2011 May | Theta Mom®

05.20.11

Featured TMC Blogger: Mommy to Two Boys

TMC welcomes Jean, author of the blog Mommy to Two Boys. Jean has been one of those bloggers that has been around since this community’s inception and has seen my blog go through some major growth and change – and through it all, she’s one of those readers that is still with me. In fact, she’ll be the first to tell you that I inspire her but the truth is, she is an inspiration to me and so many others…I don’t think she even knows just how far her reach really is. She is a total Theta Mom in every sense, an amazing woman and mother, one that I am so honored to feature today. Here is how she describes her journey in her own words:

“Three courses away from my Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration, a year away from becoming an elementary school administrator, I gave birth to my first son. He was diagnosed with Autism very early and my life took a turn I never imagined.

I am now a stay at home mom so he can receive the best care including therapies and medical appointments. My career quickly, and unexpectedly, evolved into part time tutor, freelance writer, and blogger.

Through Mommy to Two Boys, I created an active community for parents of special needs and neuro-typical children, since I have experience as a mother of both. After my son’s diagnosis I instantly became an Autism guru and advocate, and wanted to share my experiences, knowledge, and stories with everyone. I express and receive advice, encouragement, comfort and understanding. My candid, supportive and guiding voice inspires parents, ensuring them they are not alone. Every day is a learning experience for parents, especially when dealing with special needs. I enjoy sharing our frustrations, disappointments, obstacles, celebrations, and love.

I have learned so much from my son that I truly believe it was meant to be; he was a gift I never realized I needed. And most of the time you will find a good laugh, because we can’t take this parenting gig too seriously!”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*To be considered as a Featured TMC Blogger, be sure to comment on this week’s feature! Have a great weekend ladies!

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05.19.11

Cookies for Cancer: Supporting an Amazing Cause

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a non-profit organization that was founded by two NYC parents, Gretchen and Larry Witt whose son Liam passed away at the age of 6 after a very brave battle with stage 4 cancer. One of my dear bloggy friends, Jessica Shyba teamed up with Tracey Stewart of Moomah Café along with Melissa Chapman and Karen Connell in an effort to fight pediatric cancer.

The main goal of this benefit is to raise money for pediatric cancer research and spread the word about this amazing organization. Attendees also have the chance to enter and win prizes from some wonderful sponsors from the likes of Rosie Pope, Britax, Bellamy Blue Photography, Ritz-Carlton, iCandy, Gaggle of Chicks, Appaman, Schwinn, Maclaren and many, many more.

In addition, The Glad Products Company partnered with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer to match all donations up to $225,000 for the month of May. You can buy a cookie, enter a raffle and help us beat childhood cancer! All proceeds and donations go directly to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

The Benefit will be held on Monday, May 23rd from 2-4 pm at Moomah Café in New York City. For further information about this event, be sure to visit the official invite here and to stay updated on the latest information, follow Cookies for Kids’ Cancer on Twitter and Facebook.

“Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is committed to raising funds to support research for new and improved therapies for pediatric cancer, the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 18. Through the concept of local bake sales, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer provides the inspiration and support for individuals, communities, and businesses to help fight pediatric cancer.”

Thank you Jessica, Melissa, Karen and Tracy for hosting a benefit that supports such an amazing cause. In these instances, where our efforts can and DO make a difference, I am so proud to call myself a blogger.

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05.18.11

PigTail Pals: Redefining Girly

PigTail Pals was created by stay-at-home mom, Melissa Wardy. Very early on Melissa knew she wanted more clothing options for her little girl beyond the “girly” attire that seemed to be everywhere. She wanted her daughter to know that she had the power to be whoever she wanted to be and Melissa felt the need to not to confine her to one specific “girly” look. Melissa wanted to send an important message in early childhood that females are smart, daring, and adventurous. Hence, her business was born. “A PigTail Pal doesn’t wish upon a star and wait for her prince to show up. A Pigtail Pal gets into her rocket ship and finds that star all on her own!”

This company offers a full line of distinctive designs on stylish, premium tees that demonstrate girls can be bold and heroic. This is essentially the mission behind developing this business and women and mothers are embracing the way Melissa is redefining girly. However, Melissa is not anti-pink or anti-princess. I mean, who doesn’t love an adorable diva dress? But what she is saying is that she’s anti-limitation, giving our daughters more choices in terms of what to wear. The art and message on every PigTail Pal product show girls that they can dream in any color. It tells girls that being smart, daring and adventurous is being girly!

