My plans, my outlook, my mood.

I was able to appreciate some really sweet things from some really sweet people.

There are many. I have been the lucky recipient of so many kind notes, inspirational screen shots, kisses–

but here are just a few of the sweet things that touched me this week:

I have a good, old-fashioned pen pal. My pen pal went on a trip to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago and sent me photos of beignets, to which I responded, “I want those now!” And this week, they were delivered to me. Now that is sweet.

Do you remember when my husband woke me up at 3 o’clock in the morning to give me a new pair of shoes? Well, this week, he brought home another “Just Because” present. When our pipe burst in May, leaving our basement completely flooded, I lost nearly all of my shoes. Thankfully, not the aforementioned 3am pair, but 2 entire suitcases of shoes (they were being stored in our always dry basement while we were rearranging the bedrooms after the birth of my son). We are not in a position for me to just go on a shoe shopping spree, but my husband walked in the door this week with a huge box and an even bigger smile. “I want you to start rebuilding your collection,” he said. Just because. Sweet as can be.

On Wednesday I visited the synagogue where I grew up and experienced many special moments, most of which are too personal to share. BUT, I will say that for anyone with whom I went to Hebrew School, our quilt is still hanging up in the school building! I took a picture of my square, and saw the squares of so many of my old friends (who are my still friends) and it was a sweet thing to see.

The story above says it all. Someone took the time out of her night to make sure that I was shown some sweetness, both literally and figuratively, by leaving a package at my door. The awesomeness of this community never ceases to amaze me.

This week, my husband built a castle for our kids.

We have been finishing our basement (through this oddest series of events, this dream ended up happening!!

Perhaps I willed it into reality?)

which means that our house is filled with things in strange places. I am currently referring to my sunroom as “The Furniture Store”, as it is housing two completely separate rooms worth of furniture. Two couches. Three chairs. Two ottomans. Many lamps. It also has half of our childrens’ toys, the other half being stored in half of our third floor playroom, which is now being converted into a guest room.

And boxes. So many boxes. Huge boxes, for things like pedestal sinks and toilets and tv stands.

Is there anything sweeter than watching your kids play together in their own, magical, cardboard castle?

Yes. Yes, there is;

It’s watching your husband and children act out a play called “Ariel in her Undersea Castle”.

And really, when you have friends, and family members and kids and memories like mine,

there’s not much more to do than to savor their sweetness. And this week, I am so blessed that I can.

The post Sweet things. appeared first on Mommy Ever After.

but we have got some more work accomplished on this remodeling project and I want to make sure you know just where to look:

Along the right side of the page, just below the ads, you can now find two new features:

The first has been the subject of many questions and I am thrilled to tell you that you can now subscribe to Mommy, Ever After, so that if you sign up, you will receive an email every time a new post has been added. And, in even more fabulous news, the geniuses at Brand Revive set it up so that if you were a former subscriber on the old site, you are automatically subscribed to MommyEverAfter.com.

The second addition is a link to all of my current social media pages.

Here you can access my

Facebook Page:

Twitter:

and Instagram:

Now you can stay connected with Mommy, Ever After so that you will know the very moment that I tweet @brettdennen or spill a kale smoothie.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this portion of our tour.

More to come…

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I will say that some additional features are being added this week, so I will update you when they are available (including the ability to be a subscriber again and get emails sent directly to you whenever a post is published and also a feed that shows you my recent Instagram @mommyeverafter).

But that’s like saying, “We are replacing the backspplash in the kitchen.”

The main house is ready to be toured.

So let me just remind you (or show you) what Mommy, Ever After used to look like:

And now, thanks to the incredible team at Brand Revive, it now looks this:

I love the new site; How it is so simple but holds so much.

But, I want to make sure that you know how much there actually is to access. We have many different pages, from our top bar of professional pages to the “Story” sections that each are filled with categories. So here, let me show you. But first, let me preface this by saying that the tour I am giving to you is for the full desktop version of the site. If you have yet to check it out, I implore you to, as it is where Brand Revive’s work really shines. I am so fortunate that they were able to build awesome sites for your mobile devices, as well, but there is nothing like seeing the whole thing on your big computer screen. Trust me.

Okay, so the first thing I want to show you is how to access all of the parts of all of the stories. “A Happy Story” is everything that I had previously written on the old WordPress site leading up until February of 2013. It deals with my courtship and relationship with my husband, being pregnant, the birth of my daughter, adjusting to life as a new parent, the enchantment and the craziness. If you hover over “A Happy Story” you will see this:

 The next is “A Hard Story”. This section deals with my toughest points from 2013 and 2014. It is the story of my Postpartum Depression and all of the things associated with that dark time. There are no categories under “A Hard Story” because although there are many posts under that section, it is all just one, hard story.

The last story, which is my favorite, for obvious reasons is “A Hopeful Story”. It chronicles my journey out of the darkness to where I am today. In this section I write about my family, friends and, most importantly, finding myself.

Above the story section, you can find some other important information that I do not want you to miss.

Under “About Me” you will find my bio, from my personal life to my academic credentials.

