Plot Twist: Chaos Started the Blog
Here’s the truth: I didn’t plan to write this today.
Actually, I planned to write something completely different, something polished, thoughtful, maybe even a little vulnerable-but-not-too-vulnerable.
But it’s now 9pm, the night before my usual blog drop, and this week has felt like the universe looked at my carefully crafted to-do list and said:
“Lol, that’s cute. Here’s a sick child who will cough for twelve hours straight and sleep…never.”
And then for dramatic effect, it added: “Oh and remember last week when your other kid was sick? And you had the ick? Let’s just keep that cycle going.”
So instead of the blog I thought I’d post, here’s the one that actually reflects my life right now: the chaos behind the scenes and the true story of how Messy but Managed even started in the first place.
The Week That Went Off the Rails
Tuesday was supposed to be my Messy but Managed day. A full day because my normal office was closed. I had no work, no appointments, no meetings, just me and my ideas.
I woke up excited. Motivated. Ready to create.
The universe said, “Adorable. Watch this.” Cue the child cough that lasted literally ALL. NIGHT. LONG. My ears hurt. My brain was soup. We were all exhausted, cranky, and feral.
The plan was gone.
Chaos: 1
Me: 0
Messy but Managed: Laughing in the corner.
And if we’re being honest, half of Messy but Managed has been built on cold coffee, questionable snacks, and pure adrenaline. Not exactly the aesthetic setup you’d see on Pinterest.
How Messy but Managed Actually Started
(A.K.A. The Origin Story I Didn’t Know I Was Writing)
If you’ve been here for all eight weeks (yes…Messy but Managed is only eight weeks old), you might think this was some long-term passion project I slowly and beautifully crafted.
Let me tell you something. Absolutely not.
It started because I was talking to a friend about activities for our daughters, and I said we had done almost every single one because I’m the mom who says yes to everything and then wonders why she’s overwhelmed.
She said:
“You should start a blog.”
I don’t think she meant this blog. Pretty sure she was suggesting something lighthearted, like “fun activities for kids.”
But what she didn’t know is that for years...YEARS.. I’ve had half-written notes in my phone.
Groggy, middle-of-the-night thoughts. Paragraphs I never finished. Ideas I didn’t think were worth anything.
Because my body hates sleep. Because my brain cycles at midnight. Because anxiety is the roommate who never moves out. And because for a long time, I didn’t think anyone cared what I had to say.
But something about that moment sparked a tiny shred of confidence I didn’t know I had left.
A tiny “what if?”
What if I blended my messy parenting with my social work brain? What if one mom read something and whispered, “Oh my god, me too”?
As someone whose instinct is always to support others, that’s all it took. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t study social media strategy. I didn’t create a business plan.
I started Messy but Managed in one day.
One chaotic, weird, intuitive day.
And it has been the most fulfilling, terrifying, exhilarating thing I’ve ever done.
My Life Is…A Lot (In Case You Missed That Part)
I work 40 hours a week at my regular job. I work a super part-time second job that I took because I needed to prove something to myself and because I genuinely love it.
And then there’s Messy but Managed, or the "mom job" as my family calls it. My third job. My passion job.My “I cannot explain it but doing this feels right” job.
I have two daughters (7 and 3). They are my heart and my inspiration and my constant reminder that motherhood is both magic and madness. When I’m not working, I’m with them. So Messy but Managed gets the hours no one sees: late nights, stolen nap times, the mental scraps between tasks.
And let’s be clear: I’ve written more blogs at 11pm in sweatpants with Paw Patrol echoing in the background than in any peaceful, aesthetic setting you might imagine.
And somehow, even though I’m exhausted…I want to be good at all of it.
Not perfect. Not aesthetic. Just good. Just enough.
Behind the Scenes: How My Blogs Actually Get Written
Let me pull the curtain back for a sec.
Here’s what you think happens:
I sit at a desk with soft lighting, sipping tea, typing thoughtfully like a serene writer-mom influencing her dreams into the universe.
Here’s what actually happens:
I write half my ideas in the middle of the night because insomnia and anxiety love a 3 a.m. collab.
I text my much-younger brother (my unofficial editor) every time I’m about to post.
He tells me “just be real,” so here we are.
I launch things impulsively because if I wait too long, I’ll lose the spark.
My oldest helps me package workbooks and proudly says, “My mom has a business helping moms,” which makes me want to cry every single time.
And through all of it, the messy, tired, unplanned parts, I feel something I haven’t felt in a long time:
Purpose.
Why I Keep Showing Up (Even on Weeks Like This)
Because motherhood is lonely. Because I know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and still feel like you’re not doing enough. Because every DM, comment, share, or “I thought of you today” feels like permission to keep going.
Because I want my girls to see that you can build something real in the cracks of your life, even if it’s messy, even if it’s late, even if you’re figuring it out as you go.
Because helping people is in my DNA. And blending parenting with my therapist heart just feels…right.
And I’m not sharing all this to ramble. I’m sharing it because I know your life doesn’t pause either. I know you’re juggling a lot too. And I want you to know you’re not alone in doing things imperfectly.
If You Have an Idea…Run Toward It
Before I wrap this, let me say this, because someone out there needs to hear it as badly as I needed someone to say it to me:
If you have an idea tugging at you…
If you have a spark that won’t leave you alone…
If you have something you want to create, big or tiny, please, please lean into it.
Do it messy. Do it tired. Do it unprepared. Do it without a plan or a degree or a strategy or the “right time.” Do it because something inside you whispered, try.
I will be right here cheering you on. Truly.
Messy but Managed was born in a moment of chaos, courage, and “why the hell not?”
And look at what happened:
It became a community. A space. A little corner of the internet where moms feel seen.
So if you’re waiting for permission, take this as it.
Go make the thing.
What I Hope You Take From This
If anything, I hope this blog gives you permission to chase the things that light you up, even when the timing is terrible, the laundry is endless, and the kids are sick…again.
This is messy.
It’s beautiful.
It’s manageable.
And it’s ours.