My Why .

I’ve been struggling with what to say. What my voice is and what I want my brand to look like. If I’m being honest, the older my kids get, the more I feel like I’m losing touch with my clients. I am going to have highschoolers next year.
Freaking HIGH schoolers people. ( legit teared up when I wrote that…).
So, what do I have common in with new mamas?
The baby gear changes quickly, so do baby trends, kids cartoons, the list goes on and on. What do I have to say that’s relevant?
I’m marketing to mamas. .. New mamas and mamas to those with little kiddos and here I am with 9 and 14 year olds. Feeling out of touch makes me sick to my stomach. I’ve also been building this business and looking to mentors and other entrepreneurs for influence and inspiration. What does that mean? That means I want someone who is successful to fill that role. I want someone who’s been there and experienced the ups and downs of owning and operating a successful business.
That’s who I want to associate with and learn from.

And then it hit me. Like a bolt of lighting.

That’s freaking ME! I’ve been there! I’m in it now….riding this wave of motherhood and experiencing what my clients have on the horizon. Who cares if my kids watched Dora and theirs are watching PJ Masks? I actually think that I may have MORE to offer these mamas and clients that mean so much to me. I always say “soak it up” , “it goes quick” and it sounds like a cliche. But IT IS NOT! These little boys who used to need me for everything. EVERYTHING. Entertainment, comfort, shoe tying, baths, wiping their bums, a cup of juice, snacks - now do their own thing. I was their world and they (are still) mine.

Well here I am smack dab in the middle of transitioning to being “annoying”. You guys remember that, right? Like, your mom has a way of being so annoying. Is it because we are so close to them? Is it because they know us so well? Moms just have a way of being overbearing and a bit much. It’s just a stigma moms have (for teens especially) and I am becoming a part of it.

And it’s breaking this mamas heart.

Like seriously splitting it into pieces.

Now don’t get me wrong! My boys are still amazing and lovey and I know from their friends that they are still spending more time with me than their friends do with their parents - but it’s HARD to not be needed as much. It’s HARD to watch them grow and wonder if you did things right. It’s HARD to see them roll their eyes at things they used to laugh at. It’s HARD.

So I truly and whole heartedly MEAN IT when I say SOAK IT UP.
Does it feel like too much at times? Yes.
If they ask for one more dang snack your head may explode. The least they could do would be finish the one you got them 15 minutes ago, am i right? I get it. If you could just use the bathroom without them being right by the door ( or possibly in the room with you) then your day would be made.
Yup. Been there.

I’ve been there and now I’m here. Spending most of my time in the house by myself because they are doing their own thing. I finally have some of that time I craved. And sometimes its amazing. And other times, it sucks.

There it is. My Why. That’s why it means so much to me to capture these images that I do.
Because time freaking flies. It doesn’t feel like it. But trust me. It does.

So, let me capture their hands in yours, their snuggles, their scrunchy face when they cry. their little toes, their birthday(s), the holidays and how they change from year to year, let me capture it ALL because soon enough mama - these images are your ticket to the past.
To a time when they needed you .
And it felt like a lot. Because it was.
It was a lot. It was everything.

(personal images below as well some pro snaps by the outstanding Marcy Harris-Ortiz of The Coterie, a body loving and empowering Columbus boudoir photographer)