Reflections on Motherhood

When I look at you, I see me, twenty-seven years ago.
I see your curly hair and it's as if I'm looking in a mirror that has been transported through time to the present.
I see so much of myself in you. I see the promise, the potential.
I see the spirit and fire. I see the desire to belong.
I see you feel eclipsed because you are not the only child anymore.
I see you try so hard to be a good big sister.
I see you loving your brother, but not too excited to be sharing your mother.
I see you learn new words; I see you recognize letters and numbers.
I see your brilliance.
I see your skinned knees, your boo boos, and I kiss them, the way my mother did for me.
And as I see all this, I wonder if my mother sees the same thing, if she sees me as herself... twenty-seven years ago.

Lose the Cape - a book review

Do you feel pressured to be "Supermom"?  Are you trying so hard to be "Supermom" that you lose who YOU are?  Well, stop trying to be someone else, Lose the Cape, and be YOU!

This is the message Lose the Cape by Alexa Bigwarfe and Kerry Rivera aims to drive home.  No matter what stress you are going through, or which choice you are making in how to parent... you are not the first, and you will not be the last, to have to weigh the options to choose the best solution for your children and your family.  But... what options are there?  What are the benefits of each?  What will make YOU the best mom you can be and help you realize your full potential?  Here is where Lose the Cape really helps out- it provides strategies to survive every day stresses such as bedtime, feeding, and separation anxiety while leaving the stressful part of each situation behind to be the best mom you can be.

Lose the Cape is not like any other parenting book I have ever read because it recognizes that we are all individuals... Moms, co-parents, and children... we are all unique.  There is no one size fits all solution to each stress.  Instead, we are encouraged to find what will work for us in each situation, and to be ourselves- the best version of ourselves we can be.
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Personally, I'm not trying to be Supermom anymore.  I'm under a lot of pressure between working a full time job and running my own business.  There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, and this is my biggest mom stress.  I do the best job I can in every aspect of my life and I cherish my time home with my kids on the weekends and in the evenings.  I've been plagued with mommy stress about my lack of time in the past, and I'm choosing to let go of it.  I'm choosing to embrace the time I have home with them, and let go of my fears that my babies will forget me while I'm at work.  They are in capable hands of a friend I trust, and I could not be more confident that they are both well cared for and having fun while I am at work.

Do you want to give yourself permission to Lose the Cape?  Order your copy today on Amazon.com and you can get free shipping with Amazon Prime!
 
Legal Stuff: I was not compensated to write this review.  These opinions are my own, and I receive no financial benefit from the sales of this book.  I was provided an advanced copy of the e-book in order to be able to write this review.

Why I love Didymos™ Prima Sole Occidente

Wow, I seriously am blessed to say that the release of Didymos™ Prima Sole Occidente launched my shop and it has become one of my favorite wraps. For me, it has upstaged every other wrap in my rotation in terms of beauty and sophistication.  I have been very busy working on Trendy Babywearing as a result of the success of this wrap's launch and I had a few thoughts on the Didymos™ Indio Sole Occidente, and the wrap that I sold on the swap to fund the purchase of one for myself personally, the Didymos™ Indio Aurora.

When Didymos™ released the Indio Aurora, I thought it was beautiful and I had to have one.  

Wearing Asher with the Didymos™ Indio Aurora

However, after I received the Didymos™ Indio Aurora, I had two thoughts: 

1. I wished I had ordered a size 7, which wasn't really Didymos™'s fault, but it was something I regretted after purchase because I learned that I liked extra tail for tying.
2. I wished it was darker.  I wished there was a night version to Aurora's day.  

Wearing Asher with Didymos™ Indio Sole Occidente

Then, Didymos™ did just that, they created another Indio with a gradation of colors similar to Aurora, but darker, and oh so beautiful!  This is the evening gown of wraps, ladies and gents.  Didymos™ Indio Sole Occidente stole my heart.  Despite weighing more than Aurora, it is thinner, therefore the fibers have a greater density.  This wrap is like a second skin when wrapped with and truly molds to your body.  It is soft after just one wash, not the least bit diggy on my shoulders, and have I mentioned its colors?  It is gorgeous jewel tones of purples, blues, green, and a hint of pink.  As this size 7 was just delivered with the latest shipment of Didymos™ from our distributor, I have only had the pleasure of wrapping with it for a day, but it is truly amazing.

