atthehague on LTK

Can’t wait to be back at the beach with these babes (minus one who couldn’t get off work 😿 and plus one who was up in the condo book-worming instead of being on the beach last time) 😉

Just two more days and we’re there! I’ve linked our beach-day beauty musts because sweaty and salty and sandy is a lot more fun when you don’t hate pictures 💋 🏖

#liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKswim http://liketk.it/3gdUc

Can’t wait to be back at the beach with these babes (minus one who couldn’t get off work 😿 and plus one who was up in the condo book-worming instead of being on the beach last time) 😉 Just two more days and we’re there! I’ve linked our beach-day beauty musts because sweaty and salty and sandy is a lot more fun when you don’t hate pictures 💋 🏖 liketkit @liketoknow.it LTKswim http://liketk.it/3gdUc

Share:

Shop this post

Paid links

b.tan Beach Please Tanning Spray Oil SPF 7 - Ultra Deep Tanning Dry Spray Body Oil, Tan Intensifi... | Amazon (US)

b.tan Bestsellers Self Tanner Bundle Pack - Tanned AF & Forever + Ever Sunless Tanner Mousses wit... | Amazon (US)

b.tan Tropic Like It's Hot Tanning Spray Oil SPF 15 - Ultra Deep Tanning Dry Spray Body Oil, Tan ... | Amazon (US)

ooooh...aftersun delight! after sun | Walmart (US)

we've got your back…back tan applicator mitt | Walmart (US)

b.tan tanned AF...self tan mousse, 6.7 fl oz | Walmart (US)

b.tan forever + ever Self Tanning Mousse, 6.7 Fl. Oz. | Walmart (US)

b.tan i don’t want tan on my hands tanning mitt | Walmart (US)

Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara | Ulta Beauty | Ulta

Women Facial Razor for Hair Removal - Dermaplaning Tool Peach Fuzz Trimmer Womens Fine Hair Remov... | Amazon (US)

Fuchsia Spark | Ulta

Perfect hair Day (PhD) Dry Shampoo | Ulta

Why am I drinking an Alani at 2am?

Well, because my son introduced me to F1 last year, and now we get up in the middle of the night to watch races.

And 2am races call for cozy bathrobes. I have this one in white, and this cute floral pattern that matches my bedroom.

100% cotton, plush terry cloth and it’s lonnnnng. Chef’s kiss.

Now let’s go Max! 🏎️

#LTKstorytime #LTKTall #LTKOver40

Homeschool isn’t fringe anymore.

If you’re feeling the call, but not sure where to begin, START HERE!

I homeschooled seven kids all the way to adulthood, and the things you’ll learn in these books are vital to building total security and confidence that what you’re doing is good and right.

#LTKdayinmylife #LTKKids #LTKmomlife

15g of protein in a non-milky, vegetarian, clear and just lightly flavored drink?

Yes please!

I drink this first thing in the morning? And then again in the evening when I get a little snacky but know I don’t need to eat.

It does the trick, plus it helps my skin stay nourished and hydrated!

I use the whole line of these products, and they have been vital to managing my pre (and now) post-menopause nutrition needs.

#LTKmorningroutine #LTKselfcare #LTKOver40

Watch me take off yesterday’s make up because I’m a gross-guy who hates washing my face at night but didn’t have my go-to, non-face-washing makeup remover, because I’m traveling and forgot it.

@elfskincare nails it with this one because I have oily eyelids that necessitate some seriously staying-power mascara which usually doesn’t come off without major scrubbing.

The delicate skin around my eyes doesn’t like scrubbing, so this product saves me a lot of discomfort (and probably also helps my mature skin age a little more gracefully).

I ran out to the drugstore and grabbed some this morning so that tomorrow my husband doesn’t have to wake up to a raccoon like he did today, and I don’t have to suffer whatever they say the consequences are for sleeping with makeup on.

#LTKBeauty #LTKgrwm #LTKOver40

They released a new food pyramid last week. It’s basically the old one flipped upside down.

