Month: July 2013

Mom-Me Time? What’s That?

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Once a month I had an appointment with Tanya. She’s a guru when it comes to waxing. Every two weeks I had an appointment with another Tonya. She was my hair stylist. Every morning I got up just before 6a to get to the gym before work. After working out for an hour, I’d make my way back home to get ready for the work day. Those days were a long time ago! This is just a glimpse of my life before my name changed to mama.

mom-me-timeI used to do so many things just for me, without a second thought. These days it’s hard to wedge in time to pluck my eyebrows let alone schedule a wax. I have been finding ways to steal some me time though. Every time I find a sliver of time to do something just for me, it’s a mini-celebration. It’s not that I don’t absolutely love my life as a mom. It’s just that I realized that it’s the little things, like a spontaneous pedicure or a shopping trip to Target all by my lonesome, are pretty special. It’s the small ways I take time out for me that make me a better mom and a better wife. It’s true what they say “happy wife, happy life”. I’d also like to add, “happy mama, way less drama“. {tweet this}

All these little things we do for ourselves can be described as self care. That can be anything from finding time to read a novel or a magazine. It could be as simple as enjoying an ice cream cone as you walk alone through your neighborhood. For me, I find that I need the space sometimes to just worry about taking care of nobody but me. I gladly give my family most of me, but I save a little for myself.

Share in the comments: Do you have any things that you do just for you? What’s self care look like for you?

Who is in your cheering section?

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I was talking to a friend yesterday and we talked about  a conference we were attending. The conference was for moms who wanted to build create success on their own terms. Listening to the stories of the other women left us feeling empowered. As moms who have made the decision to build our future, our way, these women’s stories resonated with us.
It’s always good to know you have company. No matter how crazy  your goals are, it’s always good to know someone else out there has those same kinds of goals. It’s comforting to see other people run into issues and how they deal with them. It’s even better when they share those issue with you as well as how they over came. Sharing is something moms do well. We share our stories, our experiences and our struggles all the time.
moms
Since entering the world of motherhood, I’ve noticed something. We tend to support one another. We have a bond that we need not speak about, we just get each other for the most part. When a mother is trying to build her future and create a life that allows her to spend more time with her kids we rally around her. Even if that support comes from a place of wishing you could take the leap they’re poised to make. Look at the success of Simple Mom and Pioneer Woman. That’s moms supporting each other. Even my own blog, though not as huge as the ones mentioned above, has been totally embraced by moms.
That support is critical when stepping out there. Having your tribe and accountability partners help to make the wildest dream a reality. Having that sounding board and that cheering section can make the difference in following your dreams and sitting on the sidelines.

I have managed to cultivate a pretty sweet cheering section. They have my back and let me get all of my thoughts out there without reining me in and telling me what I want is impossible.

How about you? Who’s rooting you on? How has that support helped you?

How to live the Celeb Life

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Love it or hate it, becoming a celebrity pretty much guarantees your spot as a role model. Many complain about it, some embrace it and others just shrug it off.  One thing is for sure; kids gravitate to celebrities and emulate them – good and bad. What is it about these people that make our kids AND us want to be just like them?  Money, fame and celebrity all play a part. But at the end of the day, these are people who have followed their dreams. That’s it! It’s following your dreams that make people want what you have and want to be like you.

“If you’re the type of person who has to fulfill your dreams, you’ve gotta be resourceful to make sure you can do it.  – Vin Diesel

Following your dreams and eventually living your dreams will make you successful. It doesn’t have to be success on the level of your biggest celebrity – but it could. Your success will come because it’s your dream, it’s what you love and you’ll work your butt off because you love it.  Isn’t that how the real celebrities do it?! It kinda goes like this: dream àwork à work à dream fulfilled. Dream some more à work à work. The difference is your adoring fans are your mini-me’s. Awesome.

celeb lifeSource

For me, pursuing my dreams is important because of the type of role model I want to be for my kids. There are a couple of benefits to going for your dreams, as a mom:

1 – It teaches kids to go after what they want. I dream up pretty lofty goals for myself with an attitude of why not?  I’ve reached some of those goals, others I’m still working on.

2 -It teaches them that nothing is impossible. Of course, that’s not to say that it will be easy but with hard work, their dreams are SO possible.

3 – Watching dreams unfold gives a sense of accomplishment. It’s one thing to talk about something but to actually be about it and watch it happen… that’s bliss. Why wouldn’t a kid want to emulate that?!

4 – Goal setting is fun! I may be an odd bird but I think setting a crazy, outrageous goal is fun and challenging. It’s even more fun when you reach that goal. It’s empowering when you realize you can do things that people tell you are impossible.

So tell me, do you have a dream you think is impossible?