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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

Cutie Pa Tutus Review and Giveaway

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

Cutie Pa Tutus is owned by Amanda Duke, a mother of two who wanted to find a way to build a successful business and be able to raise her two small children at the same time. She started Cutie Pa Tutus in 2008 based in Charleston, South Carolina, after an overwhelming response of making her daughter’s first tutu for a princess party. Ever since that one tutu was made, the rest is history! Amanda takes such pride in her work and client satisfaction is her top priority. One visit to the site and you will clearly see why Cutie Pa Tutus is so popular! I reviewed The Diva Pa Tutu Outift:

Can you say ad-or-able??? When I took this out of the package my heart skipped a beat. It really is the most adorable thing my 20 month-old daughter has worn yet! The t-shirt contains a pink high heel with sparkly crystal embellishments throughout. The actual tutu skirt has a polished look with a finishing bow and cute dots along the bottom. My daughter looked like a superstar in this outfit and loved wearing it! {It’s so hard to get her to stand still, so this was the best shot I could get…}

The shirt and tutu fit her body perfectly and she will have room to grow into it as well. I was impressed by the creative artistry of the entire ensemble as well as the craftsmanship of the tutu. You can tell that this is made with care and that Amanda wants customer satisfaction. I couldn’t be more pleased with this outfit and Cutie Pa Tutus is now one of my favorites for sure! Be sure to follow Cutie Pa Tutus on Twitter and become a “like” of Cutie Pa Tutus on  Facebook.  

You can purchase The Diva Pa Tutu Outfit for $62.00 here or you can enter to win because Cutie Pa Tutus is giving one lucky Theta Mom reader the chance to win a tutu of choice!

How to Enter The Cutie Pa Tutus Giveaway:

****Required Entry: Follow my blog publicly and tell me you are.

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. Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs. Just click the banner on the right side bar and tell me you clicked. (1 entry per click-can click up to 3x)

7. If you have a BlogFrog profile, join my BlogFrog Community here and leave me your BlogFrog profile name. (1 entry)

8. Tweet this giveaway! Just copy/paste the following: Love Cutie Pa Tutus?  Enter to win a #tutu from @cutiepatutus #giveaway @ThetaMom http://bit.ly/dv4p0p Please RT (1 entry per daily tweet)

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

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

Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is open to US residents only. It begins on June 6, 2010 and will end on June 17, 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 Diva Pa Tutu Outfit from Cutie Pa Tutus. I was not compensated for this review. These are my own honest opinions and experience with the product.

Featured TMC Blogger: Mommy Words

TMC welcomes Brittany, author of the blog Mommy Words. Brittany has been a faithful follower and supporter of Theta Mom from its inception. We originally found each other on MBC and we have been great bloggy friends ever since. She was actually one of the reasons I jumped ship to WordPress using the Thesis theme. Brittany writes to most amazing DIY posts and she is one of those bloggers that once she connects with you, she’ll support you all the way. Here is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“Hi, I’m Brittany, and you are my support group just as I am yours. Yes, if there were meetings for crazed mothers where I could meet fabulous women while laughing, crying, bonding, watching my kids and having an occasional glass of wine I would be there introducing myself on a regular basis. When I figured out that no such wonderland exists I found I could make this crazy dream come true on the Internet.  I started writing Mommy Words to introduce myself to you and share my world with the hope that I would make real connections and life-long friends. It worked! I have found so many lovely friends, talented writers and fabulous mothers while blogging. I got more than I ever expected from this journey and it has just begun.

I started blogging here and there more than a year ago but things got crazy enough that I had a regular need to write things down for the Internet in the summer of 2009. Since I began writing I added my third child and stepped up the circus that is my life! I have a great husband and three ridiculously cute and hysterical kids aged 3 and under. Sophia is 3. Miles is 2. Violet is just 4 months old.  I am a busy mommy!  I left my job in investment banking to stay home when I had Miles and I have never looked back at those 80 hours a week. I am now exhausted and totally satisfied working the 168 hours a week that Motherhood requires. Double the hours, double the fun right?

I blog about all that is Motherhood and then some. I, like you, am more than just a Mom and I write about things that are in my life, on my mind, expanding my heart.  I am totally open so beware…you may laugh or cry with me. You may also feel the urge to open your tool box or craft cupboard. Why?  I also throw in detailed How-To’s when I tackle DIY projects like building furniture or creating gorgeous flower arrangements for a shower.

Being a mom means multitasking and when I find something that works I will let you know!  I am officially adding blogger to my list of jobs (like motherhood, unpaid) and will begin a series on blog design and organization this summer. I built my blog myself, learning WordPress into the wee hours of the morning, and I am proud of it.  It still has a long way to go, but I like to learn how to do things myself (while I am a Theta Mom I am type A all the way).  I get a ton of questions on blog design and coding so I figure I may as well post my tips and resources for everyone! Right now my blog is like my life – you never know what you’re going to get…but I hope you like it. I can’t wait to meet you, to blog with you and tweet with you, I can’t wait to get to know you and your world.  I hope you stop by!”

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

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

Stuck in the Middle of a Battle

I can’t believe I wrote about this five months ago and I am still here in the same situation. Nothing has changed even with good intentions.

