Mommy of Many®

This week’s show is sponsored by Aveeno Baby!

I had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Jim from Healthbuzz about the difference between Postpartum Depression and the Baby Blues. After each of my kids I’ve felt a difference is emotions and the intensity of how I react to certain situations. I always felt that I must have been experiencing Postpartum Depression but was confused by the label and what I thought the definition of that was. I felt very timid about talking about it because I didn’t want people to think I wasn’t connecting with my baby or that I couldn’t care for my children. Now that Luke-Xavier is two years old and I’m well past the stage of feeling like anything is wrong, I decided to ask some questions and found out that my feelings were very normal and were considered the “Baby Blues” and not Postpartum depression. I hope this show offers some clarification to the line between what’s normal and what might be the signs of something more serious.

Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. I welcome your comments, questions and show ideas.

Please take a moment to visit our sponsor, Aveeno Baby.

Have a great day~

 

 MOM 33 [18:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (148)

Every month I host a coffee for the Naval Officer’s Spouse Club. Lucky me, I get to host for the coastal region, so we go to different coffee shops and cafes near the water (hooray!). This month, I decided to do something a little different and I set up a chocolate tasting and class at Chuao (sounds like-Chew Wow), a local chocolatier and coffee shop. I had the luck of finding them about 2 years ago and wanted to share the unique flavor combinations and wonderful quality that they offer. It was a hit! We learned about the history of chocolate and the growing process and best of all we got to try different chocolates! If you’re ever in the San Diego area (they did just open a shop in Florida), seek out a Chuao and enjoy some wonderful, new chocolates! Not going to be in San Diego or Florida any time soon? That’s ok, you can order online!

Have a great day~

Recently, a friend said that she passed my blog and podcast onto a friend of hers hoping to share a little inspiration and a little fun. The friend came back to her saying that women like me come off as “Wonder Woman” and that she frankly can’t keep up.

AH! NO, NO, NO! There are NO wonder women in this house! In writing these (almost) daily blogs, I am hoping to convey to women everywhere (mommas or not) that life is serving up a constant dose of challenges in MANY forms but that together and with God and a sense of humor, we can make it. I’m hoping to plant the seed that will make a mom look at the room sprinkled with brown sugar or uncooked oatmeal and be able to take a big breath, utter a small prayer, remember something funny and then grab the vacuum. I’m hoping that I can help take the edge off of the daily grind and help everyone remember that this challenging time is not forever and to see the beauty in the little faces (challenging as they are) that surround us, demanding the very last drop of our time and energy.

Together in support and understanding we will be able to laugh about how we got it all done (except the laundry. That will never be done!).

A frequent visitor to the site sent me this picture of her little one enjoying the minute that he found his mom looking the other way.

Have a great day~

The last week has been VERY full! JJ got home, Zach came to visit for a few days (and actually LIKED it here!), Kateri started working at a local coffee shop, Maggie (my sister who is visiting for the summer-or longer) started working at one of the million Starbucks in the area, I refocused on life with the kids and the amazing amount of work that I was overlooking AND I had the genius idea from the last post. Life is good! But, since I’ve refocused I realized that I couldn’t clear my head. My mind was rushing from idea to idea all day and night. Finally I took out a pad of paper and wrote everything that I needed to remember down. I ended up with a page and a half! Craziness! At least it’s all out of my head and staring at me from the paper. Now I can physically check things off and not have to think about them anymore. I’ve found that writing things down is such a helpful tool.

Tomorrow I get to go to the Apple Store, one of my favorite places, to work with one of my favorite people. Seriously, I love the people there! I passed along the number to the particular shop I go to, to an acquaintance and was so happy to hear that her experience (after going to a different location and being given the runaround) was just as pleasant as mine have been. No joke, if you use a Mac and you are in the vicinity of the UTC store….GO THERE!

Yesterday I was able to talk to Clay while he was in port. It was so nice to have a good chunk of time to reconnect! JJ was also able to catch up with him. It was really good for all of us. Clay and all with him are doing well and are very focused on the task-at-hand.

Alright, here are a few pics of what’s been going on around here;

Tristan and JJ serving at Liturgy (first time of serving together)

13 kiddos heading to the beach. THIS is why I drive a 15-passenger van!

JJ, Gabi and Luke-Xavier enjoying an afternoon in Old Town

Kateri and Zach checking out the pictures they had taken

Kateri and Gabi sharing a sisterly moment

Luke-Xavier looking angelic (notice, though, that he’s taken off his clothes, yet AGAIN!)

As you can see, it’s been good, just a bit much for one person to juggle. I’ve kept the balls in the air….mostly

Good night~

This week’s show is sponsored by Aveeno Baby!

This week I was able to do another installment of the Women and the Military Series by talking to Trish Dooley, a military spouse, mother of two and retired Navy Chief. She shares what it’s like to balance family, military career and supporting her husband’s military career.

Thank you for visiting the site and for listening to the show! Please take a minute to visit our sponsor-Aveeno Baby!

 

 MOM 32 [10:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (133)