Introducing Role Mommy Magazine: PROJECT YOU (Fall 2010)

Open publication - Free publishing - More role mommy

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Regain Life's Balance With The Momnificent! Life (A Book Review)

I became a stay-at-home mom in 1996; and ever since the term - "stay" - has bothered me.

Webster's Dictionary defines the word as "to stop or halt," "remain behind, " and "continue in a place, position, or situation."

As far as I'm concerned, none of those definitions apply. Rarely do I have time to stop; nor do I feel left behind or as though I'm staying in the same place. (The latter could only be defined, in relation to my life, as wishful thinking!)

I am a work-at-home mom. Not to be confused with the work-from-home mother.

I am a Manager; a manager of my household consisting of four children and a husband. My physical place of employment is at home.

Therefore, I am a work-at-home mom.

To define myself in a manner that brings me a sense of satisfaction - of accomplishment - was the very first of many important life-changing steps I learned from The Momnificent! Life by Lori Radun.

And then I was hooked!

For three days, I delved into learning how to grow and prosper in my job and my personal life; which, for me, happens to be in one the same.

Don't misunderstand. The Momnificent! Life isn't just for the full time mother. This book is for any mother looking to gain a sense of balance in her life.

Readers are encouraged to evaluate several aspects of their life, including:

• Personal Development
• Spirituality
• Fun and Enjoyment
• Relationships
• Health and Aging
• Personal Finance
• Career and Profession
• Home and Family

At the end of each segment, readers are invited to engage in assignments that help to exercise the principals learned.

I personally found that practicing such assignments immediately following a "lesson" helped me to more greatly absorb it and set it in motion now versus later - which procrastinators, such as myself, tend to [never] do.

As an avid reader, I've read numerous self-help books on a wide variety of subjects. However, I found The Momnificent! Life to be the first to offer a complete manual on all the issues important to me - as a mother, wife, and a woman.

The Momnificent! Life is a book that I will keep nearby as a handy reference tool; as a means to finding a balance in an all too frequently unbalanced lifestyle.

Thank you to author Lori Radun for bringing such a wonderfully written blessing into my life!

The Momnificent! Life is available at for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart.

I also strongly encourage you to visit Lori's website at http://www.momnificent.com/ for additional resources such as coaching programs and products, a Mini eCourse, and monthly eZine; or find out how you can have this gifted author speak at your next retreat.

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Great Gift Giveaways For Mom (Tuesday Tribute)

There's only 18 more days until Mother's Day, a time when Moms all across America are remembered for their love and sacrifice.

So for this Tuesday Tribute, I want to say thanks to my own mom for everything she's done for me. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful mother. She has been there for and with me through good and bad times, never doubting for a moment that I would and could make it through anything.

Although there was a time I thought my mom was "uncool" and I swore I couldn't wait to be out from under her rules, she has become one of my dearest and best friends.

I only hope I can give my own daughter all that she has given me.

And I'm sure that I'm not the only daughter who feels that way! So in honor of all Moms on this upcoming day, here are some great giveaways specifically for Moms:

• SlimPerfect Swimwear from Contest Corner. Ends 04/21
  
  
• Savepro $20 Gift Certificate from Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. Ends 04/22
  
  
• Avon Pink Ribbon Collection from Tara's View of the World. Ends 04/22
  
  
• Things Good Mothers Know by Alexandra Stoddard from Muse Reviews. Ends 04/23
  
  
• My Life On Time Personalized Planner from The Girl In Paradise. Ends 04/24
  
  
• Blue Nostalgia $20 Gift Certificate from J. Leigh Designz. Ends 04/24
  
  
• Dasani Cosmetic Case from Mommy Daddy Blog. Ends 04/25
  
  
• Desire Unchained: A Demonica Novel by Larissa Ione from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 04/25
  
  
• N-Fini Shapewear from Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. Ends 04/26
  
  
• "What's For Dinner?" Gift Basket from Contest Corner. Ends 04/29
  
  
• Walmart $25 Gift Card from Penny Pinching Diva. Ends 04/29
  
  
• Starbucks $5 Gift Card from The Professional Family Manager. Ends 04/29
  
  
• The Pretty Peacock Hand Stamped Jewelry from Mom Dot. Ends 04/30
  
  
• Ace Quilting Lavender Eye Pillow from The A-Priori Mommy. Ends 04/30
  
  
• All You 2 Year Subscription from Frugal Plus. Ends 04/30
  
  
• Gwen Stefani's Too Faced Cosmetics from CybeleSays. Ends 04/30
  
  
• Lilac Bijoux Daisy & Ladybug Wallet from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 05/01
  
  
• BeautiControl Show of Hands and Hand and Nail Cream from Nurse Mommy. Ends 05/10
  
  
• Ageless Fantasy from Now What Baby. Ends 05/14
  
  
• ARCONA Night Worker from Now What Baby. Ends 05/15
  
  
• Skinny Skinny Organic Soap and Body Oils from Green and Chic. Ends 05/16

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Product Review & Giveaway: Sane Fitness Quickstart (Closed)

WINNER: Coupon Clippin' Mommy!