I don't know what Didymos™ can do to top this wrap, but I know they will surprise me and it will be spectacular.

*Legal Stuff: I own Trendy Babywearing, and any sales of Didymos™ Indio Sole Occidente through my website at TrendyBabywearing.com will benefit me financially, however, these opinions are my own and I would feel this way about the wrap even if I didn't benefit from its sales.

Babywearing Love

My journey with babywearing outside of SSCs and Pouch Slings may not have started until April of this year, but I have been a quick study, and I love it!  I have seen so much of a difference in my connection with my baby and a lack of postpartum depression that I attribute to babywearing helping me to bond with my son, even after he spent the first 11 days of his life in the NICU.

I wanted to write this post to share my joy with a new found way to love on my baby and be hands free so I can get things done!

Here are some babywearing LOVE photos.

Photo credit: Very Important Date Photography, Kaity Williamson

An Examination of Conscience

When I was in high school, I was so religious that one of my classmates referred to me as the "God Squad Chick." This frightened me to my very core. Every time I went to a religious retreat, every time I sat in adoration, I felt called to an extremely religious lifestyle. I wanted to get married, I wanted kids! I couldn't be a nun AND do that. I was too close to the holy fire, I was about to get burned, so I ran as fast as I could away from the church to... the "God Squad Dude," as Joey liked to refer to the guy I dated my junior/senior year of high school and for part of my freshman year of college. God Squad Dude is now an Orthodox Rabbi, and although we are quite obviously no longer together, we do talk on occasion through instant messenger to compare notes on our kids (he has a daughter a few months older than Asher).

I was really captivated by the rich history of the Jewish people. I had always been fascinated by the strength of spirit and the resiliency that has been demonstrated by the Jewish people time and time again in their history.

Deep down, under the surface, and unbeknownst to even myself, my study of this history was motivated by a desire to know and understand the religion that Jesus practiced to better understand the New Testament. In the 10 years I studied Judaism in depth, I learned more about Catholicism and the origins of certain parts of the Roman Catholic mass than I ever did in catechism classes. I wasn't searching to get to know Jesus. I wanted out of the Roman Catholic church. I was bothered by politics within the parish I had grown up attending. I wanted to be Jewish.  I wanted to distance myself from everything Roman Catholic, and yet, I kept being drawn back.

The past six years, I've been wavering... back and forth.  I wanted to go back to the Roman Catholic church, but I was afraid of admitting that... not just to everyone who hated that I left the church (I didn't want to hear "I told you so!") but also, to myself.  I didn't want anyone to think that that my study of Judaism was 'about a boy.'  It wasn't.  It was more than that. It was me getting to know how my Savior, Jesus Christ, lived his life 2000 years ago, and yes, Jesus was male, so maybe it was 'about a boy' but not the one everyone thought. 

I dreaded what I would have to do to return to the church: Confession.

Confession was what I needed most.  I needed an unburdening that was personal and between me and my God, and I needed forgiveness and absolution for my abandonment of the church.  I never really understood confession before.  I never had a real good experience and I never had a confessor make me feel so comfortable as when I made my full confession to return to the church.  I truly felt as if I had come home, the prodigal daughter of the church.

I joined the folk choir, and when I sing, I feel transported back to those feelings from high school.  Intense joy fills me as I listen intently to the scripture readings at mass.  I truly love the sermon's of the pastor at my new church home, Our Lady of the Hills in Columbia, SC, because he relates the scripture to the life I am living today.

I cried tears of joy this past weekend, as my son was baptized into the Roman Catholic church.  I feel sad that I did not have the same emotional response at my daughter's baptism 2 years ago, but I had not been completely ready at that point to fully accept the church as my spiritual home.  I am ready now, and I will raise my children sharing all the knowledge I gleaned in my time apart from the church in hopes this will teach them to be strong witnesses of the faith.