Our fall favorites are here! 🍂

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/

What Happens When Your Perfect Life Explodes?

In: Grief, Living, Loss, Marriage, Motherhood
Sad woman by window with her head in hands

One day you’re living your best life, writing articles about how perfect your marriage is, and the next, BOOM, life as you know it completely changes. I was blindsided by information that my husband had been lying to me for three years about certain aspects of our lives. I felt like I had been hit in the gut by the biggest rock you could imagine. What has followed has been a snowball of events and new information that has changed the course of my and my kids’ lives. So what do you do when your perfect explodes? This is one...

Keep Reading

Find Your Person, She’s Worth It

In: Friendship, Living
Two women smiling, color photo

Have you found her? I’m talking about the person you can call your best friend. The girl who will give up sleep to take your phone call. The one who will stand outside your hospital window during COVID with a sign because she can’t be inside, cheering you on. That person who will defend you when need to be and be your voice of reason when you seem to have lost your way a bit. I’m one of the fortunate ones who has found her. For us, it all started when we were 12 years old. Our families lived next to...

Keep Reading

Dear Husband, In This Busy Season

In: Living, Marriage
Busy family in the kitchen, man walking into the door holding coffee

Dear husband,  I know this is a busy season for you. I see how hard you’re working. And I know you come home exhausted every night. I know you’d be here earlier—and more often—if you could. But you can’t. Because this is your busy season.  And there are a few things I need you to know.  This is hard for me too. Even on normal days, I’m on call 24/7 for the kids, but now, I don’t have you at home as backup. The needing never stops, and I no longer have you to share it with. I can’t say,...

Keep Reading

The Greatest Gift We Can Give Someone Is to Include Them

In: Friendship, Living, Motherhood
Female friends laughing together outside

The greatest gift we can give someone is to include them. Never have I felt more isolated and excluded than I did as a new mom. With two babies born a year apart, socializing was impossible. I couldn’t hold a conversation with my kids in tow. And they were always in tow. In those early years of motherhood, something like a hair appointment meant more than just a cut and color. It was an opportunity for uninterrupted, adult conversation. After a couple of years of baby talk and mom buns, I was intensely in need of all three. I booked...

Keep Reading

Why This Blogger’s “Dear Husband” Poem Has the World Sobbing

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood
Father holding newborn in bathtub with siblings nearby

It’s one thing to read an article that gets you in the feels . . . but when you read those words aloud? It brings the emotions to a whole other level.  An Irish radio host from Corks RedFM proved that this week when she read a poem live on air about motherhood, marriage, and the bittersweet reality of time passing quickly. The viral piece was written by blogger Jess Urlichs, and it perfectly captures what it feels like to be thankful and heartbroken at the same time.  Watch radio personality Vic on the RedFM Breakfast with KC show read...

Keep Reading

A Friend Turning on You Can Hurt More than a Breakup

In: Friendship, Living
Sad woman with head in hands

I was betrayed badly recently by a friend, the kind of betrayal that leaves a deep mark. The one that makes you question the trust you put in people. How close you let your soul get to theirs. Months later, my brain still is trying to dissect how someone could do that. A friend turning on you can hurt worse than a bad breakup. How could I have been such a fool and not see their true colors? Et tu Brute? repeated in my head. It has not happened in years. Since high school if I am being honest. But...

Keep Reading

Your Mental Health Is Worth Fighting For

In: Living
Black-and-white drawing of woman looking into night sky

Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. Bipolar disorder. The list of mental health disorders is quite long. And every disorder has its own challenges to overcome. There’s always been a stigma on mental health, or actually the opposite of health: illness.  When someone has a physical ailment, let’s say a cough that lingers, going to the doctor is the most common thing to do. After all, we want to be cured. However, when it comes to the ailments within—the unseen ailments of our soul—people often hesitate to reach out. They’re afraid to be labeled. And many continue to struggle in silence. But a...

Keep Reading

This Is Perimenopause

In: Living, Motherhood
Woman in denim shirt looking up to sky

For the past few months, I’ve felt like the woman who bled for 12 years, healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe. I’m bleeding, but I can’t find a robe to touch. I’ve prayed, I’ve worried, I’ve wondered. But the cause of my bleeding isn’t an ailment to cure, it’s a part of life to live. At 34, I’ve entered perimenopause. The surprise at discovering that menopause looms far closer than I expected has faded. What blooms now is both gratitude for the children I’ve already born and a strange grief that my youth is thinning out and drying...

Keep Reading

Dad Left a Legacy in Fried Green Tomatoes

In: Grief, Living
Two women eating, color photo

When I was growing up, my dad’s Kentucky roots were very evident in our kitchen, especially the summertime meals he prepared. I can still see him at the stove preparing those Southern specialties: a mess of green beans and ham, corn fried in a skillet, fried okra, hot stuff (a mixture of tomatoes, onion, and hot peppers), fried round steak and gravy, and fried green tomatoes. While preparing the dishes, he would often cut the end of a hot pepper and coax us to stick our tongues on the end. “It’s not that hot.” It always was, and we fell...

Keep Reading

To the Class of 2024: This Is Just Your Beginning

In: Living
Teenagers with backpacks stand by brick wall

I’m a high school counselor and truthfully, one of my favorite students to work with are my seniors. I love all of my students but there is something uniquely special about these teenagers that are on the brink of adulthood.  They are full of grand plans, big ideas, and excitement for life.  They also tend to be a little less argumentative, which is a nice plus.  During senior year, they are all focused on one thing: graduation and getting out of this place. We are a small town and most of these students have been here all their lives. They...

Keep Reading