Welcome to the next chapter of Misfit Mama Bear Haven! For those that don’t know, I started bearhavenmama.com back in 2010 as a way to help grow my children’s party-planning business and toy store! A lot happened since then! Let’s recap, shall we!
The recap
Once upon a time, I owned a small little toy store and children’s party planning business in a little town called Schuylkill Haven. I met a lot of amazing kids, and I loved my work. This also opened the door to moving into a blogging and social media career, as I used this little blog to promote my products, parties, and also share about my family.
At the time, it was just me, Bubby, Phoenix (formerly known as Sissy), my husband, and me (and occasionally my exchange students). Then we decided to expand our family, and my journey to having more children was a hard one. It was in that time, that I started sharing my struggle with secondary infertility and my pregnancy with my rainbow baby, Penelope (formerly known as Crankles).
Closing the business and a big move
After we had Penelope in 2015, we decided to move from Pennsylvania to Ohio. We also watched a little too much HGTV, which resulted in settling on a house much smaller than our Pennsylvania home. It also needed a ton of work. During this process, I had my first TBI (traumatic brain injury) relapse, bilateral migraine, and small TIA. Unfortunately for me, it kick started a lot of other health issues, and instead of moving the business, I closed that chapter of my life.
Things were a little hectic for a few years after that. I spent a lot of time in a doctor’s office, the ER, and the hospital. It was pretty scary for a bit, but my doctors figured out what was going on with my brain and my body. In 2019, I finally hit the ground running with my social media and blog to solidify myself as an influencer.
Burn out and a restart
Right before the pandemic hit, I found out I was pregnant with my youngest, Pistachio. He was our little miracle baby because with my age and fertility issues, he came to us anyways! However, I dealt with a lot of PTSD issues during my pregnancy and ended up with some major postpartum issues. I tried to keep going, but last year, I completely burned out. My husband changed jobs. We had some family issues in which we worked through as well. Everything in my blog and social media started to feel very generic. So recently, I decided it was time to give Misfit Mama Bear Haven a restart!
Out with the Old and in with the New
Our family went through some changes and will be going through even more, and we want to share those with you!
I came out as nonbinary in 2019. As someone who struggled with religious trauma and is still Christian, I want to use my experience to help others, especially those who feel they are being left out of the Christian community.
In addition, I also found out that I am Autistic. It makes sense because I have Autistic children. There are so many things over the years I chalked up to being the weird kid or my TBI.
Also, Phoenix went through some big changes as he came out as trans a few years ago. He may share more about that in the future.
In other big things, my oldest is now an adult. He moved out of our home and into his own home. It’s still weird to think he is all grown up and on his own! I am grateful that he lives close by!
Finally, I have a little person too! Can you even guess how strange it is to have a preschooler and a grown up? It is soooo weird! Both he and Penelope are autistic. If you follow me on Instagram, then you have heard me talk about some of my experiences as a neurodivergent person raising neurodivergent kids, which I also want to keep sharing to help others!
So what is changing on Misfit Mama Bear Haven?
For starters, Misfit Mama Bear Haven has a different dynamic, with more kids and our life stages. We have some interesting stories to tell because of it. While we will still cover reviews, DIY, fun recipes, and such, we will also share about all the changes in our lives. Everything that makes our family different will be our focus in our tales about homeschool and family/lifestyle.
As we move forward, we will be sharing more about local and regional things to do, like Ohio’s extensive wineries that make fun date nights, as well as festivals and fun places to visit! Since I already showcase my quirky sense of style, I will be including more of that because sometimes us moms get into a style rut. I love showing my fun sense of style on the gram!
So let’s get it started in here!
I am super excited to kick off the next chapter of Misfit Mama Bear Haven! Whether you are new here or have followed since the beginning, I am thankful for your support and look forward to building this community! Now that I have told my brief story, I would love to hear more about you and what you want to see here! Please be sure to share in the comments below!