“When no one’s looking I dance around the house, and sing. I don’t think I can sing very well so I make sure I am alone and sing my heart out.” Cassidy Compton (cascompton) on home life with her husband and three sons in Alabama…
Cassidy Compton, 31, lives in a small town in Alabama, US – with her husband Cameron and their three sons; Cohen, five, Elliot, two, and our newest addition Jonah, seven months – “in a cozy 1940s craftsman”. She is a full time mum and photographer.
Our mornings are … slow, and warm and happy. My husband is a morning person and he takes Cohen to school, and I get to have some quiet cuddles with baby Jonah. He wakes up in my arms and when his eyes find mine he gives the sweetest smile, and breathy little baby sounds. I kiss his chubby cheeks about a hundred times and then I tote him into the kitchen and sit him in his highchair in front of the window to distract him while I get his breakfast going.
I cut up some fruits and veggies to steam and he usually will finish his entire bowl. I didn’t make baby food for my other boys, because I thought it would be a lot of work. The baby food maker I have is so simple though and I really enjoy the ritual every morning.
Elliot will eventually come strolling in with messy hair, sleepy steps and footed pyjama feet. He likes to sit on the little wooden table in our living room and watch a cartoon as he eats his breakfast, and then his second breakfast.
I usually just have a straw of chocolate milk for breakfast while Jonah sits on my hip, because it’s so easy, and it’s what I have always done. After breakfast we’ll go to the nursery and get them dressed for the day, and then we will all sit on the floor and play with toys.
I’m usually in my lounge clothes until I pick Cohen up from school in the afternoon. Mornings are sleepy and slow and full of laughter, and Elliot plays with a gentleness that is replaced with wildness when his brother gets home from school. I will cherish these mornings always.
My kids mainly wear … ever since I had Cohen I fell in love with the Zara kids’ line. They have the cutest boy clothing and I don’t feel as guilty buying them nice pieces because they get passed down to his little brothers. I mix Zara clothes with thrift store finds (I’m always on the look out there for overalls, thermals, plaid shirts) and it makes for some pretty cute affordable outfits.
I search Etsy and Instagram for small handmade shops too, and love passing those heirloom quality pieces from brother to brother. I also love dressing them in neutrals and earthy tones, and of course super heroes. For shoes, we love Freshly Picked, Clarks and Minnetonka. I also love finding vintage outfits for them too, I think Jonah wore a vintage sailor suit every Sunday for three months after he was born! Also, bonnets and knit hats make me happy.
I cope with clutter by … I can’t live with clutter! In fact I get a bit of a rush when I carry things out of my house to donate or just get rid of. Each time we clean, everyday, we are filtering and minimizing, because the less we have; the less there will be to clean up! We also have become a lot more conscientious about what we bring into our home, because even though we purge three times a year in our efforts to have a more simple, minimalistic home, it will be for nothing if we keep bringing more in.
We make sure we don’t have duplicates of anything and a home for everything we own, so we know where to find it. Also, I can’t stand paper, and with Cohen coming home from school with all of this paper every day it makes it even harder to manage. But every day, I go through the mail and keep and organize important things, while getting rid of junk mail and random papers. We live by the rule that if we do not find it to be beautiful, useful, or joyful – it leaves our home.
I never leave the house without … a big cup full of water and lemon! Also, a baby wrap, diaper bag, and sippy cups for the boys.
When no one’s looking I … dance around the house, and sing. I don’t think I can sing very well so I make sure I am alone and sing my heart out. Also I will re-watch a show or a movie I’ve just seen, just because it’s comforting. My husband thinks it’s weird that I do that.
I encourage creativity … all day every day! Music is pretty big in our home, so we introduce them to new and old music all of the time, and dance and sing. Cameron writes songs so that is beginning to rub off on the boys, they make up songs all the time.
We try to look for the magic in the everyday, and point out the beautiful tiny details of nature, and love bringing nature into our home to use for crafts or decor. We listen to their stories and ideas and try to make them come to life.
Cohen was dreaming up a Christmas sweater the other day (he wanted a snowman and an octopus on a pirate ship) so we got some felt and hot glue and made his Christmas sweater vision a reality, and now he won’t take it off! These boys come from a long line of creatives on both sides, so they actually inspire me all of the time with their own creativity.
I’ll never be able to part with … my family. If I have all of them close to me always, I will have all I ever need.
When all else fails we … count our blessings. Literally we list outloud the things we are thankful for, the good things that happened, the bad things that could have happened but didn’t. Gratitude is so important to us and helps us stay positive. Also, we listen to each other. When someone is upset, just listening to their feelings and validating them goes a really long way.
Follow cascompton on Instagram: @cascompton