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age 30 : married : mother of two : Costa Mesa, CA Has googled “developmental milestones” more times than she can count, loves all things truly healthy and organic, thinks you should always take time out to color with your kids when you are stressed, regularly fantasizes about her kids sharing.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN
ON YOUR MOTHERHOOD JOURNEY?
I had a miscarriage over 7 years ago, followed by 3 years of infertility, and finally got to hold my baby girl in my arms 4 1/2 years ago! Now I have a son as well.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR HARDEST “MOM MOMENTS” THAT YOU WILL ONE DAY LOOK BACK ON AND LAUGH?
Picture this: it is the day before Thanksgiving and I learn that I am hosting dinner at my house. I run out with the kids to get the “provisions” at Costco and after the cart is filled to the brim (amidst cranky, impatient and frantic customers surrounding me), my son throws up his entire breakfast – all over the front of himself and on the floor in the produce section. He’s crying, my daughter is gagging at the sight and smell of “recycled oatmeal pancakes”, customers are staring, and I am SWEATING! We survived, and all I have to say is thank goodness for the huge box of baby wipes sold at Costco!
WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT MOTHERHOOD? How challenging it has been for me! I am a total perfectionist and there have been plenty o’ things in life that have been challenging, but I have always excelled at whatever I have
done. Motherhood is a different sort of beast – sometimes it feels like “just working harder” is not going to cut it! I am also having to constantly remind myself to be present. I wrote a blog about this, but I think in a nutshell, it is my tendency to get swept away in looking ahead or looking at others, or even looking at what I think the moment I am in could be (if only I was more organized...or if the kids weren't sick on this day...or if I had remembered to pack the baby wipes...etc...) and that in that tide, I miss out on the beauty that surrounds me in that moment (amidst the pile of laundry and snack crumbs on the floor - yes, there is beauty if I look up to see the precious kid dropping those crumbs as he devours his snack with glee and abandon!). Oh, and the surprise of having children with totally different temperaments than I expected.
WHAT IS A CURRENT CHALLENGE IN YOUR FAMILY LIFE?
My son is acquiring speech very slowly, and this leads to frustration for everyone in the family. My daughter will talk to him and just repeat the same phrases louder and louder [“Callen, can you say LASAGNA?!!”]…I worry about what I am doing wrong and if this is “just a speech issue”…and, he just really wants to communicate!
MY “MOM SECRET WEAPON” IS…
There are truly very few situations that cannot be calmed/reversed/fixed/ quieted by a lollipop. I am sure that before I was a mom I saw kids with lollipops and thought, “Wow, so much sugar…”, but now I am so okay with busting out the lollipop when drastic measures are needed. Secret weapon #2 is naptime! Just to have a small chunk of time to myself is golden (what a treat to get to pee without having toy cars drive across my legs or a heated debate over which pony is the prettiest - can I get a witness?!) It is
such a good thing to have a break from each other in the middle of the day and then to see each other again and say, "It is good to see you!"
my mama manifesto is…
...to be present and engaged in my own life, and the life of my family... …to empower fellow moms with resources, empathy, community, inspiration, compassion, shortcuts, laughter, courage, wisdom, strength, esteem, honor, great gear, and above all else, a moment to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE… …to raise healthy, smart, kind, brave, Godly, free spirited kids… …to encourage fellow parents to invest in their marriages and to co-parent well… …to help moms in impoverished parts of the world realize their dreams for their children to have food, water, shelter, education, and health… can it all happen? of course it can! – I am a MOM!
