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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

Birth Order Parenting

If I were to return to school and earn my PhD, I would write my dissertation surrounding the concept of birth order because I am pretty confident I have mastered birth order parenting.

How do I know?

Let me share some relevant experiences perhaps suggested and supported by clear and concise evidence upon each of the following:

First Born: When my son fell and scraped his knee I ran to the medicine cabinet and doused it with peroxide and some rubbing alcohol. I would smother it with Neosporin and bandage him all up. I would give him tons of hugs and kisses and for the rest of the day he could get whatever he wanted because I felt so bad that my poor little baby got a boo boo.

Second Born: Unless her bloody leg is near falling off, I grab a few wipes and clean her up in the midst of telling her to toughen up. I mean it’s only a scrape.

First Born: When my son ate at mealtime I constantly wiped his mouth after every little bite and made sure his hands were always clean. I didn’t want his face to get all messy or his hair and shirt to be full of food.

Second Born: That philosophy immediately went out the window as per Exhibit A:

First Born: When any kind of food hit the floor it was immediately thrown away. Pacifiers were cleaned if they even grazed the ground and in extreme situations some things were discarded if not appearing absolutely in 100% perfect condition.

Second Born: The five second rule goes into play; if you pick it up off the clean floor within five seconds, it is free game. Bon appetit.

First Born: I was a slave to his nap schedule. I would ensure that I ran errands in the morning before his nap or waited until he woke up in the afternoon to get out of the house because the nap always came first.

Second Born: If she misses a nap today, she’ll get one tomorrow. It really isn’t the end of the world if she misses one nap. I have so much crap jammed in my day and that nap sometimes does not make the priority list. She’ll deal with it and so will I.

First Born: When my son wanted to take his socks and shoes off constantly I was the one who tirelessly put them back on his feet again and again. I certainly didn’t want him to have dirty socks or feet.

Second Born: If the girl wants to go barefoot in the winter or wear socks as she runs outside, no problem because I sure the hell don’t have the time or patience to put those things back on again and again. She’ll learn, eventually.

First Born: When we went out shopping and he would get fussy or let out a little cry I would go straight into panic mode and try to figure what he wanted. I would break into a sweat trying to keep him calm because I didn’t want anyone else to hear my screaming kid. I always thought that a screaming child was a reflection of me as a mother – I mean, how dare I have a crying baby in the store? Not my kid, mine is perfect.

Second Born: Did you read this post?  Ummm, yeah. The girl is going to cry it out because mommy needs to get some groceries and get on with life. My child will get over it and so will the rest of the world.

So what have we learned from my short dissertation on birth order parenting?

I guess it’s a good thing I’m not having a third.

Chic Mama Review and Giveaway

***This contest is now closed. Congratulations Shelly! An email has been sent. ***

Chic Mama is owned by mother of two, Adriana D’Arco. While working in corporate America for many years, Adriana found herself wanting to maintain a steadfast career but also longed to find a way to balance her passion for the business world while raising a family. She decided to put her creative talents to good use and started her very own business that would co-exist with her family perfectly. Soon enough, Chic Mama was born.

Chic Mama specializes in diaper cakes but offers so much more! Adriana strives to create unique products that are chic and stylish but also very useful and practical to all moms. As a Theta Mom myself, this is something that easily fits my lifestyle because I love savvy and functional products!

With just a few clicks on the absolutely adorable and easy to navigate website, I was able to find exactly what I was looking for. Chic Mama carries everything from stylish handbags {some are the cutest I’ve ever seen} to posh accessories and Chic Mama even carries baby gear, so be sure to check it all out!

I reviewed The Chic Mama Ballet Shoes Diaper cake:

This precious diaper cake arrived at my home carefully packaged surrounded in bubble wrap within the box. The cake itself is two tiered containing 35-40 diapers. The finishing touches on this cake are comprised of crinkle paper and premium decorative ribbon. It also came with a piece of tulle on the top wrapped with a bow. It is the perfect gift to bring to someone special at a baby shower or for that new Theta Mom! I’ve seen tons of other diaper cakes before and what separates Chic Mama from others on the market is all in the presentation. Adriana does an amazing job of presenting a quality product for the special mom in your life.