It’s actually a perfect metaphor for how we should always think about what government “experts” say.

I’m a 45 year old mom of seven with grandkids, and while I’ve always been a pretty health-conscious woman, I’ve definitely become more intentional as I’ve gotten older.

What we eat, how well we sleep, how we manage stress—these matter far more than any serum or cream in how we age, and more importantly how long we get with the people we love and how well our bodies work as we get older.

Aging for me is less about how I look and more about the quality of life I’m going to enjoy in the coming decades of my life.

Skincare is helpful, but that’s a subject for another post.

#LTKmorningroutine #LTKfoodie #LTKfitnessgoals

Baby to little girl bedroom transition time for my granddaughter!

This bunny-loving baby girl is ready for a big girl room. Ultra-feminine without being gaudy. Classically lovely. Just like our Katie-Lou!

#LTKmomlife #LTKBaby #LTKKids

I’ll be honest, I always wondered how it would play out for him, the youngest of seven, with all the others being girls.

I spent years watching he and his sisters play fairies and nymphs and trolls in the forest on our land, weaving flower crowns and spinning magic—barefoot and wild with leaves clinging to unbrushed hair and mulberries staining bare feet. 

He watched them too. All tangled up all in the middle of it. Everyone's baby.

And then he watched them all grow up and leave.

They stepped straight from the woods into adulthood they played at their games for so long.

But girls can do that.

I always wondered what these years would look like for him. Would he find his way, or would he feel alone? Would he make his own path, or get swept along in someone else's?

Now I know.

He’s found the way that is all his own.

He’s this incredible mix of strength and innocence that I couldn’t have scripted if I'd tried.

His days start early at the gym, then he comes home and does farm chores. This week he’s installing electric fencing. When the weather gets cold he’ll be splitting firewood and clearing water tanks. He likes to go shooting and camping on our land with his friends—sleeping under the stars the same as his dad.

I trust him completely with any task I’d trust any grown up to do. I never have to watch him.

But then I walk in and he’s completely absorbed in building a LEGO motorcycle. To be fair, it’s a pretty cool one (yes, I’ll link—your LEGO kids will love it)

It’s times like these that I see again the beauty of this uncommon life we’ve chosen. He's been called the weird homeschool kid—mocked by those he thought were friends. It hurt him for a minute but he laughs it off now.

He outgrew them is all.

In a world that pushes our kids to grow up too fast, to fit in, and to remake themselves into whatever society says they should be, he’s found the freedom to be exactly who he is.

A boy, becoming a man at his own pace, on his own terms.

He’s writing his own story.

Adventure, responsibility, hard work and unsupervised play, and yeah, some LEGO.

#LTKFamily #LTKKids #LTKBacktoSchool

Warm wood is back. Tell the others.

P.S. So is color

Our moody blue, white, and gold bedroom. It just feels so good.

An all weather down comforter that crinkles when you pull it up under your chin. Linen sheets and duvet that soften with every wash. Line-dried in the summer, and tumbled until they’re toasty in the winter.

It’s time for homes to feel like home again.

#LTKFamily #LTKHome #LTKStyleTip

-13° for too long means no water because of burst pipes and frozen wells for this farm family.

Thankfully my parents live in town and have hot running water, so I finally got a shower.

This is the Kansas equivalent of the “stranded on a desert island, what do you bring” thought experiment.

Not pictured: the hair vitamins I’ll take tonight, and the loads of moisturizer I slathered on after my shower.

From all of us in Kansas; please send your warm weather our way. We’re frozen solid here.

#LTKover40 #LTKSeasonal #LTKbeauty

This hair has seen it ALL.

Currently on my third round of Divi hair care and I’m never going back to anything else.

Length, strength, scalp health. Plus vitamins that have a whole list of extra benefits (think, mood, energy, mental health).

Hair over forty is different. But I’m pretty stoked knowing that if I decide to bleach it white or chop it off again, it’ll stay healthy.