I can’t believe summer is practically here and I am placing the exact same clothes on my body just as I had done last year. I remember folding those clothes up at the end of the season thinking it would be the LAST time I would be seeing them. I still have visions of myself smiling as I slowly packed each piece away thinking they would never touch this body again.

Wrong.

And now? I just feel stuck.

At the start of the New Year I swore that this time was going to be it. I was going to do what I had to do to get rid of this “baby” weight. The problem is that baby will be two in September so there is no excuse. Back in January I wrote about this issue and here I am writing about it again. To make matters worse, two years ago I officially began to work from home so my need for getting “all dressed up” to turn on my computer or play with my kids seemed ridiculous. I found myself getting “fully dressed” only when I went out to the store or to pick up my son. It’s hard to motivate myself to look all glam when it’s really just for the Target cashier or my pediatrician. Yes, that is my reality.

So aside from the “baby” weight issue and being stuck in the same clothes as last year, I look at everything in my closet even down to the cute shoes that I have and I truly have nowhere to wear them to – it’s almost like the end of an era. And this same feeling hits me even when I browse online and stumble upon a gorgeous pair of pumps like these from Kate Spade: {image credit}

I am at that point in my life in which I absolutely cannot spend $325 on a pair of Python Print Pumps {paying a mortgage, graduate school loans and raising two children} but it’s also the notion that even if I did own them I would have no place to wear them as a WAHM. You see, all of these emotions also hit me at once…

My friend recently went back to work full-time and needed me to watch her son for the afternoon. She dropped him off and after we chatted for a brief moment it was the first time I truly felt stuck in the middle of this battle.

I watched her walk to her car in her cute jeans, white open toe heels and adorable sunglasses while I stood there in the doorway, waving back to her in my black yoga pants, t-shirt with dried-up snot on my shoulder from my baby girl, holding her on my hip while chasing after the two boys behind me. I used to be that cute girl in designer jeans and heels, rushing off to work and now I just find myself stuck in this space. I think The Mommyologist needs have another chat with me about bringing my Mom Sexy back…

Regardless, I have since realized that a big part of my problem with this weight battle is pure lack of motivation. And this needs to change if I want to see change. I can’t give up this fight until I win.

Although I’ve come a long way of loving this body after giving birth to two babies, I need clothes that fit and right now they don’t. I need to do this for myself. I have everything else in order and going for me in my life right now so why is this so freakin hard?

And when I even remotely think about those Fall clothes from last year waiting for me – I’ll be damned if I am stuck in those, too.

Just Because

I had a moment today.

A moment experienced in motherhood that brought me so much clarity.

We spent the day at my sister-in-laws. It was there that my son played with some of his baby cousins and not once did I have to raise my voice. Not once did I have to remind him to be careful with the little ones. Not once did I have to give him a warning for unacceptable behavior or the evil eye for playing too rough with the girls.

Not once.

Today was glorious. It was one of those days that make raising children look easy.

Today.

As music played softly in the background and a serene calm crept over all of us throughout the car ride home, I turned toward my son who was sitting quietly in the backseat looking out the window.

I asked, “So why were you such a good boy today?”

I continued to glance at his piercing blue eyes and with folded hands gently resting on his lap, little did I know his response was about to take my breath away…

Word so fleeting, but words I have managed to hold onto for the last four hours.

Words I have replayed in my mind over and over as I have revisited that moment in my head all evening long…

“Because I always want to make you happy mommy.”

Oh my little boy, if you only knew how happy you make me. More than you’ll ever know…

Featured TMC Blogger: Musings de Mommy

TMC welcomes Denise, author of the blog Musings de Mommy. I have to admit Denise is someone I actually found on Twitter. Earlier this year we started tweeting together and we immediately started to follow each other’s blogs. Let me tell you, this girl can write. If you are looking for some inspiration or just a good blog to read well-written posts every time you just found your match. Here is how Denise describes her blog in her own words:

“I’ve been writing for years. Yet it wasn’t until August 2008 that I created Musings de Mommy. There, I mused about my trials, my ups, my downs…my quest and yearnings for redefined, post-kid version of perfection.

Here’s the funny thing: when I started my trusty blog, I told exactly three people that it existed. (The same three people that, in the past, read my pieces the old-fashioned way, via email with attached Word documents.) Then I realized that I wanted more people to read, and wanted my words to resonate within someone else. So I started practicing…I actually forced myself to tell my friends about my blog. (Shortly after, because a friend told a friend about my blog, I received my first writing gig at a local parenting magazine. So worth it!)

About January of this year, I got antsy. I wanted to expand, especially since I’d comfortably settled into my own voice and style. I was ready to start exploring and participating in the blogging community. That’s when I ‘met’ Heather, the dynamic Theta Mom. Hers was a critical alliance early in my public blogging debut because of her tenacity, entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. I learned a lot of blog-world ropes from her just by watching her do her Theta Mom thing.

Holy WOW Batman. I now wish I’d joined this amazing blogging world earlier. Now that I’m here, I’m energized, pushed, comforted and joyed to be surrounded by such an endearing, supportive, inquisitive, empowering group.

Musings de Mommy May 2010? I still muse about motherhood. But I’ve expanded my repertoire and allow many muses to guide and inspire…my life, my meanderings, my questions, my challenges and simple victories. I’d love to ‘meet’ you…please come visit!”

Be sure to show some love on the blog and follow her on Twitter!

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