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My Simple Wild

a motherhood & simple living blog

About Me

Welcome to My Mountain Wild!

I am so happy that you are here !

My Mountain Wild is a lifestyle blog for the creative and busy mother that is looking for affordable ways to get organized, get your kids outside, pull an outfit together, and get a quick dinner on the table. This community is about  being accepted exactly how you are, and not just to survive motherhood, but to thrive in this stage of life and still do the things you loved before someone called you Momma. I am working on being more intentional with my life, my purchases, and in my community. Follow along as I embrace my new home here in Montana and start our little adventure of some homesteading!

Everything I do is on a budget, and I want to share with you just how I do it.

How it all started

I was one of those young moms that just could not focus on anything but my child.  I only talked about being a mom and what my son had done that day.

I wore leggings for like 2 years straight. Seriously. And some women are OK with this, and that’s fine. But I was not. I was lonely, depressed, unconfident, and couldn’t really remember what I use to do for fun. When people would ask what my hobbies were before becoming Mom, I would easily list 6 or 7 things off, no problem. When someone asked me a few years after my son was born the same question, I literally couldn’t think of anything.

I liked to camp and hike but would come up with excuses not to go because it would “throw off our schedule”. I would go to these mommy and baby meetup groups and not make an effort to actually make friends. I would even sometimes pretend my baby was fussing just so I could dip out early because I was so out of my comfort zone. And I was NOT this girl. I use to be the girl at every social event that would run up to everyone and introduce myself. I loved getting dressed up and singing and going on road trips. I sang in front of thousands of people and was in theater!

But something happened to me that I think happens to SO many new mothers. I was consumed by it all. I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t look the way I wanted to look. I was miserable.

I donated most of my clothes because I thought I had to “dress like a mom now.” I would obsess over organizing the pantry or the linen closet because I thought stay-at-home moms were “supposed” to do those things.

I got sucked into the unrealistic realm of Pinterest and felt like I was failing in every way.

It wasn’t until I decided to change the way I looked at life until I started to be me again. My friendship, my relationship, my health… it all started to get back to how it was and it was all because I decided to find myself.

I had originally started this blog in 2013 when my son was a baby and I had just moved to CO. I was lonely and honestly just bored being a new stay-at-home mom. So New Momma Survival was born. (I later on re-branded to My Mountain Wild). I wrote about random “New Momma Survival Tips” and then after awhile just gave up. Who was even reading this stuff anyways? Did anyone even care? My one creative outlet already felt like a failure before I had even started.  I had no faith in myself.

I stopped writing and didn’t think about it until January 12th 2016, when I woke up that day and I decided I was going to write a blog post.  2015 was the worst year of my life and it was a new year and I needed a change. My friend Kate and my sister Theresa both had told me several times that I should have a blog. I finally listened and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

This blog has ALL the things rolled into one. I write and share content on what I love and what inspires me. But I write it for you. I write now to reach my audience on a personal level and to connect and build community. This blog is for the mom that has many facets and many roles and many names. I’m here to give you inspiration, ideas, and easy real-life tips tricks and advice.

[tweetshareinline tweet=”You are not judged, you are not alone, and you can find yourself again girl.” username=”natalie_aubele”]I am not a perfect Pinterest mom. I haves strengths and weaknesses like everyone else and I am just here to remind you that.

 

We moved here to Denver in 2011 from a tiny town in Illinois and have built a life here from absolutely nothing. We were young and had no obligations so we just packed up and moved out here! You can read more of our crazy story and how it all turned out here.

 

 

A little about me…

I like to think of myself as unique but girl I love my coffee and I love my basic B things

Mimosas are my love language

I totally get all one with mother nature and turn full on hippy when I am camping. Getting out of the city is food for my soul

I cuss. And like at inappropriate times. I am working on it.

I love old musty smelly books, have a sweet vinyl collection, and am a bit of a plant lady. I think I just realized I’m a hipster.

I know way too many lyrics from every Disney movie.

I was the only kid in my Kindergarten class that rocked ripped jeans and a white tee with a side pony. See? Damn. I am a hipster.

 

I would love to have you part of our community ! To receive the My Mountain Wild monthly newsletter CLICK HERE. 

 

 

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Welcome! I’m Natalie. I am a western mountain mama who just recently relocated to the coast! Here I share all things motherhood, homemaking, homeschooling, and slow living. I hope you follow along as we share this next chapter of our lives. I am so glad you are here! Grab a cup of coffee and stay awhile

