A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Tell me a little about yourself. When did you start blogging and why?
 
I was raised in the coolest little town ever, Wilber, Nebraska. I then went to college and made friends there, graduated, got married, moved to Austin, Texas, and made friends there, moved back to Omaha — and made friends here — and then, we found out we were expecting our first babe.
 
Blogging seemed like a fun way for us to keep all of our friends from different places and all of our family in the loop of all things Baby on the Brehm. It didn’t seem scary because growing up in a small community meant everyone pretty much knew everything about one another and in a way there’s a good bit of comfort in that. I knew that in sharing my experiences about pregnancy I could hear from others and that I might actually feel less freaked out by the whole human growing inside of me thing. And seven years later, I’m still at it. 
Feature Writer of the Week  (Baby on the Brehm)   www.herviewfromhome.com
 
What are some of your favorite sites on the ‘net?
Her View From Home {duh, right?}, hello neverlandThe True North bloghands free mama, MomasteryMamalode, Scarymommy, StoryPeople.com, Thesaurus.com, Amazon {because Amazon Prime is basically like manna from Heaven}
 
What does a typical day look like for you?
I stay home so while my days are somewhat routine, they are not completely predictable because my colleagues are about as predictable as a blizzard in the spring. I shared my morning routine in a recent coffee chat and after that, I hang with my kiddos and see where the day takes me! I usually write in the evenings after all of the kiddos are tucked in for the night. And I rarely get any real cleaning done. Which is something I can’t seem to fully understand. I mean, I’m at home all the time?!
 
What advice do you have for someone who wants to blog or share her/his story?
I love to write. I love to share. Not everyone loves both. Some people love to write but they are more suited for journaling because putting all of the real stuff out there is too real for them. I think that’s totally legit. But if you have something on your heart that you want to share and are willing to accept feedback on, blogging is a great platform for that. I think you have to be okay with everyone reading what you write and having an opinion on that. Words read differently to different people so if you want to blog, I think you have to collect an audience that gets your voice. I think writers who don’t have that feel attacked when people comment or share. I, on the other hand, love hearing and collecting the stories of others and knowing I’m not alone. Or knowing that the way I was looking at a situation may have been from the wrong angle. And I REALLY love having it all to look back on. Blogging, if you’re up for it, is a huge free gift!
 
What story are you most proud of?
Gosh. That’s hard. I’ve written over 800 posts on my personal blog. I am a three-times-over high-risk pregnancy mama. I’ve miscarried. I’ve watched friends lose babies. I’ve had three preemies. And I have a husband that I’m obsessed with. The pages of my blog are just the days of my life {like sands of the hour glass, right?:)} But if I had to choose some that I go back and read, I love reading my boys’ birth stories. I love reading the sentimental pieces that are really just a braindump like this one. And the ones that I laugh out loud at because I realize it’s really my life. And I love that all of it is just a collection of me that my boys can someday read and see how I felt as a mom and a human.
 
How can people follow you?
Following is such a strange term to me because ten years ago, we would have called that stalker behavior {right?} but if you want to read my words, I have a Facebook page for my blog where I also post stuff that I find entertaining, intriguing, thought provoking, personal, or funny. I also have an Insta account but it’s notsomuch my blog as it is what goes on with my pint-sized colleagues throughout the day. 
Feature Writer of the Week  (Baby on the Brehm)   www.herviewfromhome.com

Ashli Brehm

Ashli Brehm = Thirtysomething. Nebraska gal. Life blogger. Husker fan. Creative writer. Phi Mu sister. Breast cancer survivor. Boymom. Premie carrier. Happy wife. Gilmore Girls fanatic. Amos Lee listener. Coffee & La Croix drinker. Sarcasm user. Jesus follower. Slipper wearer. Funlover. Candle smeller. Yoga doer. Pinterest failer. Anne Lamott reader. Tribe member. Goodness believer. Life enthusiast. Follow me at http://babyonthebrehm.com/

5 Things I’m Learning about 50

In: Living
birthday balloons

When my dad turned 80, he—and we, by default—celebrated all year. My sister made a fantastic, larger-than-life sign of him posing in front of his friend’s antique car, with beautiful calligraphy that trumpeted, “Cheers to you, celebrating 80 years of life!” The sign welcomed his closest friends and family into a private room at a steakhouse, where we toasted his 80 years—and the grandkids toasted his steady presence in their lives. The sign moved from the swanky steakhouse to the second-floor banister in my parents’ house. When you walked in, it greeted you—a feel-good conversation starter and a reminder to...

Keep Reading

I’m Constantly Waiting for the Metaphorical Axe To Fall

In: Living
Woman worried with head in lap

I knew people died. I just didn’t think it applied to us. Mortality met me in grade two with a punch to the gut when my teacher confirmed casually that, yes, everybody dies. What do you mean, everybody dies? I frantically thought, but kept my question to myself. Up until that moment, I had quietly believed my family was exempt from that fate. I thought death was a monster that only took other people and left my family alone. They say all panic has an origin story, and mine began shortly after that realization, fueled by a disconnected phone cord...

