This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

It's amazing to see how much kids grow and learn in just a short time. And as they grow and learn, so do we. The hard thing about being a parent is knowing that you're going to make mistakes along the way. That's just the reality. You don't get to practice first; you're thrown riiight into the big game, an unqualified rookie. You can’t learn how to be a parent from a textbook or a class for new parents. You can't become an expert from observing other parents, or getting advice from your own parents. You just have to learn as you go--and be flexible, because each kid is unique and precious. As a parent, over the years you will learn invaluable life lessons. Sometimes, these lessons will be painful and confusing. Your struggles can have a silver lining though! You can take what you've learned, and use that knowledge to help out other families. Here are two common struggles where going through some hardship can give you the experience needed to help others going through a similar situation.

Photo by Lana Jenae Photography from our trip to Whitefish

1. Allergies

No one really knows why some babies and children develop an allergy to some things, while others do not. It often seems bizarre and random, although genetics may play a factor. Peanuts are one of the main things that can cause allergic reactions, but there are all kinds of foods that sometimes cause babies discomfort. If you have dealt with these things before, you can share your experience with friends and family who have babies and young kids. Help them understand the signs of allergies to look for during mealtime, or go onto parenting blogs and forums to discuss what you've learned. You never know, you could end up savings a child’s life!

2. Emotions

Many children struggle with stress, depression, and a range of deeply felt emotions. If you have kids in their early teens, you've likely experienced this first-hand. You can use your knowledge to help parents in the real world and maybe even make a career out of it. It's possible to get your degree from home, such as online degree in social work. Courses are clinically focused to qualify you for social work and award you a license. You might find it fulfilling to help teens cope with social and cultural pressures, or help young children with high emotions figure out how to fit in better with society.

Being a parent gives life lessons, empathy, and experience--qualifications which you cannot learn in a classroom. This powerful knowledge can help you make a difference for others, and if you're passionate about what you've learned, it can even be a jumping off point for you to switch into a profession that helps other children.

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Personally, I think it's fun to work on our home, chipping away at the list of projects and improvements, and seeing our plans come to fruition. Since we bought it a year and a half ago, we've been slowly but surely checking off the rooms inside the house. It's coming together, but there's still a pretty hefty list of renovations that we're dreaming of. We're hoping to be done with the interior of our home within the next two years (although many of the remaining projects are the more expensive ones, so we'll see). Then we can put the finishing touches on our family home, and just enjoy it...hopefully for many years to come! These are the things which we'd like to tackle eventually, but have been low on our priority list for now. When we finally get to these, we'll know this house is really getting wrapped up!

Not my house...just a cute house in Spokane!

A Garden

We've been so focused on getting the inside of our home to our taste, that we really haven't given much thought or love to the exterior. One of Ben's dreams is to have a big, bountiful garden. This year, he's making some raised garden boxes so we can start growing some veggies. Eventually, we'd love to plant flowers and create a garden path too, with a few well-placed stepping stones, or a pebble walkway with simple outdoor lights on either side. Not only will a garden add beauty, but it will feel so good to harvest food and flowers from our own yard! Speaking of which, we have a few thriving cherry trees that produce bountifully in the summer. But we also have a sick tree that's not doing so well, so we may need to find a Seattle gardening and tree surgeon to help us figure out what to do.

Exterior Aesthetics

I'll admit, the exterior aesthetics of our house have been lowww on our priority list. We do have some (vinyl) siding that's bubbling up, which we've talked about getting fixed. But overall, I've had the thought that we'd tackle any exterior improvements right before we sold the house, so it can look fresh and give a good first impression to potential buyers. But now I'm thinking I'd love to increase our curb appeal sooner, as we wrap up the finishing touches to our home. That way we can enjoy the improvements for years, along with our neighbors and our guests. The nice thing is, most exterior updates (painting, siding, etc.) have an immediately noticeable effect. And they definitely do increase the value of your home, as long as you keep the color scheme simple and not too crazy. Having jdhostetter.com provide your siding and paint applications can help you with a uniform and beautiful job.

The Garage

When moving into a new home, you'll probably utilize the garage space for your unpacked boxes and long-term storage items. As time goes on, don't forget about those things! Go through, clear them out of the garage, and store them in their proper place, whether that's in your attic or various rooms of the house. We've done this (although we could definitely clear out more), and we have space to park both our cars now. But we still have a lot of garage work left to go. We would really like to create a better storage system in there, and paint the floors so they are clean and we can let our kids ride bikes in the garage. We also probably need a new garage door, both for function (it keeps stopping mid-way through opening, and we have to press the button multiple times) and for looks (it's pretty tired looking). It's something we'll definitely improve when we're adding the finishing touches to our home.