PS. It works for men too

#LTKmens #LTKbeauty #LTKover40

Everything changes when you turn 40. Three years in, and expecting 3 grandbabies this year, I decided to get serious about my skin. About six months ago I started this regimen and the change has been miraculous. Smaller pores, fewer fine lines and wrinkles, more even skin tone, and hydration even in our bitter Kansas winter.

#LTKfindsunder100 #LTKbeauty #LTKover40

This is it. He’s our last baby. Twenty-two years of raising babies so far, and we’re down to just our “little” boy who can still be held (ish). Our twins—our next oldest—are both taller than me by a ton.

So what wisdom do I have to impart this week of thanksgiving and reflection?

Hold them. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

If your kids still want to crawl up on your lap, or into your arms, even if they’re as big as or bigger than you, then you’ve done it. If they don’t, it’s not too late. It’s never too late. Start listening to them today. Set your pride aside and realize that it’s almost never about you. They’re just people and they’re just doing the best that they can. They hurt your feelings and offend you. They might even embarrass you when they make choices that seem to reflect poorly on your parenting. They aren’t thinking of you. I promise. They’re so busy figuring out their own life that your feelings don’t even figure in at all. So don’t be offended by your kids. Just love them. And when you love them, and see them as just people who are trying to navigate hard things (just like you) then your capacity for compassion and forgiveness grows to cover a multitude of hurt feelings and wounded pride.

It goes so fast. And all that really matters in the end is the relationships that you have with them when they’re grown. We call it keeping an eternal perspective. You can call it whatever you want, but it really just comes down to building relationships that make them feel safe scooting in close to you.

We’ve been away from the farm for a couple of years, and that meant being away from my parents, our grown kids, and our holiday traditions. Yesterday we got back to normal with a trip to the tree farm, and Jack and I decided to recreate our picture from 3 years ago.

We decided we’d do this every year, and have some type of celebration when we have to switch from me holding him, to him holding me. My bet is on two more years—but it may be sooner if he keeps on at the pace he’s going. Speaking of: shop the link in my bio for great deals for growing boys.

#LTKkids #LTKfamily #LTKHoliday

Our family’s all time faves 😻

#LTKfamily #LTKHoliday #LTKGiftGuide

All the best pumpkins!

#LTKSeasonal #LTKunder100 #LTKunder50

The best suits for fast-growing boys! All the way up to size 16/18! http://liketk.it/3jTHM #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKfamily #LTKwedding #LTKkids @liketoknow.it.family

When it’s 90° inside the bus and your twelve year old wants to sit on your lap, you let your twelve year old sit on your lap. Even if your thighs stick together and a river forms in your cleavage, and the backs of your knees drip.

I’ve raised seven kids—this is my youngest. And here’s my piece of wisdom:

Most things don’t matter. Traditions matter. Hugs matter. Patience matters. Apologizing when you’re wrong matters. Letting your kids see your humanness matters. Letting them see your vulnerabilities and failures matters. Family meals matter. Putting relationships before being right, or correcting wrongs matters. Helping your children learn that God loves them matters. Actually living your principles matters.

The rest of it doesn’t matter. The rest of it is supplemental; peripheral.

They’re watching and learning from everything you do and say. They’re choosing to either model themselves after you, or to be nothing like you. If you’re lucky they’ll adopt all of the best of you, and improve on the things that you’ve never been able to get quite right.

You’re going to do so much wrong. You’re going to feel like a failure pretty often. But if you’re there, and real, and honest with them? Man… it really matters. 🖤

*shoutout to @maidennewyork for this killa hat ✌️

(Did you know you can shop all my pics by following the link in my bio?) http://liketk.it/3j6uI #liketkit @liketoknow.it

I could fill Volumes with Descriptions of Temples and Palaces, Paintings, Sculptures, Tapestry, Porcelaine -- if I could have time.

But I could not do this without neglecting my duty. The Science of Government it is my Duty to study, more than all other Studies Sciences: the Art of Legislation and Administration and Negotiation, ought to take Place, indeed to exclude in a manner all other Arts.

