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Monica • Motherhood (& beyond)

@_monicasays

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Unboxing life- motherhood, my 40s, & the plot twists,📍MI. 🦖Raising 2 tiny humans
Esthetician > skincare truth-teller
💌 Email | Mom Character Arc 🔗's ⬇️

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It's not even 7pm and pitch black in Michigan 😅
Daylight saving time ended and suddenly bedtime is easy - no more "but it's still light outside" negotiations. The sky does the parenting for me
.
Moms/parents - is it dark by you yet? What excuse are your kids using now to stay up? 👇

#michiganmom #daylightsavingtime #daylightsavings #momlife #bedtimeroutine parentinghacks michiganfall toddlermom by @_monicasays

Same products. Every Morning and every night. On purpose.

Hi. Your friendly 42-year-old retired Esthetician that just wants to give it to you unfiltered here 👋.

I posted my morning routine Sunday and my night routine Tuesday and I know what it looked like — nearly the same thing twice. It was. That's the point.

Nobody gets results rotating their workout every day. The simplest routines, the boring ones you actually do, are the ones that work. My skin is the same. Morning protects, night repairs, same products doing the same jobs, every single day.

Boring isn't lazy. Boring is consistent. And consistent is what actually changes your skin.

Is your routine boring too — or are you still chasing the new thing every week? 👇

#skinhealth #skincareover40 #skincareroutine #MillennialMom by @_monicasays

Halloween night 🎃🖤 A little candy, a lot of walking, spooky houses, and two little boys making memories.
Honestly, these are the nights I wish I could bottle up. 🥹
Happy Halloween! 👻
#halloween2026 #MomLife #FamilyAdventures #MichiganMom #MichiganFall by @_monicasays

Anybody else’s family calendar basically revolve around the days everyone is actually under the same roof?

Day zero. He's home for conferences/our anniversary/Halloween, he leaves tomorrow, and the stretch starts all over again.

He woke up at 2 AM to be here for the conferences and the costume parade in the gym, because the kids should know both parents are present — even when one of us has to leave.

Tonight we trick-or-treat. Tomorrow it's back to regular life: just me and the boys.

#fatherhood #motherhoodunfiltered #michiganmom #parenthood #familyovereverything by @_monicasays

Millennials, just in case you forgot how old you actually are —

Find your year. Sit with it. Then tag the friend to celebrate or cry with 🤣🫶 👇

#millennial #millennialmom #90skid #80sbaby #nostalgia by @_monicasays

Marriage is wild because how are you 600 miles away and STILL managing to get on my nerves? 😂

This morning's school drop-off featured a disagreement, my very mature decision to stop speaking for the safety of the children's ears, and a husband who took that as his cue to end the conversation.

Sir. My silence was a warning, not a dismissal. 💀

The joys of being a trucker wife (or any traveling/gone for chunks of time spouse). Apparently you don't even have to be in the same ZIP code to have a marital disagreement.

Please tell me we're not the only couple arguing across state lines/time zones. 😂

P.S. No face makeup here. Just mascara, brows, and a skincare routine that's apparently handling stress better than I am. Products are in my highlights 🫶.

#TruckerWife #wifelife #MarriageHumor #MarriedLife #MomHumor

Work-travel wives | Part-time solo parenting | Long-distance marriage | traveling spouse by @_monicasays

Can we talk about Halloween and Christianity without turning it into a spiritual cage match? 🎃✝️

Every October, the same argument starts. Christians shouldn't celebrate Halloween because it's pagan. Other Christians say it's perfectly fine. And somehow we've turned a holiday into another competition over who's doing Christianity correctly.

But here's the thing: Halloween has both pagan influences AND Christian history. Two things can be true.

All Hallows' Eve is connected to All Saints' Day on November 1 and All Souls' Day on November 2 (both days I personally observe). Together, these dates form Allhallowtide, a three-day Christian observance.

And medieval traditions like souling and guising? They're part of the complicated history that helped shape modern Halloween customs, including trick-or-treating.

Does that mean every Halloween tradition is Christian? Nope.

Does taking my three & five year olds trick-or-treating dressed as Bluey & Spiderman mean we're participating in the occult? Also nope. He's looking for candy, not summoning demons. They also LOVE passing out candy when we get home early, big joy spreaders these two 🤍

For me, faith isn't something I turn on and off depending on the date. I can love Jesus, celebrate with my children, show kindness to my neighbors, and make memories on October 31. Jesus knows what's in our hearts.

And maybe Christians have bigger fish to fry than policing each other's Halloween costumes.

Because if we're so busy arguing about who's celebrating the Christian way that we forget to treat one another with love, compassion, and grace… what exactly are we accomplishing?

