Tag Archives: workingmom

Surf Mom

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C0DAC492-0958-4373-A253-1220FA013E7BYep. This is me. I’m almost 45 years old.  This is a 9″6 Dick Brewer longboard. I know it looks HUGE. But it treats me well. paddles nice and floats me like a lifejacket. All comfortable benefits when you’re a mom who learns to surf in your 40’s.

I’m a single mom to three young kids. And yes I had all 3 kids out of my own body. This is a question that people (strangers love to ask me) Recently, our female captain asked me if I had all 3 kids? I said yes. Then she went on to ask if I had all of them out of my own body? Yep, I sure did. Then she asked if I did IVF? Nope, they were all natural AND planned. She was so baffled. Thank god, the first officer was done using the bathroom so I could leave the cockpit and quit the 20 personal questions with a female stranger. The questions aren’t usually so intense for a 2-3 minute bathroom break but the questions can be rampant.

JSbBPDElTqu04aZ17CHikQ.jpgWhen the pilots need a break to use the bathroom, the A flight attendant has to enter the cockpit to ensure two people are always in the cockpit. I don’t mind giving breaks to our pilots because they’re people too and need use the bathroom and stand up and stretch their legs. But, the 20 personal questions in 3 minutes is always a bit awkward for me. Plus I’m wearing my 100% polyester flight attendant dress that’s about as flattering as a pair of old navy sweats. Holy crap if she saw my surf picture above she might never stop the personal questions. Haha!

 

I must give the friendly vibe like ask me anything. Haha! I do love the honest conversations especially when they’re interesting for both of us.

Do you have awkward conversations at work or in real life because you are healthy? Love to hear your stories! Connecting with real people and real moms is one of my favorite things.

In A Love Relationship With Yoga

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Yes, I’m in a committed, love relationship with yoga and it’s going great. We like to see each other everyday but sometimes we have to miss a few days. It only makes our reunions that much sweeter when we do see each other. If I could I would see hot yoga everyday but I’ll take what I can get. IMG_4150.jpgChilling in Maui post run and yogaIMG_2893_2Teeny, tiny smile post hot yoga class. Happy on the inside but totally wiped out.

I don’t always want to do yoga or feel like I have time to do the yoga. But love doesn’t flourish without  lots of quality time and attention so I make the time.

I’m not flexible at all…And hot yoga feels really awful for part or all of the class every.single.time. Yesterday I ate a cafe yum bowl about 45 minutes before hot yoga and regretted it throughly for the entire class. What you eat, drink, don’t drink can affect your hot yoga class with the intensity of a full body regret.

Big Family, Small Herd

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Days are long. Years are short. Days are long. Years are short. IMG_3974.jpgKai, getting it at the playground!IMG_0494Pre bedtime snuggle with my girl band! 

Our days are bat shit crazy busy with kids stuff so I keep our afternoons/evenings very low key with a hard emphasis on the bedtime routine. Yes, Blaize and Pepper are 5 years old but they need their sleep. And so do I!

They are not the kind of kids that can stay up til 10pm and be “cool” the next day. I still plan my life around playing and chasing the fun with my kids during the day while honoring our “family sleep schedule.”

More music, more singing, more adventures and sleep, lots of beautiful sleep.

Happy sleeping my friends!

Root Down To Rise Up

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This. Is. Amazing. Root down to rise up. They say this all the time in hot yoga and it resonates with me in every single way. IMG_3087Last summer-chilling at the splash pad for a quick picture

Physically, I know that you must build yourself up from the bottom to the top through the middle to feel good.

Mentally, I know that you must put your own oxygen mask on first before serving others.

Spiritually, I know you must believe in something bigger than you to be humble and resilient in this wild world.

Mom-ally, I know I must lead by example and say what I mean and mean what I say to raise, healthy, happy well adjusted kids.

Personally, I know I am accountable to myself, for my actions, decisions and words to grow and evolve as a person.

Why are some days so hard? And why does it look so easy for everyone else on the social media? 

Well, my friends it’s all about the swan.

Like my grandma Ardie used to say, SWIM and PADDLE like crazy (under the water) and SMILE with POISE and dignity on top of the water. Then REPEAT the very next day and everyday thereafter. Also, make your bed everyday. That’s important too. As a mom to 3 little humans, making my bed may be the only thing I actually finish today. So make that bed!

I write and share on this mom blog because no matter what it looks like on the Instagram or the Facebook, everyone is paddling like crazy under water just like you and me. Of course, I enjoy the pretty part on top, who doesn’t?! But, I like the real stuff and talk about the “underwater part” which makes the pretty part even bette if you ask me.

Now, roll on summer so I can work on my kiddie, splash park tan. 🙂

Marinating My Pregnant Belly

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The good news is I have this babymama blog and I am the writer and keeper of it-all of it. 
Let’s just leave it at that, shall we.

