From the category archives:

Blogging Rants

Blog for Choice Day

by selfmademom on January 22, 2012 · 0 comments

Today is NARAL’s Blog for Choice Day – a day to recognize the important fact that a woman should have a right to choose on issues regarding their reproductive rights. To know me is to know that I feel very strongly about this issue.

I’m very involved in NARAL Pro-Choice America. In fact, this year I’ve been selected to Co-Chair the Chicago Leadership Council – a great group consisting of NARAL national board members and local influencers in the Chicago community dedicated to keeping pro-choice candidates in office.

On this Blog for Choice Day, NARAL is asking bloggers to say what they are going to do to help elect pro-choice candidates in 2012? What am I going to do? Taking on this leadership role is one of the most important things I think I can do to help keep things stable in Washington. We’re in a decent place right now, and I hope this year we can continue the momentum to make sure women can keep on choosing what makes sense for them, their bodies and their families.

What will you do? I’d love to know and if you’re in Chicago (or anywhere else, for that matter), and you’d like to know more about NARAL, please feel free to comment here or send me an email.

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One year later

by selfmademom on January 22, 2012 · 0 comments

I can’t believe that it has been a year since Caitlin and I formalized our company, 2 Moms Media. From a vision to reality, this year has been chock full of all cliches of owning your own business, ups, downs, screw-ups, successes and everything in between (including a huge grocery store delivery launch last week.)

What started with the opening of a local play space turned into a national consumer product launch at 1500 Target stores nationwide and everything else in between. What I’m saying is, well, it’s been quite a year. It’s been a blast, a challenge and stressful along the way, but I can say I have enjoyed (almost) every minute of it and I couldn’t have done it without amazing support of my readers, my friends, and especially my family. Without the network, 2 Moms Media would just be another idea. So, thank you.

And, to kick off 2012, I’m going to be hosting a twitter party for Totsy on Friday, January 27 to chat about baby essentials. I’ll also be giving away $300 of my earned Totsy credits to one lucky twitter party participant during the chat, so I hope you’ll tune in… again, I can’t do it without you all!

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My 10 non-mom blogger predictions for 2012

by selfmademom on January 2, 2012 · 3 comments

While my friends and the prominent bloggers of the land write their great prose about what’s in store for mom bloggers in 2012, I thought I’d take the time and opportunity to predict what non- mom bloggers might expect this year. Because, as much as we’d all like to think that the world is surrounded by mom bloggers, and while the numbers continue to multiply every darn day, what for the moms who don’t vlog, blog, tweet or Klout? Aren’t they people too? Herewith, my 2012 predictions for moms, in general:

1) Moms everywhere will still have to contend with carpool lines. Even though we live in an age where I can turn off my lights remotely by my phone, school officials still cannot find a way for me to get my child in an efficient and less-of-a-time-suckage manner. Anyone at Apple want to build an app for that?

2) Target will continue to be a money pit for things we need and many we don’t. Moms will continue to stroll the aisles aiming to buy only diapers, but walk out with $150 of things they don’t need, including a really ugly flannel shirt that pilled after one wearing. (Who, me?)

3) Moms will continue to debate whether or not they should sleep-train, breastfeed, swaddle, buy organic, turn the car seat around, and generally listen to every piece of ass-vice from every parenting expert or self-proclaimed one.

4) After debating topics in 3), moms will continue to second-guess their choice.

5) Facebook will replace baby books.

6) No matter what they will tell you to the contrary, every mom in 2012 will somehow or another have six-degrees of separation with a “Real Housewife of [fill in the city here]. Those chicas multiply like crazy, I tell you.

7) Moms, in general, will never look like Heidi Klum post-partum after four kids.

8 ) I repeat, you will never look like Heidi Klum post-partum after four kids. It’s just not humanly possible.

9) Words With Friends will replace actual conversations with friends.

10) In 2012, moms everywhere will still be crying about their colicky baby, whining about their husbands, and lying to their friends about how they look after another night up with their newborn. They’ll also happily take that colicky baby off your hands for awhile so you can get a manicure. After all, moms know how another mom feels, right?

I guess, some things never change after all.

 

 

 

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2011 by the numbers

by selfmademom on December 30, 2011 · 2 comments

2 – 2 Moms Media was created. My little boy turned 2, my eldest lost 2 teeth.

0 – Number of times I cared about my Klout score, Google+ circles, # of Twitter followers, page views.

11 – Minutes spent in my car driving my eldest to school. One way. Times a day I said to my husband “am I crazy to start my own company?” Times a minute I spent thanking my lucky stars for all that I have.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year!

