I shared a bit about Holiday Play dates here.  Since Valentine's Day is around the corner I thought I'd follow that post up with some Valentine's Day play date photos from last year. I love the thought of getting together with friends and all the kiddos on Valentine's Day.  Can I be honest with you for a moment?  Sometimes days that are supposed to feel special are a let down when the mundane continues.  I don't mind the daily chores.  It's just a matter of expectation.  Kids clearly don't know to do anything differently on a holiday.  Of course they have their sweet, kind, moments, but they also still bicker, poop (in Dax's case-- a lot), get sick, talk back, and make messes!  So it's fun to get out of the house and hang with other mom friends to have a little something special to look forward to.  And that's just what we did. At the end of the post I share some tips and ideas for a Valentine's Day party.

So have you heard of MUMZY yet? If not, I'm genuinely excited to introduce you.  MUMZY is a lot of things but simply put, it's a crowd funding platform specifically for one of the most awesome groups of people: Moms.  If you're a mom (or if you have one) you already know what Catherine Merritt, the founder of MUMZY had in mind when she created the site:


What better way to encourage the hustle than by providing moms a  new way to fund their ideas and bring them to life?  Besides the fundraising aspect, Mumzy provides its community with project specific resources to ensure once an idea has reached its fundraising goals, next steps are discussed and provided to keep the momentum going.  But perhaps my favorite thing about MUMZY is that it encourages a community in which moms can pledge donations and offer suggestions to others' projects.  In a world where "mommy wars" is a thing, this is something that I totally want to rally behind.
I love supporting mamas in business, whether that be 9-5 working moms, work at home moms, or stay at home moms with a dream.  I'd like to think my support of other moms- purchasing their products, contributing to their sites, giving feedback, or being a person they can bounce ideas off of, has made a difference. And the support I've received has been critical. Over the years I've developed relationships with some amazing working mamas and I can't express how much their support and encouragement mean to me.  Do you know Taste{FULL} was birthed as a result of a collaboration with one of my fave mom friends?  Or that our very first giveaway was a product by a momtreprenuer and party planning guru, Kristin of Paige Simple?  Or that I earned a little extra cash, while indulging my hobby by second shooting weddings with a mama who photographs my family- Melanie of Simply Mella?  Or that Nadia's party was featured on Hostess with the Mostess only after I was encouraged to submit it by a mama blogger who has since become one of  my closest friends and blogging mentors--Jessica of Live the Fancy Life?  My point?  Good things happen when moms support one another. 

just a few of the supportive mamas in my network. {Paige Simple. Simply Mella. Live the Fancy Life.}

It's my dream to turn my hobbies of blogging/party planning/photography into a business and I love to connect with like minded moms to encourage and be encouraged in the journey.  MUMZY is a way to do that.  I've already created a profile and explored the site.  Now it's your turn!  Here's how to get involved with the first (and right now ONLY) viable crowd funding platform for moms:
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

This is my first post of the New Year! Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.  Ours was busy but great overall.  Even with a new baby I felt more on top of things than I have in years past.  Which if you're the uber organized type wouldn't mean much!  For me it meant showing up to our Christmas Eve service early (always a struggle), having my food and snacks for our annual family gathering that night already prepared, and not hastily wrapping gifts (where's the d@#$ tape?!) into the wee hours of the morning. The "Cancer Free" post sort of summed it all up.  We are beyond blessed.

I can't believe my chubster is 3 months old! I'm rushing to get this post in before he's 4 months next week.  Here are some highlights and comparison photos:

Recently I was asked to share a testimony during my church's Christmas Eve service.  My pastor said to share a testimony of how God has appeared in my life--the theme of that night's service.  Naturally I thought of Joe's cancer diagnosis and started thinking of how God showed up during that trial.  Since I basically wrote my testimony as if I was writing a blog post, I thought I'd share it here.  So, how did God appear in my life?