MamaManagement

I have not shown up here on MamaManagement in many months. There are lots of reasons I could list as to why. But, I think the core of it is that I haven't had much to say. We've had a lot of "stuff" going on...all of which revolves around us moving from Pennsylvania to Illinois in August. Plus, for a while there, back in Spring and early summer, I was working hard on book revisions (decidedly NOT the case now. Sigh.). But mainly, I've just been really self-absorbed lately. Both in good ways and in bad. Truth be told, I've been a bit of a hermit these last few months. Much of my reclusiveness was born out of prepping for the move and then moving. Moving a family from one state to another is a full time job. And it's stressful. It throws your family's entire life off its rhythm. And, in my case, it also throws your mind, body, and spirit off-rhythm. My mind has had so much on it that it no longer works properly. Information flows in and out lik...

This post is as much for me as it is for you. I am just beginning my journey into the land of Body Positivity and #BellyLove is my next big step. As many of you saw in my last post about diet culture, I've recently been inspired by a #BodyPositivity movement that came to my attention through Instagram. This movement is all about loving our bodies just as they are, in whatever shape they are in. It's about ditching the pervasive diet culture and body shaming, and seeing the beauty in every body...especially our own. This Body Positivity movement is connected to another movement called # HealthatEverySize . Which focuses on being healthy and doing the best for your body regardless of what size you are. Not worrying about what the scale says or whether of not you have washboard abs and a thigh gap, and instead focusing on eating foods that make your body feel good and doing movement that promotes good mental and physical health AND feels good...without caring at all abo...

Over the years I have become a master in the art of notes. I make notes to myself in my phone, on sticky notes, in my calendar, on long lists, in writing notebooks and planning notebooks, and in my head. I leave notes for my kids in their lunch boxes. I write notes in cards and emails and text messages to my family and friends. I send reminder notes and favor notes and random thoughts to my husband when he's at work. I have note pads and note books and note apps galore. Lots of places and spaces to make notes to myself. Do this. Do that. Don't forget this. Remember that. And I love them. They give me a certain sense of security. They assuage my anxiety. Or, at least I thought they did. I mean, they did...until they didn't. Somewhere along the line my note making went from being a helpful habit to being something more akin to an addiction. But, as far as I know, there's no twelve step program for note making. So, I'm on my own with this one. Over the last ...

Oh my Lord, it's December, people! The month when my brain goes a mile a minute during all of the minutes. The season when I am forever remembering that I've forgotten something. (How is it even possible to be constantly in a state of both forgetting and remembering??? It's like having my feet in two different dimensions at the same time. In one version of reality I am remembering everything--Yay; in the another version I am forgetting everything--Boo. (I hope there's a third reality where I'm just napping and reading and drinking coffee.) Fifteen minutes ago, I checked out twice at Target because the first time I forgot a gift card-- the gift card that was my main purpose for going to Target in the first place...and this was my third trip to Target in the last seven days. (insert eye roll here-- Target you are a blessing and a curse.) But my brain did not just short circuit on December 1st, oh no. That happened on November 24th... We visited my in-laws f...

Do you ever feel frazzled? Overwhelmed? Ready to burst from all the balls you're juggling, all the weight that's perched on your shoulders, all the expectations and judgments that feel like they're coming from other people, but really all come from your own thoughts? Maybe sometimes you swipe the thoughts and feelings aside and just keep going. But other times, the weight becomes too much, and you crack. Maybe you cry, maybe you yell, maybe you recede into yourself, maybe you eat, maybe you drink, maybe you have panic attacks, maybe you feel depressed. Whatever you do, you become suddenly aware of your tight grip on the wheel, the tension in your neck and shoulders, the roil of your stomach, the aching tiredness in your bones, and all the mistakes you're making. If you have ever felt like this, well, this post is for you. Read on. So, I use the meditation app Insight Timer pretty much everyday. (I highly recommend it.) I listen to guided meditations and use the m...

Okay, so this is a strangely taboo topic that I think we all need to get over our shyness and, well, weirdness about: Periods. Periods are this totally natural and actually wonderful body process that I think we look upon in entirely the wrong way. (With shame and disgust and disdain and annoyance.) And, honestly, I think it's mainly because it doesn't happen to men. I'm serious. Because we live in a patriarchal society, men's bodies and way of being in the world dominates our culture in every way. And because they don't menstruate (or have babies or lactate) these things have become at best, secretive, behind the scenes, and often misunderstood, and, at worst, shamed and regulated. I remember being mortified to buy a box of tampons or pads when I was younger...like, actually, ashamed in the drug store! I might complain to my friends about having cramps, but the details and intricacies of going through menstruation was never really talked about. Having you...

