Check Yourself...

Visit my new website where I will be permanently posting now!
www.selfmotivatedmomma.com


Every few months we all need to do a little self check. It's almost like Spring cleaning for your mental health. What am I doing with my life? Am I making a difference? Is this it? Should I be doing more? Should I have a better job? Should I be making more money? What is everyone else doing with their lives? I usually write the funny stuff... Lets get serious JUST for today...

You find yourself selling out and straying from what is important to you. You go on facebook a little to often and next thing you know you are social surfing for shit you don't even care about. We get wrapped up in who is posting what pictures of what vacations... who had the most extravagant wedding or children's birthday party. We "check-in" at bars and restaurants that no one REALLY cares about... so why do we do it? We are ALL guilty. I went off Facebook for four months, a couple years ago. It was one of the most liberating things I have ever done... yet... I'm still here...

People... How did we get here? How did our after work routine become... What did everyone else do today? How about what the F did I do to change the world today?????

I am watching a documentary series right now called "Witness"... It's an HBO series that follows photo journalists through four of the most hostile countries in the world. If you have not watched it... please do. It was the perfect annual shock to my system and I was due for some mental cleansing. How the hell can I write about health tips, nap time, make-up and breast implants when Kony is STILL on a murderous rampage across African jungles? I'm not going to give the whole starving children in Africa speech... but imagine if we used our time wasted on social media, educating ourselves on what is REALLY happening on the other side of the planet. My favorite episode is about a french, pregnant, photo journalist, that travels through the jungle of South Sudan, with the Soldiers trying to track Joseph Kony. PREGNANT!! She wanted to share her story with the world... She felt, that there are pregnant women all over the world, that are dealing with far tougher things than weight gain and insomnia. 

Sure puts Pinterest "Nursery Ideas" into a whole new perspective...

http://www.hbo.com/#/documentaries

Scot and I try to do our part. Our restaurant sponsors a ton of local sports teams and we host fundraisers, for children fighting terminal illness in our community. We make monthly donations to human rights groups, we volunteer for Kiwanis Kids and I am an Ambassador for the Dove "Campaign For Real Beauty". I host self-esteem workshops for middle school girls. We talk about the pressure on women in the world to be both thin and beautiful, and things we can do to over come that. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I

Scot and I watch Fox News together every morning to stay up on current events and what I believe to be our biggest strength as couple... We would give the skin off our backs, to the people in our lives that we really care about. We always try to do the "right" thing and yet somedays we both still feel like we could do more.

So what am I doing with MY life? This whole mommy blogging thing... How is it giving back to the world around me? What is the point? How is this helping others? Am I wasting my time?

I have three friends that have suffered from SEVERE post part-um depression. I have multiple friends that had Colicky babies. I get countless emails from women thanking me for my honesty, and that for the first time ever, they don't feel alone in the challenges of raising children. I have had women I don't even know stop me in the grocery store and tell me that my stories help them find humor in their own. I have friends that can finally speak openly about eating disorders, yo yo diets and battles of self image. I  have some hero's in my life that have survived divorce, colic, miscarriages, rape, and a stroke... 

My friend Little Lisa survived a stroke during the labor and delivery of her son Preston. She is a hero to many of us...

THIS is why I blog... We all have incredible stories that make us exactly who we are supposed to be today.

I write from my heart... The most HONEST place I can. I hope that if I am open, it will encourage other people to be. I hope my imperfections and insecurities will allow people in my life to find peace in their own. Being open and vulnerable is one of the hardest things in the world for me... But then... I think about what we could accomplish if we ditched the hate, the fear, the insecurity and the anger...

Maybe then... all of us women could find the courage to step into South Sudan 5 Months Pregnant... 

You see... If we all had a healthy amount of confidence, courage and a clear head space... Only then as a world can we go on to fight terrorist's and dictators... Only then can we feed hunger and end war... Only then can we end hate crimes, celebrate all of the fabulous gays in our lives and let them get married already!!! Sheeesh America!!!

I will always try to make this world a better place... But for now... I will continue to share my stories and bring as much joy as I can to the world around me.

Laugh, Cry, Love, Read.

Me.