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5 Summer Hairstyles Moms Need To Try

If you are anything like me, having your hair down sounds nice in theory, but about 5 minutes in you are ready to put it up. I am running around all day, with a baby who LOVES to pull anything within his reach (e.g. my hair) and I can’t stand having things in my face. It drives me nuts. Especially with the warmer days upon us, the last thing you want is a full head of hair on your neck and falling into you face.

I used to just end up wearing my hair in either the mom bun (you know the one you threw up without a mirror with an elastic band you found in the couch cushions) or a basic ponytail. Neither of these hairstyles made me feel I had fully put myself together that day.

So, instead of a basic ponytail, here are 5 easy to do summer hairstyles you can rock this summer and still feel put together!

I love doing the wrapped ponytail because it’s so easy to do but looks so professional. It’s one of those summer hairstyles that will have people wondering how you did it yourself! Just take your pieces and wrap it around the ponytail and pin it with a Bobby pin. All you need is a hair elastic, some Bobby pins, and a little bit of hairspray to smooth the fly aways if you want.

This hairstyle is a little more complex, but can be quick once you are comfortable with it! I feel like a braid can make any style look more intricate. If you’re like me and are going through the wonderful postpartum hair loss (peep the bald spots in the photos) you can hide your sparse areas with some eyeshadow that matches your hair colour! Just fluff some into the spots with a makeup brush and set it with some hairspray. All you need for this style are 2 elastics and Bobby pins. This look can be done with straight or curly hair.

This style is my favourite for days when I need to look really put together but my hair isn’t washed and I’m too tired to do anything about it! All it takes is an elastic, a few bobby pins, and 5 minutes. Once you’ve mastered this style, you can even do it without a mirror!

This hairstyle is going to my go-to for the summer months, I can already tell. It’s quick, looks best when it’s done messily, and it keeps all my postpartum hair regrowth tucked away and in place! All you need are 3 elastics, some bobby pins if you have shorter pieces that need to be kept in place, and you can wear this style with any hair texture!

The low ponytail is, hands down, the one I do the most. For a sleek look you can leave your ponytail straight, or for a more beachy feel, curl your hair from root to end and leave some texture at the roots. All you need for this hairstyle is a hair elastic, Bobby pins, and a comb to tease your ends.

Getting through the summer heat shouldn’t mean sacrificing your good looks! These summer hairstyles will keep you feeling cool and looking great!

If you want to learn more quick beauty tips that you can add to your everyday routine, check out www.elysemorency.com. You can also find Elyse on Instagram at www.instagram.com/elysemor/ where she talks about the highs and lows of motherhood and makeup!

Baby Products You Can Use in Your Beauty Routine

How many times have you gone to wash your face at night or reached for your dry shampoo only to find out that they’re empty?

We are often so busy focused on everything else that we forget to keep our personal supplies stocked. The things we always make sure to never run out of, though, are baby products. It only takes one diaper change with an empty diaper wipe container to make sure things like that never happen!

So, since your baby supply is probably the equivalent of a fully stocked Costco, here are 5 baby products you can use in your beauty routine!

Baby Products you can use in your beauty routine - Elyse Morency for Nesting Story

Baby Wipes

When you’ve run out of makeup remover, baby wipes are a great replacement. They’re great at removing any makeup, dirty, and oils sitting on the skin. This is something that I keep in my makeup kit while working on clients because it does such a great job of cleaning the skin!

Baby Wash

Baby wash is one of those secret weapons that can be extremely useful in your beauty routine. It is designed to be gentle on the skin and makes a great face wash! Most baby washes are fragrance free, hypoallergenic, and have a moisturizing formula which ensures a great cleanse without stripping your skin of all the good oils.

Another great use for baby wash is cleaning your brushes. It cuts through makeup grime and maintains the quality of the bristles.

Baby wash is great for your face too - Elyse Morency for Nesting Story

Body Lotion

If you’ve run out of face moisturizer, using a baby body lotion is a great alternative. Any scent free baby lotion works amazing since it won’t clog pores and is typically a light consistency. My favourite body lotions to use on my face when I’m in a pinch are Glaxal Base and Cerave. Both have done wonders for keeping my skin hydrated and clear.

baby products you can use in your beauty routine - Elyse Morency for Nesting Story

Baby Powder

There is nothing worse than waking up in the morning and realizing you don’t have time to wash your hair. Grab some baby powder and sprinkle it on your roots and work it in to absorb the oils. It’ll take away the oily look and add a fresh scent to your scalp!

Diaper Cream

Diaper cream works really well as a spot treatment for dry skin. Before you go to bed, apply your moisturizer to a clean face, and then top the dry spots with diaper cream. In the morning when you wake up, remove the cream and your should find the dry patches have cleared up. Diaper cream does a great job of locking in moisture and creating a barrier so the skin can heal, perfect for any irritations you might have!