What are the last things on your list that aren't a priority now, but would be nice to finally work on? Those final touches that will make your family home feel complete?

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

I tend to focus on the aesthetic parts of designing my home: the furniture, the decor, the artwork. But one vital part of creating a family home is making sure that it's safe. The fact that our house could be harmful to the health of our family is one of the most worrying things ever. While it's rare and unlikely that house issues would bring serious illness to our family, even a slim possibility is enough to make me concerned--and take action. Here's how to make sure that your home is the safe haven it should be. Most of these tasks aren't too time-consuming (or money-consuming), either!

1. Say goodbye to dust

For most of us, dust is nothing more than an inconvenience. Having to pick up all of your items and dust around them individually feels like it takes forever, and this may put you off the idea of doing it at all. However, many studies have shown that dust can have detrimental effects to health, with one medical journal stating that household dust contains, on average, around 45 different chemicals. Many other scientists link the presence of dust with increased risk of asthma and allergies, too. If you want to ensure that your home is safe, keep dusting, but also try to vacuum as often as you can, as most dust will be on your carpets and rugs!

2. Open up the windows

There is nothing like letting some fresh air in, for your health and the overall good of your home. It’s not really great for your body if you’re breathing in a lot of stale air. You could try to keep your bedroom window open at night, or open it for a little while in the morning. It has been noted that many newer homes are pretty airtight (especially as you insulate them, and you don’t want to lose any heat) so it’s unlikely that the air will be purified in any other way, especially if you don't have an air conditioning unit.

3. Get rid of mold

Mold is one of those things that just seems to develop wherever there is a slight bit of water involved. It can lead you to think, 'is there any point in removing mold in my home, especially if it just keeps coming back?' However, mold also brings many health issues with it, such as breathing problems and tightness of the chest, and sneezing and nasal congestion. Basically, it’s pretty bad for you and your family. You can solve this by using store bought mold remover, and ensuring that you open your windows regularly, too. In some cases, you may need to get a professional in.

4. Be cautious about cleaning products

Many people don't think twice before using chemical cleaning products in our kitchens and bathrooms. After all, surely it’s beneficial to make sure that our kids aren’t playing in a dirty environment, and that we’re not living in a messy home? Just to be clear here: we’re not telling you to cut out cleaning altogether. It’s just that many cleaning products are jam-packed with nasty chemicals, and they can also present health issues. Check out those cleaning products that don’t include toxins, as there are many natural alternatives out there. Switching to chemical-free cleaners will benefit you and your whole family!

5. Get some houseplants

Houseplants are brilliant little gifts from Mother Nature, and they have a whole host of health benefits too. Not only do they help to purify the air, but they are also known to boost your mood, and there is something about adding that little touch of nature to a space. Be careful if you have kids and pets to look for plants that aren't poisonous (cats, for example, are allergic to lilies) and you may want to look into the plants that are low-maintenance if you don’t have a lot of time to water them regularly. However, you’ll immediately see and feel the difference if you lighten up your home a little with some plants, so get shopping!

So, if you want to make sure that your home is safe for your family, try out some of these simple tips. From getting rid of the dust, to investing in some beautiful houseplants, you can rest easy knowing that your home is a safe place for your loved ones (and it looks, and smells, great too). Good luck!

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

My brother is getting married next month, my sister just got engaged, and Valentine's Day is tomorrow. All of these combined have me in a sentimental and lovey mood, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and share my love story. Complete with embarrassing old photos of Ben and me! I don't think I've ever shared this here before...it's probably going to be way more than you any of you ever wanted to know about us, haha! But hope you enjoy. :D I've documented the last several years of our lives pretty thoroughly on this blog & my Instagram, so I'll spare you ALL the photos. But I put in a few from our early days (back when we had a point and shoot camera and flip phones...so the photo quality is prettyyyy bad).

First came (young) love...

Technically, Ben and I met when we were thirteen and fifteen! Practically babies! It was at a high school church retreat, and I had a crush at first sight. We talked, I made him laugh, we hacky sacked together, and when I got home, I wrote in my diary that I was going to marry Ben Allen one day. Evidently, I didn't make as big of an impression on him (whaaat, no declarations of love in your diary, Ben?!) but he does remember me from that time. Over the next few years, we saw each other at a few more church gatherings. We didn't grow up in the same city, so it was only a couple times of year. Each time, I still thought Ben was super attractive, but nothing happened. In 2006, I moved to Seattle for college. I was going to the University of Washington and moving into an apartment near campus with two girlfriends. The first week after we moved in, we had some friends over. Ben also knew several of those same people, and he ended up getting invited through a mutual friend. We talked a little bit and sparks flew. We were both interested, but for the next couple months, we just hung out casually in that same friend group. We played ultimate Frisbee, made bonfires on the beach, drank bubble tea, and explored Seattle. Moving to a new city was already exciting, and getting to know Ben during that time made it all the more fun and memorable!

