We’re hoping to spend 99 percent of our time outside, hiking with Chase and Sadie (wish us luck because we bought a new hiking backpack to try) and playing in the pool and lake near our townhouse rental. I’ll be sure to share a recap of our first vacation away as a family of four (Sadie always counts!) on Monday.
Until then, I wanted to stop by to share my weekly Things I’m Loving Friday blog post with you guys and, as always, encourage you to participate in the fun by sharing a little bit about what is making you smile in the comments section of this post!
Have a great weekend!
Things I’m Loving Friday
A recap of Alyssa and Brittany’s visit last weekend never made it on the blog earlier this week, but it was so nice to have friends in town when Ryan and I were in serious need of a good distraction last weekend. Alyssa and Brittany arrived in town on Friday night and we filled the weekend with time on the lake and lots of yummy food and drinks (Brittany made a s’mores dip that was amazing and her strawberry frosé was the perfect summertime beverage). I’m grateful for the internet for bringing these two wonderful women into my life and we had a blast getting to know their guys better, too! We’re already talking about planning another visit soon! Thanks for making the drive to Charlotte, Brittany and Alyssa!
There’s something special about nut butter you discover at a local farmer’s market and I can absolutely see why Brittany and Alyssa fell in love with Reginald’s Nut Butter at their local Richmond farmer’s market. It’s made with delicious roasted Virginia peanuts, a dash of oil and, depending on the unique flavor, a small handful of other natural ingredients. Brittany and Alyssa brought me their two favorite flavors – Nana Honey Peanut Butter and Wedding Pretzel Crunch – and I can absolutely see why Reginald’s is a staple in their houses. I’ve mostly just been eating it straight out of the jar (still my favorite way to enjoy peanut butter), but it was also amazing drizzled on top of a hot bowl of oats for breakfast yesterday. Yum!
Is it just me or are people completely brow obsessed these days? What is it with eyebrows right now!? Truthfully, I’ve never really given my brows much thought and apparently it shows because I had someone send me a message on Snapchat recommending that I fill in my brows a bit since they are so light. It’s something that’s been on my radar for a while now but eyebrow pencils scare me and after a bad experience with a makeup artist years ago, I was super weary of overly bold eyebrows.
As fate would have it, I ended up stumbling upon an eyebrow station at Ulta a few weeks ago and took some time to experiment with a few different products. I ended up walking away Benefit’s Ka-Brow! Cream Gel Eyebrow Color. The brush allows for buildable color which is perfect for me since I can lightly layer it on until my brows start to appear more defined (and not too crazy-bold!) and fill in some of the splotchy parts of my brows. It has awesome reviews on Ulta.com and I’ve been very happy with this random find!
Last month, when I got my hair done, at the end of my appointment, my hairstylist rubbed a bit of Moroccan oil on the ends of my hair. Now that I’ve started coloring my hair, I cannot help but ask a million questions about hair care since I know coloring can damage the hair and I want to keep my hair as healthy as possible. When I asked about the benefits of Moroccan oil, my hair stylist explained that it’s great for conditioning the hair, decreasing breakage and adding shine without residue.
Years ago, during a Fitness Magazine event, I received a sample of Moroccan oil and used it for a little while before I completely forgot about it. Thankfully, my latest experience at the hair salon reminded me of my old bottle and I found it in the back of a drawer in my bathroom. I’ve been applying it to my hair (avoiding the roots) before bed and love the way my hair soaks it up overnight so it doesn’t look greasy in the morning. Anything to keep my hair healthy!
- The Honest Company Overnight Diapers
I’m sure you guys know by now that I am a big fan of The Honest Company’s diapers. I’ve been subscribing to their diaper bundles for months (<—a great way to save money if you’re also a fan of their diapers!) and recently added a pack of overnight diapers to my order. They are wonderful!! Even when Chase wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night, I try not to change him (unless, on the off chance, there is a number two in there…) and the overnight diapers definitely seem to hold more in and keep Chase dryer for longer. Plus, the sleepy sheep print is too darn cute! The overnight diapers are now a bedtime staple in our house!
- Constructive Feedback and Some Final Thoughts
This week I received some similar comments from a handful of blog readers who were frustrated with the vague way I approached sharing our stress surrounding Chase’s blood work on the blog. I have thought a lot about these comments and I completely understand where they are coming from and wanted to address these concerns here this morning.