You can purchase The Chic Mama Ballet Shoes Diaper Cake for $49.00 here or you can enter to win because Chic Mama is giving one lucky Theta Mom reader the chance to win a diaper cake of choice! *This is the absolute perfect gift for a Theta Mom-to-be or a brand new Theta Mom!

How to Enter The Chic Mama Giveaway:

****Required Entry: Follow my blog publicly and tell me you are AND visit Chic Mama and tell me the diaper cake that you adore.

Extra Entries: (You must leave a separate entry for each extra entry to count and extra entries won’t count unless the required entry is done)


1. Follow Theta Mom on Twitter here and leave me your twitter name. (1 entry)

2. Become a “Like” of Theta Mom on Facebook here and leave me your FB name. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to Theta Mom via email. You must activate the subscription for this entry to count. (2 entries)

4. Subscribe to Theta Mom any other way. (1 entry)

5. Grab one of my cute buttons and add it to your website. (2 entries per button)

6. Tweet this giveaway! Just copy/paste the following: Enter to win the Chic Mama #giveaway @ThetaMom  http://bit.ly/cp8Ywu Please RT (1 entry per daily tweet)

7. Vote for me at the Blogluxe awards! Click the banner on the right sidebar and tell me you voted. (1 entry per daily vote)

8. Post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me. Leave me your link to show the post. (2 entries)

9. Add Theta Mom to your blogroll. (2 entries)

Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is open to US residents only. It begins on July 12, 2010 and will end on July 22, 2010 at 8 pm. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. The winner will be announced and must respond with a current email address within 48 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen. Enter as many extra entries as you would like Theta Moms and good luck!

I was provided The Chic Mama Ballet Shoes Diaper Cake. I was not compensated for this review. These are my own honest opinions and experience with the product.

Featured TMC Blogger: Raising Madison

TMC welcomes Joanna, author of the blog Raising Madison. Joanna is a fantastic blogger I found through TMC and she is another blogger who tells it like it is with tons of sheer honesty. She also has quite a story to share especially being a cancer survivor. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind and she often blogs about her adorable little girl and the journey they are on together. Here is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“Hey y’all, I’m Joanna, wife to Clint & mother to Madison. I hate wearing pants to bed, sometimes curse like a sailor & frequently steal my daughter’s hair clips to wear as accessories. I’m hot-headed (I am a natural red head, it is in our DNA), opinionated & fiercely loyal.

I actually started blogging in 2001, back in the age of LiveJournal. I would wax poetic about partying, following Blue October around the state of Texas (yes, I hung out with them) and all of the artsy/Indy things that I was doing in Austin, Texas (the greatest city in the world).

And then I got cancer. And my live journal became about chemotherapy, losing my hair and the unfortunate predicament of being bald and bloated for steroids but still having the desire to be wanted & get laid. I wish I could tell you it was good reading, but I deleted my live journal account a few years ago and I still want to kick myself for it.

I started Raising Madison {life with our hip-baby} (originally titled: Team Osborne) as a project post-wedding. We were newlyweds in our new house and I had this great idea of writing all about how in love we were, house projects and just musings from being a young married couple. And THEN I got knocked up. So I wrote about puking and pink rooms.

Madison was born and I abandoned the blog for a few weeks until we found out she had hip dysplasia. I started doing lots of internet research and realized that there weren’t all that many resources out there that weren’t medical related. I wanted the real stuff like what you do when poop explodes into the cast and how on earth you entertain a child that doesn’t fit into anything. I decided that if I wrote about what we were going through that maybe some other parents would come across my blog and realize that our life hasn’t stopped since her cast and things aren’t bad at all.

Now Madison is cast-free and still is “hip as ever.” The blog will continue as we continue on our road to recovery and start catching up on all of her milestones. I hope you’ll join us on the journey!”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! 

New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*I shut off the comments on this post so instead of leaving a comment here, please take a moment to show some love directly on the blog of the TMC Featured Blogger. Have a wonderful weekend ladies!

