News in MINUTES from The MOMS

Moms, here’s a cheat sheet.  We did your homework so you can understand what is going on in our country and the world.   You don’t have time to read every article or watch the news all day, so here are a few articles to to get you up to speed!

Every voice matters… by Denise Albert

Every voice matters. Every one who shares their story will help another.

Today I am proud, touched and inspired by Emma Heming Willis sharing her mammogram experience. We met once when she appeared on our radio show when she was launching her blog. But this mom of 2 has become a special friend via social media. She is one of YOU….One of YOU who have sent me notes, messages, and encouragement through my #FutureCancerSurvivor Journey.

She may be married to Bruce Willis but Emma is just a mom like all of you…working hard and starting something of own. PLEASE READ HER PIECE WITH MY TIPS AND SHARE!!

Fashion Friday, Fun Tops For Anytime, Anywhere!

I guess Jillian Michaels didn’t get the memo about Amanda Uprichard. We discovered her a few years back when we were looking for bright colored fashion for many of our TV appearances, and we fell in love with her!

You can pair an AU top with just about anything…pants, jeans, skirts, and she is all about fun and sexy. You can always pair her tops with a blazer for a meeting or jean jacket for a fun night out. When you’re a mom, everyone knows that just dressing up can feel so good. Throwing on heels can even lift the mood. You do not have to spend a lot of money to look and feel your best either. A friend of mine has a taste for designer accessories, but she is equally happy in a replica Gucci belt or a genuine piece. It is all about attitude! Anyway, to find a top with color or a fun print that is silky on the body is a keeper in our eyes.

We can’t wait for her Spring and Summer collection. She finds the most beautiful silk fabrics in the most spectacular bright colors. We often hide or shy away from color in the Winter, but if you think about it, we need color to get us through the cold, dark and sometimes depressing East Coast Wintery days. My great grandmother also once said that wearing color is a sign of confidence. Women who wear color look and feel confident.

Click here to see more of Amanda’s new collection. Oh and by the way Amanda is a Mom to a teenage daughter too and she has worked her butt off to get to where she is today. She once told us that her daughter still remembers the sound of her sewing machine going all night long down in her basement. Apparently, she used to buy lots of different embroidery designs and sew them onto skirts and dresses every night.

That’s how the sewing hobby began! So, it can start in a basement, it can start in a garage, given that both your basement and your garage are waterproofed. Otherwise, all your sewing tools and machinery can get damaged due to water. (Note: Those interested in finding a firm that provides basement waterproofing in Springfield and nearby locations can check out the website of Helitech and its likes.)

Anyway, jokes apart, and on a serious note, a hobby can become a full-time profession (and it does not matter from where you turn your hobby into reality–garage or basement) only if you have the determination and the courage to withstand the taste of time.

You just have to go for it like Amanda! There are so many Hobbies for women out there for people like you who have the determination to get it started, you just need to find the right spark. We might just have to giveaway an AU top in our next Fashion Friday post.

(PS Jillian Michaels is so great by the way. We talked about her new book, Yeah Baby!

Have a Fashionable Friday and Fun weekend Mamas!

We Need To Laugh Harder…More Than Ever

I have avoided the news since the election. I have really turned it all off, this is probably because I am so disgusted and turned off.

I am a former breaking news producer who ate and breathed any and all news stories. I was on the front lines of every story and knew every up to the minute detail and all the players involved. So for me to be disengaged and disenchanted with the news is something I never thought would happen. I have been back and forth over how I’m going to deal with the next four years and the news that is coming out everyday. How are we all going to make it through 4 years, 48 months, 208 weeks and 1460 days? Then today it hit me. This is what we have to do.

More than ever, we have to laugh harder and love stronger. More than ever, right now, with what’s happening in America. I will do my best to stay positive but I might need to lean on others and on you. You might need to lean on me too. I can only pray that when my son votes in his first election 4 years from now that we are looking forward with progress and that we can see a light at the end of this tunnel.

When I find myself stuck, sad and frustrated, I will look to laugh. I will watch more TV comedies and go see every funny movie I can. I will look to laugh with friends, and laugh with my family. I will push myself to go out more. Then we have to dance.

We have to dance more. Dance with our kids, and dance with our spouses, and friends. We have to stop and say hello to strangers more and have conversations with more people in our community and take time with one another at our local shops; more than ever. We have to enjoy life, look for entertainment, go to concerts, travel and meet new people, and experience a new culture. We have to genuinely ask how they are and not just in passing. We have to sing. We have to sing in the car, and when we are out and sing with our children. The little things that make us smile and laugh.

We have to celebrate each other and lift each other up; more than ever. With laughter, and dance and song, maybe, just maybe, the four years will pass and we will soon be watching someone else dance the night away at an Inauguration. Hopefully that next time, and that someone, will be one to watch. Where you can sit with your children and feel proud to share in that historic moment. Here’s to the next four years, may we dance, sing and laugh more than ever before.

A Getaway With My Mom Is an Integral Part of Fighting My Cancer

I’ve always joked with my married friends that I did it right by getting divorced: I get time off when my kids go to their dad. While other parts of being a parent on your own might not always be easy, when my kids are with their dad, I can actually try to relax, do whatever I want and even travel. (This did take time getting used to, and the reality isn’t always easy.)

Then, when I was diagnosed with cancer, being a parent on my own – or an “independent” mom, as I like to say – became more complicated. Worried thoughts run through my head about what happens should treatment not be successful. Besides that, the added stress of going through treatment yet being “on” and “not sick” for my kids all the time was, and is, a lot.

Honestly, there are some days when I feel like I can’t go through with it anymore. The initial diagnosis was hard to handle and a lot of other cancer patients will tell you the same. But what the nurses and doctors don’t prepare you for is how it will truly affect you as a person. It’s not their fault, they don’t know the full extent. While I was preparing myself for the pain, and the potential need to use something like this breeze recreational cannabis delivery service because I wanted to use their products to unwind and forget about my problems for a time, I completely forgot about what it would to not only my mental state but to the thoughts and emotions of my kids too. It really was, and is a lot, for one individual to handle. I don’t know how others managed to do it. Is that why so many cancer patients tend to require therapy for mental preparedness? Some might even be prescribed cannabis products (find some here) from their doctors to help them with the pain. But I don’t think that is the route for me. Still, I have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard this may be for me to do.

Going through something like this changes you as a person, you see another side of yourself and you see another side of those around you as they adapt to what you are going through. Health is truly a precious thing. If you are able to live without any sort of illness, you are truly blessed. Following a proper diet, handling stress properly with supplements (for example, check rae destress review), exercise, and mindfulness are essential to be healthy in today’s fast-paced world. There isn’t really a day where you aren’t thinking about the future, whether that be near or far, you have always got something in your head that can set off your anxiety levels once again. People cope in different ways, some need peace and quiet and will use medicines from prescription-based to natural to help with getting through it, this could be herbal supplements or marijuana with websites like weedsmart which they have discussed with their doctor, others will want to be constantly doing something to keep their minds preoccupied so they are not thinking about what could happen every single day.

It is a road that nobody wants to go on or down, but the right support system will get you through it and help you when you feel like you don’t know which way to turn, you just have to believe in yourself.

GoodHousekeeping.com.

A Minute with The Moms: Nicole Kidman

January 2017

The MOMS kicked off 2017 with a Mamarazzi event with Nicole Kidman for her new film, Lion.

Kidman was candid and honest about what she does when she gets time alone, how she disciplines her kids and time alone with her husband…well…watch the video above for a Minute with The MOMS.