Keep Reading

The Apology You Deserve May Never Come

In: Living
Woman standing in field wearing hat

“You have to accept that you will likely never get the apology you deserve.” When my therapist said those words, I felt everything at once-anger, resentment, heartbreak. It was as if the air had been pulled straight from my lungs. Because accepting that truth meant letting go of something I had been holding onto for a long time: the hope that one day, it would all be acknowledged. My family was deeply wronged. Not in a way that can be brushed off or easily forgotten, but in a way that cut to the core. There were lies wrapped in deception,...

Keep Reading

To the Little Girl With Pink Flowers on Her Shoes and Courage in Her Heart

In: Living
Little girl in t-ball outfit

To the little girl with pink flowers on her white shoes and lacy fold-down socks, down and ready, tee ball glove in hand, teeth marks worn into the top. The Pittsburgh Pirates hat from Uncle Dave, a sign of camaraderie. A part of something bigger than herself. A too-long, locally sponsored t-shirt, tied up with a ponytail. Jean shorts and a belt. The type of ordinary only childhood can be. When ordinary is more than enough. No one can tell in this picture that you were scared. That you didn’t feel ready. That behind that tiny-toothed grin you were holding...

Keep Reading

Keep Searching for the Perfect Pair of Jeans

In: Living
Woman shopping for jeans

I don’t know about you, but finding a good pair of jeans has always felt like a process to me. These are too tight. Those are too loose. They fit my thighs but bunch at my hips. The dreaded waist gap. Too short—high waters. Too long, and suddenly you can’t find your legs. Before you know it, you’re ordering your fourth pair and eyeing a fifth. A woman on a mission. And still, as I stand there looking in the mirror at everything that doesn’t quite work, I just know there is a perfect pair out there for me. Somewhere....

Keep Reading

Why I Had My Benign Breast Lumps Removed

In: Living
Doctor examines mammogram images

My journey with monitoring benign breast lumps began in July of 2020 when my OB-GYN found a lump. I was sent home with an ultrasound referral. I called immediately after I got home and asked for the soonest appointment at any location. I had a young son, and was absolutely terrified. They got me in at the end of the week. My husband was on vacation that week, and what should have been an enjoyable family time was plagued with worry. At the ultrasound appointment, they saw two small lumps. I was told these were “likely benign” and was given...

Keep Reading

Repotting Myself: What My One‑Armed Grandpa Taught Me About Growing Anyway

In: Grief, Living
Black and white photo of older man in garden

I was never meant to be a plant person. I’m the woman who can kill a succulent on the way home from the store. Once, a fern sighed in my direction and gave up. That is my spiritual gift. My grandpa Dominic would have laughed—hard. He loved to laugh. And sing hymns passionately in Italian. He was an Italian immigrant who lost his arm working in a mill, and still, he woke up every morning and dressed like dignity itself. He shopped for my grandma. He fixed what was broken. And he tended the biggest, happiest garden you’ve ever seen....

Keep Reading

Farewell To the Bus Stop Moms

In: Friendship
Four women pose in residential street

It seems like just yesterday I was writing a piece about my last baby going off to kindergarten. I poured my heart out into words about how she was going to find her place in the world, and how I was going to find a new sense of belonging. I wrote, “I was able to find a bit of ‘me’ again. She has barely left my side in almost six years, so her absence is still fresh and foreign. But I know her jubilant little self will be just fine. And just like that, she’s on her way. And so...

Keep Reading

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, and So Many Moms Are Quietly Drowning

In: Living
Mother with baby strapped to chest

I’ve given birth to four beautiful boys and lived through four postpartum experiences. Each one has been different, yet there are familiar threads that run through them all. In the first couple of weeks after my first baby was born, I felt carefree…until that bubble was popped. My newborn got sick and was admitted to the PICU at a children’s hospital 30 minutes from our home. At one point, doctors mentioned the possibility of meningitis, but after many tests and a several-day admission, we were sent home. When we were discharged, a doctor left me with these words, “It’s your...

Keep Reading

The Hard Truth about Friendship in Your 40s

In: Friendship
Two people fishing on a dock

No one can really prepare you for how much friendships change in your 40s. We expect life shifts—kids grow, schedules fill, jobs demand more, and aging parents need us in new ways. Time becomes tighter, priorities change, and naturally, friendships have to adjust. That part makes sense, right? But what doesn’t get talked about enough is the quiet, hard shift, the one where it’s not just time or distance creating friendship gaps, but something deeper. What happens when you look around your “table” and realize it no longer feels like a safe place to land? What happens when you start...

Keep Reading