April 3, 2009

Friday Finds…Mojo Mom & A Sale To Go With It

I realized a couple of weeks ago that it was time for me to seek my old self out again…I was at Lowes of all places. I looked like hell, to be perfectly honest. Seven and I had gone to pick up shelving, and as we were leaving, a girl about my age floated by in a cute little shrug of a sweater, stylish jeans and a pair of those leather high heeled boots. She looked so well put together. And there I was, in a hair hiding hat, one of my Dad’s sweatshirts, and jeans that I couldn’t keep on my rear end. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I remembered her. She was the old me. I used to be that girl.

Today I recieved the book Mojo Mom by Amy Tiemann. I really wanted this book when I read about it on MotherTalk…you see, it’s about helping a new Mom find her old but new self. Until you are a mom yourself, that’s a tough thing to explain. It’s just that from the minute Seven was born, I lost me. He became my everything…if he wants fed, he eats. I eat when I finally get the chance. If he needs a bath, he gets one, daily, full of bubbles and toys. I pray that I will get a bath. Sometimes I get one, most times I don’t. Mojo Mom is all about helping me sort through the guilt I feel about staying at home and not making money, helping me realize that I, too, am important enough to be taken care of, and that there is a way to find a balance between being Mom and being Me. It isn’t just for Stay At Home Moms, either, ladies – it covers all of the bases. Feeling guilty about going back to work? Why should you? You are allowed to have a life outside of your children. Tiemann covers every type of Mommy hang up there is…and does it in ways that make you really grasp what she is saying. I read the entire book today. I just couldn’t put it down. It actually got me off my butt and got me dressed. It may be just about the best thing I could have done for myself.

Get the book. Get dressed yourself. Really…it does feel better. Amazon has it for pre-order right now at a huge discount. Discounts are good.

So as you know, I am a Mom. A Stay at Home Mom, mostly, although I do have a store, and since it’s mine I work there a day and a half a week. I’d like to say that on work days I get dressed a little nicer than my Stay At Home Days, but I’d be lying to you…I have fallen into a rut. On good days, I get out of my pajamas by 5. On those days, I change from my Hello Kitty pjs and pull on jeans that fit badly and a sweatshirt. Nice, I know. It’s sad, actually. I know this. But until you’ve been a new mom with nowhere to go really and a house to keep clean and a toddler to keep off of the ceiling, well, don’t judge me. It’s just easier to be a slacker in the fashion department.

I haven’t bought myself Real Girl Clothes in I don’t know how long. I haven’t seen the point in it, other than getting dressed in them kind of makes me feel better. But then there’s the money issue. It seems irresponsible of me to spend money on a wardrobe that no one ever gets to see other than me, the Hub, and a 19 month old. There has to be a happy medium, though. Everyone deserves a day or two to feel better about themselves from time to time….me included.

So I was surfing the net when I came across this sale. I even went as far as picking out a dress. A dress! I imagine it being just the thing for our annual Country Club Member Guest Dance – cute and flirty and swingy and black. What surprises me most is that it at Sears. Yep – Sears. Seems they are having one heck of a sale – 75-80% off of certain Apparel from now until the 18th of April. So the dress? It’s Tadashi. It retails for over $118, but I got it for $41. There were lots of other cute little numbers there, too – most were only $17…marked down from nearly $100. That’s huge.

For a mom like me, a sale like this really helps out. So, if you are like me, stuck in a sweatshirt, maybe give this sale a look-see. Like I said, we all deserve a day or two to feel good again. Even me. And you, too.