Everybody's Fed, Nobody's Dead | Page 7 of 10 | Motherhood, Depression, and Imperfection

3 Things All Moms Need to Stop Saying

April 25, 2019 By Ashley McKeown 2 Comments

Mama, this is a post of encouragement.

I’m a little worried that this will read as a harsh critique and leave you feeling guilty and bruised. Please don’t feel attacked.

I wrote this so you would feel loved. I want you to drip with confidence and know your value. I want your daughters to see your strength and think you’re Super Woman (because you are).

[Read more…]

The Plus-Sized Mama: My Second Dia&Co Box

April 8, 2019 By Ashley McKeown 4 Comments

I ordered a second Dia&Co box.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you can go read my first Dia&Co post, but here’s what you need to know:

I’m a plus-sized mama who hates shopping, so I’m branching out and trying clothing subscription boxes.
Dia&Co only carries plus sizes, and their stylists pick items to send you based on a questionnaire you fill out online.
You pay a $20 styling fee that can be applied to anything you keep from your box, and then you send back what you don’t like/want.
My first box was decent, but I had a few complaints and I didn’t keep anything, so I decided to order a second box.

15 Super Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care

March 31, 2019 By Ashley McKeown 4 Comments

Let’s be honest – moms usually put self-care on the back burner. We put ourselves last not only because of stress and time constraints, but also guilt. We feel guilty taking time for ourselves, or buying things for ourselves instead of our kids.

I’m here today to give you permission to treat yo’ self.

[Read more…]

Stephanie’s Fight for Mental Health Awareness

March 21, 2019 By Ashley McKeown Leave a Comment

This story is a part of our Raw Motherhood series, a collection of true accounts from real moms. We hope these stories will help shed light on real issues, but we are not medical professionals and are not offering medical advice. If you are in need of immediate help or feel you could be a harm to yourself or others, please call 911.

My world completely changed when I found out I was pregnant.

It was May of 2001, and my husband and I were about to move from Minnesota to attend the Rhema Bible Training Center in Oklahoma. We’d been married for almost four years, but a baby wasn’t currently on my radar. And though I was excited to have a baby, I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to attend school because of my due date. [Read more…] about Stephanie’s Fight for Mental Health Awareness

The Plus-Sized Mama: Why I Tried Dia&Co

March 3, 2019 By Ashley McKeown 2 Comments

This mama hates shopping for plus size clothing.

You can read more about what it’s like to shop when you don’t fit into anything here, but for this article, let’s stick with one aspect of plus size clothing that sucks: it’s hard to find.

I live near a huge outlet mall. It’s a tourist hot spot that’s always busy. There are at least 100+ stores there, but I can only fit into clothing in about four of them. And of those four stores, it’s rare for me to find clothing I actually like. [Read more…] about The Plus-Sized Mama: Why I Tried Dia&Co