Lollipops & Laptops

The Sticky Life of a Working Mom

Category: Live (Page 1 of 4)

Day in the Life of a Working Mom

Day in the Life of a Working Mom - Lollipops & Laptops

I get a lot of questions about my daily routine when people hear that I have a full-time day job plus two businesses and two little kids. Sometimes they’re genuinely interested in how I manage it all, and sometimes it comes from a place of judgmental disbelief, but since I get asked so much about “how I do it all,” I figured I’d share a day in the life of my work week.

Read More

Toddler Sleep Woes and Practical Solutions

Toddler Sleep Woes and Practical Solutions - Lollipops & Laptops

I’ll start with a disclaimer that I’m not a pediatrician or a nurse or a sleep specialist. I’m just an exhausted mom with a strong-willed kid who spent the better part of 2 years trying to kill us while protesting sleep in every way possible.

It all started with what I like to call the perfect storm: a move to a new house, a new, big-girl bed, and a new baby brother. In an effort to save a little money, we decided to move our daughter to a big girl bed to reuse the crib for our son who was due within 2 months of our move. What followed were two hellish years of trial and error, exhaustion, tantrums, and minimal sleep for everyone involved. If you could obtain a PhD in late-night desperate Google research, I would have achieved it. Now that we’ve come out alive on the other side, we’ve picked up a few lessons worth sharing.

Read More

The 5 Best Investment Pieces in my Closet

The 5 Best Investment Pieces in my Closet - Lollipops & Laptops

I’ve never been one to go full throttle on the latest trends. If I had to describe my style, I’d call it California Prep–casual and classic. I could live in jeans and a t-shirt if I didn’t work in a corporate setting. Over the years, I’ve worked out a few of my favorite brands and I tend to stick to them. They’re usually mid-range brands that can be found a Nordstrom or local boutiques. And while the quality is decent enough, I have found that in many cases, either the fit doesn’t stay relevant or the piece starts to fall apart after high use. In comes the investment pieces.

From the perfect coat to the ultimate statement bag, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the cost of true “investment pieces” for your wardrobe. For some, it might never be an option. Some people think they are worth saving up for. For a lucky few, they aren’t investments at all. But for me, there are five pieces in my closet that I have invested in over time and have been worth every penny, based on longevity of style and quality. Read on for what they are, how much I paid for them, why they’re great, and a decent budget-friendly option if it’s just out of the question for you but you want to hone that California Prep style.

Read More

Life Hack: Daily Digest Emails

Life Hack: Daily Digest Emails - Lollipops & Laptops

Life is busy. And there is major information overload these days through social media. Sometimes the information is so overwhelming, people prefer to tune it out completely. But it’s good to get information in tolerable doses, and that’s not just the news. As much as I’d love to read a full newspaper each day, research in trade magazines, and catch up on that stack of fashion magazines I subscribe to but can’t seem to find time to open, the reality is, I just don’t have the time. Luckily, a great trend in daily digest emails has made it easy for me to get the information I need and want without scouring the Internet to find it. I have found a digest for all different genres to round out my daily knowledge.

Read More

Books On My Nightstand

Books on My Nightstand - Lollipops & Laptops

As an adult, I have loved reading. I read from many different genres, but I’ve been devouring business books in recent years. I’m definitely the kind of person who buys multiple books each month and watches the pile grow by my bed despite having very little time to read lately. I previously talked about my personal challenge to finish a book each week for a month, but since then my reading has been slow going. Recently, I made some extra time to read (truth be told, all I had to do was stop browsing Instagram before bed) and love being back in the saddle. I just finished When Breath Becomes Air. I’m so late to the game on this one but it was totally worth getting around to. Read on for a rundown of the queue currently on my nightstand.

Read More

Good Vibes from Around the Web: January

Good Vibes from Around the Web: January - Lollipops and Laptops

This month felt simultaneously like it flew by and was the longest month ever. Maybe it was coming off the holidays and extra days off of work in December, but I’m finally finding my groove in the new year. Read on for some useful information and good vibes from every corner of the web.

Read More

Monthly Challenge Recap: Donating with Purpose

Monthly Challenge Recap: Giving with Purpose - Lollipops & Laptops

I’ve talked about how important it is for me to give of my time, but it’s also important for our family that we give money to causes that are important to us. As the year quickly comes to a close, we took a look at what we’ve donated this year and wanted to execute on donating some more earmarked money before the new year. Accordingly, I decided that each week I’d focus on a different cause that was important, research which organizations were best for the cause, and donate. Unfortunately, October brought quite a few disasters that made looking for causes all too easy. Read on for the breakdown of where we focused our money.

Read More

How to Help Friends in Difficult Times

How to Help Friends in Difficult Times - Lollipops & Laptops

One of the realities of life is that bad things happen. With any luck, we can avoid these scenarios as much as possible. However, someone in your life will certainly experience unfortunate events, and it’s in these difficult times where we can shine the most as friends.

Read More

Monthly Challenge Recap: Workout Challenge

Monthly Challenge Recap: Workout - Lollipops & Laptops

I had been feeling a little defeated lately about having no energy and being out of shape. I’ve been thinking about it for months. So naturally, I waited until the very end of summer to decide I was going to challenge myself to follow a workout plan. I even planned to do it in August and then pushed it back thinking positive parenting was an easier challenge to stick to than this–and that is saying a lot!

I wanted this to be a story about how I successfully implemented just a few key exercises and made this lifestyle change for the better. It seemed so simple. But I failed. I totally, utterly failed at this challenge. And I honestly thought about either skipping this blog post or bullshitting my way through it, but in my pursuit of authenticity, here is my story of failure.

Read More

Good Vibes from Around the Web: September

Good Vibes from Around the Web: September - Lollipops & Laptops

This month I spent a lot of time digging into where I am in my career, where I want to be, and how my dual role as mother and career woman affects that path. Accordingly, a lot of these articles that spoke to me have to do with work or career and how it shapes all aspects of my life. Let’s just say this month’s good vibes from around the web is one in pursuit of work-life balance.

Read More

Page 1 of 4

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén