Archives for September 2019

THE BUSINESS OF BODY BLOGGING

Corina is on a mission to help moms fight the frump and I am super excited that I got a chance to chat with her about blogs, body types, and the business of dressing for comfort and confidence. 

Corina started her body blogging business while she was pregnant with her second baby and looking for a way to make money while staying home with her babies. While perusing Pinterest, she saw moms were making real money online blogging and Corina decided to go for it! 

It took Corina a bit to settle on the topic of fashion for moms.  She knew that she as a mom struggled with her own fashion because the wardrobe that she used to have in an office setting didn’t match what she needed now that she was staying home.  She wanted to imitate the chic moms that she saw on the playground — laid back and casual, but looked so good with the perfect blend of classic and trends but she had no idea how. 

At the time, there wasn’t much online to teach her how to look effortlessly styled as a mom.  There were tons of “outfit of the day blogs, that showed you the outfit, and where to buy the pieces, but not much of an instruction manual of how to pair items together to make a whole mix and match wardrobe.  So her journey to find her personal style became the subject of her blog. 

Corina has a unique way of delivering content is approachable in a “to women for women” way 

CLOTHED IN CONFIDENCE

Corina recommends women shop in a way that makes them feel comfortable and fits their body and their style, don’t just buy pieces that other women buy.  Work with what looks good on you and makes you feel comfortable. Wearing clothes you love gives you incredible confidence. 

So often women, and especially moms always say the have to “wait to lose weight” or ”wait till they feel better about themselves” before they buy new clothes, but Corina say don’t wait to “change” anything to update your wardrobe. Appreciate what you and your body have done and continues to do. See beauty in the body you are in. Part of the Frump Fighters message is to embrace your body and the beauty it brings to you and to everyone around you. Embrace where you are right now, don’t wait for the “opportune time. “ Give yourself grace, You will move towards healthy milestones in your own time

Corina explains how hiding under big, ill fitting clothes is actually doing us a disservice. We feel more confident and more beautiful in clothes that fit us properly which translates to more emphasis on personal self care and in turn encourages us to take care of ourselves. You’re going to project outwardly the confidence you feel inside, and dressing well helps us feel confident.

Immediately you will start to notice that when you wear clothes that fit you well you will start to get compliments.  Other women will start to compliment how you are looking and will in turn boost your confidence which will help you work towards your goals.  Putting off waiting to change your wardrobe and your style till you reach these goals is actually just sabotaging your progress and drive to reach these health milestones. 

SO WHAT IS “FRUMPY”

There is an old understanding that frumpy means “old fashion dressing” but that is not correct.  Frumpy is actually synonymous with “baggy, sloppy, or worn out.” Frumpy clothes are ones we have had too long, don’t fit our body right, or don’t hang right. When we put on clothes that don’t fit or are too old, we have a feeling of being frumpy or not put together. Frumpy is a feeling, not a style so it can also extend to your self care. Small things like styling hair, putting on a little make up, getting a haircut and just generally being put together makes you feel good. 

CONFIDENT CLOSET STAPLES

Corina encourages her clients to blend classic pieces and trendy pieces that keep things fresh.

A few key pieces that she recommends are:

-Dark wash jeans in a size that fit you well. The cut optional and up to you, whatever you feel most comfortable in – skinny, boot cut, slim cut. 

-Neutral jeans – black, gray, white 

-Colored pants – pick any color that you love to coordinate with neutral tops or pattern tops

(And the same can transfer for the seasons. I.e. shorts or skirts for Summer.) 

-White tee 

-Color Tee

-Stripped Tee

-Chambray Button Down

-Pattern Tee – polka dots, florals, etc. 

-Neutral one color sleeveless tops

-Slogan/graphic tees — easy for moms help to reflect personality and stage of life

Corina has created an entire wardrobe plan for stay at home moms, you can find that here.

FIGHTING FRUMP BASED ON YOUR BODY TYPE

Corina explains that the first step to fighting frump and dressing as your most confident self is learning your body type and how to dress it well so she has created a framework that does just that. Helps you choosing a style that is right for you with your body type in mind. 

The first place to start when learning to dress for your body type is to identify what your body type is. Measuring your bust, waist, hips will give you the answer.

-Pear shape – hips largest measurement 

-Apple shape – Waist largest measurement 

-Inverted triangle – bust/shoulders largest

-Column shape – all measurements are equal

-Hourglass shape – bust and hips are equal and waist is smaller 

And, while there are many body types, the goal of dressing for your body type is for your clothes to give you the appearance of the hourglass figure because it is the most balanced. 

Knowing your body type helps immensely when you shop. You can narrow down your options quickly when you know what will look great on your body. 

Corina has a desire to serve women at all stages of life, especially those in the season of motherhood, so she has so many way to access her teachings. 

Corina has many free resources to help you find your style, your body type, and your confidence. 

She has also created a 32 (and growing!) page done for your shopping guide including: tops, bottoms, accessories, completor pieces and how to assemble them all for the ultimate outfit inspo look-book. 

And if courses and done WITH you is more your style, then Corina’s Frumpy to Fabulous course might be for you! Corina walks with you to identify your personal style, your body type, colors that look good on you, and helps you to curate a master list of clothes that you need to span over time. 

And because Corina is such a kind a generous soul, she is giving listeners 20% off her shop items with code: SUPERMOMWANNABE. 

Make sure you visit today and follow her on Insta at @nowthaticando, and find her on her website at NowThatICanDo.com. And make sure you join her Facebook group: Frump Fighters for more tips, tricks, and a community of confident women. 

I sat down with Gemma Clark, a degree-qualified clinical nutritionist  lifestyle writer and a health commentator. Gemma started her business, The Sprout Nutrition & Wellness, to create a safe space to find science-backed holistic health and lifestyle advice that you simply can’t get from anyone but an experienced professional.

The Sprout Nutrition & Wellness is built on the idea that any seed we plant has the potential to grow into something pretty amazing. You don’t have to overhaul your lifestyle all at once in order to better yourself. Instead, through her clinical practice in Australia and online, Gemma guides her clients through gradual lifestyle changes to set them up to thrive long-term.  

Gemma is taking the guilt out of nutrition, and encourages us to instead, really pay attention to what our body needs. I love her simple ideas to improve our health that don’t include crash dieting and guilt over what we did or didn’t eat. She also has a passion for educating teens on nutrition, and how we can eat FOR our hormones. 

This is an exciting and interesting topic on health and simple, easy ways to improve your lifestyle, without all that guilt! Can’t wait for you to hear it. Let’s dive in, friends.

This episode sponsored by…

Gemma’s background has been in journalism and marketing, but she’s always been fascinated by how the body works. She enrolled in education about nutrition and dove in.

Nutrition seems to be a big word.

Nutrition affects us in so many ways. Solid nutrition can help our bodies operate better.

Gemma suffered from PCOS, and has seen reversals in the symptoms, just from improving her nutrition. She has always been driven toward women’s health and hormonal health.

Hormones are like messengers in the body, which are triggered by different nutrients. So, when it comes to hormones, we really need to be in tune with our nutrition and how our bodies work.

Hormonal conditions are affecting women younger and younger, which drove Gemma to the “tween” and teen space, working with young girls on their nutrition as it relates to our hormones.

We can alter the chemicals in our brain, just by improving our nutrition, to help alleviate things like anxiety and depression.

WHERE DO I START?

Be gentle with yourself. Gemma doesn’t have a harsh approach. She even says that if a nutritionist gives you a meal plan they use for everyone, run away! All our bodies are different and we need specific things to make our body work correctly.

“Diet” doesn’t have to be a big, scary thing we do. It really just means saying, “This is what I’m putting into my body to give me the life I want to live.” Sometimes our bodies need the chia seeds and fresh smoothies, and other times it needs the cocktail with a friend and ice cream on the couch.

Your diet should not define you. The foods you eat are not who you are. We put so much pressure on ourselves that it has impact on our life, our hormones and our moods.

It’s important to have a healthy relationship with food. Don’t try to have a massive overhaul. Do small changes like decreasing from six cups of coffee per day, to maybe 5 cups, and slowly wean yourself to less. GOING COLD TURKEY NEVER WORKS.

DOING SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING

Diets have a lot of rules. If even one rule looks too hard, we tend to throw the whole thing away. Do a 10 minute walk around the block is better than doing nothing. Start small.

Try to eat the rainbow. Get as many different natural colors into your daily diet as you can. We tend to have a lot of browns, whites and yellows in our diet. Try adding more color, and then take a photo of all of your food for a week. See if you notice the difference!

WHEN THE RESULTS DON’T COME

Gemma encourages us all to throw our scales away! Instead, look for other “non-scale” victories. If changing your body composition is your primary goal, look for things like improvements in our fingernails. Are the stronger, longer, with fewer ridges? Are you getting fewer hangnails? When we’re eating well, these things will show.

Look at your hair: is it stronger, longer, shinier, less greasy?

What about your skin? Do you see improvements in your eczema, rosacea, etc?

Take photos of your progress, in your face, skin, and hair, so you can see those differences, maybe just in a couple of weeks!

If you don’t have a great relationship with your body (as many of us do), you’ll look at the places you hate about your body instead of the areas that are improving.

EATING FOR YOUR HORMONES

When we talk about hormones, we often think of just our menstrual cycle, but it’s so much more.

Gemma recommends the book, The Period Repair Manual, by Lara Briden.

Hormones are made of fats, so our bodies struggle with a trendy, “low fat” diet. Hormones make nutrients work in different ways.

When we’re stressed, our bodies don’t recognize the difference between physical stress and nervous energy stress. So, we go into survival mode. Our bodies think we just need to run and use energy. Our bodies draw sugar into the blood stream, which triggers insulin to compensate and “mop up” the sugar. Then we have sugar crashes and end up on a cycle that keeps us craving sugar and carbs.

Our hormones require nutrients and impact our bodies and how we respond to particular situations. Nutrients and hormones go hand in hand.

Hormone imbalance can present itself in many different ways: feeling tired, adrenal fatigue, period issues, brutal menopause, breakouts, carrying weight in particular areas, etc.

It’s important to understand how your body responds to carbs. Everyone has a threshold for carbohydrate intake. If you are someone who feels really great having a high-carb breakfast, that’s a good sign that your threshold is high. If you feel tired after eating that meal, it’s a sign that your threshold is lower and it’s time to think about incorporating more healthy fat and protein into all of your meals.

MAKE SURE YOU’RE EATING ENOUGH! Eating healthy does not mean eating LESS. We need to be able to eat enough to get the quality nutrition that our bodies require. This looks like eating the RIGHT foods: a whole food-based diet is a great place to start.

Some people need three meals a day, and others need several snacks in between. There is no right and wrong. It’s about how you FEEL.

When deciding what to eat, make sure there’s a good balance of macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbs.

WHAT TEENS SHOULD BE EATING FOR THEIR HORMONES

Gemma has a special focus on helping teens to eat for their hormones. She recommends to START THEM YOUNG. Hearing young girls speak about the way they think they should be eating made Gemma think that she could really be someone to give them good advice.

Teens need an element of control over what they’re eating. Gemma also encourages them to look less at the way they look and more at how they can love their body.

It’s important to ask how the teens are feeling, and then work in how nutrition can play a role.

If teenagers are going through a lot of stress in high school, there’s a lot of stress involved there. The work that Gemma does is to tell them that it’s not the end of the world if they have a candy bar, and giving a different perspective of how teens are eating.

Teens just want to be heard. They’re tired of being told what to do, and this is an area where we can empower them.

Nutrition and lifestyle work hand in hand. There is a place for medication, but if we get down back to basics, if a teen is experiencing stress or anxiety, there are probably things in their diet that contribute to it.

Nothing is going to change unless you’re willing to put in the work to do it. That goes for teens, moms, adults, everyone!

Tune in to hear Gemma’s best advice about how we can use language to be the ultimate role model for ourselves and the teens in our life.

Connect with Gemma:

Website & blog: www.thesprout.com.au

Facebook: facebook.com/TheSproutAU 

Instagram: @thesprout

Email: gemma@thesprout.com.au

This episode sponsored by…

This is a subject I’ve been learning more about, even though my “visitor” has been around for well over two decades. I think many of us learned everything we know from that one class or video in the 5th grade, and then never really talked about it again, other than the occasional time we complain to our friends about it.

Our Cycle: the monthly visitor. Aunt Harriet. Aunt Flo (why is it always an ‘aunt?’) The curse. Lady problems. Plumbing issues. Catch my drift? 

But did you know that our cycle is a month long process, that not only affects our bodies, but how we think, feel, and behave? Did you know that there are specific phases where we have more energy, and when our body is asking certain things of us that we ignore or feel guilty about? 

Stasha Washburn is known as The Period Coach. She’s a Certified Holistic Health Coach and Visionary Business Coach. Her Life Vision is to reconnect women to the power in their cycles and end the taboo of menstruation. Stasha is changing the conversation around periods from whispers in the ladies room to empowered public discussions.

Stasha spent 20 years searching for a way to relieve her Endometriosis, and in the process discovered how to help women balance their hormones, through both science and ‘woo’. Knowing this she could no longer keep quiet, becoming a speaker and using her voice ever since to bring relief to women worldwide. 

She and I talk about the different phases or our month-long cycles, how we can pay attention to them, and actually use them to our advantage. There’s so much information here, including how we can include and teach both our girls AND our boys on the subject, and maybe even get a little TLC out of the deal.

I took more notes during this interview than any other so far, and gained so much knowledge about how our cycles work and how we can learn to, as Stasha says, get in a lazy river inner tube with a cocktail in hand, and learn to use the current to our advantage.

Stasha started this work as she was trying to navigate through Endometriosis. She struggled through excruciating periods, throwing up, fainting and having extreme pain, for several days at a time every month. She even got to the point of wanting to “end the pain” because it was so bad.

After going back to school to become a health coach, she discovered that all the women she worked with had period problems and she worked with them through their hormonal imbalances.

We’re not supposed to be in pain, have fatigue, mood swings, and all that come with a terrible period. Stasha says these are totally solvable problems!

In order to normalize the conversation around periods with those around us, Stasha encourages us to use the language. Use the body part names. Use terms like, “my bleed,” or, “my blood,” especially when it comes to our kids. Be matter-of-fact about it.

This is one of my favorite parts of the interview:

Being honest with our kids can actually help us! Stasha talks about a woman she knows who tells her sons that “Mommy bleeds every month, can you actually help her?” and her boys give her a foot massage!

When we normalize the conversations, we’re setting our sons up for success with the women in their life!

Our girls also need to know that it’s not a curse. Having a period is a powerful thing.

THE SEASONS OF A CYCLE – THIS IS SO, SO, SO IMPORTANT!!

Our monthly cycle isn’t just the several days when we are bleeding. Every day we have some kind of hormonal balance going.

Think of your menstruating years as a rushing river that’s always moving. You can’t tread water or just hang out. You CAN jump on a tube (with a cocktail) and flow with it, or you can choose to fight against the current. Those are the only two options.

Every month you can choose to go with your cycle or fight it. Learning what’s happening (charting) is you grabbing your inner tube and flowing with the river (don’t forget that cocktail!)

Each phase of your cycle, there’s a different thing going on in your hormones. Writing down what’s happening each day helps you see what’s happening in each “season” of your cycle.

WINTER

Winter is during your period, and starts the beginning of your cycle. It usually lasts about five to seven days.

Day 1 of your cycle is your first full day of bleeding (spotting doesn’t count.) Your hormones are most like a man’s during your period. Your estrogen and you progesterone dip just before you start your period. This is often the time when your sex drive is the highest.

Winter is a time of clarity, if you embrace it. Don’t try to push or ‘man up.’ Women used to gather during their period and come up with insights and ideas about how to manage their community. You are most open to vision and inspiration during your Winter phase.

Use this season to build in time to reflect. Let your body and brain just “be.
Ask yourself what your big vision is during your Winter phase. It can be a very powerful time!

SPRING

This is the follicular phase, which should last about seven days. When you come out of your menstrual, “Winter” phase, you may notice that your energy starts to increase. This is because your estrogen and testosterone start to rise again. You have tiny follicles that are “ripening” eggs during this time, preparing you for ovulation.

During your Spring phase, you may feel more extroverted or make a lot more lists. This is a good time for moms to plan game nights, movie nights, and family or social time together. You can also feel more in balance during this time.

SUMMER

Ovulation lasts about three to four days. It’s when your body wants to make babies. Your ‘ripened’ eggs last only 24-48 hours. This is the same for everyone, no matter how long your cycle is. This is when the cervical fluid starts to release, because up to this point it is trying to protect the eggs by killing the sperm. During ovulation, it lets the sperm in because the eggs are ready.

This phase, contrary to maybe what you were taught, is NOT Day 14 of your cycle. The timing is different for everyone!

I love how Stasha talks about how husbands are tracking their wife’s cycle, because they know this is the phase when they’re most likely to “get some.”

Your Summer phase is when you feel the most extroverted and outgoing. This is also the time we seem to prize the most in our society. We often wish that we felt “summery” all of the time: productive, outgoing, crushing life. Stasha warns that although it’s a great season, we couldn’t have it all of the time because if we had Summer always, everything would eventually dry up.

FALL

This is the luteal phase, which has two different hormonal changes over three to four days. Your estrogen comes down and your progesterone stays high. About halfway through your luteal phase your estrogen rises again, which is what Stasha calls our ‘second wind.’

We go from ovulation (“Summer”) when we feel energetic and productive, ready to take on the world, and then one day we wake up incredibly tired and wonder what’s wrong with us. We’re so hard on ourselves about why we can’t get more done or perform.

Then we get a second wind, and we start nesting. We notice things around the house that we want to re-do. Stasha points out that we can predictably buy out Bed Bath and Beyond!

Our Fall phase is when Stasha recommends to just knock out Mount Laundry!

Tune in to hear what Stasha has to say about “PMS” symptoms.

Understanding these seasons can take the guilt out of so many aspects of our life. Instead of saying ‘I’m useless,’ tell yourself, “I’m shifting my use.”

BALANCING OUR HORMONES

Go to Stasha’s YouTube channel and learn all the things about hormonal imbalance. She talks about estrogen imbalances (very common), and so many common symptoms of general hormone imbalance.

By and large, women are not eating enough fiber, so add more fiber to your diet like buckwheat, chia seeds, etc. Stasha also recommends adding healthy fats like avocado and grass feed ghee.

Watch your sugar intake. It’s tied to your estrogen and hormone balance! Try to get your supplements without sugar in them.

Caffeine is a hard one (we know!) but it’s really tough on our hormones. Try ordering a half-caf from time to time, or even decaf, especially in your luteal phase. You can also try dandelion root instead.

Transition into better habits instead of cold turkey.

Instead of trying to be all things to all people (which no one can do), notice your phases and set boundaries with yourself. Say ‘no’ more. Realize that you don’t “have” to do anything. Give yourself a break!

CONNECT WITH STASHA

ThePeriodCoach.com
Facebook.com/StashaWashburn
Instagram.com/StashaWashburn

First, what is MOMCon? It’s the mother of all meet ups. It’s a place where thousands of moms get together, learn, grow as leaders, and make new friends.

This was my first MOMCon, and I absolutely loved it. I’m sharing some highlights from my perspective, encouragement from some of the speakers, and a VERY special guest…Bob Goff. WHAT?! Yeah. I still can’t believe it.

I did something of a “voice blog,” which is just another way of saying podcast, of my process as I experienced the event. Here’s just a glimpse of my full weekend, full of new friends and moms who RUN THE WORLD.

This episode is sponsored by

Day 1:

MOPs puts on this event, and it’s an organization that rallies around moms. They believe that better moms make a better world. If you want to learn more about MOPs, visit MOPS.org

This event almost didn’t happen. Hurricane Dorian threatened to destroy the whole thing. First I would say, never underestimate the power of praying moms, because that thing took a hard right, away from Florida.

We call it a small miracle when a group of moms gets together because all of the stuff we have to find, get together, and get done. This week was no exception. Moms were helping other moms get to Orlando because of canceled flights. People were pick up strangers in different cities and driving them down to MOMCon.

Moms were helping one another in such a powerful way, and one of the most moving things I saw leading up to the conference was moms who, in the midst of trying to reschedule flights (one mom had to reschedule her flight SIX TIMES!), getting everything done, feeling guilty for leaving, and everything moms do to leave the house for more than one night, they were asking how they could help hurricane victims. The positive energy and sense of community was unreal.

Of course, some mamas had to bring their nursing babies. They inspired me with their baby-wearing and the mountains they moved to be part of everything.

There were grandmas, mothers-in-law, and helpers who went with moms so they could bring their babies and still get a break while someone watched their baby.e

Okay, as an introvert, I really have to rev myself up for this, and I’m thankful that I was there by myself. I never would have been able to do all the things I did without my introvert “breaks.” You’ll probably find me napping for two days after the conference is over.

The event had a trade show, called the “Marketplace,” where you could take pictures, visit with sponsors, and SHOP (come on, ladies). I met a woman named Sara Hamill there, and because of the stupid hurricane, a workshop she was supposed to speak at was cancelled. But, she gave us a brief overview of her talk. Tune in to hear it!

DAY 2

This day was extremely full. I barely even had time to eat, but it was awesome.

Highlights:

PREACH TO YOUR SOUL. It’s important to give ourselves pep talks. Our brain, our heart, and our body are not always on the same page. We need to PUH-REACH to ourselves to give us the motivation we need.

MEGAN TAMTE gave a talk about how to take care of yourself AND be a good mom. She encourages us to pursue our dreams, big or small. It makes us better moms and teaches our kids to pursue their own dreams.

If you don’t know what your dreams are, or where to start, think about who you were when you were in the 5th grade. They say that’s when you were in your purest form. What did you like? How did you act? That might give you a clue about what your dreams and goals could be.

I VISITED THE GREEN ROOM. This is mission control/break area for the artists and organizers. I talked to Janet, who was helping to organize the event, and she told me that these events are planned YEARS ahead of time. They look at trends and ideas that will inspire and empower moms. Everything we see and experience is the result of hundreds of caring people dedicated to make sure they’re having an amazing experience.

You guys – if you ever see the organizers of an event that you’re attending, buy them a cup of coffee, thank them. They do a lot to make sure we’re having a good time and that everything runs smoothly.

DAY 3

The bread and butter for me. I know this phrase is overused, but I ACTUALLY CANNOT EVEN. I believe in coincidences, but there were things that happened on this day that were absolutely NOT a coincidence.

We had a general session with several TED-style talks:

SANDRA STANLEY talked about breathing room. Breathing room is defined by the space between the pace we’re going, and our own limits. Life is better with breathing room!

LUCRETIA BERRY is a past guest, and she had some encouragement for us. Tune in to hear her exclusive words, just for us!

MY NEW FRIEND NICKI KOZIARZ brought some FIRE about comparison. She says that comparison is the battle between whose truth you’re going to align with. Are you going to compare with someone else’s truth, or your own?

Comparison lets the world hold our standard. If success is defined in the eyes of the beholder, then who are you allowing to behold your success?

THERE IS A SPECIAL BRANCH OF MOPS called Teen MOPS. It’s for teenage moms, and it gives them resources and support. I met Rebekah, a leader of a teen MOPs group in New York. She’s a teacher and one of her 14-year-old students was pregnant and didn’t know anything about being pregnant. Rebekah has created a space for girls like this student to feel supported, educated and loved. They get donations of diapers, education, and other resources to send these girls home with, including a home cooked meal.

I LOVE that Teen MOPs is loving on teen moms, and I am excited to connect with my local Teen MOPs group.

BOB GOFF is the “Chief of fun and whimsy.” If you’ve never heard of him, grab one of his books. If you’ve ever heard the quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” that’s Bob Goff.

I reached out to Bob’s office to see if I could get a quote from him. They (understandably) told me that his schedule is very tight and they weren’t sure if they could make it work.

I don’t think that I’ve ever waited in line to meet someone. That stuff doesn’t really impress me, because I’d much rather have a meaningful conversation connection (I guess, wouldn’t we all want to sit down with a celebrity, right?)

After a series of events (which you can hear in detail in the episode), Bob Goff practically fell into my arms. He came to me on a silver platter. I am still in shock.

He and I talked about his podcast and I told him about my own show. When I asked if he would be willing to give my listeners some encouragement, he didn’t even hesitate. We went to a quiet corner of the room, he clipped the mic on, and here’s what he had to say to you, Wannabe Nation! (tune in to minute 40:53 to hear it!)

WHAT. DEAD. I AM DEAD.

Later on in the day, Bob talked about trying to have 12 meaningful conversations every single day, and be authentic for at least 3 full minutes. Don’t talk about authenticity and what you wish you had, but actually be authentic. I encourage you to do the same.

You don’t have to be a famous author, a celebrity or have a platform to change someone’s world. All it takes is seconds of authenticity and telling someone they matter. That’s what Bob did for me that day.

MOMCON PROM is the after party. All the moms get dressed up and dance it out, and it was the MOST fun. I even overcame my fear of dance circles.

