I’m a wannabe country girl who can’t give up the city so when I had the opportunity to hang out with some dairy cows on one of Organic Valley’s farms, I jumped at the chance. I’m still breastfeeding BC and while I was away from him, I was on the pump. Naturally as I hung out with the dairy cows, I realized that they had quite a few things in common with nursing moms.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Girl Scout sooooo badly. My brother was both a Cub Scout and Boy Scout and I remember going to the meetings because my mom was a Den Mom–cool, right? Well for some reason, Girl Scouts just never happened for me but I so badly wanted it–especially since Troop Beverly Hills was one of my favorite movies growing up.
You guys have heard me talk about Organic Valley a bit on my site and a lot on my social media accounts. The truth is, I love them. I love them a lot more now after visiting them in Wisconsin for the Organic Connection: An UnSymposium. I didn’t even know that UnSymposiums existed but Organic Valley (OV) opened my eyes to this life!
One of my favorite things in school were electives. When I chose to homeschool, I have to confess that I was a little concerned about the electives thing. Mini loves dancing and singing and acting and honestly, all things that are quite dramatic so when I saw that 7 Sisters Homeschool offered Drama as part of their curriculum, I may or may not have squealed with joy! I can finally teach Mini (and abc really) how to channel their drama into our curriculum via electives!
When was the last time you received a paper invitation to an event, namely a baby shower? I know that I sent them out for Mini’s baby shower and that’s about it. In her baby book, I have a copy of said invitation along with pictures of people celebrating the bump in my belly that eventually became her and she loves to flip through it. We live in the land of virtual now and as I look back at the other baby books I’ve yet to put together, I’m wishing I’d done paper invitations. And after seeing these beautiful ones from Basic Invite, I wish I had these!
You guys can call me Benjamina Buttons because I’m looking younger and younger as I use my Annmarie Skin Care. This year when I was at ShiftCon (looking incredibly tired as I was traveling and conferencing with BC in tow) I met up with the ladies from Annmarie Skin Care and I loved everything they were talking about. I sampled their coconut body oil which is more luxurious than your average coconut oil while chatting away with them.
Teething is literally the worst thing that babies and parents go through until potty training–which is pretty awful as well. But there are 10 things in particular that really grind my gears as it pertains to teething.
I have a confession: Pizza is my favorite food. I’m a New Yorker and have high expectations of pizza so I typically go with what I know around Atlanta. Today Mini and I ventured out and tried MOD Pizza in Decatur.
We were originally heading out to grab something from the grocery store and to get our nails done. The line at my new favorite salon was a bit long so we decided to grab some food. Signs I’m raising mini right: pizza is also her favorite food.
Making time for self care is one of those things that’s “on trend” right now but for many of us, it’s a fleeting thought. Last night I had the conversation with a friend and fellow mom about what self care is being touting about on social media. You see people talking about “Just left a 83739 day cruise!!! #SelfCare” or “I just took a 485 mile hike and feel amazing!!! #SelfCare”. Yes, these numbers are inflated but you get what I mean.
Hi. My name is Aaronica and I’m clueless about Estate Planning.
Ok, well, I was. In fact, not only was I clueless but the idea of having to do Estate Planning was really scary for me. It seemed morbid and like I was preparing for death–not something I really want to be thinking about right now as I’m living in my prime. But today I had a really great conversation with with LegalSpark–a new tool that connects the average person with a legal expert in Georgia–that helped me out so much.
This is the year that my husband and I have vowed to get our adult lives together. Yes, we’re adults. We’re parents. We’re married. We’re doing the adulting but we aren’t PEAK adulting just yet. What do I mean by that? I mean we haven’t done some of the harder things, like Estate Planning or updated our retirement stuff or done any of the things we looked at our parents like they were old for doing–peak adulting.
The first task we’re tackling is in this Estate Planning. So what is that? In a nutshell it’s the living will, last will, and living trust for a family. When you plan this out, what you’re doing is basically planning for what happens should you and your spouse die. Obvious, right? Yes, the basics of it is. But then there’s the nitty gritty that I was able to discuss with my lawyer (sounds so grown up, right?) from LegalSpark. I asked a lot of really great questions that I’m going to share with you guys here so you’re prepared for this part of your life too.
What are must-haves when jumping into Estate Planning?
Always have a financial/property Power of Attorney (POA) and a healthcare POA. The healthcare POA is the person that will make decisions about your health should you be in a coma or otherwise unable to make decisions.
When should you prepare a will?
It’s really necessary once you have children as you will specify what happens to your assets in your will. By default, if you pass away they will be split between your spouse and children but if your children are young, you’re going to want to make sure you leave directions on what to do.
What’s the difference between a living will, last will and living trust?
A living will is essentially the healthcare POA. With the living will, someone else will execute it while you’re still alive. The last will is what you want to happen with your family and assets upon your death. The living trust really simplifies how things happen. Your assets are placed into a trust while you’re alive and they’re transferred to a designated beneficiary upon your death.
Which one should you have?
All three. If you’re trying to minimize paperwork and the amount of money you spend in getting these set up, definitely have both a living and last will.
Do you need an attorney to get these set up?
Need? No but it’s helpful to have an attorney and it will save you money in the long run. While you can print out the paperwork and complete it yourself, because attorney’s are trained there are going to be things that we see that will ultimately benefit you and your family. We’re able to provide more options to you.
Do I need to declare a guardian?
Yes & no. A guardian will be declared but if you don’t do it prior to death then there’s a lot of time and money involved for the person trying to become the guardian.
Life insurance: how does this play into things?
This is your financial plan. Once you have it set up, the attorney will make sure that the beneficiaries are set up properly.
Is it hard to change a will?
No, all plans are easily amendable. With something like divorce, the spouse is automatically removed from the will but you would need to update beneficiaries for life insurance policies and such.
After my 20 minute conversation with LegalSpark, I felt better prepared on what I needed to do to get this Estate Planning rolling. He was really reassuring about the reasons why Estate Planning is necessary. As a mom of 3, it’s really important to me that my kids are taken care of in the event that something happens to their dad and I. Morbid? A little. Peak adulting? Most definitely. Now it’s just time to get the ball rolling with getting our documents together! The best part about this is I already have an attorney that I can submit them to for review!
There was a time when only people with lots of money had access to lawyers for advice. Paying a hefty retainer would get you instant access to the minds of legal help but not anymore. In pretty much every role that I’m in, a lawyer is needed and LegalSpark makes getting my questions asked both easy and affordable. They have lawyers that specialize in the following:
Yeah, so basically everything.
So how does it work?
It’s super easy to get set up because you don’t need to register an account or anything to get started. It’s literally as easy as 1-2-3:
Yes, it’s just that easy.
How is this different from other services?
This of this has like a Dial-a-Doctor line. Except you’re not sick and it’s not a doctor but the doctor is the lawyer. And they’re still helping you.
Is this service nationwide?
It’s important to note that as of right now, this service is only available in Georgia.
Let’s talk numbers… How much does it cost?
It’s $50 for the first 20 minutes.
What if my question last longer than the 20 minutes?
No worries–you won’t be cut off or charged extra. There’s no hassle to continue speaking with the lawyer once you’re done either. You get to determine the length of the relationship.
The 20 minute call is a basic introduction to a competent attorney in your area of need. But you should be prepared for this call because 20 minutes can go fast! Here’s how to max out on your call:
Contact LegalSpark today to help get started with your legal woes (no judgement) or questions!