Tara, Author at The Young Mommy Life

When Self-Care Starts With A Bottle Of Nail Polish

At the recent self-care retreat, our Sunday speaker Mia Redrick talked to retreat attendees about the concept of "blending"—where you fit in your me-time throughout the day. It was like a light bulb went off. When you think about it, waiting until the end of the day to feed yourself sounds foolish and a direct path to failure. I immediately tried to think of ways to include myself more fully … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Health + Fitness, Love + Family, Mom to Mom, YML Retreat ·

[2015 Self-Care Retreat] Lessons On Living Boldly With Esther Boykin, LMFT

Over September 18-20, 20 women gathered in Alexandria, Virginia for a weekend of rest and relaxation at the first annual self-care retreat. Over the next few days I'll be sharing some of the biggest lessons and aha moments we all felt as we gathered in a no-judgement zone. Day 1: Lessons on Living Boldly, by Esther Boykin, licensed family and marriage therapist I met Esther in person … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized ·

The Bonds Made And Stress Released At My First National Self-Care Retreat

At the beginning of this year, I decided to lift my foot off the brake. You know how when you're first learning to drive and you slam on the brake at completely unnecessary intervals because you're scared and you don't quite know how to maneuver and focus and you don't want to crash? That was me, but with life. I was scared of fully going after the things that I wanted, not because I could fail … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Love + Family, My favorite posts, YML Retreat ·

What’s Your Superpower (And Yes, You Have One)?

For a long time, I used to feel self-conscious about how sensitive I am. I cry at the drop of a hat over good and bad news (I bawled when my husband told me his co-worker proposed to his girlfriend). When someone I know has a bad day, I will spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how I can make it better. Violent movies and TV shows make me physically sick and unable to sleep. (I still don't … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Love + Family ·

3 Big Myths About Self-Care That Are Keeping You Stressed

1) Self-Care involves spending money Do a simple Google search and most self-care tips and advice do indeed have some type of financial cost attached. But to think that taking care of yourself costs always money is to do yourself a disservice. Self-care, in its simplest definition is "care of self" and you can do that no matter how much is your bank account. Self-care is about honoring … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: #SurvivalGuide ·

The Seven Rules Of Happiness According To My Seven-Year-Old Son

During one of our random "What do you want to be when you grow up?" conversations, I told my son Thomas that he would make an amazing teacher. And I fully believe it - he's energetic and always looking for the "funner" way to do something. Kids would love him. "I'd be a happy teacher!" he told me. "Oh yeah? That's great that you'll enjoy teaching," I told him. "Nooo," he corrected me. … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: #SurvivalGuide, Family, Featured, Love + Family, School-Aged Children, You + Your Kids ·

Make A Stop At The Walgreens Wellness Tour

Disclosure: I partnered with Walgreens to provide an overview of the 2015 Wellness Tour. All opinions are my own, as always. Earlier this year, I had a health scare that finally scared me enough that I went to see an urgent care doctor. He checked me out, gave me a prescription for a steroid and sent me on my way, but not before encouraging me to get myself a primary care physician. "Do they … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: Featured, Health + Fitness, Sponsored post ·

#StudentParentSuccess – Know Your Rights As A Pregnant Or Parenting Student

When I discovered I was pregnant during my spring semester and that my due date would fall in the tail end of my fall semester, I didn't know what to do. Do I sit out a semester and just take care of the baby? Do I attend classes anyway and just cross my fingers that, I dunno, I give birth over a long weekend? What was the proper thing to do? I tell this story often and whenever I'm in a group … [Continue reading...]

Filed Under: #SurvivalGuide, Education, Featured, Love + Family, Money + School, Student Mama ·