Working Moms

Mom guilt, noun, the feeling of having done wrong or failed as a mom. I imagine that is how Merriam-Webster would define it. I don't need a definition to know that I experience it regularly in ways big and small. Thanks, Lady... In preparation for full-time daycare, I dropped my five-month-old son off at the daycare center for a two-hour "trial run."  I stayed in the area of daycare and visited a local boutique for distraction while I anxiously counted down the minutes. While there, I decided to buy a necklace with my son's birthstone as something to keep with me while I was at work and he was at daycare. I went to the register and chatted with the sales...

So, I actually don't think of this as a to-do list. I think of it as a “remember the big picture” list. I have a bad habit of staying in love with my calendar and relishing in checking off tasks. If this sounds familiar, read on. This list helps me remember the big picture of being a mom, a daughter, a friend, and a professional. I encourage you to make something like it of your own! Reach Out to a Prominent Contact A lot of people do this in a very unnatural way. They reach out to someone occasionally so they do not come out of the blue when they need a reference in the future. I only do this...

I’m dropping time management advice from some of my single mom friends below. Fun fact: I had to remind most of these ladies to text me back two or three times. I guess you can take that as a lesson itself: Prioritize what actually matters ???? Also, something I’ve learned about time management is to acknowledge where you thrive. Don’t get bogged down by not waking up way before your kids, not keeping an Insta-worthy planner, not meditating, or anything else you’ve seen in an infographic online. I tried to keep a perfect planner book and workout before the sun came up all through college. I learned that I strived better with a calendar on my phone that I could change...

I can think of few things as scary as re-entering the workforce after having left a successful career many years ago. Over the years I have often found myself referring to my previous career in Human Resources as something I did “in the before.” My journey is likely familiar to many of you. I planned to have it all – a successful career and a family, financial freedom, and a comfortable lifestyle. And like so many others, the universe had other plans for me. Our quest for “one more” left us with three miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy that nearly killed me, and an ungodly amount of medical bills. We’d reached a point where desperation won and we were willing to...

Motherhood is hard ...  … and while we have Google and endless advice from Aunt Karen, everyone ultimately has to figure things out on their own. The opinions of others are so accessible to the modern-day mama, that I genuinely believe our mental health suffers any time we pick up our phones throughout early motherhood.  It’s a new kind of struggle and one I’m having a difficult time navigating. I generally use my manners online, but that doesn’t mean I’m not affected when someone I respect chooses to parent differently and raves about it. It doesn’t mean I’m not affected when a stranger blatantly blasts the way I’ve chosen to go about teaching my child to sleep. It doesn’t mean I’m...