The internet isn’t short on blogs or influencers, and it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s manufactured. Samanatha Eason has been blogging and writing on her website Mother of Chunk since 2017 and regularly serves up a variety of raw realities on everything from marriage to parenting, with a side of interior design inspo and recipes. If #followfriday was still a thing, following her on Insta would be a must. Nothing is off limits, there’s no judgment, and she’s not afraid to tackle almost any topic that affects young wives and mothers.
Oola: You share your experiences so eloquently, and with a funny and relatable realness. On the flip side, do you have to deal with online bullying or negativity, and any advice on how to deal with it?
Samantha: What I share has definitely evolved. My Instagram started out as primarily food, after drastically changing my lifestyle when Isaac was born. For a long time I thought I was “supposed” to share certain things or strictly stick to one audience, but when I hit 10k followers I launched my blog and shared my first piece about my alcoholic father and his passing. That became the most rewarding type of work – rawly connecting with others. Since then, my IG has transitioned more into lifestyle, so I just write there – it’s easier than doing a full blog post, and I’ve found that sharing in the moment is more beneficial, for others and for my own inspiration.
Oola: Longtime followers know that you aren’t afraid to be vulnerable and honest about motherhood, missed workouts, and marriage. Did you set out to create this type of outlet or has it evolved over time?
Samantha: I feel very fortunate that I don’t get a lot of hate. In December of 2019 (my roughest month probably ever), I faced a lot of at home challenges + was battling some postpartum depression. I posted on my stories that we were thinking about rehoming one or two of our dogs. Chris and I had/have opposite schedules and I’m home with our kids with minimal help – for a few hours maybe once or twice a week. We were arguing a lot and our fixer upper home continued to have problems – I needed to feel like I had an option. I think I received over 100 messages of people saying they were sorry and they knew how hard this must be for us, and emails seriously inquiring about the dogs. However, a handful of others were incredibly bitter, one woman said “you’re a horrible mom, are you going to get rid of your kids when they give you a hard time too?”. Ironically, most of the sh*tty messages were from people who didn’t have children– just animals, making it impossible for them to know what I was experiencing. The internet is a wonderful tool, but it sucks sometimes. We still have all three dogs BTW!
Samantha Eason
Oola: What is the biggest life/mom hack you have discovered since being a stay-at-home mom? In other words, share with us how you make it look so easy?
Samantha: The favorites section on my blog, and quite a few of my highlights on IG are all things I absolutely love and swear by. I actually need to add to it/update it! I really don’t share anything I don’t use or believe in, including ads. I always try everything, including products that are sent to me before posting.
Oola: The ‘Favorites’ section of your website is full of product recommendations. Do you test all the products you recommend and how often are those updated?
Samantha: Reassuring yourself that everyone is trying their hardest, all the time. It’s so easy to think that everyone makes everything look effortless, but the beauty in effortlessness is actually the effort. How do you do the mom thing? You just do it. And when you lay in bed at night, no matter how hard the day was, you still smile. I think it’s the most rewarding feeling, to give something your all, forever. Adulthood becomes mundane and serious, children make things light and innocent – qualities that are always needed.