Ps. This isn't to sway a viewpoint. I don't care what anyone else does personally. Just observations out loud.

So I'm curious: Do you celebrate Halloween as a Christian, skip it, or fall somewhere in between? Respectful disagreement is welcome. 🎃❤️

#ChristianHalloween #Halloween #ChristianMom #FaithAndFamily #AllHallowsEve by @_monicasays

Welcome to the night shift.

My Shelf Audit as a 42 year old retired Esthetician who's gone through it (teen skin, hormonal skin, fertility TX skin, postpartum skin, and now perimenopausal skin)- Evening edit.

First up, @prequelskin Retinal 0.2%. This is management.
Retinaldehyde is my heavy hitter for fine lines, texture, and skin turnover. Plus, the formula has ectoin for hydration support. She's not going anywhere.

Next, @officialmedik8 Liquid Peptides. Fine line support. Different department, still earning her paycheck.

Then @innbeautyproject Extreme Cream. My full-time moisturizer. Ceramides for barrier support, squalane to soften and help prevent moisture loss.

Because if my skin barrier goes on strike, nobody's getting any work done.

Now, the rotating staff.

Prequel Half & Half? Lightweight ADJUSTABLE hydration. When I need it, how I need it.

@medicube PDRN Capsule Cream? I bring it in when my skin needs a sealant-like finish.

My Versed exfoliator? Part-time. Physical exfoliation, 2-3/WK or whenever I remember.

*We still have that one employee on vacation to see if their work was holding up it's end of the bargain.. receipts, and verdict, coming soon.

And wrinkle patches? Independent contractors. Temporary smoothing, not a miracle worker.

A good skincare routine isn't about how many products you can pile on your face.

It's about knowing what each one actually brings to the table.

So here's my question.

Could you explain what every product on YOUR shelf is doing there?

Or have you got a few employees collecting a paycheck for absolutely no reason?

.
#over40women #over40 #skinhealth #skincareroutine #antiaging by @_monicasays

Bedtime with my kids is an Olympic game. Two hours, nine glasses of water, seventeen questions, somebody suddenly needs a snack, and apparently now the raccoos are invited..

And by the time they're finally asleep, I'm DND.

But here's the thing — I love that it's this much. Not in the moment always, because, duh.. but during that first long sit down on the couch after everything and all the sudden miss them again 😂. Because one day they're just gonna go to bed. No questions. No extra hugs. Nobody calling me back into the room for absolutely no reason.

And I already know I'm gonna miss the hell out of this.

So yeah, bedtime is exhausting. But I wouldn't trade this ridiculous little circus for anything.

#millennialmom #motherhoodunfiltered #michiganmom #momlifebelike by @_monicasays

And sometimes all it takes is one woman casually talking about her Tuesday for another woman to realize she's not the only person whose brain/day/life works that way.. or maybe they're both weird, and hey, that's awesome. We are here for it.

Not everything we share has to be impressive, educational, or particularly interesting.

Sometimes the whole point is making somebody feel understood. It is "social" media, after all.

So yes, post your boring little life. Including the feelings nobody asked for. Especially those. 🤍

#momblogger #MillennialMom #contentcreator #reallifemoments #relatablereels by @_monicasays

EVERY PRODUCT ON YOUR SHELF NEEDS A JOB

My Shelf Audit as a 42 year old retired Esthetician who's gone through it (teen skin, hormonal skin, fertility TX skin, postpartum skin, and now perimenopausal skin)-
Vitamin C + tranexamic for my pigment, peptides for the lines, ceramides + squalane + glycerin to seal it all in. That's the whole routine — intentionally— no passengers.

@innbeautyproject Pro C Serum & Extreme Cream
@prequelskin Half & Half
@officialmedik8 Liquid peptides

All 🔗 in my highlights for your convenience 💕🪄

Which product on your shelf isn't earning its spot?

#antiagingskincare #womenover40 #skincaretips #millennialmom #skinhealth by @_monicasays

A little fresh air, fall colors, and an afternoon adventure with my favorite little walking buddies. 🍂🤎

Today we explored the Wadhams to Avoca Trail in St. Clair County, Michigan!

This beautiful 12+ mile trail follows an old railroad route through wooded areas and countryside. It's perfect for walking, biking, taking in the fall colors, or just getting the kids outside to burn off some of that never-ending energy. 😂

One of the coolest features is the historic Mill Creek Trestle, a 640-foot bridge overlooking the valley.

Sometimes the best afternoons are the ones where you just get outside and wander a little.

📍 Wadhams to Avoca Trail | St. Clair County, MI

#MichiganMom #stclaircountymichigan #Michigan #fallvibes #FamilyAdventures by @_monicasays