Marination

In the beginning of my pregnancy with baby Kai, I wondered about stretch marks. Okay AND everything else.  Most of my friends had an idea or two about stretch marks.  A lot of my friends with kids under five walked away without stretch marks.  Randomly, my friends with kids older than five seemed to have stretch marks.  Coincidence, maybe.  But definitely interesting.IMG_26888 months pregnant with Kai, black line and all. 

After doing my own research, I think it’s a crap shoot.  Research suggests that stretch marks are primarily genetic. If that’s true then I’m screwed because it runs in my family. However, the rate at which your belly grows along with nutrition, general health and skin tone can play a factor.

So, I started “lubing” my belly with cocoa butter and shea butter because I heard these are the best natural lubricants.  There really are a million products that claim to prevent stretch marks.  And they are not cheap.  I doubt there is one product which actually prevents stretch marks.  Which is why I chose to use natural oils.  They claim to moisturize and help prevent stretch marks while soothing your stretching skin.  One product I like is called Wild Carrot Herbals from New Seasons and Whole Foods.  It has olive oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E and even St. John’s wort along with a few other special ingredients.  Like anything else in life, there’s no guarantee but I figured lubing up couldn’t hurt.  At the very least it minimizes the itching from my growing belly and body.  And it feels good to pamper my skin.

The funny part is that the die hard marinators I knew were two prominent Portland yoga teachers.  They both openly shared their pregnancy/stretch mark experience with me.  One Portland yoga instructor said she gained 60 pounds with her son and “lubed up” five times a day.  And, no stretch marks.  Wow, that sounds amazing.  The second instructor in Portland said that she used oil called Mother’s Special Blend found at Whole Foods.  She would lube up from head to toe and cruise around naked for 20 minutes or so two to three times a day.  She said she didn’t get any stretch marks either.  Lubing up 2-5 times a day and letting it soak in sounded like a big time commitment to me.

So, I’ve been doing what’s realistic for me.  I’m lubing up once a day and try to do the head to toe lube job because it feels so good.  I can’t say I do it everyday but definitely get the belly on a daily basis.  It feels like I’m giving my skin a drink of water.  I like to sing “Marin-nnnnaaation” when I lube up and scoot around naked.

Bottom line is that all things being equal, I’d rather not get stretch marks but know it’s the smallest trade-off for the miracle of life.  To date, I’m packing 30 pounds and still stripe free.  However, I know those victory stripes can show up any ole time so we shall see.

I would love to hear your tips or stories about lubing up?

Please leave a comment below.  Thanks for sharing!

Published March 30, 2010

March 24th, 2018 Update-I still love to lube up and “marinate” after my shower and cruise around naked. Old habits die hard. Haha!

Aloha Friday Stamina

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“Days are long, years are short.” I’ve heard this saying a lot lately and I get it. The days are long as a mom to 3 little kiddos. Our days start early and we go hard all day! The Fridays when I wear my mom hat all day and fly that night are the really long days. I’m not complaining but it takes some serious STAMINA. Not to mention the 3 hour time change (backwards) to the mix. My watch confirms why I’m so sleepy on these special mom Fridays-standing for 19 hours and walking 25,000 steps. Wow! IMG_5499Fresh as a daisy before boarding. Still have 9-10 hours left of socializing in me. 🙂IMG_1972_2Post flight debrief-lipstick, hat but no eye contact. I’ve got nothing left. Haha!

Experiences Over Things

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I’m a minimalist at heart so being a mom to three little people has it’s organizing challenges.IMG_2076Blaize and Pepper in all their glory. Post dinner scooter party with my toms wedges and all. Haha!

Yes, I want to save the stuff you want to save. But, we collect SO MUCH STUFF every.single.day. The daily pictures, math problems and cursive practice sheets from home alone are wild.  We live in the Pearl so don’t have a garage or attic to store all the extra “stuff.” That makes it challenging to hold onto.

Years ago, a friend told me about “clipping” people. And how important it was to get rid of the blood suckers. You know, the takers. The ones that constantly take and forget to give back. These days, I’m clipping the stuff. 

As, I did my quarterly closet clean out for Blaize and Pepper, I found bags of stuff to donate. Of course they still have the rotating single socks (at least 40 single socks without matchers) and the clothes. Single socks happen in every house but are rampant in two parent homes.

But a highlight for me during the closet clean out is getting a clothing item out of the rotation! It’s either too small, too stained or too tired. That feels good. Maybe next time, I’ll throw those 40 single socks away and start fresh?

I hope this post tickled your clipping urge. Less is more if you ask me.

Surfer Girls In Maui

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IMG_9080Longboard surfing with my mom!

It’s amazing how much fun you can have in 24hours when you focus on “the fun.” I think short term travel vs. long term travel are two different animals. I’ve done both and like both. However, as a mom I don’t want to be away from my bebes for too long. So, I squeeze in the fun whenever I can. So much fun to be had on a layover!