One blog reader left the following comment on Wednesday’s blog post:
“I hope you will elaborate on the story more soon, as I feel your vagueness is allowing readers to form their own opinions that this isn’t that serious. I don’t think that was your intent, but that is the way it is coming off. This seemed like more of a scare and pale in comparison to what other parents may be going through. Again, because of the vagueness. My advice as a reader is full transparency or none at all.”
Truthfully, I think her comment sums up the way a handful of you may feel right now and so I wanted to share my response to her constructive feedback with you below. I am always, always learning and know that I make a billion mistakes as a blogger but I appreciate those of you who left constructive feedback and want you to know I take it to heart.
My response:
“Thank you for your feedback. I can understand where you are coming from and apologize if my vagueness is upsetting to you and others. As a blogger, I sometimes struggle with what to share and what not to share in such a public space. At the time I initially shared what we were going through, I had no idea what the end results from Chase’s blood work would be. I hoped and prayed and believed they would be good, but I didn’t know. And I was scared.
As I briefly mentioned before, the follow up blood work we had done was not directly related to Chase’s small size but something more serious that truly frightened me and my family. When a mother hears the words ‘bone disease’ mentioned by her child’s doctor it is hard not to worry, cry and feel helpless. I didn’t feel comfortable not mentioning my worries on the blog and pretending like things were happy and fine when the past week has been filled with a lot of stress and uncertainty while we waited for results from his follow up blood work.
I realize that receiving good news now may make this whole ordeal seem small, but when I shared what we were going through, I didn’t know what the results were going to be and I was scared and unsure how to handle everything. We are feeling optimistic, but still have some follow up testing in our future. I am believing all will be okay.
In retrospect, maybe I should’ve kept this off the blog altogether. It was a struggle for me because not mentioning something that directly impacts the biggest thing in my life – my son – felt fake, inauthentic and disingenuous. I didn’t know how to handle it and maybe I didn’t handle it well, but I hope you can understand where I’m coming from and that it was not at ALL my intent to make others feel bad or bring about comparisons to other family’s health concerns. I think you’re right about full transparency or none at all in the future. It’s something I spoke at length with Ryan about yesterday and I know that in the future, I will likely keep things like this to myself. Thank you for reading and for your feedback. I truly appreciate it.”
I am sharing my response with you today because while I think sharing highs and lows on this blog is important, I know that some things truly are better off discussed outside of such a public space. I now know my son’s health is one of these things.
Your comments are not dissuading me from being authentic in this space but there are certain things that affect me and my family that I am learning should not be shared so openly. I apologize to those who were upset by the way I handled everything and, more importantly, I apologize to those facing health scares within their families who were upset by my posts. I truly, truly wish only the very best for all of you.
- Friday Flashbacks
10 Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes (A roundup of 10 of my favorite breakfast recipes that can easily be prepped ahead of time.)
Total Body Pyramid Workout (Begin by completing 20 reps of the five exercises listed in the 20 reps section before moving onto 40 reps of the four exercises in the 40 reps section and 60 reps of the final three exercises in the 60 reps section. Then go back down the pyramid and complete the 60, 40 and 20 rep sections in reverse order.)
- Around the Web
Food: Spinach Banana Muffins // Healthy Mexican Shrimp Salad // Watermelon Rosemary Popsicles
Fitness: 12 Minute Tabata Workout // Do What Made You Happy As A Kid // Yoga Flow for Digestive Health and Relaxation
Question of the Day
- What is one thing you are loving this week?
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Personally, I think you handled your post regarding your worry for Chase just fine, and shouldn’t feel that you even needed to apologize or respond to that comment or others about how you handled it. You’re sharing your life with us, and you can do that however you want. <3
What I'm loving this week is planning for my wedding that is a little over 3 months away! We are having a very short engagement, but luckily things are coming together well thanks to some great friends and my fiancé and a great venue!
Julie, you are so wonderful. Share what you feel comfortable. I read every day when with my morning coffee. I think your ‘realness’ is so refreshing.
Julie, I have never commented before. Keep being you. Write what you want to write. I can’t believe people comment on every little thing. If they don’t like what you write, they can unsubscribe!!!! We love you, we love your family, we want to support you.
I’m unsure if you’ll see this, but thought I’d share in the event that you do.