Another church retreat was coming up on Whidbey Island (about an hour from Seattle), and Ben offered to give me and my roommates a ride. I took him up on it (DUH!) and asked if I could borrow a sleeping bag from someone in his family, since I didn't bring mine when I moved. When we got back, after Ben dropped us off, I realized that I still had his sleeping bag so I called him up to let him know. He asked what I was doing the rest of the day (nothing much) and decided to come back to "get the sleeping bag" and hang out some more. We ended up going to the Space Needle, getting coffee at the observation deck, and talking all evening as we watched the city lights, until they closed. The next day Ben called and asked me out to dinner (we got Indian food, which is probably why, to this day, I always feel like Indian food on romantic occasions--ha!), then we went to Edmonds Beach where he asked me to be his girlfriend. Who knew borrowing a sleeping bag could change my life forever?

this is the car ride right back from that retreat.

Then he put a ring on it...

Because Ben and I started dating so young (I was seventeen, he was nineteen), we dated for quite awhile before getting engaged. I actually knew he was "the one" fairly early on in our relationship though. I mean, I already knew at thirteen right?! ;) But we wanted to finish college before getting married.

Even though we had a plan, I started getting antsy after we'd been dating for two years. I'd found my perfect man, and I wanted a sparkly ring to make it official! I dropped some hints that I would be fine with a long engagement, and we went ring shopping "just for fun" to find out my ring size, see what styles we liked, and look at GIA Certified Diamond Rings.

On February 6th 2009, almost exactly 10 years ago, Ben asked me to marry him at Edmonds Beach, the same spot where he'd asked me to be his girlfriend. He brought cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate, we sat there and watched the ferry gliding across the water, then he asked me to take a picture of him and handed me his camera case. Inside it was a ring box, dangling from the camera cord, and inside the box was a perfect, beautiful, diamond ring. Ben got down on two knees (yes, two! he was nervous), said some nice things, and of course, I said "YESSSS!!!" That's why Edmonds (where we lived for four years) will always be special to me. We have so many significant memories there, from the beginning of our dating relationship to bringing our first baby home...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

A straight up terrible photo of me, but it's the only one I have from that night (ahh, the pre-social media days when you only took one photo of a significant event)

Next we planned a wedding!

One nice thing about a long engagement (ours was a year and a half), is that we had plenty of time to plan our "perfect" wedding. But while we had lots of time, we didn't have lots of money...so I tried to find budget-friendly alternatives for everything. I shopped thrift stores for the centerpieces, crafted paper decor, got my wedding dress online, and rented grills so we could make burgers for the food. We enlisted the help of family and friends for a lot of things. Our photographer was a friend. Ben's dad make the cake (plus hundreds of cookies!). Both of our families made all the food.  I arranged all the flowers along with my mom and bridesmaids. It was a lot of work, but it also made our wedding extra meaningful.

Then came marriage...

Once we tied the knot we just enjoyed married life for awhile. We never lived together while we were dating, so it was blissful to have quiet Saturday mornings together, to stay up (way too) late binge-watching Netflix shows, and to attempt learning how to cook together (we burned spaghetti and made a lot of Trader Joe's green curry...we've come a long way). We traveled as much as possible, had many game nights with friends, and thoroughly enjoyed being married and having a home together. For any couples who get married young (we were 21 & 23), I recommend taking time to enjoy being married before having kids. It's a special time, don't feel like you have to rush to the next stage.

And the baby carriage...

Although I just said not to rush it, I do feel that having kids has made our life fuller and richer. I know kids aren't in everyone’s plan, and that's ok. But for me personally, although I was SUPER nervous about becoming a parent, and apprehensive of all the ways it would change things, this is my favorite stage of life so far. My kids have brought me more joy than anything else. Becoming parents has also made me fall even more deeply in love with Ben. Seeing him as a father gives me all the feelings...he loves being a dad and is so sweet and loving with our boys. We had Ian in June 2016 (six years after getting married), and Emmett in April 2018. I know more good stages are still to come, but I reeeaaally feel like this is one that we will look back on fondly. I'm trying my best to soak it in, and to focus on the good parts (because there are certainly hard parts too, with a toddler and a baby). But mostly good parts.

The boys' love bug tees are from Tenth & Pine. So cute and soft.

And there you have it! The long version of our story, just in time for Valentine's Day. I was very blessed to find my forever valentine when I was so young. Did any of you also get married young?