Under “Partnerships and Purpose” you can see my mission statement,  as well as specific ways that people and businesses can partner with Mommy, Ever After. My post about Rodan + Fields on Monday was what I call “A Sponsored Post”, and they also have ads on my site (I will get to that later). What I aim to make very clear in this page is that I truly will only partner with good people and companies. I would never compromise the integrity of my site nor the happiness of my readers.

The “Press” page is pretty straightforward; it highlights the places where Mommy, Ever After has been featured, from TV to print to online articles and collaborations.

Finally, there is our contact page, which has proven very helpful (for example, this is where I have been asked to please bring back the option to subscribe to the site.)

Speaking of Contact,

Let me introduce my professional team:

From top to bottom:

My business Manager is Erin Carlson

My Public Relations Manager is Kimberly Ettinger

My Literary Agent is Renee C. Fountain.

Finally, if you are looking from your desktop, down the side of the site are (big!) ads for companies in which I really believe (if you are looking from a phone, these ads will appear if you scroll down to the very bottom.) It is here that I feature a dynamic skincare company, an innovative beauty tool, a fabulous shoe store, an incredible acupuncturist for women, an inventive kick-starter-turned-business accessory and a beautiful family photographer. Click on any of these links to take you to their own personal sites.

I am (we are) fortunate enough that I have some really incredible partners lined up for the future; people whom I believe can truly change your life.

And there you have it. The visual tour of my new baby, which has given me incredible happiness and pride. We all know that it is what is inside all of these categories and pages that is important, but at least now you know your way.

So take off your coat and shoes, make yourself comfortable, and stay awhile.

I love having you here.

The post Your Grand Tour. appeared first on Mommy Ever After.

Well, it may not be our thwarted big family trip to St. John, but I’m cozy, under a blanket, listening to my main man’s music,

working on THE NEW WEBSITE

and OMG do I have a story for you as my big premiere.

I literally could not make this stuff up.

Stay warm and stay tuned.

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Patience, my dear ones. For I am off to a happy place, where I will be celebrating my 8th Engagemaversary in that very same spot.

…is what I had written, yesterday,

prepared to publish today,

as I would now be off to St. John, via St. Thomas, with my entire family; Parents, siblings, kids…

It’s funny. Just last week, Jordan said, “The way to virtually guarantee that a child will get sick is to schedule something that you really want to do.”

And it has been no secret that we have been sickie little chickies in my house for the past month.

But weeks of sick days and doctor visits all kind of came to a head yesterday when I crashed, unexpectedly, at 3pm, woke up two hours later in excruciating ear pain. I have been suffering from TMJ on my right side, but this pain was on my left. And I couldn’t hear out of my ear. Weird.

So, I shook the sleep out of my head and rallied to give the baby his nighttime bottle, give my daughter her kiss goodnight, and I told my husband that something wasn’t right. All of the local urgent care facilities were closed and all my doctor besties were stuck without otoscopes (I just wanted to see if I was crazy), so we found a Care Stat location a little ways away and I got checked out.

I told the doctor about my TMJ. “First let me look at your right ear, or your ‘good ear’,” she said.

“Yup, this ear is infected.”

Then she moved onto my left.

And all she said was, “Whoa.”

That’s never what you want to hear from a doctor.

So I have a double ear infection, but on my left side it is pretty severe, and I am prohibited from flying for a week. Which means that we had to cancel our trip to our happy place.

It’s ok. I was most disappointed for my daughter and parents, but we have made alternate arrangements so that my kids will be taken away on a fun family trip, just the four of us, that involves driving, and no change in elevation that will perforate my eardrum.

I walked out of the urgent care office, into the Krispie Kreme two doors down, and ate a hot glazed doughnut right off of the conveyer belt. Because, really, what else was there to do?

So, I will continue where I had left off yesterday before this all went down (when I thought I would be leaving you for St. John):

Please don’t think I would leave you hanging. Oh no.

Because we have some big changes on the not so distant horizon; my home for the past 4.5 years,

www.mommyeverafter.wordpress.com,

just got quite the makeover. We are moving on up people.

Very soon, this blog will be located at…

www.mommyeverafter.com

You can visit the site to countdown to our big launch on December 22. There will be ads! There will be new categories! There will be a feathers! This is forrealz.

And I realize that my audience here is mixed; some of you have been here from the beginning, while others are newer to the land of mom. So I am leaving you with some old favorites. And the fun thing is, they lead you to other old posts. You have almost 900 of ‘em to wade through as I wade through the ocean. (Editor’s note: I don’t even have to say it. Frowny face.)

Let me take this opportunity to say thank you.

This past year (and I am getting choked up) has been the hardest in my life; I am so grateful for the support I have received from YOU. You have empowered me to tell me story and motivated me to help others. Thank you. I would not be here without you.

So here you go. I’ll be popping in here and there over the next week, but to tide you over:

Something motivational

Something sweet

Something musical

Something nostalgic

Something comprehensive

Some Important Insight

The craziest call to the pediatrican ever. (Really, ever.)

The second craziest call to the pediatrican,, ever. And it’s a close second.

Something Happy.

Something Hard.

Something Hopeful.

See you on the flip side at www.mommyeverafter.com,

the home of everything ever after.

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