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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

Theta Mom is Growing Up and So is My Blog

Wait, don’t click away, you’re still in the right place.

It’s still Theta Mom.

And I’m still here with just a more professional and refined feel. It’s still me and this community and everything this blog stands for. I just happened to retire that blonde stroller chick, especially since I don’t push a baby carriage anymore.

I guess I’m growing up…and so is my blog.

Throughout this blogging journey you will probably find yourself constantly evolving, learning and making some important decisions and necessary changes surrounding your brand that look and feel right. For you.

And this certainly feels right for me.

We’re in this industry where branding is SO important and I didn’t want to regret keeping that graphic girl for longer than I have, ultimately making THAT become synonymous with the Theta Mom name. I wanted a professional logo, one that I could grow with, one that would be easily recognized because *I* am the face of this brand, not that graphic girl.

Welcome to the new and improved Theta Mom. Thanks again Lauren, my designer extraordinaire, for your continued support and ability to always turn my vision into reality. You made this suggestion to me a long time ago and I am so glad I finally heeded your advice.

Because this one is certainly here to stay.

Theta Mom is Rockin the Baby

If you are a blogger and you are a mama, then you should be linking up with Shell this week for her absolutely fun meme called “Rockin the Baby!”  It’s the perfect excuse to dig up some old photos and share your adorable babies on your very own blog.

But wait, there’s more.

Shell partnered with four fabulous clients of Theta Mom Media and since you already know that I only endorse products and work with brands that I know and trust, get excited for the chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Take a trip down memory lane, post your photos and visit Shell to link up. This linky will be open through July 18th, so be sure to follow the sponsors @TheChicMama @Storkie @LaurenNicoleLLC and @BellflowerBooks – all proudly stamped with Theta Mom Media’s seal of approval.

And even though my kids are far from babies any more, looking at these photos quickly brought me right back to that time in my life of holding my little baby boy and baby girl…

…and I am reminded to enjoy every precious minute because this journey is apparently moving at lightning speed.

Cultivating Me Time with momAgenda

Once upon a time you were a girl who had all the time in the world. Growing up, you probably annoyed your own mother with phrases like, “Are we there yet? How long is it going to take? Why can’t we go right now? Or the infamous, “Ma, I’m bored….”

Bored.

If only I could mouth those words again.

These days, I’m lucky if I have time to brush my teeth since my time seems to be allocated to everyone else. I live around my husband’s work schedule and the same goes for my kids.

So the question then becomes, what happened to MY schedule?

There’s something really irritating about having to ask that last question. Where does that leave us Theta Moms? Apparently, we are everything to everyone else first and I think it’s time that this mantra begins to change.

I have written about this topic on my blog before and it seems to keep reappearing. I’m taking this as a sign that it’s a reminder for you (including myself) to continue to take care of ourselves first.

This begins with cultivating some ‘me’ time. And no, it’s not going to happen unless you make it happen.

My suggestion to bring some quality ‘me’ time back into your life is to write it down. Put yourself back on the calendar and include your ‘me’ time just like you would include any other appointment. You need to take your kid to the dentist and drop your other child off at a friend’s house to swim in the pool and manage to cook a meal sometime in between then before the hubs comes home – well be sure to add your “me” time on your schedule for that day, too. If you have time allotted for those other appointments, you can find some time to do something for YOU as well.

 I have found that I really stick to my ‘me’ time if I write it down in my momAgenda. I love both the momAgenda Planner and Home Office Edition, but since I keep the majority of my work/personal schedule in the Home Office Edition, that’s where I will typically add in my “me” time, too.

It may be just 30 minutes to give myself a manicure or 1 hour of uninterrupted brainless tv time. It could be a simple trip to Target (for me NOT the kids) or 20 minutes with a glass of wine and my favorite magazine after I put the kids to bed…regardless, it’s time I am allotting FOR ME and I do my best to stick to it. The real trick is to write it down first along with everything else because then there’s no excuse for not taking the time.

Are some days easier than others to integrate this into my routine? Sure. And are there days in which this won’t happen? Sad, but true. But at least I am making an effort and choosing to put myself back on the calendar because my happiness is just as important as the other members of this family.

And when I’m happy, we’re ALL happy around here.

What’s your take? Do you add some time for yourself to your own planner/schedule? If not, do you think this is something you would consider doing?

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. As the Brand Ambassador for momAgenda and the Leader of COMM: Council of Media Moms, I am compensated for the work I perform including posts such as this. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

Balancing Your Dreams

My guest blogger today is Johanna from Johanna Garth. She’s a newly published author with dreams of becoming a long-term successful writer. She’s sharing an amazing post with us here today based on her experience, a journey that is so worth reading.

