Career2Motherhood Blog

Storypod is one of the things we use daily - literally every single day! Both of our kids have one and there’s so many ways Storypod is integrated throughout our routines at home.

As a former teacher and a busy mom of two, I love the variety of content available for Storypod. Storypod has fun music for dancing, audio stories for listening throughout the day, trivia cards and peaceful ways to relax at the end of the night.

I especially love the focus on early literacy. The board books are great for little hands, while the paperback books for older kids are perfect. All of the books reinforce following along while reading, letter sounds, and even comprehension, asking questions for your child to answer at the end of the story, all with fun, age-appropriate stories and illustrations!

Our favorite ways to use our Storypod:

🤫 Quiet time & rest time while playing independently

🎧 With headphones on the couch while I’m making dinner some days

🛁 During bath time to match the energy we need!

💤 Falling asleep at night

It’s rechargeable, durable, and easy for little ones to use.

Check them out on Instagram or use my code to shop!

There’s so many different ways to parent and it seems like no matter what you do, there’s so many different opinions about it, too.

The most important thing is to reflect on whether or not it works for you. Does it work for you, your children, and your partner? That’s what matters. That’s ALL that matters.

We could debate so many parenting topics: Baby led weaning versus purées. Breast milk versus formula. Working outside of the home versus staying home full time. Daycare versus an in-home nanny. We could go on and on...

Now, of course I have opinions on these topics, as many of us do, especially given the experiences we’ve had in our family, while figuring out what works best for us. Some of it also has to do with my background in education and my experiences as a teacher for over a decade.

There’s so much information available to us, and it’s always expanding. How great is it that we have all of this at our fingertips?! The “villages” our parents had were definitely different but they couldn’t just search the entire internet for toddler meal inspirations! (or whatever it is you’re Googling too much these days…)

At the end of the day though, just remember: all that matters is that what you’re doing works for you.

No matter what you do, it’s hard. Let’s face it.

If you choose to work outside of the home and find a caregiver for your child, that’s hard. You’re committing time, energy, and effort to another cause to benefit financially while trusting someone else to care for your little love. For many families, this is not a choice, but both parents must continue to work outside of the home for financial reasons.

There are the caregivers who become the sole source of income, apply for promotions, take risks to change jobs for better pay, pick up extra hours or extra side jobs, that’s hard too. You’re asking your partner for their trust and support, you’re giving your all to that other purpose, and then returning home at the end of the day, somehow still finding something else to give to your children, your partner, and not having much left for yourself at the end of the day.

Maybe, after establishing yourself in a career, work that you were incredibly passionate about, you decided to leave it behind to be home with your child as the primary caregiver. You and your partner have chosen to make tough financial sacrifices and make ends meet on one salary. You’re faced with a lot of time at home, most likely less adult camaraderie after leaving the workforce, and may struggle with this “new identity.” This is a privilege. We know, but that doesn’t mean this type of hard is erased. You get paid in snuggles, kisses, and lots of amazing memories, but there are certainly the hard days, too.

Perhaps work just looks different - maybe since starting a family you’ve had a change in your actual job or hours, maybe you took a position to work from home and you’re managing that while your kids at home, or maybe you’re starting your own side hustle.

Maybe you’re a single parent, taking on all of this responsibility yourself to provide and create a life with your children.

No matter what work looks like in your life, parenting really can be hard, yet the most beautiful, rewarding job as well.

After a nice, long winter break, we’re headed back into a routine! I love the time off but I have always thrived on a routine. I’m a creature of habit, maybe.

My husband went back to work today and my daughter goes back to school tomorrow. She really does enjoy school, and I know she’ll be happy (and tired!) when I pick her up. The first few days back after a long break can be hard, especially after a week of family, friends, and lots of time in pajamas!

When she started preschool last fall, she was 3 years old and had been home with me since she was born. I knew this was going to be a big transition for both of us so we read books and watched Daniel Tiger episodes about going to school. We also read books about connection when we’re apart, to help her understand that I’ll always come back and I’ll always have her in my heart when we’re apart.

On her first day of school, I gave her a special bracelet (that she affectionately named her “school bracelet”) and I have one to match. A purple heart for her and a green heart for me. She can pull on the beads when she misses me, and I’ll “feel it in my heart, too.”

So tomorrow, when I drop her off for the first time in two weeks, we’ll have our matching heart bracelets on, I’ll give her a hug and a kiss, and an extra kiss in her hand to hold on to. When she asks me if I felt her pulling on the beads when she missed me, I’ll tell her I was thinking of her, too.

I’ll be happy to have some one on one time with my youngest, but I’m even happier when I get to pick her up at the end of the day 💕

I got into this business because…

💚I felt isolated as a career-driven woman who completely changed gears and decided to stay home full time with children

💚At first, I had no friends who were home full time

💚I hadn’t met my neighborhood “mom squad” yet or reconnected with other friends with young children

💚This community fills that gap - you’re not alone here 🫶

💚While we’re trying to make systemic changes for the next generation, there is also so much validity in the moms asking: what about ME, right NOW?

💚There are countless parenting and motherhood accounts online - why is it different here @career2motherhood?

💚You’ll hear about real-life, simple solutions that make the day to day easier at all different stages of motherhood. Let’s find a routine that works for you!

💚It’s also super down to earth around here - it’s just real, normal life!

