Hello friends!
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Thanks for taking a moment to pop by and get to know me. My name is Katie and I am the face behind @mindfulmamamatters on Instagram.
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First and foremost, I am a new mother and a wife. I am so in love with my husband, and my personal blog and instagram @katherineilona documents the journey of our love story as we take on challenges and mountains on our walk through life. We welcomed our son Andrew into the world this past April. Although his birth story. was not part of our plan, our hearts are overflowing at the joy he has already brought into our lives.
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I started this journey because I have always been committed to trying to live a healthier lifestyle.
Whether this means reducing water usage and recycling in our home, growing our own vegetables for food in an organic garden, creating natural herbicides and pesticides to prevent myself (when I was pregnant) or my baby and dog from being exposed to harsh chemicals, or using essential oils as supplements in my life for wellness, I want to live each day striving to be better than the next.
Essential Oils, for me, do not just involve diffusing nice scents into my office. They are a way of life, and I think that is why so many people are afraid to dive in or find out more. They involve using natural products for so much of your life -- natural baby sunscreen, bug spray without DEET and other harmful chemicals, diaper cream and detergent free from chemicals proven to contribute to reproductive defects and developmental issues, oils that are processes without pesticides and chemicals that diffuse into your house to provide not only healing effects but also are free from the toulenes and parabens and SOOT that candles produce....the list goes on and on....
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ABOUT ME
Katie R.
Mama, Mental Health Advocate, Healthy Lifestyle Influencer
Katie is a mother to her first son. She lives with her little boy, wonderful husband, and yellow labrador retriever in Washington, DC.
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She enjoys her other career in photography, advocating for women recovering from trauma and abusive relationships, and sharing about the potential benefits of Young Living Essential Oils.
In her free time, she and her family backpack, surf, off-road, and train their labrador for Field Trials.
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Katie loves listening to classical music, sewing, surfing, renovating historic homes, interior design, and teaching her little boy to love harp music that she plays herself in her living room!
CONTACT ME
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My clients are more than just clients. They become lifelong friends when they join my team. They are people that want to make a new adventure buddy, that want to spend ten minutes on a segway swapping dog mom pics of their furry children, or stop the car to frolic in a field of wildflowers. They’re people that know that a photograph only begins to capture what it really feels like to sit on top of a mountain and breathe in the sunset with your whole body and your new community by your side. They’re people that like wine, but love tacos, that like clean homes, but love creative play even more. If that sounds like you, then keep reading...
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I love to bake, create my own recipes, and whip up some secret ones that have been handed down to me by my grandmother who had an incredible talent in the kitchen. Pies are my specialty. I have always loved baking them because the pie crusts are, in some ways, a form of sculpture and art to be molded and shaped. I also love to get outside — backpacking, yoga, skiing, rock-climbing, kayaking, swimming, and running all keep me busy in my *cough cough* spare time. I believe that music is an incredible outlet for the soul. Although no longer pursuing a career in the music field, I am still a professional harpist and continue to perform benefit concerts from time to time or just practice on my own.
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I have a yellow lab puppy named Daisy Mae. She is currently training as a wildlife management and rescue retriever for waterfowl hunting through field trial training — a long distance endurance sport for retrievers involving land and water game retrieves. She’s pretty awesome.
I am married to the most wonderful man. He is currently a Captain in the United States Army and his military career has taken us around. the country. We are currently at four moves in four years. Our love story is untraditional and unexpected. Although we have learned that the best loves take constant effort, our marriage has become one that puts even my favorite romcoms to shame. My husband loves me like Jesus and teaches me each and every day what it means to selflessly serve our little fam.
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Although I preach wellness, mindfulness, and peace in the little moments, I'm also someone that doesn’t shy away from a challenge, so here I am — attempting to do it all.
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I kept looking for an outlet through which I could share my creative pulse. Youtube, initially, did not seem quite right (although I’m coming back to this one). Instagram seemed great, but I need more room to share thoughts and grow a community. Etsy wasn’t right on its own. Pinterest was a mirage. Facebook is outdated (or so I hear from my sister).
When I brought my son home, and my identity shifted from so many things to MAMA, I realized that maybe all of my desires and wants in the world could fit into creating a happy healthy life for my little man.
I decided to share my thoughts and inspiration via this blog and on instagram via videos because the women I am trying to seek are busy. We are all busy. You can listen to a podcast in the car, on a plane, on the treadmill, or while grocery shopping with your little ones in tow. My dream member of my community is a mom or woman that feels like she is already doing it all, but is looking for something.
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I found that over time, shallow relationships, having the best clothes or the prettiest instagram feed, hiding my awkward from the world, and being FAKE were not things that made me happy. They resulted in a head hitting the pillow at the end of the day feeling empty and me relying on those around me (my friends, boyfriends/fiance/husband, and family) to fill me up. Instead, the things that keep me going are things like meaningful hugs, stopping to connect with a stranger or someone that needs to know that someone cares about them, a phone call to an older family member just because, responding to an instagram message from someone that has 1/100th of the followers you have because you’re not just an account, you’re a human too, dog kisses, realizing that dandelions are just trying to be flowers, looking out of your car window while you drive, and realizing this crazy world we live in is the most beautiful place, appreciating that every day we wake up we have an opportunity to change the world, the list goes on and on.
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So….what do I do?
I talk about life, my sweet baby boy, raw motherhood. I talk about your mind, body, and spirit, and I empower YOU to embrace your own genuine and authentic heart and live the most purposeful life possible.
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Join me on this journey. I’m not asking for another email to receive totally unrelated notifications asking you to buy my presets or coffee mugs. I am asking you to walk with me, hike with me, run with me, bake with me, and SHOW UP to embrace who you are and what you were meant to do.
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If you feel like you were made for more,
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contact me about the oily lifestyle and lets chat about how you could join my team.
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You don't have to have 40 hours a week or even 20 hours a week to devote to working from home, but instead be someone that wants to help their own family in making a positive change and sharing that story with others.
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