Unexpected beauty products mom's can use - Elyse Morency for Nesting Story

If you want to learn more quick makeup tips that you can add to your everyday makeup routine, check out www.elysemorency.com. You can also find Elyse on Instagram at www.instagram.com/elysemor/ where she talks about the real and raw life of motherhood and makeup!

Twins… what was I getting into?

Me: “Is everything okay in there?”

Ultrasound Technician “Yes, everything is okay… times two.”

Me: “Ummm, excuse me.”

Yes, this is how my twin journey began. It was quite a surprise and one I will never forget. I realize all twin/multiples pregnancies begin their journey in many different ways and each and every one are truly unique, but mine was the classic Hollywood portrayal of stunned parents-to-be who at 12-weeks-pregnant have just found out that they are expecting not one but two babies.

Fast forward to the end of my pregnancy and I had NO idea how I was going to handle taking care of two babies at the same time. See, I was not a rookie mom, a few years earlier I had given birth to a daughter who was the star of our lives, but also demanded a lot of our attention. To be honest I wasn’t even sure if we could have handled bringing another baby into our family without losing our minds. I felt like I was still emerging from the new mom fog and I am ashamed to admit it but I may have googled “how to know if you should have another baby” one too many times. Alas, when we finally decided to give it a shot it didn’t even cross my mind that it could be a double shot.

From a mom of one to expecting two babies, dealing with a twin surprise by Fallon Melander and Nesting Story

So you can imagine how unprepared I felt. From things like strollers, car seats, bassinets and high chairs we needed to either buy new items or in the case of my car we had to upgrade to something larger that would fit three car seats safely. The economic impact alone of having two babies at once was a hard pill to swallow, and still is. But I can tell you the emotional and physical impacts for me were even harder. Extreme nausea, fatigue, joint pain and swelling combined with anxiety, fear, anger and panic kept me up all hours of the night. I read every book, joined every twin mom group and scoured the internet for all the information. But as prepared as I may have been the deep seed of the unknown began to weigh me down. That is until those babies were born. I did not have an “aha” moment during my pregnancy nor did I find a sense of calm. It wasn’t until those two babies were in my face with their perfect little round faces and tiny little bodies did I see the true miracle that was twins.

I was surprised with two babies and became a twin mom by Fallon Melander and Nesting Story

I hope to share my birth story and personal twin journey with you all soon but I really wanted to share my true side of finding out and processing a twin pregnancy and beyond. I hope this provides any of you who may be beginning your multiples journey or those in the midst of it some comfort that it is not all rainbows and butterflies. That fear and anxiety is okay and you are not alone. It does get better and it does get easier in other ways. Reach out to other twin mamas for support, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and know you are stronger than you think.

It’s time to call out the elephant in the room – yes, that meme is me

Ugh. I didn’t want to have to write this post, but, I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room. More for you than for me. Yes, … Continue reading “It’s time to call out the elephant in the room – yes, that meme is me”

yes, that meme is me - Joanna from Nesting Story

Ugh.

I didn’t want to have to write this post, but, I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room. More for you than for me.

Yes, that meme of a woman in a hospital bed who just had twins, but is photoshopped with two puppies and a dog is me.

Yes, I know.

Yes, my photo was stolen.

Yes, I can understand why you’d feel like your privacy had been shattered.

Let me start at the beginning.

Last spring, Mike turned to me a couple days before I was leaving to California for work and said, (with an “I have to tell you something” look in his eyes), that he’d come across a meme of me. He proceeded to tell me that he stumbled across a meme made of one of my photos.

He figured out that it had been stolen and used in a Reddit competition where the person photoshopped Mike and our twins out of the photo from my twin birth blog, and replaced them with dogs. Then the photo was stolen from Reddit and turned into a meme.

“Here we go again,” was the first thought that came to mind.

You see, I’ve had photos stolen before. Some along with full articles I have written. They’ve been published on big sites that you would be shocked to hear, either used for ads, or views.

I’ve had photos of me with my big pregnant belly stolen and circulated through pregnancy fetish groups.

I’ve even had my pregnancy ultrasounds stolen before by people faking a twin pregnancy. This one has oddly happened more than once.

Each of these times Mike has sent a scary, “we are going to send our lawyers after you,” letter which has resulted in the photos being taken down.

So when I was shown this harmless meme, which didn’t include my kids and was actually kind of funny, I acknowledged the skill of the photo-shopper who won the Reddit contest, that I was thankful that our kids weren’t in it and admitted it was annoying that once again my photo was stolen.

But the meme had gone viral. It was too big to take down, and I had a choice to make… do I fight this? Or do I have a chuckle and an eye-roll and get on with my day?

I chose the latter.

To go after it and have it taken down would require spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyer fees and even then it might not be taken down. Listen to this podcast from Criminal and someone else’s experience trying to do just this: Criminal Podcast – Homewrecker. 

I chose to be a blogger and a content creator. I chose to share my story and my photos. This career isn’t for everyone. But it is for me.

