Momma, Look Stylish and Keep Up with Your Kids

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(Inside: I want to be a stylish mom. With the recent huge shift in changing fashion, I’ve rediscovered shopping as I’ve updated my wardrobe. Here are some fun finds.)

Are you also in the phase of life where kids, mortgage, car, and Target, like a thief in broad daylight, takes ALL OF YOUR MONEY?

(Help us, Dave Ramsay.)

That’s our current season. This fact has shaped how my husband and I exchange Christmas gifts. We love the idea of buying each other gifts, but we just can’t bring ourselves to buy something for the sake of buying something. Even if we’re a solid 80% into the gift, it’s still not enough. We have to be all in or we don’t want one more thing cluttering our home.

So…

We buy our own gifts.

On Black Friday, the two of us sit side by side with our computers and shop for our family and ourselves, and we love every minute. 

I carry heavy money-mom-guilt, so I love the full-on-self-permission to shop for myself with trumpets and streamers dancing and not thinking about the fact that my kids just outgrew all of their clothes again. 

It’s glorious.

Right now, I’ve rediscovered fashion. There’s been such a huge shift, from skinny jeans to more loose-fitted jeans, from longer shirts to shorter shirts. I briefly objected to these changes, confused as to why all the young people were wearing mom jeans when I spent my youth trying to avoid them.

But then, one of my high school students kindly stayed after class to online shop with me. She explained the new fashions, especially around jeans. Then I was hooked. And it has been fun to update my wardrobe with both comfy clothes and casual work clothes that help me stay comfortable as I try and keep up with all of my responsibilities.

Here’s what my new digs are looking like…

Look stylish in these comfy pants

When my kids were elementary school age, I discovered yoga pants. Sweet, sweet yoga pants.
Now, I’d heard some criticism of “leggings as pants,” but whateve-s, the haters were not trying to keep up with my three kinetic-energy-driven sons. I found that I moved quicker in my yoga pants, like Flash.

But this Flash wants to look cute, and after wearing those yoga pants for years, I discovered a more flattering upgrade that now when I come home, I instantly put on. This is still lightweight like yoga pants, but give me a little more room. 


I also love my actual sweatpants with the tapered pant legs. They hug me after a long day of work. 

Look stylish with these comfy tops

I love, love, love my mom shirts. If I have a weak spot for spending money, it’s on a fun mom life shirt.

Also, as a mom of three boys, I have a soft spot for boy-mom shirts. Because, indeed, my life is better with my boys. 

Here’s some more cute ones. I always go back to the camouflagh. That pattern seems to stand the test of time.

Look stylish with these comfy sweatshirts

My closet also needs some sweatshirts. I love coming home after a long day of work, throwing on a warm sweatshirt, and walking my dog around the lake. It’s all therapy. 

Look stylish with these jeans

I have bought 6 pairs of updated jeans. I wear them all the time teaching high school. I like that they look cute and I can dress them up with shirts and shoes, but I am comfortable walking around the classroom and helping students. The pair to my left is my favorite. But, here are a few more ideas.

Look stylish with these dress casual shirts

To go with my updated jeans, I’ve updated my wardroom with some cute shirts. The whole tucked-in look is still a little cray-cray to me – I really like untucked shirts. But, I can get on board with the tucked in the front and out in the back. Or I’ll tuck the whole shirt in and wear a cardigan over it. Anyway, it’s been fun to update old styles that I’ve worn for a decade.

Look stylish with these shoes

High tops are baaaaack, and (according to my students) you can wear sneakers with dresses. I am on board with this new trend and have found myself replacing my boots with more casual shoes. I walk around and help students all day, and my feet are way happier with the new styles. Plus, often, I’ll leave school and go to one of my son’s games, so I like that dressing more casually works these days. Convenient. 

Look stylish with these leather earrings

Almost every day, I have leather earrings on. I didn’t wear earrings for a decade because they hurt my ears. I like the bigger earring styles, but I could never really wear them. Discovering lightweight leather earrings was a game changer. All of these styles are great.  

So even though the kids, mortgage, car, and Target seem to need all of my funds, I do have to remind myself that it is okay to spend some of that money to update my wardrobe.

And I love the tradition that my husband and I have discovered with side-by-side Black Friday shopping for ourselves. I like shopping for casual clothes that I can wear at home and/or work that help me feel comfortable as I juggle all the kids’ activities. It’s nice to make purchases guilt-free.

Parents take care of everyone else, but we also need to remember to take care of ourselves.

Want more shopping fun?

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Book Ideas for Middle School Tweens

Gift ideas for moms of Tweens and Teens

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