As someone who faces a lot of vagueness in my family, I can understand both sides of the fence. One side with being transparent, and the other with not saying anything at all. It’s hard to be completely on one side or the other, because you don’t want to necessarily share everything, but as you said, you don’t want to be on the other side and come off as fake.
I’ve found in my life so far, that there’s a delicate space in the middle that often works best. We’re all human, and life has its ups and downs. Maybe if you did a short post to say that you have some things going on and will need to take a day, week, etc. off from blogging, then we know you’re alive but that you need some time to do you. We’ll understand, I promise.
When it comes to our babies, we’re very protective, and don’t let anyone say that this wasn’t a big deal after all because the results came back okay. That’s like saying someone who went through a life threatening disease and ends up being okay. The fact that the person is okay now doesn’t take away from the journey they took to get there, it just means there was a good result. When I thought our daughter had a VSD, and ended up being okay at birth, I was so relieved and thankful, but it didn’t erase the worry and the feelings I had beforehand.
Prayers and thoughts for you, Ryan, Chase, and Sadie always.
I bet it can be tough to decide what to share in your public space — but at the end of the day — it’s totally your choice, lady. And so happy you had good news from his result. Oh and I cannot LIVE without brow filler, so it’s a game changer. Enjoy the change! 🙂 Have fun on your trip!!
I completely disagree that it should be full transparency or none at all. I think you handled the situation PERFECTLY! You let us know of a scary situation that allowed us to pray for exactly what you needed–good results of the blood test. When it comes to your family, especially your son I believe you don’t have to go in extreme detail. It’s your blog and your space to write what you feel most comfortable sharing. This isn’t a “right” way. You did a fantastic job and I was just so happy I could pray for you guys!
I personally appreciated your vulnerability in sharing your story. You had every right to use your space how you feel fit and if sharing your concerns was helpful or therapeutic in any for you, than by all means do so. I’m happy that everyone could pass along encouraging words to you and your family during a difficult time.
The most important thing is that Chase is okay! You have to handle your blog and your family as you feel best.
Nowhere near as serious, I want that nut butter! It sounds great!
Just adding my two cents… This is your blog, your space. You can share whatever you want and however you want. I think it’s wrong that readers think they can dictate and criticize what you share. This has been a part of your life for years and why shouldn’t you be able to share the lows… Vague or not. Thank you for being authentic and real. Please don’t change ??
Keep doing you Julie. Do whatever feels right in your heart and for your family. After all, this is your space, no one elses’. We are all just lucky enough to follow along.
Hi Julie – I am a longtime reader, but infrequent commenter. I also wanted to say thank you for sharing what you did. I completely understood why you were vague about the details at the time, because you didn’t know the answers either. I appreciate that you let us in to know what was going on, because that allowed so many of your readers to send good karma or prayers your way. I fully believe in the power of prayer, and I’m glad I could send a few good thoughts your way during your time of waiting.
Something I am loving this week is that my bathroom remodel is coming to an end today! I have never been so excited to take a shower in my own house!! 🙂
Have a lovely weekend, and thanks for sharing your space with us!
Deanna
I feel like you handled things very well, Julie. I feel like the vagueness was enough that we knew it was important and scary to you, but it also kept you guys feeling private, which was needed. YOu didn’t have to share it all but I will say that the one day without a post from you made me think something was up (Sad it was!) and it was nice to know what was going on. We do feel like we are apart of your life from reading, and this was a huge part. I can only imagine how scary it was! I remember hearing something could be wrong with my daughter’s hips and the time waiting for an x-ray appt and then waiting for results was the slowest and longest time ever. At the time, that was huge to me and may have been small in comparison to someone else, but that’s not your life. I am glad things are looking good for Chase! Have a great weekend.
I am a long time blog reader, and I surprised myself at how genuinely worried and afraid I was for you and your family earlier this week! I’ve never met you, but I really feel like I know you and in many ways consider you a “friend” because of how open and genuine you are on your blog.
There is NO need to apologize for anything… this is YOUR blog and a documentation of YOUR life! I think the way you handled expressing your fears about Chase was absolutely perfect and was exactly what you needed to do for yourself. I have literally been coming to you site daily (even three times a day back when you posted more often!!!) for, like, 7 years now (just realizing how creepy that sounds..) and have gotten several friends and family members hooked on PBF as well! I wish you had more blogging confidence and could block out the negativity more, you are so successful at what you do! It makes me so sad to hear you think you make a “billion” blogging mistakes….that is SO not the case! I keep thinking of all the sponsored posts you’ve written since I first started following you, all the magazine’s I’ve seen you featured in, all the times one of your workouts or recipes randomly appear on my Pinterest feed, etc, etc, etc! You’re definitely doing something right! Keep it up!!