An Idea of Divine Perfection

Nana passed away almost two years ago and saying good-bye to her was one of the most difficult days of my life. But what still surprises me is how much my son {who was 3 years old at the time} remembers about that day. Moreover, how much he remembers her.

I was tucking him in bed last night when he caught me a little off guard. A conversation began and went something like this…

“Mommy, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure sweetie.”

“How did Nana die?”

“Well honey, sometimes when you get older and reach a certain age your body doesn’t work as good as it used to work…”

“How come?”

“Well, when people get older, sometimes they have problems inside their bodies and sometimes there are many problems that are hard to fix.”

“Why are they hard to fix? Can’t they just take medicine to make them feel better?”

“Well sweetie, sometimes medicine isn’t enough to fix the problems in their bodies.”

“Well, like what kind of problems?”

“Like if someone has a heart problem, sometimes their heart just doesn’t work as good as it did when the person was younger…”

“So why can’t they just get a new heart?”

“It doesn’t always work out like that honey…”

“Well I would have given my heart to Nana…”

Getting choked up I managed to mutter the words, “I know you would have sweetie.”

“But Mommy, I still don’t get it. What’s the number?”

“What do mean – number?”

“Like give me a number of when your body doesn’t work as good anymore.”

“Well, the number is different for every person. Some people live to be 90 and some even live to be 100. But sometimes, people die much younger.”

“But what number does it start at?”

“I would say around 80. How’s that?”

“But I still don’t get it…because trees are much older than that and they don’t die and they don’t seem to have any problems! Mommy, why can’t we be like trees? Then we could live forever.”

“Oh my special boy, you are absolutely right…why can’t we be more like trees?”

With that thought I held my son’s hand, kissed his forehead and stared at the ceiling above. I closed my eyes for a moment and all I can remember thinking was why can’t more trees in this world be more like him?

Redefining the Role of Motherhood

Grab a cup of coffee.

Better yet, grab your favorite cocktail and come hang out with me for a while. It’s been a whirlwind of a week and those Theta Mom posts? They blew me away.

I cannot even begin to describe how authentic, honest and REAL every single entry was. I received a handful of emails from bloggers thanking me for giving them the push to step out of their comfort zone. Many had said if it wasn’t for this Theta Mom “meme” they may not have even written some of these posts. I also received emails from readers saying how much they enjoyed this meme and that this Mission has indeed made an impact on the blogosphere. THAT in itself is truly a blessing to me.

So I would love for you to take a moment and check out some favorites. We’re talking quality writing with tons of raw emotion. If you are looking for some really good reads, look no further.

For starters, read the account of a mother who lost a child due to a terminal illness or hang on every word of one of the most extraordinary posts I have ever read about PPD or how autism propelled this mother into Theta Mom territory.

Or perhaps it’s the sometimes the judgmental side of motherhood that makes this Theta Mom so real or the simple five words that changed her life or how motherhood redefined her or the sheer honesty of this job that includes tons of mommy meltdowns for this Theta Mom.

All of these posts spoke to the very heart of me and The Empress managed to find the right words that fully encompasses the essence of what this community is really all about. She did this so eloquently and it moved me to tears – because the vision I always had for this blog is now truly taking flight and I recognized this for the first time when I read that post.

In fact, every single post touched me in some way and I can’t thank each of you enough for taking the time to draft the words and publish so many authentic accounts of what a Theta Mom is to each of you.

So now I am honored to announce the Modern Bird Studios giveaway winner for this special blogoversary. It’s awarded to a blogger whose post nearly rocked me to the core. Her words jumped off of the computer screen as her story is nothing short of compelling. It is beautifully written about the experience of losing a child and dealing with the depression that followed. Congratulations Joy in this Journey as this post took much strength and courage to publish. You are an inspiration to us all and you ARE on the right path – keep blogging to your heart’s content because you are fantastic.

Honestly, I really do have the best readers on the planet. This blogoversary validated the very purpose this blog serves. To share, support, communicate and connect. Thank you, for allowing me into your life and for sharing this very real experience with me. And to those of you that did not draft a post or link up I know you are reading and that you’re here with me – and that alone speaks volumes so thank you for staying the course.

We ARE redefining the role of motherhood – and it’s a damn great place to be.