Hi! I’m Krissy.
My Crazy Journey to B-Inspired Mama
After earning my Master’s Degree in Art Education (with an emphasis in Children’s Literature), I taught art to 7th through 12th graders at a rural high school in Pennsylvania. I thought I was living my dream: using my creativity every day and helping kids learn about themselves and the world through art!
But life had other plans when my then-husband was offered a job he couldn’t resist four hours away. I left my teaching job and that cozy rural town where I grew up, the support system of friends and family, and my mom who was the caregiver to my new 6-month-old while I worked. And I used the opportunity to stay home with my sweet first-born, Sawyer. Soon my Priscilla was born and I was a busy stay-at-home-mom of two. But I couldn’t resist some creative pursuits in the form of kids activities, crafting, and blogging… and that’s when B-Inspired Mama was just a glimmer during nap-times and late nights after rocking babies to sleep.
A couple of years later, a separation rocked our family, and I packed up my two children and headed back to the familiar small town I had been missing so much. I thought I would jump right back into a teaching job, making my way as a single working mom with the help of my strong family support network. But the changing education system prioritizing math and science over the arts left few art teaching job openings and heavy competition in that small town. Those first couple years as a single mom were a humbling roller coaster of living with my parents when I had to, working low-paying jobs that made childcare un-affordable, moving into and then out of income-based housing, filling out seemingly endless paperwork for healthcare and food assistance, and teaching myself everything I could about turning B-Inspired Mama into a profitable business anytime I had a spare kid-free minute.
I was knee deep in all of that when I met Clifford. He accepted it all. And loved us well. We helped him choose a home in Upstate NY and moved in together as a family. Within three months, we found out we were expecting J.C. Around that time, B-Inspired Mama had started to build up a little audience and social following and was showing possibilities for profit. So, I stayed my pregnant self at home with my babies and focused on building B-Inspired Mama – between diaper changes and play dates and ultrasounds.
Now, Clifford and I are married, and J.C., Sawyer, and Priscilla are all in school. And B-Inspired Mama is my full-time job!
I sure wouldn’t have written my story that way. But I sure wouldn’t change it!
A Few Things I Love:
- Snuggling on the couch with my littles – who aren’t so little anymore.
- Sunrises that make me stop and thank the Universe.
- Collecting fun socks. They’re a cheap thing to collect, my kids get a kick out of it, and they bring me a smile when I pick them a pair out to wear each morning. *Some of my favorites are in my Amazon Influencer Shop HERE. *(p.s. I get a little kickback if you click-through, but it never increases your prices. And of course, no pressure to purchase!)
- Family Movie Nights at home.
- Amusement Parks & Indoor Water Parks with my family.
- Netflix & Hulu Binges with the hubs after the kids are in bed.
- Embarrassing my children. (I’ve earned it!)
- Reading – anything spirituality, psychology, feminism, parenting, self-help, and historical fiction. (Wanna connect on Good Reads?)
- Meaningful tattoos. I have 5 (see one here on Instagram) but would have many more if they weren’t so darn expensive!
- Making Spotify playlists (i.e. Songs for my Soul, Life, Love, Heartache, Strong Women). With lots of folk and bluegrass sprinkled in. Oh, and some P!NK and a little old school Salt N’ Peppa!
- Shopping on Amazon! How did we ever live without 2-day shipping? Check out my favorite finds (for mamas and their kids) in my Amazon Influencer Shop HERE! (p.s. I get a little kickback if you click-through, but it never increases your prices. And of course, no pressure to purchase!)
Some awesome things B-Inspired Mama has allowed us to do:
- have a Moms Night Out at a Tim McGraw concert and meet him before the show! (Yes, he really is that sexy in real life.) Check it out in this Moms Night Out post.
- attend Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Parenting Blogger Event at The White House. Check it out on Instagram HERE, HERE, and HERE.
- vacation at beach resorts, amusement parks, and indoor waterparks in the name of “work”.
- explore kitchen science and create chocolate confections alongside a nationally recognized pastry chef! See my culinary fun in this Edible Food Science post and this Chocolate Taste Taste post.
- celebrate the 150th anniversary of Breyer’s Ice Cream in NYC. Check out our delicious fun in this Ice Cream Coloring Page post.
- visit Rockefeller Center where Priscilla got to harvest cranberries in a cranberry bog! Check it out in this Orange Cranberry Muffins Recipe post.
Some of my Favorite Blog Posts:
- 10 Tips for Teaching Kids About Good Touch Bad Touch
- Why I Embrace Our Sensory Processing Disorder Label
- 7 Sanity-Saving Tips if You Think Your Child has Special Needs
- A Fun DIY Mud Pie Making Kit for Kids with a Free Printable Gift Tag
- How to Find Joy in the Laundry Baskets
- Some Monster Eyes Sensory Play that’s Fun and Not Spooky
- What Do Kids Learn in Kindergarten? + 24 Activities, Too!
- Top Gifts for Curious and Creative Kids – A B-Inspired Gift Guide
Subscribe to the Newsletter to get B-Inspired Mama fun right in your inbox! Or follow the fun on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+. And contact me anytime by email at krissy@b-inspiredmama.com.