I sent my kids back to school last week with mixed emotions. For me, not them; they were super excited. I am, of course, excited for them to start a new adventure. And I am filled with hope that this will be a great year, full of new learning and cool experiences, and fun and friendship, and lots of amazing growth. I love watching my kids grow. And while part of me misses aspects of the younger years (you know, the sweet stuff), mostly I really like the stage were in right now (except the sass...and the not listening...but I digress). In the past, I've been so excited for school to start come August. My introverted, quiet-loving self is usually in need of breathing space after two months of nonstop kids. But as they get older and more independent, I find that there are only certain days when I feel that way. Now that they run out and play with friends for hours on their own, I get a little of that breathing space even when they're around all day. Some days they drive m...

I just read this Instagram post by Glennon Doyle that shows a photo of a woman walking her dog from a golf cart. Glennon had named this woman the "VP of the #OOF Club" (that's "Out of Fucks to Give Club") for "carrying a bucket of coffee the size of Florida and finding a way to beat the dog walking system at its own game-- driving 1 mile per hour in front of me and not even considering pulling over or speeding up for me." Glennon wasn't mad; she goes on to say, "HERE'S TO WOMEN WHO REST WHEN WE'RE TIRED." (And we're tired.) This made me think of the notes I put in the kids lunch boxes today. For the last 8 months I have written a fun joke and a note to each of my kids and put them in their lunches pretty much every day. These notes are on colorful, cute-shaped sticky notes; they are written in multi-colored pens; they are usually done the night before. This morning I scribbled I <3 U on a sticky and tossed it in...

My family has been on edge, people. February was yuck. And March wasn't any better for them. The recipe has looked something like this: 2 cups Winter Blues 1 cup Cabin Fever 1 cup General Life Stressors 1/2 cup Grey Skies 1/4 cup Freezing Temperatures 2 tbsps Stuffy Noses and Sore Throats 1/2 tsp Aches and Pains 1/3 cup Sick of Everything Mix all together for a big batch of blah, and then go back to bed. My husband's been massively stressed out at work. My daughter doesn't even want to go to school because she's so sick of the noise and chaos of stir-crazy kids. Everyone's so on edge that they're blowing up and breaking down over even the smallest annoyances. Even my always happy little man has a lower tolerance for frustration these days. This family is in massive need of a mental health break. And that's exactly what we're doing right now. It's Spring Break week at the kids' school and we have run away to North Carolina ...

These are the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Let's honor them with ACTION! This post has been brewing inside of me for more than a week. I have thought about it, researched it, and debated even writing it. Basically, I've been in turmoil over it for days. Just as I've been in turmoil over what happened in Parkland, Florida. I started having anxiety attacks again last week. Not as bad as back in December, but there, nevertheless. I couldn't figure out why. We were experiencing some minor distresses in our family, kids having issues and such, but nothing that seemed to warrant severe spikes in anxiety. It took me a few days to connect the dots to the school shooting in Florida. It was when my kids got home from school one day and I felt myself relax that I realized that I was kind of terrified to have them away from me. I just wanted them close. Though many of us may disagree on what needs to change following yet another horrific ma...

This is a pill bottle. It is a pill bottle with my name on it. In this bottle are tiny white pills containing something called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. It's prescribed for depression and anxiety. I have never in my life taken an SSRI, or any other psychotropic drug, before...until this week. I held onto the prescription for these little pills for more than month before I filled it, grappling with what it meant to take them...to need them. I felt like a failure. I've always been able to manage my emotional ups and downs with some combination of exercise, reevaluation, time, and sheer will. But this time was different. This time was some weird perfect storm that brought everything to a head all at once and resulted in my body remaining in a constant, heightened state of anxiety. You know that feeling you get just before you go on stage, or get up in front of an audience for a big presentation, or before an uncomfortable conversation or early morning flight...

Geocaching somewhere in the forests of PA I'm notorious for NOT being on the cutting edge of, like, anything...ever. I am not a fashionista. I am not an early adopter. I don't have the newest technology. I am not "in the know" or the first to know about anything...except possibly a new book release. But even then...no, not really. Still not. And even I, the last adult besides my father to finally succumb to the smart phone movement, have known about geocaching for a couple of years. So, I know this post isn't really new news. BUT, when I first read about it, I remember thinking, that might be fun to try...and then never doing anything about it. (And maybe that's what you did, too.) I filed it away in the back of my brain, and moved on. That is, until this summer. Before I go on with my story, I should first answer this question (for those who don't know): What is geocaching? A cache hidden in plain sight Geocaching is a real world, out...