Follow along for tips, tricks, and encouragement as we empower you as you choose your hard!

What’s your low-key wish for the holiday? Here’s mine.

I’ve been seeing a lot online about the magic of kids, especially toddlers, at Christmas. This will probably be our last Christmas with a toddler in our family - our sweet little boy turned two in September, but that will quickly be three years old next year, and Christmas will be a little different.

I just love the way he says “Santa!” right now. It sounds majestic and royal, “SAN-ta!”

Our four and a half year old has always loved Christmas, most kids do, but it’s somewhere deeper in her soul. It’s magical for her.

We’ve had a lot more curious questions from her this year about Santa, his reindeer, his elves…and even Mrs. Claus. I’m wondering if I should take notes for myself for next year so the story stays consistent…

The way the holidays fall this year, my husband has a nice, long break to be home with us. This time of the year is typically the longest stretch of time that he’s off from work.

I’m looking forward to the time together as a family, in as many Christmas PJs as my kids own, with plenty of hot coffee and some chilled wine.

My low key wish for the holiday is just some peace. Peace at home, enjoying the Christmas season. Nothing fancy, just time together as a family. Snuggling together by the fire, maybe watching a Christmas movie.

Last week I took both of my kids to a holiday-themed music class, one we’ve been to a few times before, but honestly, it’s been a while…maybe even since last December. The kids always have so much fun and as a musician myself, I have just loved seeing them enjoy making music and seeing how they have progressed, especially my daughter. At dinner that night, my two year old said the favorite part of his day was “playing drums with Mama.”🥹

I started taking my daughter to these holiday-themed “pop up” classes right after my son was born in the fall of 2022. The Halloween class was one the very first organized activities we went to: me, by myself, with both kids. My daughter was not quite two and a half, and my son was 8 weeks old.

It was SO HARD. Feed her a snack, nurse the baby, bundle them both up, into car seats, out of car seats, into class, all the way home again…fed lunch, down for naps…and then I’d be EXHAUSTED. I wore my son in our @nalakai_co ring sling (our favorite carrier!) for the entire class because he did not want to stay in his bucket seat. Don’t get me wrong - we had a great time and it was totally worth it, but that chapter of motherhood was hard. If you’re there now, it truly does get easier! And sure enough, it got easier each time we left the house.

Fast forward (that happens a lot in motherhood!) to last week: it’s the third time we’ve been to the Holiday Jam class @melodyandmotionmt When it was time to go, my kids got their own boots on, walked out to the truck themselves, and were singing Christmas songs on the way. Did my now two year old do the whole class on his own? Of course not! I was still holding him and dancing for part of the time.

Tomorrow we go back for the last Holiday Jam class and it feels a little bittersweet. The beginning of my journey as a mom of two was intertwined with these sweet classes. I could bring my kids to make music with me - part of the human experience - and meet friends, get out of the house. A quick year from now, my daughter will be in kindergarten and therefore won’t attend the class. Of course I’ll enjoy taking my son, but for now, I’ll celebrate how far I’ve come and soak it all in. 

Ten years ago, I would have introduced myself as Shannon, the teacher, full steam ahead in her career. Even while I was pregnant with my daughter, I would tell my coworkers, I’ll be back right at the end of my maternity leave! Maybe I had completely unrealistic expectations, I don’t know. 

Now, I’m proud to be Shannon, the mom, home full time with my children. I really wouldn’t have it any other way. BUT it doesn’t mean this shift hasn’t had it’s share of challenges for me. 

The first winter I was home was hard, it was cold so we couldn’t get outside much and I was still planning to go back to work in a few months, so I hadn’t really spent the energy trying to make “mom friends.”

I began to weigh the options of staying home versus returning to work and talked about it with my husband just about every single day. 

I struggled the most with the idea that I never envisioned myself being home full time - so WHY all of a sudden, was the urge to be with my daughter so strong? And why did my career that had been so important to me feel like less of a draw as time went on?

For me, things had shifted. After a huge life change like starting a family, how can we expect things NOT to change? Even though we had our share of hard days, I just loved being home with my daughter, watching her grow and learn.

Now, all I’m saying is IT’S OKAY for motherhood to be a huge part of your identity - it’s a huge part of your life! This doesn’t mean you “should” let go of all the other parts of you that used to exist, or quit the career that you love if it works for you, or that you should replace or eliminate things that were once important to you. 

It’s just a shift, that’s all. As our babies grow up, things will shift, again and again. 

My career had always been incredibly important to me. I LOVED teaching.

Then March 2020 hit and I was 32 weeks pregnant. School went virtual and everything shut down. My perspective on work really began to shift. I thought about how many hours I typically spent at work each day and these hours were suddenly replaced with time at home.

When I was supposed to return to work after having my daughter, I just couldn’t bear the idea of being away from her. After crunching a lot of numbers with my husband, I was able to take a full school year to be home, which I recognize is a privilege.

The longer I was home with my daughter, the more I fell in love with being a mom. I never thought I’d be home full time. Like, never, ever thought. I resigned a few months and I am so grateful I’ve been able to do so.

So, this life is yours. I’m working on creating the life I want. I want to be home while my kids are little. I want to redefine how I work. I want to stop glorifying the grind. Maybe you want something similar or maybe you envision something completely different when it comes to work and family.

What is it that you want from your work and family balance? Has becoming a parent changed this at all for you?