Balancing Motherhood and a Job in Social Media April 30, 2019 | This post is sponsored by Bloomingdales and ShopStyle. Today I’m working with Bloomingdales and ShopStyle to highlight two gorgeous dresses from Karl Lagerfeld. It was an absolute delight finally trying out the Karl Lagerfeld brand and, although not surprising, I was blown away by the beautiful style, quality and feel of the dresses. They are absolutely stunning as is the entire line available at Bloomingdales. I’m also using this post to write a little more about a question that’s come up quite a bit lately and that’s “How do you handle social media, confidence and being a blogger while your girls are watching on.” Whew that’s a heck of a loaded question, but I want to tackle it today and share how I navigate it because even though I’m likely more immersed than others, I think that most of this applies to us all as we live in a very social media saturated world. White Lace Dress with Black Trim 4| Blue and White Cap Sleeve Lace Dress 4 Let’s dive right in! It’s a tricky society that we live in and I for one have a very tricky job as a social media influencer. Doing my job means reviewing lots of clothes, spending more time than I’d like to in front of a camera and a mirror, and also spending more time than I want to on my phone. As a whole none of these things would be especially hard to navigate, except for the fact that I have two little girls watching my every move and that really complicates how I go about my job on a day to day basis. I never want them to see me constantly in a mirror trying on clothes and I certainly never want to remember me as always looking down at my phone, so here are a few things that I am mindful of as I raise these little girls and simultaneously run a business based on social media. White Lace Dress with Black Trim 4 | Sunglasses | Heels Before I get started, I wanted to chat about this dress. It’s so beautiful and classic that I think for the most part it speaks for itself, but I was really impressed with the fit and loved that it had the Karl Lagerfeld Chanel feel. It’s a timeless silhouette in a classic black and white lace and is so so beautiful for any Summer occasion! It’s also less than $100 which is amazing! Hold Business Hours | This one took me a very long time to get an handle on. I desperately wanted to believe that I could “do it all” and run a business and be the sole care taker for our girls at the same time. Not only did this result in me doing a terrible job at both tasks, but it really increased their exposure to it all. I was always dragging them to the mall, always on social media, and would ride them around in the car as I took conference calls. It was so bad for us all and I’m so glad that I finally got smart and asked for help. It was great timing because Landry was going to Kindergarten and putting Lawson in full time daycare has been so great for our family. She’s entertained, she learns so much and she’s in a child centered environment that’s healthy for her. This way I am able to hold business hours from 8am-2:30pm and make it a point to do all of my try-ons, errands, most of my social media and take all calls during this time. That way they are really never exposed to the parts of my job that I think could be potentially unhealthy for impressionable babies to see and it’s made all of the difference. How I Talk About Clothes and Confidence | The girls (well Landry especially) know that I love clothes and they are really what my job is centered around. On the surface I totally understand that from the outside that often looks so superficial and materialistic and that’s really the last thing that it’s about for me. I’ve always tried to show her that Mommy has always loved clothes and dressing up and they have always been a form of expression for me. I tell her that if you are really passionate about something then you can absolutely make a job out of it and that’s what mommy did. I explain that I try on clothes to show other women how they look and feel and hopefully make them feel more confident in their own skin. I also explain that clothes are a way to tell people about yourself. Maybe not for everyone, but for me they’ve always been a way of expressing myself and being creative. I love to give her lots of flexibility when it comes to choosing her outfits and love seeing her start to express herself through clothes. How I Handle Their Exposure to Social Media | The girls are a HUGE part of my life and not one that I want to hide on social media, but I do have to be super careful as to how and where I place them. I follow their lead. There are quite a few times where Landry doesn’t want to be filmed or be on Instagram and that’s totally fine. Even if she’s doing or saying the cutest thing, I completely respect her and will not post. She’s fairly shy and a little reserved in person and I love that about her. I never want to push her beyond her comfort zone for my own gain. I’m sure Lawson will do the same one day and actually already does to some extent. I don’t post any photos of their friends or their schools. I never want parents to feel like I am going to post photos of their children just because they are around mine unless I am really close friends with them. I really don’t post photos of any of our friends or family for that matter. I think that in those situations its way more important to be in the moment anyway. I try not to post or tag locations when we are actually in that place. For privacy reasons I think that it’s a safe practice for all parents to abide by and I never post specific locations in real time, usually we have left by the time it posts. Overall, they have very very limited exposure to screens and it’s not necessarily because I’m overly against it yet I think that’s because I’m overly aware of screen time. At 6 Landry doesn’t even know how to login to our i-pad on her own and I quite like it that way. As a whole Landry is aware of social media and what I do for a living, but I really do try to limit my time on my phone to business hours and after bedtime. She knows that I love my job and that this is a big part of it, but for the most part I try not to let it interfere with our time together. I hope that this helps and gives you some insight as to how I handle social media with my kids involved. Rest assured it’s nothing I take lightly and often keeps me up at night wondering if I’m doing the right thing. As for now this is working for us, but I’m sure it will be an ever evolving plan…as most things to do with raising kids are 😉 Blue and White Cap Sleeve Lace Dress 4 | Clutch | Sunglasses | Heels THIS.DRESS.IS.A.SHOWSTOPPER! It’s classically feminine, but in this beautiful blue and white lace that feels fresh and modern. I absolutely loved wearing it and think that I’m going to save it to wear to Lawson’s baptism in the coming weeks. The fit was so perfect and very TTS and the details don’t disappoint. The entire Karl Lagerfeld Paris line at Bloomingdales is stunning. It’s got the timeless classic feel of Chanel with effortless Parisian undertones. Here are some of my favorite dresses to shop for upcoming Spring occasions: Thank you to Bloomingdales and ShopStyle for sponsoring this content.
Emily of The Three Bite Rule says April 30, 2019 at 12:56 PM This was really interesting and insightful! I’d love to hear more about kids making their own clothing choices. I have a baby girl I can dress in whatever I like and the clothes are too cute, but I also have a 4-year old boy who has favorite items that aren’t my favorite. I’m straddling the line of his preferences and choices versus what I’d love him to wear while not wanting a morning battle before pre-school! Anyone else in this boat? Maybe it would be more for instagram stories but wanted to throw it out there!
Elizabeth says May 1, 2019 at 8:05 AM I’m definitely choosey about my children’s clothing and how they look for school, etc–it’s hard to relinquish control! I try to give choices and I think it allows my children to feel more ‘in control’ and curtails power struggles. My 5 y.o. son is pretty easy; my toddler does try to exert her will with clothing, so if she hones in on something inappropriate, I usually just try to distract her with something similar in color or whatever. Also, it may sound mean, but I really don’t buy them anything that I don’t like, ha. With all that said, I’m sure there have been times I’m less than thrilled with their outfits, but assuming it’s just for nursery school and not a special occasion, I can let it go. I ask myself, “Is this the hill I want to die on today?” and usually it’s not, lol.