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On starting a start up…

by selfmademom on November 20, 2011 · 1 comment

Emily had a great idea for me whenever I get into a writer’s block here: that I should talk about what it’s been like starting a company as a mom, and as… well… just what it’s been like.

It’s a great idea. Every day I’m living and breathing the growth, success and viability of the company I co-founded with Caitlin, 2 Moms Media. What started on a whim has grown to my half of a full-time, flexible job with clients, conference calls, meetings, stress, fun, late nights, early mornings, and most of all, fulfillment.

Luckily, I have the financial backing of my husband to see if this little experiment in being a business owner works. Luckily, I have in Caitlin a terrific business partner and friend who I can’t imagine doing this without. Luckily, my kids have adjusted to my work schedule. I try to do most things during the day when my eldest is at school, and to not miss too many bedtime routines.

But, starting this little (very little) startup hasn’t been all easy peasy. There have been weeks where the mom guilt of years past has reared its ugly head or when I’ve served the kids mac and cheese for the fourth night in a row or I just really needed to take that conference call from the bleachers during the tennis lesson. I have made school pick up. I have missed school pick up and sent my son home exhausted with a friend to buy me another hour of work time.

There are times where I feel that I’m not doing enough for the business. Not enough networking, not enough meetings, not enough WORK.

Still, three years later, it’s the same issues, the same debate, the same feelings. Guess that’s because, at the core, not much has changed. I’m still the same person; I still believe you have to do what makes you happy with your career, your kids, your husband – to the extent that you can afford to and have the ability to do it. In my world, even in my back to part-time working world, motherhood will always be my job #1. Ok, after that last email gets sent in the carpool line.

 

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My friends (their uncles) and my dad write books

by selfmademom on November 13, 2011 · 1 comment

Being in the blog world that I am, it’s not so uncommon that I would know folks who’ve published books. As hard as it is to get a book published, and, it’s HARD, I know it, there are so many talented women and men out there that I know who’ve made it happen.

Like my old blog friend Joanne, the unstoppable Pundit Mom, who’s taken some terrific guest blog posts from amazing women such as Veronica and Liz (and more) and turned it into a book called Mothers of Intention which discusses the influence of women in politics through social media. Love it. In fact, I’ve just purchased it myself. (Hint, hint, makes for good reading over that long holiday break coming up…)

Or Danielle, my new-ish blog friend, and dynamo, who’s not only an Extraordinary Mommy, but also author of the really smart new book, Mom, Incorporated, which is my new bible on how to keep up my new business. Seriously good tips, ladies, if you are thinking of going back to work after baby.

And my friend Melissa, who’s written THE book on what to do with your tweens and teens in the Chicago area. Pretty relevant for my little guys, as well. And you can’t beat the title – Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go.

Have I also mentioned that my father writes books? He’s on medical murder mystery #3, or 4? This one is called The Police Surgeon, and, while I’m so proud of him, it’s still tough for me to read a novel where it’s basically my dad acting as an action hero. But, with a dedication in the front of the book to my boys, this one will be hard to pass up reading.

And, finally, my friend’s uncle just published a new book too, and I told her I’d help him spread the word. Consider it done, friend.

Don’t I have a lot of talented friends and family? This should keep y’all busy reading for awhile, I hope.

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Social Media Stress-Out

October 18, 2011

A friend of mine today commented how another friend’s blog post about how she’s gone back to work and is super-happy and it’s all working out made her question her own work-life situation. We’ve all talked about the mom work-life balancing act, and that’s not what I want or care to discuss here today. What [...]

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Blogging, 5 years later

October 12, 2011

When I started this blog five years ago, in 2006, I had no clue I’d still be around today updating this site. I’ve had my ups and downs and love/ hate relationship with blogging, but yet, I still persist after all these years. And, I remain quite true to myself – look at my first [...]

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In the stream

September 25, 2011

My dad always had a saying, “Once you’re in the stream, you’re golden.” Meaning, if you want to be networking and doing, and working, you have to get in the proverbial stream of fish, and go… I’m obviously my father’s daughter. When I see a chance to jump in, if I can, I will. This [...]

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Five trends moms can FALL for

September 5, 2011

As we all anxiously await the release of Missioni’s line for Target, we must remember that there is fashion life outside the big red dot. (Or, maybe I just have to keep reminding myself.) Yes, Fall is my favorite fashion season, and while my son hasn’t even started Kindergarten yet, the stores and my brain [...]

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