Mama Interview #9

by | Mar 28, 2014 | Guest Bloggers, Health and Wellness

The intention of this series is to showcase a number of individuals with children primarily in elementary school and younger (But I will interview some mamas of older children too!) I will not be sharing names or photos. Why is this you ask? The purpose of the series is to bond together with our similiarities instead of using our differences to compare each other. Comparison can be the devil when it comes to parenting. I want to try to eliminate factors that would make us doubt ourselves. Please enjoy reading these interviews every Friday over the next few months! –

Interview #9

LET’S FACE IT, THIS MOM GIG IS HARD! WHAT DO YOU FIND TO BE THE HARDEST PART?

I think the most challenging place is trying to strike that balance. I work outside of the home full-time as a 2nd grade teacher. When the school day ends I want to be with our daughters (ages 1 and 3.) From 4:00-7:30pm on the weekdays, it’s family time. After they go to bed, it’s time to grade papers, prepare lessons, report cards, newsletters, email parents back. That doesn’t often leave time to do some of the things I want to do, like read a new book, magazine, etc. I decided to try and read one chapter most evenings and I get up at 5am to do a 45 minute pilates workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday and go to a kickboxing class at Lifetime on Sundays. I am in tune to the importance of this balance and when I feel that I haven’t achieved it as a mother, educator or on a personal level, I try to fix it.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MAMA MOMENT YOU CAN LOOK BACK ON AND LAUGH ABOUT NOW?
I pride myself on busy weekdays of packing just what the girls need for school, our childcare provider, my mom and dance class. Natalie always has her leotard and dance tights ready so I can change her at the studio and begin class right after school. I packed a new leotard a few months ago and didn’t realize the plunging neckline. It was completely inappropriate to wear to class and here I am in the restroom bobbling my 11 month old at the time so she won’t crawl all over the bathroom floor. At the same time, I am trying to find something to tie together in the back to alter her leotard. Thankfully I have a hair tie on my wrist. It works and we are set until five minutes into class when she has to go to the bathroom. I almost had to cut her out of her leotard. I guess you can never be fully prepared.
WHICH MOMENTS IN PARENTING MAKE YOU FEEL THE MOST VULNERABLE OR UNSURE? WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU TURN TO IN ORDER TO FEEL BETTER?

Those big milestones and unchartered waters. This past summer I read blogs, consulted friends and parenting websites on potty-training. All of these resources were helpful. I also have learned that there isn’t just one “right way” to do something. Being an educator, however, I do value research, so I am always looking for parenting experts who support their claims with research. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood are both books I own and oftentimes reread. I have also listened to 4 audioCDs on Conscious Discipline.

WE ALL HAVE BAD DAYS, AND SOME ARE WORSE THAN OTHERS. WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO COPING STRATEGY TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE REALLY ROUGH SPOTS?
When I am at home with the girls, if the day isn’t going great, I have now made myself sit for at least 10 minutes once both of them are down for a nap. I just sit, regroup and relax and give myself permission to not scurry around for those 10 minutes. After that, game on, accomplishing tasks off of my to-do list makes me feel good. I turn on my Pandora app, listen to music and get some cleaning and organizing done.
WE ALL NEED HELP TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN. WHAT TOOLS DO YOU USE TO HELP ORGANIZE YOUR FAMILY? (APP, PRODUCT, ETC.)

I do enjoy Pinterest for gathering ideas, especially crafts for children and recipes. Organization is important to me. I start to draft a grocery list on Thursday for the upcoming week. I will review all of the recipes I plan on making for the week ahead. I then jot down a list (in order of where you would find them in the grocery store.)

The second piece of organization is to go through our daughters’ closets and my own closet and choose what to wear Monday-Friday. I will consult the weather channel just in case 🙂

I purchased this organizer from Target.

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/fbf13c470192d8c9_4-9519/contemporary-clothes-and-shoes-organizers.jpg

It hangs in my 3 year old’s closet and her clothes and her sister’s clothes will go in one cubby per day of the week. Natalie will look at her options and make some decisions about what to wear. This eliminates “what to wear?” each morning.

I also try to prep a portion of dinner ahead of time early that morning, so when I get home, less time can be spent preparing the meal and I can get it into the oven.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU ON BEING A PARENT?
When you bring your newborn home, just try to focus on taking care of him or her. Get the rest you need so you can be the best for your baby. Don’t worry about a perfectly cooked meal or cleaned house, visitors will understand. Try to limit visitors at first, there will always be time to snuggle that new baby. I wish I would have listened to the advice above with both our first and second child. It’s the advice I would give new moms now in retrospect. Lastly, someone once told me, as parents, we are all just doing the best we can with the tools we have been equipped with. Understanding and compassion are so important¦we really are all in this together.