Sending lots of love!
I can see where people are coming from when they say that you shouldn’t have shared, because of course other families are going through more serious struggles. But someone else’s struggle does not diminish your worry or make you feel any better. As an anxious person, I can completely understand want to share, wanting positive thoughts, wanting reassurance, etc. That’s what a lot of us use the Internet for and I think that’s fine.
I saw absolutely nothing wrong with what you posted. Something so personal, as medical conditions, does not need to be so transparent. Supportive readers read it and wished you all the best. I did not feel the need to know the details. I was just happy to hear that your son was ok. <3
I agree with much of what’s already been said. But truthfully, this is YOUR space and you should never apologize for what you choose to write about. I appreciate your candidness and never saw anything wrong with what you posted.
You sharing your situation in no way diminished someone else going through a health scare/crisis. Anyone who criticized you for the way in which you addressed it on your blog is being unreasonable and judgemental. It is your blog after all and your space to share your thoughts, feelings, etc, As a long time reader and mother, I truly appreciated your candidness and was very concerned about your family’s well being. I am so happy that you received positive results, your readers should be nothing less than thrilled for you. I certainly hope that a few judgemental folks do not influence how genuine and open you are on your blog. I truly enjoy reading all about your family and wish you all nothing but the best. Anyone whose reaction to your posts this week were in any way negative need to check themselves!
I completely agree with this! As a long time reader but someone who very rarely comments, I felt the need to say something. Rachael’s comments totally echo the thoughts that I had reading this post. As a mother to a little boy just a month old than Chase, it is so refreshing to see your candidness about your experience with motherhood. It is something I truly appreciate whenever I read your blog. Your family was in my thoughts over the weekend and I am so happy to hear that the results were positive. Please don’t let the opinions of a few judgmental people impact your blogging style as I am sure there are thousands more who truly appreciated how you gracefully you handled the situation. Enjoy your weekend getaway with your family!
Thank you for taking the time to address your readers. I am curious if you are going to address the concerns regarding Chases small size. My son was 17 pounds at 4 months, 17 pounds at 1 years old is alarming. Perhaps sharing the concerns will also allow readers experiencing the same thing, opportunity to provide you with insight/knowledge. Doctors arent always right, sometimes learning from other mamas is important as well.
I thought you post was completely acceptable! Please don’t let the rude thoughts of others diminish what your heart leads you to post. Not for one second did I feel that you made light of a difficult situation once you had the relief of good news. Keep on keeping on!!
Julie, I think you handled things just fine. Sometimes it is hard to blog about happy things and you feel ingenuous if you don’t share the bad or sad things, but I completely understand not wanting to share everything. I definitely struggle with this a lot too because I want to be honest, but I don’t want to overshare on personal matters. Love your blog and so happy everything turned out well for you and your family. I hope you have a wonderful vacation!
I, like many, have been a longtime reader but not always comment. I truly think you handled posting, updating, and prioritizing your family perfectly. I never felt that YOUR concerns over YOUR family and waiting for news (which lets face it, is the worst to wait for those darn tests to come back!) ever discredited concerns that others may have in their lives about health or otherwise.
It’s easy to get caught up in how each of our concerns and situations may rank against others in severity though that only invites comparison when the focus should always be on wishing well and sharing the power of pray for all involved, whatever their concern may be. I, like many, share the respect for you and other bloggers for the vulnerability you face when you share bits and pieces of your lives.
Overall, I just wanted to share my thoughts that I feel you handled yourself with grace and respect and truly am thrilled that you received good news this week! Have a wonderful weekend!!
As a long time reader, who rarely comments, I wanted to take the time to thank you for your honestly and authenticity today and regarding Chase’s health.
I can imagine how difficult it is navigating what to share and what not to share all while being judged by the general public. There will never be an answer that pleases all your readers that’s for sure!
But from where i’m sitting i think you have done a great job at being authentic without oversharing and have been nothing but graceful with the way you’ve handled all of this.
Props to you, I know it can’t be easy!
