Untitled design (6).png

Sarah Jean Knox is a mom, wife, live fundraising host & corporate trainer. I help make people impactful.

I want to hear from you! Shoot me an email.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Subject

Message

All in tiny post

Jul 21
Jul 21 Friday Introductions: Sarah Knox, Founder of @mommingishard

tiny post, Instagram archives

I'm Sarah. My husband and I met in the second grade and spent a decade as friends and almost another decade together. We have 2 kids (3yo son and 2yo daughter) and live in a suburb outside of Minneapolis. During the day, I stay at home with my kids and I rock the #naptimehustlefor my business as a fundraising auctioneer (more at @sarahtheauctioneer if you are curious what the heck that means). Basically I get to throw on a gown, heels and a set of false lashes every Friday and Saturday during gala season and help people spend their money so other people can have access to clean water or a safe place to go when they are abused. Think Robin Hood with a gavel and heels. JK, I don't use a gavel.

Jul 19
Jul 19 Encouragement for the mama who thinks she is failing

Encouragement, From the Heart, momming stuff, Self-Doubt, tiny post, Instagram archives

The biggest struggle in motherhood is probably our own stupid brains. Yes, our offspring cause some issues and wear us down with their nagging and need to eat 3 meals a day (which sometimes feels like ten million meals a day), but the thing that causes me the most strife is my brain.

Jul 18
Jul 18 Being strong for my daughter

I started exercising again yesterday. Like REALLY exercising. Since Cecilia's choking incident and my accompanying anxiety attacks last August, I have stuck with low impact exercise like walking and yoga for fear of overexerting myself.

I finally realized I wasn't doing myself any favors. I am by no means a #fitmom or someone who will ever build my whole life around fitness, but it is so important for me to be strong for my littles. Especially my daughter. So yesterday I picked up weightlifting again.

Jul 17
Jul 17 The rational and irrational anxieties of Motherhood

tiny post, Toddlers, Anxiety + Depression

"She laughs without fear of the future."

I say that verse over and over but I have yet to take it on as my own identity. Maybe I need to say it in first person? Who knows.

It was like as soon as my first child was placed in my womb, I was also given a ball of anxiety that sits in my gut or my chest or somewhere in my body that is super annoying. My fears are a hearty mix of practical and totally irrational.

Jul 16
Jul 16 Good things take time + a Kombucha update

tiny post, kombucha

Home brew (kombucha) is a reminder to slow down in an instant gratification world. This batch was started 3 weeks ago and it's still not ready. It's drinkable, but it doesn't have the carbonation that makes kombucha so lovable yet. It took two weeks for it to ferment to the perfect tartness for my taste buds and now I have to wait.

Jul 15
Jul 15 Mornings with Titus

Toddlers, Encouragement, From the Heart, tiny post

I love mornings with this boy. He usually gets up before everyone else and does his own thing quietly. He is independent and curious so he loves the freedom of mornings where he can explore our house without limits or a sister stealing his ideas. I'm learning to give him the space he needs to learn and grow.

Jul 14
Jul 14 Potty Training and other goal crushing endeavors

tiny post, Toddlers, Potty Training

Potty training update. I am so proud of this girl. Yesterday she made it the entire day with dry underpants. She still needs to learn to tell me when she needs to go, but at least she goes when I ask her (after a couple minutes of fighting it...It's a process, people). As parents, or just as people for that matter, we work hard and long towards our goals. In the midst of it, it seems as though there is no progress. Everything we do is met with resistance, but we keep pressing forward, trusting that all of our efforts are going to pay off someday. This was a much needed reminder that it is so worth it. Have we completely arrived yet?! Absolutely not! We have weeks (probably months) to go before she is fully trained, but yesterday was a much needed glimmer of hope.

Jul 12
Jul 12 Day 3 Potty Training Update

tiny post, Toddlers, Potty Training

Day 3 potty training. In short, it's a challenge. I'm not child development specialist by any means, but I'm a mom and I can tell you that tantrums increase anytime a child (at least my kids) is learning a new skill. I get it! It's so frustrating when you are trying to learn something and aren't good at it yet. It must be even more frustrating when you are being told you have to do it by someone else.

Jul 11
Jul 11 Day 2 Potty Training Update

tiny post, Potty Training

Day 1 potty training was a success! She had two accidents, but many more successes. By the time my husband came home she could recognize that she had to go and asked him to help her and she made it in time!

It is always a process. We are no where near done, but I think it's going to stick this time. She is much more motivated by getting to wear underpants than her brother was so that is helpful. She takes her transition into being a "big girl" very seriously. I could not be more proud of her and her patience with herself and determination to not be a baby anymore.