When I was in third grade I decided to become a lawyer. I was certain, from the tip of my toes to the ends of my pigtails, the life of law was meant for me. I couldn’t articulate why I wanted to be a lawyer and I have a strong suspicion I had no idea what lawyers did, but that didn’t matter.  What I had was a dream. Someday I would walk into the offices of a major New York City law firm (unchartered territory for a girl from rural Oregon) as a full-fledged lawyer. I held onto my dream with such ferocity that it couldn’t have surprised anyone when I finally did what I’d set out to do.

The interesting thing about achieving that first dream is that it wasn’t exactly like I thought it would be. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. I did, I absolutely did. It turns out my third grade self somehow knew I would love the practice of law. It’s just that somewhere along the line the initial dream became unimportant. I’d done what I’d set out to do and now there were other goals and dreams. We measure ourselves against the people we see on a daily basis and my colleagues had all achieved the same pinnacle of success as I had. Now we were all shooting for higher pinnacles.

I went right on tackling one mountain after another until I had a metaphorical mountain climbing accident. My daughter was born. She came along and I lost my hold on everything else. My first taste of that all-encompassing love affair that is the way a mother loves her first child, left no room for any other dreams. I couldn’t imagine anything better than holding my daughter in my arms while she looked up at me with her amazing deep blue, baby eyes.

Somehow I managed to go back to work, partly because it never occurred to me to do anything else. A month later my daughter went on a hunger strike. Her particular genius for guerilla warfare combined with starry-eyed mother love spelled the end for my legal career.

I gave it up. 

I gave it up quickly, with only the slightest tinge of regret. I told myself I wouldn’t look back or second guess myself. Except, it’s almost impossible not to look back. My colleagues became partners in law firms, judges and business executives with their own staff. I changed diapers, cleaned the kitchen floor and taught myself how to cook.

I also started to write.

I’d always kept a journal and jotted down little things that appealed to me. Now, I snuck off to my computer at naptime and wrote stories. The stories turned into books and the idea of publishing something, anything, began to emerge as a new dream. I didn’t tell anyone about this new dream because it seemed impossible. I just kept writing, sending things out to editors, agents and magazines and filing away my rejections. After five years I told my closest friends I was writing. After seven years, I could sometimes bring myself to tell acquaintances I was an unpublished writer. This year, nine years after I walked away from my first dream, I’ve achieved my second dream. The dream I was beginning to think was impossible. My book has been published. It’s my dream come true. I’m walking on air. Except…

This time around I’ve been more careful. I’ve learned that dreams, while important, are never as satisfying as we expect. As soon as they become reality we accept them and move on. I’ve barely had time to savor this first step towards becoming a full-fledged writer and already I want more. It’s never enough and that, I’ve realized, is the essential problem with dreams (or maybe me, I’m not sure which). Dreams can take you a long way but it’s easy to keep striving for the next big moment and forget all the little moments that make life amazing. With that in mind I gave myself the task of creating a list of things that are important to do each and every day:

1. Stop and listen to each of my children and focus on whatever it is they need me to know.

2. Kiss my husband.

3. Laugh with anyone. Dreams are empty without laughter

4. Have something to look forward to – maybe a movie with friends or a vacation. It doesn’t matter what as long as it’s something.

5. Eat something that tastes good.

What’s my point? Women cannot live on dreams alone. My dream was to publish a book (just one) and have it see some kind of moderate success. You can bet money that now I want to publish two (just two) and see them both achieve wild success. As my dreams expand, contract, die out and renew I’ll be keeping a tight watch on the list above. Figure out your own list of things that sustain you and then keep it somewhere safe and close to your heart. 

Those are the real dreams.

Want to guest post at Theta Mom® for TMC Network? I am currently accepting submissions. Full details can be found on the Network page.

Celebrating Two Years at Theta Mom

Two years, today. Or perhaps I should say yesterday or maybe even the day before to be precise.

My blogging journey has been one hell of a ride so far. This post is not an “Ooooh, look at me and everything I’ve done” perspective, but rather an “Ooooh, look at the REAL potential this blogging gig can bring with tons of dedication and hard work…” perspective. The fabulous Tiffany said it best, “A success for one blogger is a success for ALL of us.” Here’s my story…

I had the idea for Theta Mom in early 2009. For many months straight, I did nothing but write. I wanted to find my voice, develop a clear mission and define myself in this space before I presented it to the world. I always knew who I was but I wanted to be really concrete about the kind of blog I wanted to run. I knew that I always wanted to remain professional but at the same time, stay authentic. I wanted to begin a real dialogue with other women and touch the lives of mothers everywhere; I wanted to connect with women and mothers in a way that hadn’t been done before.

