Hi! I’m Paula, welcome to Beauty Through Imperfection!
This is a place for parents to come and be encouraged through the joys and difficulties of parenting. Sometimes, it’s easy to give other parents grace while holding ourselves to a really high standard of perfection. My goal in running this blog is for moms (and dads) to find a way to be gracious and loving with their own beautifully imperfect parenting and click away with a smile on their face ready to face the next giggle, mess or challenge that their family might throw at them!
On this blog you will find real life stories, advice and a whole lot of me not having the answers but being right there with you. I don’t believe in a one size fits all for parenting, but I do believe a lot can be accomplished with love and a little bit less stress.
I started this blog in February of 2011. My son was 3 months old, and it was a perfect outlet for me as a stay at home mom. The blog has grown a lot over the past 6 years and is now much more than just an “outlet” for me and has truly become a community of moms all growing together!
I know it’s always fun to see the life behind the blog, so here is a little glimpse into my life.
Last year, my husband quit his job so that he could help out at home more so that I could focus on fulfilling my dreams of being a professional writer. He’s a better cook than I could ever dream of being, and we’ve loved the transition into having both parents home, while I work-from-home.
We live in Houston, Texas where we enjoy the hot weather and tex-mex food this region of the States is known for!
A bit more about me…
I’m a huge introvert so if we’re together one on one I’ll talk your ear off, but more than three people in a group and I’ll clam up faster than you can say “how was your day?”.
I’ve got a tattoo (planning another), hair that’s sometimes neon-colors, and a pretty big obsession with Harry Potter. Sometimes I write about depression and overcoming PTSD from my not-so-lovely childhood because I think it’s important that we break the stigmas around mental issues and challenges so people can get the help they need.
About my family:
My husband is the kindest man I’ve ever met. We’ve been married since we were 18. Getting married so young has definitely thrown us some challenges, but we’ve learned that there are very few things that can’t be solved with a good corny joke and a better cup of coffee.
About a year into our marriage we found out I was pregnant with our rambunctious little boy. He’s now our big six-year old. He loves Chess and LEGO and we’re basically raising him to be a huge nerd.
He is helping me write a book right now, and enjoying playing around on his youtube channel, reviewing books and doing LEGO/toy reviews.
Little sister is wrapping up her last year of preschool and getting ready to join her brother at elementary school next year. We’re still settling in to having two KIDS and no more babies, but our family feels complete so we are excited to see what the next years have to offer. Sister brings spunk, drama and truckloads of personality to our family. She helps a bit on the youtube channel too, but you’ll probably see more of her on Instagram where I share snapshots of her (somewhat questionable) fashion choices.
Life is fun and we are all about embracing the chaos instead of running from it.
So, why the name Beauty Through Imperfection?
I have struggled with insecurity a lot in my life because I felt like I needed to be perfect. There is nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself, and to fix your shortcomings, but when you are constantly feeling bad because you aren’t perfect, well, that’s just not healthy. As a new mom, I would get discouraged because I always looked around and saw people that seemed perfect, blogs I would read, people I would meet, every one was acting like they had it all together, and it made me feel inadequate. My hubby would constantly encourage me that there’s no such thing as a perfect mom, and that I was doing great because I love my kids and I take care of them, but I still felt unsure. Sometime in the past couple of years I just stopped worrying about it. I realized that we are all imperfect but that’s where the beauty can be found, as we grow and learn together.
I wrote the book When Baby Becomes Big Sibling to help families thrive through the transitions that come when adding a new baby to your family.
Confessions of an Imperfect Mother is another book I’ve written. This is a compilation of some of the most popular and encouraging words from this site.
