The Mommy Club

***disclaimer....I may or may not have had like a whole bottle of wine by myself while watching this movie before I decided to write this.***

 

As I’m sitting here, watching The Single Mom’s Club, I can’t help but think about how much it applies to married mothers as well. We all want and need support. Many of us get that from our husbands (when they’re not gone on business trips or deployments or in training), but many don’t.

Even with getting the support when needed, we still need each other. We still need other mom’s and other women in our lives. We need to be able to look at the best in one another and let each other cry on our shoulders. We need to have a chance to vent and scream and laugh and be women, as well as moms. We need to be able to rely on one another to watch our children, to talk about our fears and our dreams, to talk about our past and our future, to exchange recipes and craft ideas, to go shopping together and get coffee or lunch. We need to be able to drink wine or beer freely together and just let loose once in a while. We need to open ourselves up, which is really hard to do as an adult, to go to playdates, so not only our children get some time with others (you know, socializing and all), but so that we can talk to another adult. We need to socialize with each other, regardless of age or color or religion or political affiliation. We need to be able to talk about the latest trends and workouts, the latest foods and drinks, the things that hold us back and the ideas that keep us going. We need to not feel lost in who WE are. We are not JUST moms. While we love our children, we need to be us too. We need to feel sexy to our husbands (or wives or boy or girlfriends or lovers or whatever floats your boat), we need to feel confident that we are good people and funny and creative and shy and outgoing and spunky and witty and intelligent and caring and everything else that goes with being us.

So many of us feel lost. Who are we? Are we doing good enough? For our kids? For our loves? For ourselves? Am I working too much? Should I be working instead of raising kids? Is the house clean enough? Is dinner healthy enough? Are the kids doing good in school? Are they happy? …..the thing is….when was the last time you asked…AM I HAPPY?

So, go to the next playdate. Go get coffee. Go to the park. Go meet other moms. Make a new friend. It’s not easy. No one said it was. Take that step (a few times at least!!!) and maybe you’ll meet that perfect mommy match. You have something in common, talk about the kids. Ask how old they are. Tell the other mom their kids are cute. Talk about what school they go to. Then….then the hard part….invite them, in person, to do something else…not just invite them to be your “friend” on social media. GO. DO. SOMETHING. WITH. THEM. This is how we have to make friends. Use your kids as an excuse…I don’t care. We all need our Mommy Club. Make one. Make a friend. Do this for you.

I've got P on the brain

I've got several P's on the brain at least....
Pills
Playgroups
Power of God
Procrastination
Playing and
Photoshop...

Well, who would've thought that I would have to go back on Birth Control Pills while trying to get pregnant?

Yes, for those of you who are lost, you heard me right...birth control pills. The reason I am on them is because the last cycle of fertility drugs helped my ovaries to develop a bunch of cysts (fluid filled sacs without eggs in them). The birth control pills will help shut my system down so that my body can absorb these cysts and allow me a fresh start with the next cycle, which HOPEFULLY will be after just this one pack. If I continue on the medications it will only feed the cysts and make them larger rather than help eggs develop.

Other than that...been busy with my playgroup. We have had a few playdates recently and have more coming up quickly, including a group Easter Extravaganza.

We went to church this past Sunday. That was nice. It was my first time going to church in over 3 years.  I have been feeling compelled to go for sometime now...the power of God is amazing, huh? I just hope that his plan for me is somewhat how I envisioned my plan for me...

Finished one class for school (Economics) and am now working on the next one (Ethics). They're not really hard, just time consuming and I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator. Procrastination is opportunity's assassin.  ~Victor Kiam

Playing with my daughter and our friends has kept me busy, but when I'm not doing that I have been playing in Photoshop and with my camera.

Here are some more of my latest Photoshop adventures:

Well, not much left to say at the moment...I think I might try to go to bed at a decent time tonight...

Why I LOVE my playgroup!

When we moved to North Carolina I didn't know ANYONE...I didn't know what there was to do, I didn't know the cool kid places, I didn't know where parks were, I didn't know anything about the area, but I learned, quickly, because I joined a playgroup. And I LOVE my playgroup! I was searching online for stuff to do and ran across a site called meetup.com and found a group that sounded fun. I joined. I was apprehensive at first to go, thinking that I would be judged as a person, as a mother, on my clothes, and that I would be trying to get into some kind of clique, but that is not what it was like...it was open and fun and while it was kid-oriented, it was ADULT time also!! I got to talk to other moms about not only our kids, but anything else we wanted to! So, here are my top ten reasons why I LOVE my playgroup and I think that all stay-at-home mothers should join one:

1. Friends! Not only will you find friends and playmates for your little one(s) but you'll make your own friends. Girls you can call on to babysit, go out with, share recipes with, have a drink with, and just to talk to. If you don't meet your new best friend the first time, don't worry...come again! With the variety of people and activities, you're sure to meet a few gals you can click with.

2. Oh, I suppose the playgroup is for the little ones too! It's a great opportunity for our children to learn how to share, meet new people, learn manners with their friends and other adults, and to learn new words and activities.

3. You'll find stuff to do in the area you live in. You'll find all the kid friendly restaurants, the deals and discounts, the good hair salons, the museums, zoos, craft stores, parks, dance & gymnatstics classes, preschools, shops, walking trails, and whatever else you might be looking for!

4. Local events! We always try to put up the local events like festivals, circuses, concerts, and other events that are family friendly so that you can find stuff do with your family even if it's not with the group. Let's face it, we don't all have the events calendar on hand and it's nice to go to one site and see what is going on in your town (and surrounding areas).

5. Exercise! Not many people want to exercise on their own, but with the group you can have group walks, runs, park time, gym time, zumba classes and more!

6. Explore new things - I'm not much of a crafty person, so I would have never thought to have painted pottery or making bows, but with this group, I have done both and loved them both. We have also done other things I would have never thought of, like filling a baby pool with jell-o for the kids to play with, or pudding painting, or making playdough, and other things like this.

7. Motivation! Just to get out of the house! No mom should sit around in their house all-day, every-day and retail therapy is not always an option! I mean, really, how many times can you explore the toy-section at Target or Wal-mart not buying anything before you go nuts! And it gives us an excuse to shower and wear something other than pj's! Also, if you host playdates at your house, which we do all the time, it is motivation to get those little projects done and clean the house up once in a while.

8. Helping others out! Not only do we make meals for new moms and their families (kitchen fairy) but we also help eachother out by advertising our home-businesses, sharing clothing, listing stuff for sale to each other, and other stuff. I mean, the little ones only play in there little exersaucers for so long and we always know the next one to have a baby, so we know where you can sell it to someone who needs it.

9. Moral support! Sometimes we just need some moral support and empathy from other moms. Moms that can offer advice on temper tantrums, picky eaters, breastfeeding, and more! The advice from people who are currently going through the same things that you are is nice, and though we love our mommas, sometimes their advice is not always helpful!

10. Sanity! Personally, I would go insane if I didn't have people to meet and talk to, and different activities to do. I can sit around the house for a while, but it starts to eat my brain I think and I turn into this pathetic zombie of a person, so I have to get out!

So, out of shameless promotion, here is our groups website if you're in the Fayetteville area: http://www.meetup.com/kidsatplay/. I am an organizer and have been for over a year and did I mention that I LOVE my group!