

August 16, 2017August 16, 2017catherinemryan

Nearly every mother I know has a hustle. Or three. Or more. There’s something about motherhood these days that practically none of us is “just” a stay-at-home-mom or career mom or a mom period. We’re also entrepreneurs, bloggers, creatives, homeschoolers and so much more—not to mention being a partner, friend, sister, daughter and a whole list of other awesome roles. Enter: clothes for moms that do all the things.

It may sound silly, but my daily style impacts my ability to be so many things at once. (Anyone else think of Hermione and Ron’s interaction in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Ron said, “One person can’t feel all that at once, they’d explode.” Hermione replies, “Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have.” AMEN HERMIONE!) When I need to be ready to get the girls ready, jump on a conference call, bust out a blog post, plan the week’s meals and have the mental energy left to have a conversation with my husband that goes beyond Daredevil plot points, I need an outfit that works for me.

So when I partnered with Athleta to write a blog post about their new fall collections, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Athleta’s lines are just that: clothes for moms who do all the things.

I received an Athleta gift certificate in exchange for writing this post. As always, all opinions and content on this blog are entirely my own. Read more →

Pure summer: How to make a wildflower crown

August 22, 2016August 22, 2016catherinemryan

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free

Nothing quite says summer like strolling, picking wildflowers and weaving a crown. Don’t believe me? Make one and see for yourself.

Want to wear something DIY that's pure summer, either for yourself or your kids? Here's how to make a wildflower crown! Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Eat, Say, Love: What I’ve been Into Lately

March 12, 2014catherinemryan

I spend ~~a lot~~ probably too much time on my computer every day. The downside: tight shoulders and a sore back. The upside: stumbling across gems throughout the Internet. Here are a few favorites for your clicking pleasure.

WATCH

Lupita Nyongo’s speech on beauty I’m often reminded that it’ll be a formidable challenge to raise a child, but especially a daughter, who loves herself in spite of the messages she’s not beautiful, thin or fashionable enough. Role models like Lupita Nyongo will make that project just a tiny bit easier.

READ

Reaching My Autistic Son through Disney I’ve been passing this link to whomever lets me. If you click through on one thing today, let it be this. It’s a story about how one family used their son’s fixation on Disney to peel away the layers of autism and come to know him. My husband works with children with autism, so the article struck even closer to home. I can’t even imagine the struggle of raising a child on the far end of the autism spectrum, but this article shows the triumphs and love of that relationship, too.

Top 100 Children’s Books We love book time in this house, but I could “read” Peeper’s favorites with my eyes closed: I have her go-to board books memorized. I loved this list, then, because it gave me some ideas for new titles to check out.

(Does anyone know of a good app to recommend kids’ books? I am usually at a loss at the library and end up getting board books with baby faces in them.)

EAT

Banana Oatmeal Muffins The fact that this recipe calls for about a quarter of the refined sugar as similar ones made me feel better as I ate one the other day at 5am. Hey, I was hungry after nursing, changing, then changing Peeper again. (Ugh, I hate middle of the night poos.)

Red Lentil, Tomato and Kale Soup This soup is insanely easy and equally delicious. It makes enough that you can freeze some to reheat later. I topped it with a dollop of yogurt one day and a squeeze of lemon another day. I also added whatever veggies I had in the house—I love that about lentil soup: It’s so versatile!

What is your favorite link this week?