Helloooooo blogosphere!! I’m new here.
All about me:
My name is Ashley. I am married to the most wonderful husband I could have ever asked God for. We have been blessed with two amazing, spunky, and super sassy daughters, Alexa who is 2 ½ and McKenna, who is 5 months. We live in a quiet little city that we absolutely love in south Louisiana. When we found out I was pregnant with McKenna, my husband and I decided that I would take a hiatus from teaching and stay home with our daughters. I taught preschool for several years while studying for my Masters degree.
When did you start blogging?
I decided to start blogging right around the one year anniversary of quitting my job as a preschool teacher. (more on this later)
What are you going to blog about?
I want this little space of the internet to be for anyone who holds the same interests as me. I love all things girly, fashion, makeup/beauty products, home décor, etc. Although I am no longer actively teaching in the classroom, I still have a passion for teaching children so I also want to help moms out there who are looking to stay fashionable and entertain/educate their kids at the same time.
So why did you start a blog?
May 2017. I was the last teacher to walk out of the preschool building at the school where I was teaching. My husband on one side of me, my daughter holding my other hand, I turned off the lights to the building and as I let the door shut behind us, I broke down in tears. Ugly crying type tears. No one said it better than Carrie Underwood, “you can’t cry pretty”.
I started working at CW school at the young age of 22!! The day I walked out, I was 30. I had gone through an engagement, a wedding, my first pregnancy, graduation from a masters program, and SO many other life experiences with the women I worked with. I spent just about the entire decade of my 20’s with these women. They were and still are my family.
When that door closed and locked behind me that day, it was such a significant moment in my life. It was literally the door closing on a chapter of my life. I had so many emotions (not to mention I was also pregnant at the time). I felt incredibly sad, regretful, guilty, but most of all, I was scared. I was soooo scared. I didn’t know what to do with my future, what direction to head in, or what I was supposed to do with all the time I was going to have. (As pre-k teachers, you develop a habit of planning every little detail of your day because its how your classroom maintains structure). When I walked out the door without a plan in motion, I totally lost myself. At the same time, I was also excited to spend more time with my daughter, anxious for the new baby to arrive, and happy it was summer time of course.
My husband stood in the parking lot hugging me for a minute. The sun was shining as bright as it possibly could that day. I started to relax as I felt a slight breeze and at that moment I realized, everything comes to an end at one point or another. This moment is what life if all about, growth. I had grown so much as a person through my 20’s. I had no idea what life would be like after, college. I had no idea what life would be like as I started my first job, or after I got married, or after moving out of my parents’ into a house with my husband, or after we brought our first child into the world. You make your life what you want it to be. For me, as I let that door to my 20’s close a new door opened; I call it, the Journey through my 30’s.
This last year has been chaos learning how to manage life with a toddler and an infant. I have learned a lot in just 1 short year of my 30’s, and one major lesson that I find valuable is remembering to take care of myself. Everyone needs some self care in order to be the best you! It’s so easy to let life take control of you, but I am learning how not to let that happen and how to take control of life. Fast-forward to May 2018, and I’m here, starting this blog. Taking life by the reigns and doing something that brings me happiness. Just like I experienced last year, it’s a little scary to put yourself out there and make yourself vulnerable, but its part of growth. I don’t know exactly where this will lead, but I hope to bring a little happiness and inspiration to others along the way.
Much love!
xoxo
Ashley