I don’t think I’ve ever commented before. I just wanted to say that I love your blog, mainly because I have a baby girl who will be one next weekend, so I love reading about the life of a baby so close in age to her. I love that you shared what was going on with your little guy. It must have been very scary, but he looks so happy and healthy. You must be doing a wonderful job! It’s crazy to think about how wrapped we are around their little baby fingers. I hope everything continues to be happy and healthy over there.
First of all, I had no idea that you got any negative comments. Not to say that their feeling was not entirely valid, as it is, but a lot of us did welcome and value your openness and authentic sharing, as well.
Though I’m 100% with you. I have a very hard time deciding what to share versus what not to share on my blog. Over the 5+ years I’ve been in this online space that I love so much, I’ve changed a lot on what I’m willing to share.
For example, when I had first gotten engaged, I shared EVERYTHING in our wedding planning process… from the DJ we selected to venue visits. But across the year of our engagement, I limited my sharing quite a bit, because some of those moments of planning were special because of the meaning they had between my now husband and I. But some of my readers were absolutely not happy to see that limit of sharing taking place.
And planning my wedding was nowhere close to the importance of the health of a child. I can’t imagine what that experience must have been like.
No matter our decisions, we won’t make everybody happy. But the blog needs to ebb and flow with us throughout life. Make the decisions that are right for you and your family and we, being loyal readers, will understand. We’re here for you no matter what.
Have a great vacation in WV!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
I cant believe people gave you a hard time about the way you shared your son’s health scare. What is wrong with people? Obviously it’s a sensitive and personal issue and you can share however you like! Unbelievable. So glad he is okay.
I appreciated the way you approached the entire subject. I’ve followed your blog for a while and I love your cheery outlook, but I truly appreciated that you felt the need to mention your feelings of not being yourself and being very worried about something. It felt authentic and like you wanted to share where you were coming from, but not all the details, which is understandable. Social media and the internet make us feel like everything should be perfect, and that is so exhausting. My honest thoughts were, “Oh, she’s not vague very much, so hopefully this will work out alright.”
Also, I’m going through a hard time personally right now and I think it helps everyone to remember that we never know what worries or struggles others are facing, but we can recognize that we all go through something at some point. I would prefer that honesty instead of being lead to think everyone else’s lives are all popsicles and beach days.
Thanks for sharing the conversation with us. Remember, internet comments are the worst form of humanity (hi, I’m commenting right now, I know), and know we truly wish all the best for you and your adorable family as well.
Hi Julie! Long time reader, infrequent commenter here. I think, overall, it’s totally up to you as to what you do or don’t share. However, my perspective as a mom is that it’s unfair to our kiddos to post publicly about issues so personal to specifically them/their health. Internet archives will probably be around for a good while. I imagine that some bloggers’ children will be in for a rude surprise someday when they realize how much of their personal information is available online. I’m a little extreme and don’t even like my girls’ photos to be shared online, but there’s probably a happy medium to be found with this type of thing. I’m glad to hear that the results didn’t reveal a scary diagnosis.
While I definitely respect that commenter’s thoughts on the matter, and they handled themselves well while doing so, I believe you handled it beautifully and the best way you knew how!
Hindsight is 20/20, and as cliche as that sentence it, it’s true. Authenticity is so incredibly important in the social space, and you’re figuring it out as you go along! I respect you and your family’s decision – and you need to do the best for Chase and your entire family.
As someone who has struggled with major health scares over the past year and a half, I know what it’s like to both want to share yet not share at all what’s happening. Ultimately, you need to do what you feel is best, even if it may ruffle some feathers.
Nothing great was ever done without ruffling a few. 🙂
For what that ramble is worth, I think you’ve done a great job at sharing the crappy days with the great ones, keep it up!
I like that you share things on the blog – both good and bad. It’s real life. And it makes you relatable. As a new mother to a 3 month old, I’m always looking to your blog for tips and tricks. I can’t even imagine going through what your family was and still are experiencing. The unknown is a scary place to be irregardless of the outcome!
I had a very traumatizing labor and delivery which lasted 31 hours. Someone asked me how I was doing and I shared that I was having a hard time because of it. Their response? “Well so and so was in labor for 36 hours and so and so was in labor for 42 hours…so you should be fine.” I wasn’t aware it was a contest. And I should be allowed to feel the way I do without comparing myself to other people. I think you should feel the same.