I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Painting and Poetry Mathematicks and Philosophy.

My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.

— John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail. Posted 12 May, 1780

I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach my children. I’m grateful for the men and women who came before me, and sacrificed their passion for the beautiful things of the world in order to secure a future that would enable me to live the life I have lived, and my children to live the lives they are living.

http://liketk.it/3iXTs #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKfamily #LTKkids @liketoknow.it.family @liketoknow.it.home

Our girls have had tools in their hands since they were little. They’ve got more demolition and renovation under their belts than a lot of men these days.

Also they love make up.

We’ve seen a lot of parents of girls really push the “you’re beautiful without makeup” thing, but that never sat right with me.

I don’t want my kids to feel like anyone would think they were less than “real women” if they happen to love makeup.

I’ve tried really hard to keep my own insecurities and quirks out of my kids’ heads. They’ll develop their own as they grow up anyway—we all do.

I think too many parents think they’re empowering their kids when what they’re actually doing is making them afraid to figure out what they like and who they are.

Sure they’re beautiful without makeup. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re also gorgeous all dolled up. The part that matters is that they’re the same people regardless of whether their faces are covered in grease or covered in foundation, concealer, and bronzer.

Sometimes they start out the day with makeup and end it with grease 😉

Day one of bus reno—check.

(Did you know that you can shop any of my pictures by clicking the link in my bio💛) http://liketk.it/3hYLj #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKbeauty #LTKfamily

It’s today! It’s today! It’s today!

I have been holding the dream of renovating a school bus and taking our family of nine on the road since we first became a family of nine.

That was a long time ago. Half of our babies are grown and gone now, and as the years passed I found other, more attainable, dreams to fill my heart with. I happily followed #schoolie and #roadschool families and found joy in their journies.

I’ve gotten to do pretty much everything I ever dreamed. I wanted to marry @doughaguejr and make a von Trapp-style life for our combined six daughters. He filled out home with music, and I filled it with hippie-magic and tea parties and read-alouds. I wanted just one more baby—maybe a little boy 💛. I wanted to travel with my big family and our little boy who became the glue that tied us all together. And so one day we got to move to Guam. And then I wanted a farm, and the universe somehow rearranged itself to give us ten acres and a 113 year old farmhouse in very rural Kansas.

My heart’s desire has been heard a lot, and so the fact that our kids were growing and moving away, and my husband’s job still couldn’t accommodate school bus renos or road-schooling, were things that I accepted.

No need to be greedy when life has treated me so, so, very well. But deeeeep down, I always held onto a picture of us bopping down the road in our homemade RV.

By happy coincidence (I don’t actually believe in coincidence) on Mother’s Day morning we found a bus for sale. It was perfect. My husband retires from the Army in a year, and we still have a few littles who are up for hitting the road.

And it’s today. And we are eating sun-warmed watermelon and yanking out bus seats. And my heart is soaring with gratitude and wonder at how I got to be so very lucky.

(You can shop this pic by clicking the link in my bio or snapping a screenshot if you’re a @liketoknow.it user 😉) #liketkit http://liketk.it/3hWZZ

Facial massage and gua sha are no joke. I don’t think most people realize how easy it is to shape and tone our own faces without any surgery or fillers!

http://liketk.it/3hUH9 #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKbeauty #LTKfit #LTKstyletip @liketoknow.it.family

Moving all of my facial massage/facial sculpting/gua sha goodies to my nightstand has made all the difference in the world in 1) my actually using it all every single night, and 2) my quality of sleep.

I’m a lazy nighttime routine person, so I can 100% of the time talk myself into not doing any of this once the kids are in bed and I’m tired. Nightstand spa has made all the difference!