Here are some examples of some popular PigTail Pals designs which are available in 12 different colors such as one of my favorites, The Director:

However, Melissa didn’t stop at designing tees alone. She has a full line of matching accessories which are just as cute as the tees! You’ll find everything from hats, to school supply kits, back packs and even writer’s kits all in PigTail Pal style!

Be sure to check out all that PigTail Pals has to offer your little girl and stay updated on Twitter and Facebook.

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. PigTail Pals is a proud sponsor of Theta Mom and I was compensated for this post. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

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05.16.11

Be Careful What You Wish For

Did you ever feel like your day turns out to feel like nothing more than one big routine? That sometimes, your day doesn’t look much different than the one before?

You wipe spilled juice off the floor more times than you can count.

You break up the sibling rivalry that occurs every five seconds. Every five seconds.

You repeat the same sentences like, “Stop it. Don’t do that. Sit down. Eat your food. Did you hear what I said?”

You fold laundry, rinse and repeat.

You hear the word “Mommy” on average 5,634 times a day.

You fold more laundry, rinse and repeat.

You wipe noses, butts and tears.

You wipe and wipe some more.

You sometimes wonder if it was worth giving that career up and trading it with the likes of listening to the high-pitched voices of the Bubble Guppies every single morning.

You constantly feel like you are spinning your wheels, doing the exact same things, speaking the exact same words and nothing seems to change. You begin to feel as though you just want to fast forward the clock. “It will be easier when he’s three or when she’s out of diapers,” and the list goes on…

It’s kind of like wanting to pass away the time to get to the next phase already.

And then…

You glimpse into their eyes for one quick moment amidst the chaos, you remember why you do it.

You rush around and wrangle the kids at an ongodly hour to get out of the house for an appointment, and while sitting in traffic you remember why you do it.

Your paycheck is nothing compared to what you were used to, but knowing dinner is on the table at a decent hour you remember why you do it.

And one day, probably not too far off in the distance, as I complain about this mundane routine I know all too well these days, I’ll probably be wishing it were back.

Wishing I was wiping noses, folding little socks, breaking up fights and cleaning pretzel crumbs from behind the couch.

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05.13.11

Featured TMC Blogger: My Time as Mom

TMC welcomes Jessica, author of the blog My Time as Mom. Jessica may consider herself a newbie since she just started blogging this year, but she is quickly developing her own fabulous community of readers! She’s another engaging blogger who easily translates the reality of motherhood and infuses some humor in as often as she can. Here is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“My name is Jessica and I am the entertaining writer of a blog and I also serve as the official caretaker of my husband, my two adorably insane daughters (ages 7 and 2), and two extremely dumb dogs. I just completed my B.A. degree in Business Management with a minor in Accounting after six long years of college. In January, I will be going back to graduate school for the MBA degree but for now I will be enjoying the break from school.

My husband and I own a small business in Reno, NV where we live. As President of the company, I delegated the husband to run daily operations. I go in once a week to oversee his work and to handle the bookkeeping.

I spend most of my time at home with my laptop and my kids.

Occasionally I do some quilting and scrapbooking.

I am often operating under the influence of sleep deprivation because I stay up way too late at night. To counteract this I try to nap whenever possible.

I avoid cooking and cleaning at all costs.

A little about my blog…I started blogging in January 2011 so I am still fairly new to the blogosphere. My writing is inspired by the daily antics of my husband and children. Occasionally I throw in a post or two about my mom and the things she does for me or has taught me. I am very honest and open about myself and how I am with my family. I try to use humor whenever possible as I believe laughter is powerful.

I recently started a new meme with Mommy is in Timeout and Mommy Monologues called VlogTalk. Each week we provide prompts and on Tuesdays we provide a linkup for the vlog posts. This feature is very new but our goal is to help people step out of their comfort zone and try something new with vlogging. In addition to the link up we also have a weekly Twitter chat called #vlogtalk on Tuesday nights at 9pm EST/6pm PST.

I hope that you will come over to my blog and say hi. Also be sure to check out VlogTalk and dare yourself to try something new. Thank you Heather for featuring me today. Your community is wonderful and I am proud to be a TMC member.”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*To be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, be sure to comment on this week’s feature! Have a great weekend ladies!

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