I guess the point of my story is thank you for sharing your life with us.
Julie,
I thought it was very brave of you to be so open with your readers and share your raw emotional reaction to hearing about your son’s health scare. I am a pharmacist and often get to see patients right after they’ve heard news from their doctors about their own health issues or those of a family member. Hearing uncertain test results, waiting for answers and having no control is scary for everyone and anyone who cannot empathize with your reaction likely hasn’t experienced something similar themselves.
I think the great majority of your readers really do appreciate how open you’ve been with facing real life issues over the years. It is what keeps me coming back to this blog every day. It is so easy to make things look perfect with filtered pictures and cherry picked favorite moments, but your honesty and openness is what makes your blog so unique. I think many of us “feel like we know you” personally even though we have never met and it’s because you do share so many intimate details about your life. I think many of us consider this a privilege and understand that you do not “owe” us as readers anything. I hope you continue to feel comfortable sharing details with us because it is so nice to hear about someone you don’t know feeling the same things. There have been countless times where I’ve forwarded one of your posts to friends who are new moms struggling to put their baby to sleep or couples who are moving in together for the first time… or even the stresses in planning a wedding. I hope the opinions of a few disheartened people have not changed that for the rest of us who truly appreciate it!
I actually felt the opposite of your sharing last week. I wish the best for your family and appreciate all aspects in peoples life not just the instagram photos. Thanks for being real! This is your space to share what you wish and I am just happy to read along! Glad Chase is safe that cute little man.
Xoxo
Hey Julie- feels weird to comment b/c I’ve read your blog for years but never stepped into the conversation. Just want to echo all the comments on here that you can create your own boundaries and we are readers will respect them. I agree that what makes your blog special and readable is the blend of fitness, real life, entertaining, beauty, and fun that you bring to your space here. Thank you for your candor and consistency through the years! I don’t think you made a mistake last week and vagueness is your right. Wherever you draw the line in the future, know that I (and I’m pretty sure the majority of people) were so glad you let us in to the hard time your family was going through so we can pray, empathize, and relate. Life is messy and beautiful, and we all know it. Wishing you a great weekend away with your fam where you can hopefully come back refreshed and rejuvenated from your difficult week !
Same exact boat here! Been a reader for many years and one of my first time commenting. I understand that many readers have differing views (especially in this day where constant digital oversharing is the norm), but please know that the vast majority of us read your blog because we adore you, your perspective, and love hearing about your life (ups, downs, and in-betweens). I think your response was amazing and shows just how much you value your readers, but I do wish that some of the readers would realize this is your blog, your career, your life, and we are lucky to be able to walk with you through it all. How you respond to things and how you write about them is not for us to judge. I hope you know that there are those of us who enjoy being with you everyday for the simple fact that you are an incredible person whose passion for life is contagious.
I totally agree with these ladies! Julie, this is your blog and your life; you are welcome to let us in (or out) at you and your family’s own discretion. Please don’t let anybody make you feel like your last blog was a mistake in anyway. I can imagine that, in some ways, the blog was an outlet for you at such a difficult time, and I appreciate your honesty so much. I, in no way, took your results blog as being something that was no big deal. It was clear that you were just trying to reach out to your readers to let us know that everything was a-okay, and that you just wanted to get back to your healthy baby boy!
So glad to hear that that cutie, Chase, is well!
I already commented yesterday after I saw that post but just had to add…..EYEBROWS?! Really? Worry about your own damn brows and leave everyone else’s alone! People are crazy.
Have an incredible time in WV!
Julie–First, let me say I am 62 years old so my life experiences are different that yours and, perhaps, most of your readers. However, this is YOUR blog and YOUR life you choose to share with readers. YOU decide what is “bloggable” and what is not. I do not think it is right or fair for anyone to criticize your choices. LOVE your blog and so happy you news was good! Chase is adorbs.
BEST
PS So is Sadie
Oh I’m so glad I’m not the only, ummm, older and “differently experienced” reader here lol I agree with you 100%.
I’m a longtime reader who rarely comments, but I just wanted to say that even if your scare had been more “trivial” I hate this idea that we can’t share what’s on our minds and hearts because someone else might be going through something worse. What I appreciate about the online community is that it’s a place for support and a place where you can share things that may not be talked about elsewhere. Further, I don’t feel like you owe readers all the details or need to justify your decisions. I enjoy your upbeat personality and writing style but you’re a human with life stressors just like everybody else, and I hope you continue to feel like you can share!