I had a voice and I wanted my voice to be heard.

Once I had the Mission written and refined (in addition to tons upon tons of blog posts) I started to research blogs and the art of blogging itself.

I immersed myself in it.

For many months I ate, slept and drank blogging. I wanted to know every aspect of the ins and outs of blogging. I bought several books to kick start this process and I hung on every word. I documented and took notes. I wrote and wrote some more. I was like a sponge, soaking up every single thing I could possibly learn. At the time, I was doing this in the midst of raising a newborn baby, small toddler and working part-time as an Adjunct Professor. Saying that sleep was not on the agenda is an understatement. Although, I think it saved my sanity from that time in my life. I needed an outlet from the daily grind of motherhood and once I found my niche, I ran with it.

I continued to stay up late many nights to learn and read as much as I could online as well about the field of blogging. Once I had a good handle on the industry, I then immersed myself with the inner workings of WordPress and this book soon became my new bible {still full of blue sticky notes everywhere}:

And, so it began.

I published my very first post at Theta Mom on WordPress on June 28, 2009 using a horrid free WP theme I found online. The background was a dark burgundy and the graphic girl was holding a purse and was walking through the city…a far cry from what it is today. I honestly think only Brittany {who by the way was my very first blog follower and one of my absolute besties to this day} remembers that design (THANK GAWD). All free themes are NOT bad, but I was a total newbie and obviously didn’t know enough about free themes at the time. Oh, how things change. I was so miserable with that WordPress design and not having the time, patience or experience to design an entire site myself, I jumped over to Blogger and set up a cute, easy theme of pink and green…with birds.

Birds? Really?             

Yup. Frackin birds.

Thankfully, I think only Helene and Elizabeth remember that design. I re-published that first post three days later on July 1, 2009. The problem was Theta Mom had nothing to do with birds. So, I immediately contacted a designer that worked on Blogger and that’s when I became face-to-face with my infamous stroller chick {which, for the record, I will say goodbye to very soon as the time has come for me to give up the graphic girl}. I remained on Blogger with my stroller chick for about two months when I once again became miserable. This time, it wasn’t the design that was the problem – it was the platform.

In November of 2009, I left Blogger and jumped ship back to WordPress. It was a super scary time because even seasoned peeps like Mama Kat and Angie were still using Blogger. I felt like I was crossing back over to the land of the unknown leaving so many of my Blogger friends behind, but within months, it’s almost as if the entire blogosphere ditched Blogger in late 2009.

Once I moved back to WordPress, that’s when I really started to “brand” myself. I met Lauren, the most talented designer on the planet and she made the migration for me and gave me a fabulous new design. THAT was the moment I knew I found the right look and feel for Theta Mom.

Four months later, I began TMC, a sought after blogging community that continues to thrive. When I had immediate support at its inception (and still do to this day) from so many fantastic bloggers, I knew I was onto something special. I mean, really special. And on my first blogoversary, I was amazed at how far I had come – how so many women and mothers resonated with Theta Mom and everything that this blog stands for.

Late last summer, I officially began working professionally as a blogger and social media consultant. I even started my own business. I properly re-launched Theta Mom in January to showcase these new changes with another new redesign by Lauren, highlighting the addition of The Marketplace and later launched Theta Mom Media on its own platform and I am currently working with several amazing clients, such as momAgenda. Nina is one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs I have ever met. {And in case you were wondering, she is absolutely gorgeous in real life}. She has created an amazing brand and she is so much more than just a company I partnered with; she is a talented, smart and savvy business woman, a true inspiration and a mentor – someone I truly look up to in so many ways and if it weren’t for my blog, I never would have had the opportunity to work with her, which leads me to this very moment, right now.

Two years later.

My blog has morphed into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. This blog has opened so many doors and brought me the kind of opportunities I never even knew existed. It’s also been a place for my refuge and sanity.

This blog is my third baby and it’s a place I call home.

With tons and tons of continued hard work and dedication, I’m confident that I will continue to see Theta Mom and Theta Mom Media taken to new heights. I hope by sharing my journey thus far serves as a small piece of inspiration for you regardless of your own blogging goals.

As for my readers? I can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve given me, the love you have shown me and the kind words of inspiration you’ve provided for me over these last two years. I hope you know how much I appreciate every single tweet, comment and email and I am so grateful for every single soul that reads my writing. I’m also thankful for those that support the fellow bloggers I feature, the women in business whom I endorse and the brands that I choose to partner with. I hope you will continue to be here for Theta Mom and watch me grow and change as I travel this path.

Because the bottom line is, I just can’t imagine traveling this crazy blogging journey without you, because YOU are the reason I still continue to hit publish.

And THAT my friends, will never change.

xoxoxoxoxo