It's here, it's HERE! For most Austin moms, it's the bittersweet day that their precious, miraculous little demons (ok, SOMETIMES angels) head back to school. I'm one of *those* moms. Sure, I teared up as the school bus pulled away, but it was literally about 4 minutes before I felt relief and thought "I need ME day!"...and...y'all...I've been off work for the last WEEK.

Motherhood is fulfilling as hell...it is. And I love my little boo thangs more than life itself. They complete me and I'm #hashtagblessed to have them in my world. But dang....not only is it HARD work, but it's NEVER-ENDING work. It's not easy to feel like a WOMAN when you're used to feeling like a MOM all.the.time.

Kid: "Hey, MOM??! MOMMM??? MOMMYY!?!?!? MA!! Hellll-OOOO!?!? MOM!?!?!?"

Me: ....WWWHHHHAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT!?!?!

Kid: "Do you know where my ____ is?"

^^^THAT. About 20 times a day. Then finding the ____ that has been sitting in the very first place they should have looked. Then forgetting what you were doing before you were interrupted. Then starting something new. Then racing to work. Then realizing that you were so busy packing the kids' lunches that you left yours on the kitchen counter even though you SWORE you weren't going to order delivery at work anymore.

MOMS NEED "SHHHH" TIME. THEY NEED LOVE. THEY NEED TO FEEL LIKE WOMEN. THEY NEED TO FEEL DESIRED OUTSIDE OF FINDING LEFT SHOES AND LUNCH BOXES. THEY NEED REMINDED THAT THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL. Ok, dads, too. But I don't photograph dudes...sooo...back to the ladies ;)

Enter the Kara Marie Boudoir experience.

It's true that the majority of my clients are moms themselves. They often arrive feeling frazzled because they've just had a morning like the one I just described and they can't quite get in the "it's about ME now" headspace.

But guess what I'm real good at?! Making.you.forget.while.making.you.remember.

I help you forget your gigantic to-do list...even if it's only for a few hours.

I help you remember that you are a WOMAN. A beautiful, strong, skilled, independent, badass, and SEXY woman.

Miss R, here, was a classic case of 'complete ball of nerves because how could she possibly be sexy for this shoot because she's a mom and stuff....and life...and....gahhh so many nervous feelings'. But, HELLL-OOOO BOMBSHELL! We lit that right on fire and dominated her boudoir experience together.

I mean...DO.YOU.SEE.HER.EYES.THOUGH!?!

She walked away from her experience realizing that bombshell was still in there, and recognizing that her husband isn't just blowing smoke when he tells her how beautiful she is.

She writes:

"Thank you so much for the absolutely beautiful photos! As I sit at home in the most mom-ish pajamas possible, and house shoes too, I can't help but smile thinking about how glamorous you and your team made me feel for a day! I am SO glad that I was able to step out of my comfort zone and embrace this experience, and beyond thankful that I was able to have you lead the way. I am pretty sure I have repeated, "I can't believe that is me" at least a thousand times today. You are truly gifted with what you do, but photography skills aside, you helped show me that there is still something more to me than just plain mom, and for that I can't thank you enough!"

"I feel like I can see that the girl that existed before babies is still living in there somewhere, and that I need to stop being so hard on myself and try to see myself through other people's eyes!" -Miss R

Raising my "#1(ish) MOM" mug to you, Miss R. THANK YOU for hanging in there with me through your nervousness about the session and for trusting me with the process. You are an amazing mom....and while that's an incredible title to hold, you're so much more than that, too!

Now if you'll excuse me, ladies, I've got to get back to my emails....because....holy crap do the flood gates OPEN at back to school time! So I guess we should all know that we aren't alone ;)

NEED TO MAKE IT ABOUT YOU FOR ONCE!?! I CAN HELP. LET'S CHAT...

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Finding the right words for this post was far more challenging than most others. But I think I have a point to make, and I'll do my best getting there....so forgive the ramblings that are about to happen along the way. Hey, my blog, my rules ;)

I find a lot of similarities between yoga and boudoir. Though I don't regularly practice yoga any longer, I used to be die hard. During that time of daily yoga, I was so at peace with myself, mentally and physically. I was so aware of how I was feeling emotionally, and so aware of every part of my body. IN TUNE, I suppose is the best way to describe it. I felt like I had superpowers because I was SO in tune with myself, and so in tune with everyone that I held near and dear.

Although I practiced at least 5x/week, I learned something new about myself every time I set foot on my mat. I learned to accept where I was in my practice and not necessarily aim for perfection. We all know that "comparison is the thief of joy"...but I really UNDERSTOOD that through my daily yoga practice. It wasn't about how I always seemed to be lightyears behind "front-row Caitlin" in my abilities, it was about how much "back-row Kara" had improved from the day before. I learned to love myself. I never did learn to do crow pose, but I learned to be ok with that.

As I've fine-tuned my boudoir technique and client coaching over the years, I've drawn so much from my yoga practice. From coaching breathing, relaxation, and body awareness, to self acceptance and not comparing yourself to "front-row Caitlin", there are just so many parallels.

A proper boudoir experience isn't about what my other clients are doing, what they're wearing, or what they look like. A proper boudoir experience is about YOU. Not you after you lose 20 lbs, but you RIGHT NOW. It's about loving yourself as you are today. It's about recognizing how far you've come in your life journey, and giving yourself a big, loving, bear hug. It's about being able to look back on that moment in time for the rest of your life and reminding yourself how amazing you are.

For all of these reasons, I've been visualizing a nude yoga photo shoot for years. The female form is just so stunning...there's no arguing that. It just LOOKS like art. It IS art. Add in some absolutely breathtaking yoga poses, and you've got a seriously awe-inspiring set of photos.

A client of mine happens to be one of Austin's finest yoga instructors and when I bounced this idea off of her and told her that I was basically going to be zero help in the pose direction (polar opposite of my regular boudoir sessions where I direct every inch of the body), she was so enthusiastic and receptive to the idea and began planning the poses.

The session was genuinely a breeze for me, though obviously, she had her work cut out for her. I can't take much credit for this one. Compared to the constant direction on posing and body movement that I give in my boudoir sessions, I felt very insignificant in this collaboration. But, alas, the finished product turned out so much better than I had imagined, largely due to Miss R's badassness and trust.