midwest mama

I love the shakeup that is Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up. I am in no way a minimalist but I definitely have felt heavy from all the stuff we seem to accumulate. Before ever watching her show I already had some of the tools she talks about. I was born in Guam, which is in fact an American territory but it never felt like living in America to me. When I moved back for a short time in my 20’s I realized the houses and apartments were smaller and the fact that we just didn’t need all the stuff. Also coming from a military family, I’ve always made my bed every morning and I learned to fold teeny tiny squares of clothes long before my stint in bootcamp.

Which brings me back to my point, in the military I traveled a little and I miss it. I think for a long time I thought I needed to be a certain kind of mom. I’m starting to think I was wrong.

I want to be a present mom.

Which means I needed to first declutter my mind, then my house. I went from room to room making it not the farmhouse gray and white that was indeed thriving in central Ohio but a colorful oasis that made me so happy. I wanted my space to feel warm and yes, clean. I’m sorry but I do intact put away my laundry right after I fold it. It would probably hurt me not to. I’ve accepted so many things about myself the past few months and embraced why I’m different (and why that can be great too!).

Now will I always be a midwest mama, at this point I don’t know. Will I homeschool my kids someday soon? Maybe. Am I forever obsessed with yoga and oils? Yes… but honestly Im not one of those holistic creatures (sorry). I don’t exactly fit into a certain group and that’s also probably why I never had a set of friends in any of the schools I attended and probably why my husband liked me at first. I’m weirdly into Disney World, like I’d vacation there alone. But aren’t we all a lot of strange combinations? That’s what makes us all fit into the world so perfectly in my mind. I fit here and so do you. (Now I’m jumping off to do more laundry…)

I wanted to link the last family video I made. I love showing photos because I mean hello, I love taking videos but the whole family loves looking back and watching a video together. How fun are these (and recorded on my iPhone!)

Also heres a hodge podge of my favorite film scans (I took half of them on my Pentax!) And yes that’s me in Florida and at my house. That green backyard is ours on 5 acres in the backyard. Did I mention I live in the country? Haha its still new to me too!