Am I Brave Enough To Embrace Grey?

Grey is coming in packs. No longer one by one... but packs of grey hairs are infiltrating my scalp. Most of the time it is kind of exciting. I have always wanted to embrace my hair as it changes to grey. I think it might be because my grandmother had such beautiful white hair. I always loved Grandma Emily. She was so lighthearted, joyful and beautiful. Here are some pictures by Vicki Topaz of other women embracing grey hair and looking amazing!

My mom is beautiful too. She just chose a different path. She still dies her hair. She would be so beautiful with her natural grey/white hair, but she just isn't ready. She may never be ready. For me, I don't really ever want to have to be "ready" or decide to "let it go." So I am trying to be brave enough to enjoy it changing. 

That is so much easier to say than to live. 

So far, Mikey is supportive of a natural evolution. I'm sure he would totally embrace some improvements, but at the same time, I know he likes me how I am. How lucky am I? Pretty freak'n lucky! On the grey hair front, we are kind of going through it together. He struggles with his grey hairs more than I do. But the reality is the pressure about going grey is less for men. Silver foxes are so sexy if you are a man. For a 30 something woman... not so sexy. Hopefully I will stay brave and embrace the grey! 

Here is a great blog post from Rebecca Wolf on this topic. She always says things in such a rad way. I love how she explores this concept of "letting it go" and the overall decisions women make about our look from hair tweezing, make-up to more drastic choices like surgery. 

Has anyone else read anything interest on this topic? 

Rant: "Working Mom"

Working Mom...I guess that is what I am. I really HATE that phrase. Humor me for a minute... Don't all moms work? Don't all dad's work? Why is there this phrase "working mom"? I've never heard of a "working dad." I guess you could say career mom, but maybe that means a mom who has decided her career is raising her kids.

Maybe we should just all call ourselves Wonder Woman!!!

Some moms have the luxury of choosing if they work. Some moms have to work because they are the bread winner, aren't married, or the family just needs both incomes. The sad thing is moms get judged if they are home with their kids full time or if they have left their kids to go to the office. Then there is this whole breed of mom who has a part-time job in or out of the home which must be basically impossible to juggle. We are all different. We all have value. We need to be nice to each other. Respect our family choices and support each other. We are all Wonder Women!!!

If another man asks me "How do you do it?" or "Don't you miss your kids?" I am going to shout at him... THE SAME WAY YOU DO!!! or DON'T YOU MISS YOUR KIDS???

Side Note: I know these men are trying to be nice. Trying to show interest. They just don't get how a question like can be kind of insulting.

End of rant. :-) 

PS - Isn't this mug awesome? It sits on my desk and always makes me smile. 

Reminder from Buddha

One of my favorite quotes: 

Perfect way to say focus on the important things in life. 

Correspondence

Snail mail is one of my favorite things! 

Since college, my friend Erin and I have been sending each other the notes via the old school mail. It has been a great way to stay connected in what I'll call an authentic way. It takes extra effort, thought and time. It isn't realistic for every friendship or business relationship but it really does make an impact. People remember getting a nice note in the mail. 

I collect cards as I find them in my daily routines so I always have the basics and some special occasions on hand. Examples for cards I need often: Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Baby Shower and of course blank for versatility. For thank you notes I pick up simple sets like this from Target because they are affordable and work for personal or professional situations. 

For business notes, I use personalized stationary whenever possible. Generally I like one sided flat notes so people don't feel obligated to keep it and I don't have to write too much! 

I love these ones from minted! 

For kids birthday parties I have used a variety of options. My favorite is to up-cycle my kids artwork into a card for their friend. Here's an example from this weekend! 

Note: This option takes a long time if your 4.5 year old participates in writing the message! But a super cute way to spend time together and get something done. ;0) 

For super fast birthday party notes, I have seen some friends with custom stickers from their family. I love these. Anyone know where to get them from? 

End of Day Tactics

Gratitude. I am practicing gratitude a lot right now and visualizing pretty places. 

Thankfully, everyday this week has gotten better. Work engagement feels good. The kids are adjusting fine and I am getting better at turning my different roles of a working mom on and off. Switching on and off was so easy for me before. But I am okay with the fact I need to put a bit more energy into it right now. 