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Happy Memorial Day ! Thank you to those who courag Happy Memorial Day !
Thank you to those who courageously gave their lives for our freedoms. 🇺🇸
Whew what a week ! Thank goodness for church and t Whew what a week ! Thank goodness for church and the good Word to renew and fill me with hope. Last week was a doozy and felt like it wouldn't ever end. Good & bad things happened, but more bad than I'd like. My grandma passed away and then we were in a stressful scramble for 2 days trying to figure out who could take care of our animals and dogs and garden & afford flights, a hotel and rental car to go to Chicago for the services(we ended up just having to book a flight for me & Liam and my husband and Theo will stay behind to hold down the homestead). We had a big playhouse we bought off FB marketplace delivered that Nate and Liam have been repairing and painting. It's turning out great ! I know many memories will be made in there, and I can't wait to share the before & afters. Though my poor husband has way too many projects going on at once again. 😬 
 My dog tried to eat baby bunnies. Twice 🤦‍♀️ Liam got some kind of poison ivy or poison oak rash all over and now today it has gotten pretty bad. His poor little cheek is all red and swollen and he's miserably itchy. Last night while driving home from a restaurant, I hit a coyote that jumped across the highway. Our brand new car's bumper is wrecked. 
The other day I went to the garden to find all the marigolds I planted next to my tomatoe plants died out of nowhere, and something is eating my pole beans. 🙃 
How I've been coping ? 
1. Finally cracking open a prayer journal I got for Christmas from my best friend and pouring my heart out. 
2. Spurts of intense deep cleaning that makes me utterly exhausted 
3. Trying to plan a couple fun things while Liam and I are in Chicago for a few days. Liam was SO excited it would just be us two going on this trip because we don't get much time just the two of us since Theo was born. I want to make the best of it and think it will be nice for the focus to be on Liam for a few days. 

Even though life has been busy and crazy and sad, I still just feel incredibly grateful and blessed for what the Lord has given me and my family. I'm ready to be home and hug my family and celebrate the beautiful life of my Grandma Alice.
Do you have plans to go camping with your kids thi Do you have plans to go camping with your kids this Summer ? I have a blog post from a few years ago that has a free printable kids packing list. This checklist gives kids an easy to follow list to be independent and responsible for their own pack for a weekend camping trip. 
I don't know if we'll get to camping before baby gets here in July, but we plan to camp this Autumn for just short weekend getaways. 
Now that Liam is 3 years older since creating that checklist, I may even add a couple more things. A tick remover to be added to his first aid kit would be helpful, and having his own bug spray. 
Head ro the blog (link in my bio) to see the list and let me know if you'd add anything to it ! 😊 
Tell me about your camping trips this Summer ! I'd love to know ⛺️
Yesterday Bowie brought home a limp baby bunny tha Yesterday Bowie brought home a limp baby bunny that I'm guessing was about 10 or so days old. His eyes were barely open. I had to scoop him up and push my dog out of the way who was super confused as to why I was so mad at him. I kept him warm and he snuggled into my arm and belly and fell asleep 😭 Liam searched and searched the thick brush at the edge of the forest, and deep into a thorn-covered bush, there was the little burrow with a few other little baby bunnies. He snuggled right back in next to them. 
Bowie got into their burrow again today ! 😩 Liam was devastated, but I think they're alright. 
Then we realized a finch made a beautiful nest with 3 little eggs in our shed, so we have to find a new home for the sweet nest as we're having our shed moved soon on our property to use as a chicken coop and to make way for building a garage. Any tips on how to safely move a bird's nest? 😬 
And before anyone comes at me for not wearing gloves to pick this little babe up, there was no time. And it's a myth that a mama rabbit will reject their young just because they smell weird. We've had baby bunnies before and I'm guessing mama just gave them a good bath.
One of the most important people in my life made h One of the most important people in my life made her way up to heaven yesterday. My grandma Alice, my boy's GG, I imagine is slow dancing with Grandpa John and he's smiling with his blue eyes and saying "about time, Alice". My Grandma raised 5 children, was  devoted to her church, gave to charities that were close to her heart, had many friends, traveled all over the world, and loved her husband fiercely. She was an amazing mother and THE best grandmother. I never went to her house without a proper tea time complete with cookies and little snacks. She took care of my family when my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 acute Leukemia when I was just 3 months old. 
She was one of the first people I would call with good news, like when Nate proposed or I found out I was pregnant, or we were buying a house. She gave the best warm sincere hugs. Her laugh was contagious. I like to think my love for singing, roses, history, birds, and hosting comes from her. She made holidays so fancy and special. If I close my eyes I can hear the crackle of the fireplace at an Aubele Christmas party with a house full of Aubele's talking louder and louder with the smell of coffee and sweets in the dining room on the buffet. Laughter & warmth filling every inch of that house. I have always dreamed of a large family because of her. She was an amazing storyteller and often told me stories of our ancestors. And we have some pretty crazy family stories! She was proud to be Ojibwa and often reminded me to be proud as well. She was an amazing seamstress and made her grandchildren dolls & dresses & teddy bears. Family was the most important thing to her, and I knew at a young age that serving my own family someday was also what I wanted to do. 
Even though she passed yesterday, I have been mourning my grandma for over a year. Dementia took hold of my sweet Grandma Alice and I couldn't call her on the phone anymore. When I saw her this April, she had no idea who I was or who my Dad, her own son, was. I couldn't call to tell her I was pregnant with my 3rd son. I couldn't call to tell her I moved from MT to VA and that we bought a homestead. My grandma has been gone for some time👇🏼

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