Life.. InLivingChaos

Let me tell you a little story:

Once upon a time, there lived a young couple.. blinded by a thing called love, they had their first kid at 21 and 24. They had no money, bought a home at the peak of the market, and struggled just to make ends meet. They had baby number two somewhere in the midst of this, because, life, and before you knew it, they were in crisis mode.

The mother was a creative person with an entrepreneurial spirit, so when life dealt them lemons, she added as much sugar as she needed to sell lemonade to help supplement their income. The economy was crashing. The husband's job was cutting back on hours and pay, and the prospects looked bleak. Instead of worrying about the impending doom, the mother created whatever she could- pillowcase dresses, hair bows, whatever people wanted and sold them on her website- 4BabyAndMom. She made dresses and skirts for mothers, home made scrubs, tonics and beauty products, and she made dresses for kids. She made basic blankets, but hated doing that.. so she stuck with what was selling well. She did great with it and helped keep a roof over their head. Then the government launched the CPSIA act, and basically took away the ability to be an at home crafter and sell your stuff online without having it lead tested- especially if it was geared towards kids. The mother felt defeated. She turned her frown upside down, and decided to put an ad out to watch a few kids. She'd been a nanny before she was a mom, and kids loved her, so why not? She took on the care of two more children and had a blast doing it.

The economy began to crumble at a faster rate than before. One of the children she was watching cut back to only 2 days a week. The second, not a month later had an opportunity to move out of state and keep their jobs, or lose their job.. so they moved. Finances were getting tight. There was no wriggle room. The couple knew disaster was on the brink.

The mother had decided to keep a journal of life's events.. and one Friday, one of her mom friends asked her if she'd ever considered starting a blog. With no other options in front of her, she launched 4BabyAndMom- a blog that shared all of the gnarly things motherhood threw at her, with no pc bull, just real life. She worked with PR companies all over the globe to help promote brands she believed in, and used regularly. She never took on something or recommended something she didn't believe in 150%. That was one thing her readers loved.

The blog provided many christmas's and many birthdays for her children. Advertising helps supplement income, provide grace in their finances, and even allowed her to breathe occasionally. The couple went through trauma and turmoil- they lost a foster baby they were supposed to be adopting, the husband lost his job, their minivan was repossessed, and their house fell into foreclosure.. but you wanna know something? The family stayed together. They fought the valleys, and trudged through the mud, and they made it. They had hope. They had each other.

Since then, they moved two more times, went through more devastations (the loss of their parents), and are actively working at rebuilding their life. While speaking to a friend, very recently, they asked her why she stopped. She had no real answer, except the blog became too much. Too much PC, too much work, too many reminders of life before it crashed and burned.. just too much. After a lot of praying and thinking, she decided (one more time) to try to give it a go.

4BabyAndMom became "LifeInLivingChaos" a few years ago, but growth and consistency didn't happen. It just wasn't the right time. A year and a half ago, the mom went back to work. She took a job working in preschool.. something she did before having kids, but it was after 15 years as a stay at home mom. The last year and a half has been a growing experience beyond belief. The mother went back to school to further her education. Her kids are much bigger than they were when she started her blog initially- her oldest is in 10th grade, her middle kid is in 7th, and the little guy is in 1st. It's been quite the journey.

This year, life is changing again. We're looking at buying a house, (possibly building one) and I'm looking at going back for my bachelors degree. I've seen the rise of the internet, the crash of the internet marketplace, and the rebuilding of the American Dream via internet marketing. I'm excited and eager to share what I've learned, what I'm going through as a parent of a teen, a tween and a kid, and I'm nervous to start blogging again- but hopeful that someone some where will find insight in my words of wisdom.

I shared with one of my friends the other day, all the baby books prepare you for explosive diapers, rashes, colic, teething, walking, and all the stuff babies do-- but the area of parenting I've felt like I've needed the most help is NOW. So, I give you my heart on my sleeve, and a dose of my life-- crazy, chaotic, and non-stop. Welcome, officially, to Life In Living Chaos!

-Lauren