All products linked 🧖‍♀️ 💤 http://liketk.it/3hUtU #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKbeauty #LTKfit #LTKstyletip @liketoknow.it.home @liketoknow.it.family

Impromptu photo shoots in fields and flowey dresses are pretty much what summers are made of ✨ http://liketk.it/3hItR #liketkit @liketoknow.it @liketoknow.it.family #LTKbeauty #LTKfamily #LTKsalealert

Everyday, super quick makeup/hair! 💋

#LTKbeauty #LTKstyletip http://liketk.it/3fIuP #liketkit @liketoknow.it v

My daughter got all of her sisters and I these mugs for Christmas and we love them. http://liketk.it/390wH #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKunder50 #LTKfamily @liketoknow.it.home

Comfy clothes that aren’t quite jammies 😉 and all 30% off! http://liketk.it/37sBq #liketkit @liketoknow.it #StayHomeWithLTK #LTKcurves #LTKsalealert

A good mix of drugstore and a some higher end products for everyday looks 💋 Amazon and Ulta http://liketk.it/378ZY #liketkit @liketoknow.it

Someday they’ll probably look back and think I was super lurky and kind of weird for all the times I filmed them or snapped pictures of them from an unseen corner or around a doorway, but I don’t really care because someday they’ll be gone—doing all the magic they learned here with us with their own families—and I’ll be really happy I captured these moments.

Here are two things that are guaranteed to happen every day in our home:

Bella will crack everyone up because she’s hilarious.

Jack will walk around wrapped up in a blanket shuffling a deck of cards and asking everyone to watch how good he is at bridging.

Also he’ll say he’s cold, but will refuse to put on anything but shorts and a T-shirt while sporting bare feet. I hear this is a preteen teenage boy thing??

I guess there are three things, because the other is that Jack and Bella will find each other somewhere in the mix of all the other bodies always moving in and out and around our home. You’ll know they’ve found each other because of the laughter.

And then if you’re me, you’ll creep around the corner to snap a memory of it.

You don’t have to tell me how lucky I am to have an almost sixteen year old daughter who loves playing with her little brother. He doesn’t know how remarkable it is that she always has time for her and she genuinely enjoys being with him. Someday he’ll know, but for now he just knows that she’s the one he can always count on to watch him shuffle his cards, to sit down and take a minute to listen to a story, or to build a super cool village with him on Minecraft.

These are my favorite parts of the day. Well, until we go upstairs and the kids take turns hosting our read-alouds in their bedrooms. They light candles and make tea and we all snuggle up while I read.

If you look close you can peep our current read-aloud obsession: The Series of Unfortunate Events. Screenshot this pic or click the link in my bio to check out Jack’s fave blanket, and the best book series we’ve ever read. But beware—it isn’t a happy story 😉

http://liketk.it/372XX #liketkit @liketoknow.it #StayHomeWithLTK #LTKfamily #LTKhome

I drink these every day. Here’s why they’re awesome:

🌱 Plant based protein with no soy or weird sweeteners

🌱 Glass storage jars with screw on lids so I can make a bunch up and keep them in the fridge. So easy for grab-n-go

🌱 Green Superfood gives me: wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa grass, spinach, spirulina, chlorella, broccoli, rose hips, pineapple, carrot, cherry, green tea, açaí berry, beet root, raspberry, ginger, maca root, flax seed, apple pectin, and peppermint

Good for my gut health and for my skin!

http://liketk.it/36SkD #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKunder50 #LTKfit #LTKfamily

Seven kids on a farm and you can bet I’ve spent a lot of time finding the best cleaning systems. This is hands down the winner.

The problem with so many “natural” cleaning products is that they suck. Seriously.

This system doesn’t suck.

http://liketk.it/36RDm #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKfamily #LTKhome

Living halfway across the country from my husband kinda sucks.

We’ve always tried to remember to make dating each other a priority—no small feat raising and unschooling seven kids and moving every few years 😜—but we’ve always managed to make it work.

These days dating takes the form of exchanging copious amounts of selfies and political memes. Hey... it is what it is.

