"Dear angel baby girl Brooke...” 😂

Hey hey —

Every week when I send this newsletter, it feels like I’m tossing a little bottle out into the ocean — and then I wait, wondering if anyone’s gonna write back.

But the last couple weeks, you have. You’ve written back with encouragement, questions, follow-ups, and even a few “wait, what was that thing you mentioned?” link requests. And honestly? I love it!

So I thought it might be fun to try something new:
A whole little edition that’s shaped by you. 🙌

Below are a few reader replies, plus the links you asked for (including the clean mattresses we switched to!). If this feels like your kind of newsletter — cozy, conversational, and a bit of a two-way street — I’d love to keep doing it. So don’t be shy. Hit reply anytime. 💌

Oh — and one more thing.

There is something new coming.
Something I’ve been working on quietly for a long time.
I hinted at it on the podcast this week, and while I’m not quite ready to fully share yet… let’s just say I’ve never written anything like it before. 😌

Ok! Onto the questions!

Piper asked: “What podcasts do you listen to and recommend? Sorry if this has been said or posted somewhere, I’m making my way through your podcast right now!”

Oh, I love this question — and I promise you’re not missing a list somewhere, I’m just a bit all over the place with my podcast listening right now! 😅

A few that are in my rotation lately:

• The Lazy Genius Podcast (especially when I need help reframing something simple at home)

• Raising Boys & Girls (I don’t listen every single day but I jump back in often)

• Naughty Nation (with T.J. and Matt - it makes me laugh so hard!)

• Intentional Parenting (The sister and parents of John Mark Comer if you’re into his work!)

• Blurry Creatures (Just a wild ride every time.)

• Plus, a lot of random episodes of random shows people send me — so if you ever hear one I must listen to, send it my way!

Thanks for asking (and for listening to mine 🥹💛).

Casi asked: “Any chance you could include your liturgies in a wallpaper or easy to screenshot way at the end? I would love to easily pass them along to friends, save to my photos and/or set as my current phone wallpaper! They have been so great and this one brought tears to my eyes. You have a gift with words. 🤍”

First — thank you so much for this kind encouragement, Casi. It means the world to me that the liturgies are connecting like that. 🥹

And yes, I love this idea — a screenshot-able or wallpaper version at the end would make it so easy to save and share (and honestly, I would screenshot them too).

I’m going to play around with this and see what I can make work — so stay tuned. Some of the liturgies are really long, so I think I’d have to pick little sections and design them like that! But considering that this email is already hours late, I’m not gonna design them before this email goes out! 😂

Sandie asked: “Any advice for bringing baby along to the pool?”

Oh yes — my biggest advice is honestly: do YOU.

Sure, there are all kinds of great baby gear and products that promise to make it easier (and some of them really do!), but sometimes as a mom you’ll have your own brilliant solution that works way better for your family.

One of our favorite beach or pool side hacks is to take our lounger/bouncer seat. It is in no way, shape or form made for that, but hey! It’s washable, collapsible and easy to shove into a beach wagon or stroller bottom. Our girls have always loved being upright and bouncable when we’re outside!

Here is that bouncer — this one or this one are great. (We’ve owned both of these before.)

We also love a good “stroller fan” for babies! I just got this lilac colored one for Coco.

Also, if you discover something genius — please report back. 😅 I love hearing those little “you know what works great!?” ideas.

Marcy said: “Angel baby girl Brooke…this newsletter will be a highlight of my week!! Now, if you were to add your queso recipe…5 stars 😘😘”

Marcy, you are killing me — “angel baby girl Brooke”. 😂

Okay, queso: I learned the basics (how to get that right base + thickness) from this recipe, but honestly, it’s evolved a lot from there depending on my mood and pantry situation.

Sometimes I swap the cheeses, sometimes I stir in a jar of salsa, sometimes I add ground beef, and other days… quadruple the corn because why not. 🤣

In short: learn the method, then make it your own. 5-star queso every time.

Macie asked: “Could you send over the liturgy from the podcast episode about being in the in-between?”

Loved this ask from Macie — and it made me think some of you might have missed this one on the podcast or might want to sit with these words again. I’ve even added more sections to it since I read it originally on the episode!

So I figured… why not put the whole thing right here? If this liturgy speaks to you, I’m guessing the entire episode will too. 🖤

Also, somewhere in a reply from back to me someone asked about the clean mattresses we switched to! It’s what sparked this Reader Reply edition of the newsletter and now I cannot find her reply anywhere. My inbox can me so lame sometimes! 

When we moved back to PA we finally made the jump to clean mattresses. We got a BEAR mattress for us (a King) and then the big girls got BEAR twins and then Daisy got this one for her toddler bed from Naturpedic. The mini crib mattress for Coco is already non-toxic from Babyletto. 👏 I think my BEAR link gets you 40% off select purchases, too!

Alright, I think that’s it for today. I’ll drop a Liturgy For the In-Between down below.

Still here, in the middle of the middle —
Brooke

P.S. You can reply to this email if you’d like! Would love to hear from you. :)

P.P.S. If this email is made you laugh, cry or was helpful to you, please consider doing the old school thing and forwarding it to a friend! Let them know why you sent it and that they can join my newsletter right here at the bottom of the email!