I am an open-book and a storyteller. My passion for telling my story was born from a place of loneliness and longing for connection during my twin pregnancy. I get that sharing my story also means that I am opening up my life to opinions, and exposure.

I have thick skin.

For me, putting up with comments, the occasional troll and being turned into a meme, is better than heading to a 9-5 everyday. I tried that, and it didn’t make me happy. This job does. Sharing my story with others and maybe helping them through a dark place makes it worth it.

I am used to the internet at this point and it’s devious ways. I’m okay putting myself out there. But you better believe I am going to be fiercely vigilant when my kids start using social media, which by the way is a long ways away.

I totally get why you would feel exposed if that were your post delivery photo vandalized and shared millions of times. You didn’t choose to share your story as publicly as I have.

I so appreciate that you want to tag me, screen shot it and fill my DM’s inbox letting me know about this injustice. But let me save you the time…

I know.

So, what can you do about it? How can you help? If you want to tell a publisher that it is a stolen photo and they don’t have permission to use it, go for it! If you want to report the photo on Instagram and Facebook as stolen, please do! Thank you by the way, because this really does help.

But please resist tagging me, or letting me know.

In the meantime I’m good, sitting here in the meme hall of fame, sharing my story and building a supportive community.

You Are Not Failing At Motherhood And Here’s Why

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Motherhood is an unpredictable beast. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out and can hit cruise control, there’s an explosion that can rock your world.

Last week, after getting home from my conference, I did my best to keep a brave face on during re-entry. Although my twin toddlers were giddy from the moment they ran into my arms, our older kids had mixed emotions.

My husband had done a great job while I was away. Almost too great. He had taken a few days off and really nailed the stay-at-home-dad role. Although he kept the house tidy, he wasn’t running a business from home, or doing many of the extra tasks I would have had on my plate.

There were dance parties, and take-out, little treats and surprise visitors, (like Grandma).

The thing is, I was really excited to be home, but the big kids acted like I was a burden. Although I was trying to get back into a routine, to them I was mean mommy coming to stop their fun.

Holden, my sweet boy, peppered every response he gave me with attitude. It didn’t matter how many times I called him on it, he would apologize and then do it again. By the end of the week my voice was shaky as my mommy shield was thinning and his lack of excitement surrounding my arrival home started to really sting.

I pulled myself together, and as a united front with my husband, we had a heart to heart with Holden that seemed to hit home and change his attitude.

The next day, just as I was feeling my groove, the waves started crashing.

Why do I always think to myself, “I’ve got this parenting thing down!”

You know when you have that kid that you can give credit for each of your grey hairs to? That kid that is a challenge at home, but you figure as long as the school doesn’t see a problem, then maybe everything is okay?

Ya, well, that’s our daughter, and now some things are creeping into other areas in her life. Couple that with the regular migraines she has been experiencing and I would say we’ve got a wobbly plate on our hands.

I allowed myself to have a pity party for a few minutes…

“I am the worst mom… I shouldn’t have travelled… why didn’t I deal with this sooner?… where did I go wrong?…”

Then I pulled it together and reminded myself of a few things that I have learned along the way about motherhood.

Motherhood isn’t the perfect, sterile experience I had once pictured as a kid.
Motherhood is dirty, painful, relationship altering, imperfect, messy, confusing and raw. Although motherhood has its really lovely moments, it’s the ugly love that holds the real beauty. I have let go of the picturesque  images I had of this journey and have begun embracing the ugly experiences that create that deeper bond with my family.

The mom next door is going through something just as rough, if not worse.
You run into a friend at the grocery store, with your hair unbrushed, your face with yesterday’s makeup still on and your toddler is emptying your cart while you are trying to chat.

You stare at your friend in awe. She looks completely put together, as you reach down to pick up the boxed dinners your kid keeps chucking on the ground. Her six week old is blissfully sleeping wrapped against her chest. What is her secret?

Her secret is that her two older kids are at school and she has finally showered, and gotten out of the house after a wicked case of stomach flu just ripped through her family. She’s bathing in the blissful sweet spot between each inevitable parenting crisis, and she knows that something is probably lurking around the corner waiting to pounce on her tomorrow. Let her enjoy her bliss… because no mother is immune.

It’s okay to alter your parenting methods, your weekly routine and your work/life balance. 
Every few weeks it can suddenly seem like whatever was working for you before is not anymore. If this is the case, reassess and make some changes. It is such a simple concept, but it took me a long time to realize that making changes to when I fit my workout in, what kind of routine works for my kids and my work/life balance doesn’t mean I have failed. It just means that a new phase has started and everything needs to shift around to accommodate each family member.

After my pity party and then taking a weekend to remind myself that I am a great mom who just has some problems to solve, I have begun to shift our world around, and take control.

When I can hear myself taking lots of deep breaths as I get everyone ready to head out the door in the morning, I remind myself that I am in the driver’s seat. I will make changes. This is all part of motherhood and we all have these days.

Don’t forget to follow our family’s journey on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!