Sometimes he gets a pic of me in my wool sweater, just in from farm work, or baking bread, or bribing our eleven year old to read a freaking book. A fresh-faced “quickie” 😉

Thankfully (swipe) I’m really good at throwing on a quick face of makeup and running a brush through this mop, so often he’ll get to see me out of my work clothes and looking more like the Portlander he fell in love with just an hour after he gets a Farm Katie pic.

(He’s always loved the fact that he got a “big city” west coaster to marry him. I haven’t told him that west coast girls love big strong men with thick southern drawls 🤫)

My camera is filling up with selfies, but our hearts are filling up with memories of this new, weird phase of our lives. Someday we’ll look back and smile. For now I’m thankful for at-home blowouts, cheater grey coverage, dry shampoo, and concealer 💋

*you can always shop my pics by downloading the @liketoknow.it app and snapping a quick screenshot or just clicking the link in my bio!

#liketkit #LTKbeauty #LTKhome #LTKfamily http://liketk.it/36PG1

The day after we moved back to the farm, we drove the hour to the nearest Target to get cleaning supplies. Of course we ended up staying for two hours, redecorating a bedroom, and eating everything in the cafe. As we left, one of my twins turned to the other and said, “Yeah... this is about what a trip to Target for cleaning supplies looks like.”

It’s true. But, if we are going to spend two hours driving, shouldn’t we like... make sure we walk down every.single.aisle? Just to be sure we are being totally efficient with our time and travel?

Here’s something I love about my kids. They work HARD on our farm. They chase animals and tend wounds and kill snakes and haul firewood and muck coops and stalls.

But they also love fashion, and they love creating art, and crafting cozy spaces to spend their downtime. And not just our girls.

A month ago, our son sold his Oculus because he felt like he was spending too much time in idle play. He had used his birthday money to purchase it, so when he sold it, his savings were replenished.

While shopping, he fell in love with some Opalhouse bedding. He picked out a comforter and some throws and would absolutely not be deterred or influenced in his choices. We added it up, and found that he would have to spend about $250 on it all. He weighed the gocart he wanted but needed to save more for against the thought of a well put together bed to climb into every night and decided that the coziness was worth the cash.

And so he bought all the things. When he got home he washed it all, and then made his bed. Then he took pictures and videos of his “new room” and sent them to all his sisters and friends. Knowing that preteen boys can sometimes be a little funny about velvety bedding and decor in general, I took him aside and explained that some of his friends might not be nice about his new bedding. Like... they might say it wasn’t manly to like stuff like that, or that some of the colors he chose were “girly.”

He shrugged and said, “Oh, yeah I know. I don’t care about that.” And he didn’t. The end.

(Link in my bio to see what was in the cart.) http://liketk.it/36mQ6 #liketkit @liketoknow.it

The Parents’ Bedroom:

Off-limits? Or open door policy?

When I was a kid, don’t remember ever going into my parents’ room. I mean, obviously I went in there if they were talking to me, or if they specifically asked me to come in there for something. But I don’t remember ever just... hanging out in there.

Our bedroom, for as long as we’ve been a family, has basically served as the hub of life. I know that I’m most families, the kitchen is the gathering place and where all of life happens, but in this house it’s definitely our bedroom.

On any given Saturday (or any day now because what even are weekends anymore??) Doug and I will sit on our bed, making plans or just chatting, and before long all the kids will have found their way from various corners of the house and settled right in the middle of us.

I don’t remember ever setting this standard. In fact there have been a lot of times when it’s really annoyed me (probably because I would never have barged into my parents room and made myself at home). But—as is so often the case in our life—if I take a step back and look at what’s happening, I realize it’s pretty perfect.

Sometimes I have my phone handy and I can grab a memory of a peaceful chat with my husband interrupted by a gaggle of teenage girls, and one little boy—totally oblivious to the idea that they don’t 💯 belong right in the middle of everything.

Our house has gotten a lot quieter in the last six months with our three oldest girls starting their own lives. I know that the next couple of years will fly by, and scenes like this will become cherished memories.