Check it out:

MY BEST TIPS FOR ATTENDING A CONFERENCE:

WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES

I usually don’t walk less than 15,000 steps every day that I’m at a conference. There’s a lot of walking back and forth, so wear shoes that will last you the day.

BRING SNACKS

Most events don’t provide food, and if they do, it’s light or unhealthy (although I’m always up for a good danish or cookie between meetings). At this event in particular, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to eat. Bring (quiet) snacks that you can bust out in the middle of a session. You can even utilize apps like Instacart or UberEats and have them delivered right to your room!

BRING A LIGHT JACKET OR SWEATER

I was in Orlando, Florida: arguably one of the hottest places in the country at almost any time of the year. It was still DANG cold in those workshop rooms. You’ll thank me later.

SIT IN FRONT OF THE SOUND BOOTH FOR THE BEST EXPERIENCE

Trust me on this one. Front row seats are fine if you can get them, but I never had to fight the crowd once, and I had the best overall experience because I sat right in front of the booth.

The sound booth is usually set up in a spot of the room where there are minimal view obstructions, and where they can get the best idea of volume and mix of sound.

And while you’re there, THANK the techs in the booth. They are the unsung heroes of every event!

TAKE LOTS OF NOTES

I pride myself in my good memory. I can tell you phone numbers of friends from the 5th grade. But there is SO MUCH information given out at conferences that taking notes is one of the best ways to make the most out of your time, money, and experience. Even if you jot down a few words or phrases that help you remember the highlights of a certain speaker or workshop, you’ll appreciate it later when you get home to process and apply it all.

BE OPEN TO ANYTHING

Try not to come with specific expectations of how you think things are going to go. Stay open to the material you’re about to hear. You might learn something new!

GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO PROCESS

Skip a dinner out if you can. Bring a sack lunch to your room. Skip an early morning session. Take time to collect your thoughts, process and reflect on what you’ve learned.

Peg Theobald is a mom of two, a foster mom, a blogger, and she just re-entered the work force full time.

We talk about her decision to go back to work after being at home with her boys for several years, her process, her mom guilt, and even the pushback she got on social media when she announced her decision.

Peg gives great insight on the mommy wars online, and how she really had to process what being a mom actually LOOKS like when it comes to working, wanting to work, and being with her family.

I loved Peg’s vulnerability. It’s interesting how the ideas we get in our head about how things ‘should’ be can really affect us. Definitely find Peg online.  She’s such a sweet soul.

Getting a job happened a lot faster than Peg anticipated.  From the time she updated the resume to the time she landed a job, it was less than a month.

She had a lot of questions from friends and family about how and why she came to this decision.  Her response was that she’s always wanted to work.
Peg sees her career path as an ebb and flow.  She always wanted to have a career, but when she had her first son she had a lot of mom guilt around ever being away from him. 

She credits her reentry into a full time job to Rachel Hollis’ message to fight mom guilt and pursue what you were created to be.

 Peg grew up in a very conservative Christian environment, but she feels as thought she’s moved away from some of the ideals she grew up around. 

Okay, it gets REALLY real right here. Peg and I both open up about something of an identity crisis we’ve had when it comes to being a Christian. We get honest about our shift from the ideals and the environment we were raised in that impressed on us that women were always supposed to stay at home and take care of the house and the kids.
She was taught that the godly way to be a mom was to stay at home and raise kids.

Peg even confesses that even though she believed women could work outside the home, she still judged women who did, even when she thought they didn’t “need” to.

Peg goes into the process of what it looked like for her to go from wanting to be at home with her boys every minute of the day to transitioning back into working outside of the home. Her husband has been very supportive of Peg working because that’s the model he had growing up.

She talks about the leap from staying at home to working full time, and she notes that she and her sons have so much better quality time.

When she doubted her decision (WE ALL HAVE DOUBTS!) Peg has a very good tactic for getting some perspective on mom guilt when it creeps in.

Tune in to find out what it is!

Peg would sometimes cry every day on her way to work, and she felt very alone. She even had family member voice their concerns and had to set some clear boundaries around that in order to protect her own heart. Support and encouragement was also found in somewhat of a surprising place.

There was one particular person who didn’t approve of Peg’s choice to go back to work, and she said so in some direct words on social media. Peg used this opportunity to show grace and confidence, and encourages women that whether you choose to stay at home or work full time, you can be a good mom.

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