Hey Boss Mama, Need an App?
Most of us that have growing businesses and communities desire an app to easily communicate and connect with our people. Having the ability to be front and center on someone’s smart phone through push notifications, fresh content, and group messaging allows us to serve our members better. But apps are expensive!
We did the hard work when we created Mama, the app. And now, as we are working with other organizations that want to support mamas, we realize how much this community needs access to affordable app creation.
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Top 3 Ways To Improve Your Positive Self-Talk
Before becoming a mother, I found pride in being an overachiever. Unfortunately, with that came discontentment. My mind decided to focus on what was left to do, or where I was lacking. Enter motherhood. The high expectations that were unmet became breeding ground for negative self-talk, guilt, anger, and sadness. So, I did what us strong mamas do, and I fought back. Hard.
I went to counseling, I read books, and I practiced replacing those hurtful comments with new truths. Here are three things that I exercise to maintain positive self-talk and maybe they could help you, too
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What Every Mom Needs to Survive Motherhood (And Maybe Even Thrive!)
Your head hits the couch pillow, and you are hoping your kids don’t see your tears. It has been one of those days. You know the ones where motherhood tricks you into thinking you are less than, or life gets too overwhelming. The need for a friend to hug you, or for your mother to tell you how great you are doing comes to the front of your mind. When you need support most, you hear a little ding from your phone.
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Believe in Yourself Just A Little More
This wisdom was inspired by my own need to dig deep for the confidence and feel connected to the strength of the woman who walked before me. We may not always feel like mother of the year, golly we might not even feel like a good mama somedays…
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Self-care is the foundation of my sanity
My soul is tired. My body is fatigued. My emotions are heavy. The only part of me that has energy is my mind. It doesn’t turn off. It reminds me of the tasks I am forgetting and the work still to do. I am beginning to realize that my mind, the strategic motivated overthinking brain I have nurtured for 37 years, has no interest in my wellbeing.
I’ve been on a work trip that I have desperately been looking forward to as an escape from home life. And now here I sit, at the airport, after four days away from my family, and I am even more exhausted than when I left.
I got to sleep for four straight nights on this trip — no middle of the night wakeups from bad dreams and toddler potty needs. I haven’t had to make different versions of one dinner to appease my two boys with the most opposite palates. I haven’t had to clean said meals up off the floor after each meal. I haven’t had to reason with an unreasonable toddler about getting his shoes on for school. Or intervene in the nightly toddler wrestling session that typically ends up in one or both boys crying.
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Go away! I love you.
This is my bathtub tonight. Looks cozy, no? Those pure white bubbles, mmmm…they’re not the organic orange and lavender bubble bath I meticulously picked out for my daughter. It’s Clorox. When friends walk into my home and smell the bleachy-fresh air, they think I’m a neat freak, but, to be honest, it’s usually the sign of a bad day.
Today was a doozy. It was clear from daycare pickup that L. was more than usually exhausted. As though to prove me wrong, she decided to abandon her friends on the toddler playground and climb to the top of the 25-foot spaceship at the park.
My husband and I: afraid of heights.
L: fearless.
While I try to engender this confidence in her, I wish it didn’t manifest itself on a rusted, rickety spaceship. After ensuring her safe return to the ground, we leave the park for Target, where she cheerfully points, “I want that. And that. And that.” I harness my temper.
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We can do hard things
You can do really, really hard things, mama.
Here's how I know that:
Because you already did!
Take a moment and reflect on the top three hardest challenges you've gone through in your life. Imagine what it felt like when you were in the thick of it, and how manageable it feels now. Maybe still emotional or painful, but way less sharp when you think about it.
Next, identify the key lessons and takeaways that you learned from these experiences.
I imagine that you will find that you have manifested some characteristics through your hardships that are considered virtuous:
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Find an excuse if you have to
Do you ever wish you had to be hospitalized? Just for something minor: a botched mole removal that needed to be fixed, something to remedy a perceived cosmetic flaw, but imagine three or four days of sheer, uninterrupted sleep, clean(-ish) sheets, prepared healthy meals…it kind of sounds like a spa. This may be a sign that I need just a bit more self-care in my life.
On that note, I’d like to share the secret to my (questionable) sanity. It’s Whole Foods. While the prepared foods section would be a good start on a hectic night when dinner plans aren’t quite going my way, it’s actually the massage section that really won me over.
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Defending my worth as a mother
Last week, I got a message from my husband saying he wasn’t excited about the kids spending an extra night a week with me because the ‘kids sleep better etc.” when they are with him.
Hmmm, that’s interesting: Etc. Etcetera? ETCETERA?! What the $&*! was that “etc” supposed to mean? I’d like to say I was initially interested in understanding what he meant with the “etc,” but really I wasn’t interested in much understanding at all. I was interested in one thing: DEFENDING MY WORTH AS A MOTHER.
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Love Your Body, Eat the Cake
When I was six months postpartum, I felt this incredible need to get my body ‘back’. Not only had I not lost any pregnancy weight, but I added some because of the insane sleep deprivation and lack of self-care that every new mother goes through. I conned myself into believing that if I ate less or stuck to a whole foods diet, the weight would come off faster. So I did this and before I knew it I found myself in a binge-restrict cycle that is always the outcome of a strictly regimented diet.
As soon as I realized this, I stopped what I was doing and started practicing total body acceptance at my current size. I shifted to eating from that mindset, rather than from the belief that my body wasn’t good enough. I now know that eating as if my body isn't good enough, will always keep me locked into believing that, MY BODY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH.
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