I would have to agree with others – that I prefer getting a head’s up (even if its vague) over feeling left out or having big news glossed over. Please continue to share as YOU see fit. This little corner of the internet is yours and we come back everyday to support you and your family. Love and prayers for all of you!
Hi Julie,
It hurts my heart that you feel you can’t be totally open with what you share on your blog. I’ll echo what many other commenters have said and mention that it’s YOUR blog and you can choose to post what you want. You will never in a million years be able to please everyone – so listen to your heart and do what feels right.
I appreciate you letting us into your lives during the good and the scary parts. Your blog has been one of my favorites for many years because of that reason. Life is crazy, happy, tragic, beautiful, and messy and I love and appreciate that you let us see all of those parts. Chase is absolutely precious and I love seeing pictures of Sadie – have a great weekend!
This is YOUR blog. You can be as vague or as open as YOU want to be. I think it’s disgusting that people would make you feel badly for sharing too little or too much! Why do they get to decide what the appropriate amount of sharing is??? You should continue to do YOU and share what you feel comfortable with sharing regardless of other people’s insensitive, ridiculous opinions.
Hi Julie, I am also a long time reader and very rare commenter. I wanted to say that as a mother ANYthing that makes you worried about your child’s health is scary and serious. Yes there are different levels of seriousness, but the idea that someone might perceive what you are scared of for your child is trivial or pales in comparison to what they are going through is hard for me to imagine. Regardless, it is your blog, and we come here to read what you choose to write and there is no reason in my mind we as readers have any right to demand all or nothing from you. I would hate the idea that you thought you couldn’t share something as serious and important as worry about your sons health on the blog if you wanted just because you don’t want to tell thousands of strangers every detail.
I hop on your blog real quick at work and don’t read the comments, but after reading your post today, I immediately knew I wanted to comment. I sifted through a bunch of comments first and I’m happy to see everyone else is feeling the same way. I think it’s terrible someone would criticize the way you shared something so personal on your own blog. A blog is basically a personal diary, and it’s fun that we get to peek at your life. I’ve never commented, but it just really bothers me that you felt you owed anyone an explanation or apology. You be you and thanks for letting us get to hang out in your space.
It’s sad that there are people out there that like to criticize you for how YOU run YOUR blog. You have every right to be as vague or full of detail as you want. If they don’t like it then they don’t have to read it. In my opinion, I’m glad you shared your struggle because it shows that not everything is always perfect and bloggers struggle too. I’m also glad you shared because it grew your support community. I sent several prayers your way and I don’t think I was the only one sending them your way. You do what you want, girl. It’s your blog and if you lose one reader because of it, you’ll definitely gain 5 more in their place. 🙂
Julie,
Love your blog just as you have always done it. You share enough to let us into what’s going on in your life so we have a connection, yet keep some things private. Which is exactly as it should be. It’s your blog and you choose what to share and what not to. And as a reader we should all respect that. Anyone criticizing you for not sharing every aspect is either nosy or insensitive and likely doesn’t need to know that information anyways. I appreciate you being sincere with us and saying how things are stressful or you’re anxious, you don’t need to expand beyond that. We want to know so we can keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers if something is going on. But again, we don’t have to know every sordid detail unless you choose to share. This is your space to share what you choose to. Keep doing you. We love you just as you are!
I am also a long time reader and don’t think I have ever commented, but that fact that others made a scary time in your life about how they feel is so disheartening. I am a new mom and have enjoyed all your posts about your pregnancy and motherhood. When you wrote about your concerns I could only think about how brave you were and how much I hoped everything would be okay, but of it wasn’t your readers would rally for you and your family. Keep up the great work and I am so sorry people made you feel less than in any way. You do you!
I write everything with complete transparency on my blog. I’ve talked about how sometimes (even after my son is here) that I think having a baby could have been a mistake. I don’t sugarcoat it. BUT, I totally understand why you would. There can be parts of your life that you want to touch on and not give every detail. With something as scary as ANYTHING being wrong with your child, it’s fine to want to share some of it but not all of it. I didn’t think your vagueness glossed over anything and I would hope any parent would understand where you were coming from. It doesn’t matter if it pales in comparison to other parents. It doesn’t matter if another mom found out their child has cancers the day you found out your labs came back normal. You can still be terrified of receiving bad news and you can be grateful and SO happy that your child is okay. You’re right- a false lab result does pale in comparison to some other things. That doesn’t mean you can’t discuss that in your own way, however you feel is right. The wait to find out what the results are isn’t easy.