Having Gestational Diabetes with my last pregnancy, I learned that I was at an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes within ten years.

I learned through nutritional training that the best way for me to avoid this life-changing diagnosis was to maintain a proper diet and exercise regimen.

So when my daughter was born in January 2009, I immediately began looking for an exercise program that would easily fit in with a already hectic lifestyle plus a newborn's demanding schedule.

After looking at numerous programs, I discovered Sane Fitness Quickstart.

This easy to use program is the perfect exercise routine designed to give you a complete workout that will fit any busy woman's schedule.

Sane Fit comes complete with small instructional cards, including photos, that create a custom workout that includes stretching, weight training and cardio exercises.

Each card offers a different method for each of the previously mentioned areas of exercise. They're so simple, they can be performed anywhere! And you even receive a keychain lanyard to attach the cards to take them with you!

If asked what my favorite part of the Sane Fitness program was, I would have to say that, aside from being such a simple program to use, I really enjoyed being given simple instructions for finding alternatives to recommended equipment; such as, jumbo sized shampoos and conditioners weigh almost three pounds each and can be used as dumbbells.

Well, let me be honest, I guess my most favorite part was that I lost 1.5 pounds in 9 days!!!

Sane Fitness was designed by wife, mother and business woman Beverley Caen along with professional fitness trainer John Cruz. So you're sure to get a perfect workout that fits your on-the-go life!

Buy It! Just visit http://www.sanefit.com/ to purchase the awesome Sane Fit Quickstart for only $19.95!

Win It! Win a free Sane Fitness Preggers! Here's how:

• Visit Sane Fitness Leave me a comment with your name, email address (or at least have your email addy in your profile), and state one of the tips provided by Sane Fitness (you can summarize) in the Tips & Extras section. Entries without the tip will not be counted.

Want extra entries? Here's what you do (be sure to leave a comment for each additional entry):

• Add our button to your website or blog for 2 extra entries (already added? just note it when you comment)
  
• Become a follower on Blogger for 2 extra entries
  
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway for 2 extra entries (daily)
  
• Blog about this giveaway for 5 extra entries (daily)

The Fine Print: Contest ends at 11:59:59 PM on April 12, 2009. Winner will be chosen by random number generator. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Open to U.S. and its territories residents only. Winner will be notified via email on Monday, April 13, 2009 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or an alternate winner will be chosen.

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Pretentiousness About OctoMom Is A Buzz Kill

Don't you just love those who live in glass houses that are brave enough to throw stones? I figure that must take a pretty good sized set of cojones to that - a set that would put most men to shame.

We're seeing a lot of this super sized pretentiousness these days with the story of Nadya Suleman, a.k.a. Octomom.

Suleman made headlines around the world when she gave birth to eight living babies via Cesarean section on January 26, 2009. And along with the headlines came a strong villanization of this single, unemployed, mentally unstable mother of six turned fourteen.

It's not difficult for anyone to understand how the public can look at her and ponder exactly what she was thinking. After all, the woman already had six children and was living with her parents in a 1500 square foot home. Not to mention (again) that she is unemployed and her sole source of income is disability payments on three of her older children (and, according to her, student loans she was receiving while pursuing a degree with hopes to become a family counselor someday).

Then when we heard that she had underwent IVF treatments to have "just one more" to add to her large brood because of her desire to fill a void of being an only child, it's no wonder that folks started questioning her mental stability - which, of course, we learned from numerous sources, including her mother, was somewhat questionable.

Yeah, Yeah, I get all that. So does most everyone else.

But what I don't get is this: why the need for public outcry demanding that her children be removed from her care and placed into foster homes or up for adoption?

This is where I draw the line; where I say stop, shut up and sit down.

First and foremost, have those who screamed this option thought about who this would hurt? This would hurt 14 children, all of whom are fully related siblings, that would undoubtedly have to be split up. We already know their mother claims to feel a void related to childhood, do we really want to risk creating a similar void in these children that they have to fill in their own way when they reach adulthood?

Secondly, since when did it become okay in America to yank children from the parent just because they were considered poor by our standards? So many shout from the rooftops that she is, essentially, homeless and has no job. But, taking into consideration the current economic crisis America faces today wherein thousands have lost their jobs and had their homes foreclosed on, doesn't this apply to other parents? Do we take away those children too?

