Midwest Mimi

  • Lessons from Wonderland: What Alice Still Teaches Me About Life, Parenting, and Growing Up

    Lessons from Wonderland: What Alice Still Teaches Me About Life, Parenting, and Growing Up

    During a fall evening photo shoot turned Wonderland adventure, I realized how much Alice still has to teach us. Through curiosity, slowing down, difference, imagination, and growth, I found reflections of motherhood, healing, and becoming — lessons tucked inside the golden light of an ordinary day.

  • 🌿 Life Is About Experiencing Moments

    🌿 Life Is About Experiencing Moments

    There was a time I thought life was measured in milestones like graduations, promotions, birthdays, and the next big thing on the calendar. Then one day I woke up sick and never got well. Chronic illness has a way of stripping life down to its bones. It slows everything until you can’t help but notice…

  • When I Became Her Mother

    In that first moment of motherhood, something in me shifted. Every scar I carried started to look like a map I didn’t want her to follow. As she grew, I saw pieces of myself in her, and glimpses of who she might become, all at once. Motherhood slowly, sometimes painfully, made me relearn softness. She…

  • Story Stones: A Simple Nature Craft That Sparks Creativity in Kids

    Let me paint you a picture: it’s 10:32 a.m. on a rainy Tuesday, and I’ve already heard the words “I’m bored” four times. Before lunch. (Send help.) Enter: Story Stones. Smooth little rocks decorated with tiny pictures that turn into the ultimate boredom-busting, imagination-sparking, sibling-distraction tool. They’re cheap, easy to make, and surprisingly magical. In…

  • Supporting Your Child’s Creativity Means Letting Them Dress Themselves

    When Raeleigh was little, I thought I was the one choosing her clothes. Picking out tops and bottoms that matched, adding bows, and making sure everything looked “put together.” But even then, she had opinions. She’d reach for patterns that clashed in my eyes but sparkled in hers. She wanted the necklace, the sunglasses, AND…

  • My Toddler Wears a Backpack Leash—and Why That’s Okay ❤️

    A few days ago, we took a quick trip to the mall. It was my wife, Thy, our daughter Raeleigh, Royce, and me. We all walked into the mall, each of us on our own two feet. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but for us, it was practically a parade. Royce doesn’t normally walk…