I’ve been reading your blog since the beginning (first comment!) but I just had to let you know that I adore coming back and reading about your family. You are always so open and honest, which makes you totally relatable. Don’t let one comment get you down whatsoever. Always do what’s best for you and your family, because at the end of the day that is truly all that matters. Hugs!
Hey Julie, I also want to echo what everyone is saying, we read your blog because we enjoy what you post and how much or how little you wish to share is completely up to you and should not be dictated by other people. None of us readers have “the right” to know what is or isn’t going on in your life but rather, we appreciate what you DO wish to share no matter how much or how little. I absolutely don’t think you were wrong to be vague last week. On the contrary, I feel like you approached it the right way and reached out for support and prayers. If anyone has a problem with you not sharing enough or too much, then they certainly shouldn’t be reading your blog. Have fun on your vacation and know that your blog is awesome =)
julie,
you’ve created this blog community for yourself and should be able to expect certain rights and privileges as the creator of said community. we are here because of you and for you. there are a handful of people on here who will demand things of you that are unreasonable and you are 100% free to ignore them. you will never “owe” us anything. everything you give us is yours to give or to keep as you see fit. your post about uncertainty regarding your son’s health is not only a way for you to bring some of the bad with the good, but a way for you to reach out to your community for support. those who lean back and offer that support are the people you wrote the post for. anyone selfish enough to put their feelings over yours in this situation is not worth your time. honestly. you may worry about how your blog projects or doing the right thing, but the deal is: this is your forum, your own personal bulletin board, you get to say and do whatever you want, and your fans will be by your side, experiencing all of it with you with open arms.
we are all in love with chase and squee with delight every time you share a part of his life with us. i felt very honored that you would share such a huge scary moment with us as well. leaving yourself vulnerable to the internet like that is a huge leap of faith. i’m very glad and proud to be part of a community with such an overwhelmingly supportive and positive attitude. please don’t worry about catering to the negative nancys lurking. everyone is entitled to their feelings and opinion… including you! you can’t possibly be expected to cater to every single reader’s sensitivities and no one should expect you to! if chase HAD been sick, it would have been much easier to take us with you on that journey because you warned us something was going on. that nothing was going on is a huge relief to all of us and we all wish that all of the families out there dealing with a health crisis have the same outcome. if not, we wish them a big community of support to help them through.
xox,
laura
Hi Julie, I’ve been a blog reader for years and I have never left a comment before. My heart hurts a little that people can be so cold. I think you are doing a great job on this blog, and Chase obviously thinks you are an amazing mother! As a mother reading the blog this week tugged at my heart, you all were in my thoughts. Enjoy your time with your family this week!
Hey Julie,
I just really felt compelled to say:
1. Thank you for allowing us “behind the curtain” & into your life. My husband & I were praying for you, Ryan, Sadie, & Chase so much this week and were so happy to hear the news was good! Praise God!
2. Ditto to everyone. Whatever you decide to share or not to share is, frankly, up to you. I feel so badly for anyone going through any health scares, especially when they involve a child, but it is not up to someone else how “trivial” the things you are going through are. Shame on anyone who chooses to tell you that your worries aren’t important.
3. I adore reading your blog, and have been daily for just over two years. It’s been so fun to follow your life adventures with you, so on behalf of your readers (I feel like I can speak for all of us because others have been saying this too) thank you for being so open, genuine, and just being yourself. Naturally we will all respect that some parts of your life will be private, that’s obviously important and 100% up to you how much you choose to share.
Ramble over. Basically, keep being yourself & thanks for the awesome blog! 🙂
You share whatever the heck you want to on your blog. I understand the need to cater to your core reader or even the majority of your readers – but you don’t have to. Even if you did it is clear there are way more of us supporting whatever you choose to share vs. the people that will criticize your content. Especially on such a sensitive and scary topic I’m quite surprised to see that behavior.
You have so many supporters in your circle, Julie! Feel free to share as much or as little as you please.
That peanut butter looks SO GOOD.