If the answer is no, then that leaves only one other reason why one would think these children should be removed from her care: bad decision making. That's it in a nutshell. Most cannot comprehend how anyone with good decision making skills could voluntarily undergo IVF to add even one more (much less one that turned into eight) to an already large family by today's standards.

That, in my opinion, is the pretentiousness that is getting on my last freakin' nerve!

Have we not all made bad choices in life? Bad choices that affected our children too? I'll step up to the plate and admit that I have. And I did things voluntarily. And, some would say, I'm not so mental stable at times myself (just ask my husband and children). Not to mention I made a couple of those decisions when I was young, broke, and single.

And I take comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. I can't think of anyone I know who hasn't been guilty of stupid mistakes - mistakes that affected their children as well as them. Do I think our children should be removed? No, of course not and neither would the vast majority of those screaming about removing OctoMom's children. After all, they've done their own stupid things that would place them in this category.

So why these children? Is it because it was a multiplied mistake?

Just because it was a careless decision on a grander scale is no better reason to cast judgment upon Suleman than we should upon our own selves. After all, if you open the door for the government to remove children based on one person's bad decision making, you best be ready for them to start making the decision for all of us. And that's just not another right I'm ready to hand to the government on a silver platter.

Sure, I think Suleman is nuts. I have to wonder what in the !#$% she was thinking even trying for one more. But give me one good reason why these children should be removed from her without using the words unemployed, single, or mental.

Oh, and yeah, you can use the words fourteen, six, eight and/or children...but keep in mind you're venturing into an area of allowing government to control the number of children we have. Before answering, be sure to ask an honest Chinese how they really feel about that.

Lastly, remember this, if you answer pertains to her thoughtlessness to her older children or the new babies by doing what she has done, you're taking a stroll down Bad Decisions Boulevard - be mindful of the broken glass from the homes scattered about.

At this point, I just feel sympathetic for the children. They are truly the innocent but will undoubtedly pay for their mother's mistake. And that breaks my heart.

In the meantime, I'll keep my pretentiousness in check lest I someday screw up (and I will) and wind up on the receiving end of such a vicious and vile reaction.

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Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

We were on a family vacation when I first suspected I was pregnant.

I was a mother to three boys. I had accepted the fact that I was to be one of those daughter-less mothers who had to live vicariously through other's little girls and future daughter-in-laws. And I was okay with it.

Once my suspicions that I was pregnant were confirmed, I wasn't surprised to find myself assuming it was a boy with a secret hope that maybe, just maybe, this time it would be a girl.

What did surprise me, however, was when I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks and, when told that we were expecting a girl, I felt a sense of disappointment.

For almost 17 years I had been a mother to boys and had longed for a daughter. Yet, now that in just five and a half short months my prayers would be answered, I was dealing with a sense of disappointment; a sense of dread.

What was wrong with me??!!

For a couple of weeks, I just couldn't explain this emotion. Of course, expecting that I would be on the receiving end of odd looks and rolling eyes if I disclosed my feelings, I told no one. But as the weeks wore on, I came to realize just exactly what it was that I was feeling: a fear of the unknown.

After all, I had caring for boys down to a science. Clothing, diapering, potty training, the rough and tumble natures....I wasn't equipped to raise a little girl. While I had never been much of a girly girl myself, I had lost even more of my femininity living in testosterone dominated house.

As the months continued, I knew that I was having a girl but just never came to fully accept it. As a matter of fact, I half expected the day she was born that we would suddenly discover she had grown a penis.

I was wrong.

In January 2009, after a short four and a half hours of labor, my beautiful daughter entered this world with a loud but lady-like cry; complete with her precious little lips puckered into a pout and eyes that sucker the coldest of hearts to love her.

Just 24 hours later I was able to bring my baby girl home. A home that still brimmed with camouflage, toy trucks, hunting gear and a complete room dedicated to a college football team. And in one small space sat the evidence of things hoped for and expected: tiny pink onesies, hairbows, and frilly sleepers.

Later as I held my daughter, rocking her into a peaceful lullaby, I couldn't help but to cry. A cry that I came to realize was one as much of joy as it was of relief. I would know, after all, what it was to love and raise a daughter of my own: to know the fun of shopping for cute little dresses with those adorable bloomers; to know the joy of slumber parties; to feel the pain and shed the tears with the first breakup; to share in the excitement of wedding plans; and to be there when she needs her mother when she becomes a mother herself.

Without realizing it, all this time I had lived knowing that the old saying "A son is a son until he gets a wife, but daughter is a daughter for life" was true; that someday my boys would grow into men and become very independent from mom - which is what they are supposed to do and I will, although sadly, encourage them. Yet with a daughter I know, while she will grow and gain her own independence, there is always one person she will need....me, her mother.

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