Jul 10
Jul 10 Day 1 Potty Training Cecilia

tiny post, Potty Training

I'm a horrible potty trainer. The worst. I tried duel potty training my two kids a little over a year ago. For 10 days. I started with that "potty train your child in a day" crap, and 10 days later neither child was potty trained. Earlier this year my son was potty trained (still working on nights) and today I decided we'd try potty training this one. She just turned 2.5 last week and recently transitioned into her big girl bed with ease and cooperation. Today we are sitting in the bathroom all day with pretzels, juice and books to see if we can make it happen.

Jul 9
Jul 9 Embrace the tiny Sabbath moments

Sundays sometimes end up being the only day of the week we can get things done. You know, grocery shopping, cleaning, prepping for the week ahead. While I honor (and long for) a full Sabbath day, I'm happy for Sabbath moments. Moments where we stop doing and focus on just being. Being present. Being grateful. Being nothing but who God created us to be.

Jul 7
Jul 7 When life isn't picture perfect

"Guys, look at mommy! Over here! Say cheese?! Just for one second. Pretty please?! Look at me!!!" Screw it.

Real life isn't picture perfect. Sometimes it is goofy and unflattering. And by sometimes, I mean usually. Sometimes we don't feel like smiling or we don't feel like putting on makeup or brushing our hair. Sometimes we feed our kids non organic hot dogs and Mac & Cheese for dinner...3 nights in a row. Some days we are ambitious boss babes who feel they can conquer the world and other days it's hard to even get out of bed, let alone "follow our dreams." Most days for most people are filled with self doubt and failure. Most moments are mundane.

Jul 6
Jul 6 On hobbies as work at home moms

"What are your hobbies?" Does anyone else choke when they get asked this question? Um, I'm a mom, so hobbies aren't a luxury I have. Does cleaning the kitchen 5 times a day count as a hobby? How about pinning recipes I'll never actually make?

Jul 5
Jul 5 Our new porch table and toddlerdome

This week we took our dining room table out of our dining room and brought it into the porch. I sanded it, primed it and repainted it with chalkboard paint, turning it into a game table.
People keep asking me what we'd do for a dining table now and the answer is that I don't know.

Jul 2
Jul 2 Cecilia Turns 2 and a half!

This little spitfire is 2.5 today. How on earth did that even happen?! She has brightened our lives in ways we didn't even know were possible. She spends her life trying to make people around her laugh and smile. She'll pretend to fall and make it a big gesture because even at this young age, she understands that watching people fall is one of the funniest things ever. She strives to bring joy wherever she goes.

Jun 30
Jun 30 On slowing down and seeing the magic around you

This morning I woke up again with horrible back and shoulder pain. My kids were awake by 6:00 and there was no going back. PBS Kids parented my children for a good hour while I did some yoga to stretch out the area in pain and enjoy a cup of coffee while getting in the word. By 10:00, we were all antsy! We had been up for 4 hours and yet it was only freaking TEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!

We hopped in the car and set off for wherever our mood took us. Most of us still in our PJ's.

Jun 30
Jun 30 I live for Date Nights with my main squeeze

tiny post, Marriage

I live for date nights with my main squeeze.

As a work at home mom, I spend my days wiping up snot, poop, pee, juice, bug guts, yogurt, spit, and anything else that has the capability of spilling. I hear my name repeated over and over and over, except it isn't my name, it's my designation: mom. It's what I am and what I do, but it is not all of me.

Jun 28
Jun 28 Tantrums: matters of the heart

This rainy morning has us exploring from the inside. We were going to head to the gym, but there were some character issues that popped up that needed some work, so we opted to stay home and work on cultivating good attitudes.

Spending time on attitudes is so important. Sometimes it is easier to change scenery and distract them, which usually works to calm bad attitudes in toddlers. The problem is that it is only a bandaid for a deeper issue.

Jun 27
Jun 27 For the recovering Helicopter Parent

I am a helicopter mom and I hate myself for it. Can anyone else relate?

Hear me out. When I imagined what I would be like as a mother, I pictured being cool and collected. Trusting my children as they figured out their boundaries by learning from their own mistakes. If they fell, they would get back up and try try again.

Then something happened... I actually had some kids.

Jun 26
Jun 26 Weekends and avoiding the trap of "busy"

Weekends are my jam. Nate has so much PTO and we don't have any big vacays planned so he has been taking random Fridays off so we can extend our weekends and enjoy time as a family. It has been aaahhhmaaazing!

This Monday has me in a daze and all I want to do is lounge and play the day by ear. But alas, life does not stop in the summer and I have client calls, meals to make and a home to tend to and I can't think of a better day than Monday to get shiz done!