The Blessings & Curses of Social Media

Do you ever stop and wonder what life would be like if social media wasn’t even a thing? Then I wouldn't be able to share silly pictures like this of Ellie doing her Ellie tornado thing with the world.  Crazy thought, right? ;) 

I think it’s clear that I am pretty into the social media and networking scene.  Between my blog and Instagram, I am sharing almost daily posts + photos of my life with my small group of followers.  I love getting to see a glimpse into other people’s lives through these outlets as well - cute baby faces, adorable clothes + pretty houses (delicious food too!) fill my feed all day long.  While I do believe social media brings a strong sense of community and has allowed me to meet people from all over the country (and world!), stay in touch with old friends, be inspired by others' photos + words, learn new things and hear others' suggestions + stories, there are certainly downsides to living in a world that is so centered on sharing everything with each other.   The biggest downside to me is definitely the strong sense of competition among my set of social media peers - who dresses their children in the cutest clothes?  Who lives in the best decorated houses?  Who has all the new "must-have" products? I need to have this or do this because this person has that or did that.  The list could go on and on...

 I certainly am pretty obsessed with Ellie and think she's the best thing in the entire world, but also am pretty sure every mom feels that way about their own children and rightfully so.  So yes, I am going to talk about her like the sun shines out of her cute little bum because that's exactly how I feel.  Anything that I buy or do is because I want to buy it or do it, not because I want to show the world that I can afford something or be exactly like someone else.   This is just a space to share my thoughts, opinions and ideas.  Social media has a way of shaping everyone's thoughts whether we like it or not, but I always do my best to be true to myself and always share others' ideas that I love as well, because they deserve the credit too!  That being said, I hope this little space doesn't come off in a negative way at all. I work really, really hard (lots of long, late hours) to keep this blog up to date with our lives and my ideas - just ask my husband who finds me glued to my computer screen way past my bedtime at least a few nights a week.  I’m not showing you all of the things I buy for Ellie or our house because I want to brag, I’m sharing them because I want to provide my feedback in hopes that it might help someone out.  I have used several other blogs as resources for many things over the past few years and have loved being able to look to others for suggestions, especially when it comes to all things mom-related. 

We are certainly very blessed and happy over here, but things are not perfect either.  I am totally guilty of planning a photo or sharing something if I think it "looks pretty" but I also like to try to keep it real too and hope it comes across that way.  Tyler got me this birthday card the other day (my birthday isn't until July) just because it reminded him of me and it made me giggle.  He said "Happy Instagram Mom Day" when he gave it to me... I suppose me knows me pretty well. ;)

I have no plans to stop writing anytime soon because it’s something that I really do enjoy. It's my thing to do while Ellie's sleeping that doesn't involve washing bottles, scrubbing the floor/walls/highchair (how does she get food everywhere?!), picking up toys, etc.  If I'm not up late cutting out felt leaves + burning my fingertips on hot glue, you can find me putting together another post to share.  Sometimes I think I'm talking to a wall on this thing, but I can see that people are reading it and really hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. :)  If you have something you really enjoy reading about, I'd love to hear!  Also, if you take any of my suggestions, recommendations or ideas, I really do love to hear your thoughts + feedback.  While they are my opinions and everyone has their own, it's nice to know if you think I'm actually helpful or a complete crock of shit. ;)

Long story short, social media can be a bit of a bitch sometimes but I am pretty obsessed with sharing our lives (Ellie) with the world and hope you find this to be a fun, positive place to visit.  As always, thank you for reading these ramblings of mine (especially with the number of typos I find three days after I post something - I swear I proofread approximately twelve hundred times before I hit "publish"!).  It means more to me than you know. XO