Hi! I’m Elizabeth Ireland: mom, minimalist, and fierce social justice advocate. You’ll most often find me either curled up in my favorite reading chair with a book, outside working in my garden, or working on a passion project (which, thanks to my background in social work, usually centers around social justice).
I’ve done stints as a full time stay-at-home mom, a full time working mom, and most recently a work-from-home mom. Right now, I’m in between career moves and enjoying the stay-at-home gig again. Stay tuned for what comes next!
Self-Care Lessons
It has taken me years to learn how to care for myself first. One day someone showed me a blog post that explained that self-care in motherhood doesn’t always look like bubble baths or locking yourself in the closet while you wolf down chocolate. Sometimes–actually, more often than not–self-care is doing the hard things to ensure YOU are taken care of. So I’ve learned to:
- Put up with a screaming kid in a stroller while I take my afternoon walk in the sunlight
- Ignore the whining that “We don’t want this for dinner” because it’s a priority for me to have something healthy and nourishing to eat, but I can’t cook multiple meals to cater to everybody
- And perhaps most importantly, to say “no” when my plate is too full (part of that minimalist mentality)
About My Family
I’m happily married and a mom to three beautiful kiddos and two angel babies. My daughter Alaina is nine years old, my son Aidan is seven years old, and my son Nolan is four years old. We also have a fur baby named Molly whose main goal in life is to play ball with everyone she meets.
My oldest two children attend our local public elementary school and my youngest is in a Montessori program nearby. As a family, we love camping, hiking, and doing all sorts of outdoor activities!
If I had to categorize myself as a mom, I’d say I’m that half-way crunchy/half-way mainstream type. Like . . . baby-led weaning and homemade non-toxic cleaners all the way, but no tinctures or amber necklaces in this house. Is there a name for that group of us?
My Hometown
I grew up a mile away from where I live now in Shelby Township. In fact, my parents still live in the same house we grew up in and are incredibly helpful as last-minute babysitters. Though I’m in suburbia, we drive down to the city a lot to recreate there.
My favorite thing about living in metro Detroit are the amazing communities of people that can be found here. Interested in babywearing? There’s a community for that. Shoutout to Babywearing International of Detroit. Interested in joining a gym? There are tons of different communities catering to whatever kind of workout you’re looking for. Shoutout to the Earthside Yoga community where I’ve found my wellness home. Want to go on hikes with your kids? Check out Hike It Baby Metro-Detroit. Vegan? There’s a community for that too! You get the idea.
What I’ll Share
I’m extremely excited to be a Detroit Mom contributor . . . I just said I love supportive communities, didn’t I? I’ll be sharing content about being a minimalist mom as well as more about my journey with Major Depressive Disorder as a mother. As I mentioned, I’m a social worker at heart, so it’s in my nature to give heaps of resources to people. In that vein, I’m most excited to share resources about both topics with moms in the community. Thanks for having me here!
