Kara – taking KARA myself

Get the Pictures

Dustin and I have been together for 12 years, this December 21. We’ve seen some amazing times. Lots of great dates, plenty of fun vacations, a wedding, a baby and so much more. It took us being together for 10 years before we had professional photos taken.

Yep – you heard me right…we got married and didn’t even have professional photos. We had other things on our mind – like saving for a Hawaiian honeymoon. (TOTALLY worth it!)

September 2020 | Family Photos at the Silos in Prosper, TX

However, since our first photo shoot last September, we’ve also done a mommy+me shoot, another family shoot and then a just me photoshoot.

Be the Village Other Moms Need

Hey there mommas! Grab some popcorn, I have a good one for you, and it all started this past June 17. As I write these initial thoughts, it’s 11 at night. Here’s my tale of my son surviving a dog bite and how I now aspire to be the village other moms need.

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Finding Alone Time Away From Kids

When my husband and I first had our son in 2016, our closest family lived about 1,000 miles away. So, finding the time to get away was very few and far between. We had to get creative in finding alone time away from kids. Now that our son is almost five, it’s a tad easier to figure things out since there’s not a specific feeding schedule or the need for diapers.

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An Extended Hospital Stay as a Surrogate + How You Can Support Someone in the Hospital

If you would’ve told me at the beginning of 2020 when my husband and I signed up for our second round of surrogacy that I would finish out the last month of pregnancy in Connecticut with my son at my parents in Oklahoma while my husband stayed in Texas, I would’ve been very confused!

Let me start from the beginning. My husband and I had our son, Mark, in August 2016. He was born at 40 weeks 1 day and was 7 pounds 15 ounces. In 2018 we decided that, while we did not want to expand our family, we did want to help another family start a family by being a surrogate. We had our first surrogacy baby in September 2019. He was born at 37 weeks 5 days and was 8 pounds 11 ounces.

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5 Misconceptions About Surrogacy

Benjamin with his parents and I in the operating room after having an emergency c-section on September 10, 2019.

Surrogacy is a much more common now that celebrities like Kim Kardashian/Kanye West, Dwayne Wade/Gabrielle Union, Nicole Kidman and many others have used a surrogate as a way to expand their family. In the day and age of social media and instant access to information, surrogacy is making it rounds.

Sinking Funds: What They Are and How to Start Them

Prior to our debt free journey, which began in November 2018, Dustin and I had maybe $500-$1000 saved at any given time. Worse than that though, if we had an emergency – like needing four new tires – we would figure out what bill we could push back paying that pay period so we could get the tires. Then we would wait until the next pay period to get caught back up.

It was messy and we were barely hanging on.

Queue finding out about sinking funds!

When I say these changed our lives, I promise you I am not exaggerating. Let me explain.

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to taking KARA myself where you can meet me, Kara…a wife, mom, student and 2x surrogate. I share life with a family of 3, budget friendly ideas and all things health, fitness, food and more.

I’ve had a blog. I’ve gotten rid of said blog. I’ve had a new blog. I’ve gotten rid of said blog. Repeat.

In the beginning years of my 30’s I haven’t been quite sure of, not only, what I want to do in my life, but also where I see myself in the social media space. What I do know is this… I love sharing all things family + food + fitness + surrogacy + sooooo much more! I’ve made so many great connections online, and I don’t want to give that up!

Family photos at the Silos in Prosper, TX – September 2020

If you follow me on Insta – you know that I love sharing about being two time surrogate + working towards paying off $191,433 of debt + all things Mark and Dustin. We love to cook together, go hiking as a family and find adventures on weekends. Our life has changed drastically in the past several months with…