I'm losing track of the days. I think I skipped a few, maybe added one. Nevertheless, welcome to the 12 Bloggers of Christmas, an annual tradition on Pars Caeli where we shine a pretty spotlight on twelve bloggers during the Christmas season. Catch up real quick on all the beauties by scrolling down. Join me every day to see if (you or) your favorites are featured!

I'm chatting with Sara Moore today. Sara has an effortless style (which I'm sure takes a ton of hard work to pull off), and she writes about parenting in an honest and supportive way. She's a fabulous designer, and if you read ahead, you'll see we'll be able to get right to her goods come 2015. So happy to have her in this space!

My all-time favorite family tradition is decorating Christmas cookies with my family. I've been doing it since I was a little girl and I look forward to it every year. We're all gathered around the table, laughing, eating the "broken" ones and really enjoying each others company. The logistics have gotten harder with introducing the little grandchildren to decorating and the traveling we have to do but we always make sure to fit it in! And one of my new favorite traditions my husband and I do with the kids is to look at Christmas lights. Our kids are still little enough to be in awe of every single light so it's a lot of fun!

I'm adding e-commerce to the website so you'll be able to shop directly from saramoore.com. It's been a long time in the making, so I'm really excited to say 2015 is the year! I'm also contributing to a couple of other blogs in the coming year, and I'm very excited to explore new things and grow a community of wonderful people!

My blog is so new that it wasn't around last Christmas and with a brand new baby, I don't have much more planned for the blog this year. BUT I will link to  two Christmas posts that I love. Speaking of traditions, this one from Jenny Collier on Every Day Cheer would be a great one to start while your kids are young - a Christmas book advent. Every night the kids get to unwrap a Christmas book and enjoy it as a family by the tree. And this one from A Cup of Jo sums up a few of her and her readers holiday traditions.

Elisabeth of Bella is just a doll! She has a great sense of style, is as sweet as a summer peach and her Instagram feed is so dreamy. She's pregnant with her first (a boy!) and she's just been killin' it in the maternity fashion department. She always looks amazing and has such a great attitude about the pregnancy journey. Which isn't a surprise since she touts that she firmly believes in choosing happiness - you can see that clearly through everything she does!

Love Elisabeth, too!! So happy to celebrate her as well. If you want to read some interesting stories from busy mommas, be sure to check out Sara's Struggle with the Juggle series. It's one of my favorites from real life, inspiring, and talented ladies.

Just a few more left!! Hope your Christmas Eve Eve is the best it can be.

xoxo, MJ

Happy back to school week, friends? Last week was the week of projects, and this week the rubber hits the road as my older two start back. Summer is frenetic with camps and playdates, and I have to admit that I'm yearning for a bit of routine and flow. It's a different balancing act.

As a work from the office and work from home mom (too many hyphens to make it worth the effort), I struggle to make time for everything and everyone. I should have perfected the juggle now that I'm nine years into it, and in some ways, I have. I've learned to go easier on myself, and I've learned how much I have to learn...and how much my children teach me. But I also have moments every single day where I wonder how I will get it all done...and with what kind of quality. I love it, and I struggle with it.

I'm over at Sara Moore's charmed blog today talking with her as part of an ongoing series that I love:

She interviews maker mommas from all over and inquires about all the things you'd really want to know.

I hoodwinked her into sharing a little bit with Pars Caeli readers on this series. Here is Sara and her gorgeous family:

Why did you start this series?

We had recently moved to a small town in Oklahoma away from my family, friends, nanny, and my other momma friends that would keep me sane while I was "juggling" motherhood and my small business. I found myself in a fairly desperate place of needing encouragement and advice on how the heck I was going to make it through every day without any of those people. I know a lot of "mompreneurs" and thought they could help not only me, but others as well. Motherhood (or parenting in general) can be very isolating these days. We have everything we need at our fingertips to have and do it all yet what we really need is each other to lean on for support. It takes a village, right?

What you have learned from the many posts?

I've learned that I'm not alone in my struggle. I've learned that balance is defined by you, not society or someone else. And I've learned countless (and genius!) perspectives on being a working momma. I'm so very thankful to all of my guests and readers who have contributed so much of their heart to this series!

Head on over and check out what I have to say about mommy guilt and what I want my children to learn from me (gulp!)

Also, check out these two that I enjoyed: Amy's interview and Erin's interview.

Here's to a kickin' week, my friends.

xoxo, MJ