This bed is one of my favorite purchases since we moved to Fort Bragg from the farm. It’s linked on my #liketkit along with this leopard blanket (which has also become one of my favorite new buys) And bonus! It’s great for teenagers and preteen boys to hang on no matter how many times you ask them not to hang on it. Also doubles as storage for clothing hangers 😉

Shop the link in my bio http://liketk.it/2OesD @liketoknow.it #LTKMothersDay #LTKfamily @liketoknow.it.family #LTKhome

Oh, hey. If you’re new here, I’d like to apologize for the fact that my parents never taught me that our teeth aren’t meant to be used as tools, and so when I’m trying to answer questions about my lipstick in stories, I do so by impersonating a horse. I’m pretty sure Mr. Ed would give me a run for my money in the makeup tutorial department.

“Hey guys! Here are my thoughts on The Patriarchy. Oh, also watch me eat this lipstick tube.”

So listen, just don’t shoot the messenger. It’s not @buxomcosmetics fault that I don’t know how to go hands free, and overuse the word “super.” This lipstick is great. It’s actually the only kind of vibrant lipstick I wear because it never bleeds, it is brilliantly pigmented, it goes on super smooth, and it stays put without being dry or chalky. Also one tube will last five-ever.

My apologies to all horses everywhere. My impersonation is terrible. Y’all are way prettier than me. For reals.

http://liketk.it/2OdSM #liketkit @liketoknow.it @liketoknow.it.home #LTKMothersDay #LTKbeauty #LTKunder50 Shop my daily looks by following me on the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app linked in my bio ✌🏻

Co-sleeping.

We are pretty big fans of it around here. I remember when the girls were little—before we even had Jack—it seemed like most nights were a merry-go-round of little girls with cold little feet and various princess nighties rotating through our bed.

We’d lift the covers, and they’d snuggle in and get warm, or tell us about their nightmare, and after they’d fallen asleep Doug would carry them back to bed. And repeat. Like, a thousand times for the entire night.

With six little girls, there was a whole lot of snuggling and carrying and snuggling again that went on for a whole lot of years. I don’t remember when it stopped.

But isn’t that how parenting is? You do the same thing, day and night, for years. And then one day it’s over and you didn’t even notice when you’d picked them up from the last misplaced learning-to-walk step. You don’t remember when you fed them their last night, or washed their hair for them in the bath the last time.

At some point, over the last fifteen years, all the girls grew up. Jack is the last of the little cold feet, and even his aren’t so little anymore. I suspect that one of these nights are going to be the last that he crawls in with us.

I think my husband feels it too. He doesn’t carry him back to his own bed after he falls asleep anymore.

We’re pretty big on versatile bedding that washes well around here. Screenshot this pic to get shoppable product details with the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app

http://liketk.it/2O7uY #liketkit @liketoknow.it #StayHomeWithLTK #LTKMothersDay #LTKhome @liketoknow.it.home

I’ve always kind of struggled to find where I fit in. See... I have a seven kids, I grew up going to a naturopath, I use holistic remedies for my family, I love to cook and bake, I’ve unschooled my kids—some all the way up to college. I have a farm. I butcher chickens and kill snakes in the chicken coop. But I also work for a free market think tank and write about economics. I’m a lover of the Austrian school, and I spend a lot of my time reading and writing about things that are usually reserved for white haired men in black rimmed glasses. I’m a die-hard Trekkie and choose fishing for salmon in Alaska over pretty much any other activity. BUT... I love clothes. And I love makeup. I love false lashes and coloring my hair, and long almond shaped nails. I love home decor and leopard print and very high heels. I’m so glad I have six daughters who are just as into makeup and clothes and shopping as I am, because for as “crunchy” as I am on the inside I’m kind of ... not... on the outside. So I’m trying something new. Now, I get to talk about farm things and unschool things AND home and beauty and lifestyle things. I hope y’all still love me. Shop the link for my everyday makeup favorites 💛 http://liketk.it/2O3To #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKMothersDay #LTKstyletip #LTKbeauty Shop your screenshot of this pic with the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app