Here are some things I have tried this week that seem to be helping: 

• Using my drive time as my alone time. This has actually been great. I usually use the drive for work calls or personal calls. Right now, I can't switch gears very fast, so this time gives me a chance to decompress a bit and get ready for my kiddos. 
• Turn off the radio. Might sounds strange but my thoughts are racing and kind of busy right now. So the noise was just creating this "static". Having some quite time has been nice. 
• No pictures of the baby at the office. This is the opposite of what many working moms do, but for me, it helps me stay focused on where I am. 
• Enjoy the "luxury" of putting the kids to bed on my own. Normally this is NOT my favorite part of the day. Right now, I am trying to change my attitude and look at bedtime as a wonderful time to connect with the kids. They feel the energy shift. Pretty amazing and it has been nice to read and cuddle with them. 

Here are some ideas people have shared that I am going to give a shot: 

• Change into casual clothes before going home. Great idea! Now I just need to get organized enough to have casual clothes in my car. Sounds easy but it hasn't happened yet! 
• Workout. Sounds so obvious and easy. But when???!!! Some do it before the kids wake up but this is not my program. Maybe lunch? Maybe skip lunch so I can leave early? Hmmmm. 
• Anyone else have other easy ideas? 

Speed Shopping

I would love to go to the mall, wander around and window shop for hours. This is not my reality. Maybe someday. But recently, I just learned about something AMAZING! I call it speed shopping. 

I found out about this about a week ago. I needed a pair of new jeans that fit my "mom body" in a dark wash in a skinny or straight leg style. I had virtually no time before I needed to pick up Hadley, so I called Nordstrom to see if someone would do me a favor. They connected me to the TBD department and I asked the sales person if she would help me pull some jeans. She said "Sure, that's my job!" Why has no one ever told me this before!?!? Literally, the sales people there are so happy to shop for us! AMAZING! I told her I was on my way, which I thought would blow this whole deal... but she was excited. So in 10 minutes, I arrived and the dressing room was filled with seven pairs of jeans. She walked me through why she picked each pair based on my description. I tried them on and viola... found the perfect pair. I was in and out in under 20 minutes.

RESULT: Here is a picture of my "perfect pair" on someone else's perfect body! They are the DL 1961 "Coco" Mid Rise Straight Leg. I ended up going with a straight leg style so I can wear them casually and at the office on Fridays! Gotta love dual purpose fashion! 

Speed shopping step by step:  

1. Decide what you need (jeans, dress for a summer wedding, new suit, etc). 
2. Call Nordstrom and have them connect you to the right department. 
3. Tell the sales person what you need and when you will be there.
4. Show up, try on and purchase! 

FYI: Nordstrom also has a personal shopping specialist if you want to shop for a whole season of items or a set of outfits for a trip. 

First Day Back After H3

Yesterday was my first day back to full-time work after sweet Hannah (affectionately called H3) arrived.

It sucked.

I really wish it had been better. For H1 and H2 my first day back was pretty glorious. I had been so ready to be back to work. Back in action. Back in my corporate gear. Yesterday, I just wanted to put on jeans (let's be real, my yoga pants) and hang with my kiddos.

Why is it so different this time around?

I did my typical routine... bought a cute new outfit and shoes for my first day. Fit great. Fun color. Fresh. I stopped at Starbucks for my favorite pick me up... but by 10 am I was a mess. This has never happened to me before. I decided to take a mini break and walked out to our receptionist. She asked me how I was doing and I started crying. Yikes! I have never done this before. She said "You know this is normal, right?" and my response was "Not for me. I have never been like this before. It is so weird."

The thing is I am kind of stuck in this limbo zone.

So much of who I am is what I do at the office. My identity is wrapped up in my work. I have been here for 10 years and have always loved working; loved my firm. I still want to work. I don't want to be at home with my kids full time. But for the first time, I am really having trouble leaving home. Leaving my baby. Loosing the time with my big kids. They seem to need me so much more than H3. I thought it would be easier... that must have been a silly thought.

So here I am, day 2, writing an emotional rant on my new blog... is that a good or a bad thing??!!??