Welcome to Happy Mothering! I created this little corner of the internet in July 2009 in hopes of connecting with like-minded moms online. What was once a little outlet for my natural living research and parenting anecdotes has grown into a lifestyle blog that reaches hundreds of thousands of moms per month.
You’ll love Happy Mothering if any of this resonates with you:
- You love experimenting with homemade beauty recipes
- You’re looking for delicious, gluten-free recipes for your family
- You want to learn how to make fun crafts, not just for the kiddos, but for adults too
- You’re want to learn tips, tricks and hacks that will help you around your home
My goal is for Happy Mothering to be a one-stop-shop for moms who are into natural living in a modern world. While our roots are in natural living, we adore our modern conveniences so we found a way to blend them seamlessly into our lives. And that’s what I’m sharing with you here on Happy Mothering.
I’ve been featured in many different publications over the years. Here are some of the highlights! It’s pretty amazing to look at these logos all together and realize that my work has garnered that much attention in the last decade! You can check out some of the features on my Press page.
My hope is that you find the resources and tools you need here on Happy Mothering to help you live naturally in today’s modern world!
About Chrystal Johnson
Hi, I’m Chrystal – the Founder of Happy Mothering. It’s nice to meet you! I’m a mom to two beautiful girls – Zoë (age 14) and Kaylee (age 13) – and wife to Brian (you can check him out over on Audit My Blog).
We live in Big Bear Lake, CA, homeschool our kids and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the mountains! We love outdoor activities, crafts, traveling, cooking and enjoying life!
During the winter, you’ll find my family snowboarding and during the summer, you’ll find us out on the trails or by the lake. Our number one goal is to have fun and share that joy with those around us.
I never imagined I’d be living such an amazing life. It’s truly one I never could have dreamed up!
If you had told me when I was a little girl growing up in San Diego that I’d grow up to be a professional blogger someday, I wouldn’t have believed you.
It’s a career that hadn’t even been invented yet (remember that when you’re thinking about your kids’ futures)!
Even if you’d told me I was going to become a writer, I would have laughed you off.
I was always stronger in math and science; that is until college when one of my public relations professors taught me how to write in one semester. I haven’t looked back since then!
While a lot of people don’t believe a college education is necessary (and it’s not for everyone), mine was instrumental in shaping me into who I am today. I’m not sure Happy Mothering would exist as it does without my college journey.
I graduated from Pepperdine University in December 1999 (a semester early!) with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and an outside concentration in Business Administration. In addition to my studies, I was heavily involved with volunteer work, served as a new student orientation counselor and studied abroad in the Asia Business program.
After graduation, I jumped around marketing, sales and public relations jobs in industries like hospitality, public safety and shipping until I found my dream job in marketing at a Fortune 20 healthcare company.
I was climbing the corporate ladder and loving it. That is until I became a mom and my world got turned upside down. I never knew I could love another person so much and my mindset literally changed overnight.
I left my job and took a bit of time to spend with my daughter while I searched for what I wanted to do next. Shortly afterward, my husband left his job and we spent a year in Uruguay, where our younger daughter Kaylee was born.
While we were there, I started freelance writing. We also had a blog about our life in Uruguay, but I started this blog in secret! I didn’t even tell my husband about it. He discovered it when he found an article online I wrote called, “Did you really just teach our daughter that?” (which has since been moved to our family blog).
I was on pregnancy bed rest at the time, and he came into the room and shouted, “You have a blog! How cute!” It’s a story that Brian tells over and over again – mostly because of how ironic it is that my cute little blog is now our family business!
Once Happy Mothering was out in the open, I became more serious about it. By January 2012, I had significantly slowed my consulting in the healthcare technology industry and was completely focused on building my online presence.
Initially, I wrote for a variety of publications like Earth911, CBS Orange Country, Examiner.com and Healthy Planet Canada. I ran a boutique influencer agency and blogger network. I dabbled in network marketing, becoming the largest team leader for the now-defunct alex+von and a Silver Wellness Consultant for doTERRA.
I juggled all of these gigs for a few years until I was able to exclusively write for Happy Mothering and make a full-time living doing it. Then I happily walked away from my other income streams so I could work only for myself.
In 2017, my husband was able to stop traveling for work (he was in the music industry) and come to work full-time with me on Happy Mothering.
We’ve made several attempts to figure out how to work together throughout the years, and I’m so grateful we finally found a formula that works for us. It has been a really great change for our marriage if you’ve been thinking about doing it!
Now that I’m not running the blog 100% by myself, it gives me back a little time to rediscover forgotten hobbies and unearth new ones. It was the missing piece to me finding life balance.
I’m so grateful to live a life where I get to work with my husband while we homeschool our children and live a true freedom lifestyle. I hope how we live will inspire you to find a life you can love as much as I love mine.
If you want to learn more about Happy Mothering, check out our Work with Me or Press pages.