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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

Missie Moosie Review and Giveaway

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

Missie Moosie is owned and designed by Alana, mother of three. Alana began the business four years ago with her passion that started in the midst of designing and sewing outfits for her daughter right after giving birth. Alana’s philosophy is that children are “only young once” so she committed to the idea of dressing her children in one of a kind boutique style outfits which she created herself. This talent and passion soon became Missie Moosie. Alana takes great pride in her designs as she oversees all aspects of the business. All of the clothing is handmade in the United States and Missie Mossie also prides itself on amazing customer service. I reviewed the Flourish Allie Dress in Orange for my daughter. Here is a photo of the dress taken directly from the Missie Moosie site:

And here is a picture my daughter in size 18 months. Check out the back of this gorgeous dress:

The colors of this dress are so vibrant and what makes it so special is the coordinating sash. A matching headband can also be purchased with this design. My daughter actually wore this dress for Easter and everyone was talking about how beautiful she looked! The quality of craftsmanship of this piece is fantastic. It’s made of 100% cotton so it is so easy to wear, care for and I know my daughter is comfortable in it. I could easily pair this with leggings for her in the Fall when the weather gets cooler.

And the sash drapes perfectly around her waist and truly gives it that boutique inspired look. The adorable matching headband actually stayed on her head! I can’t tell you how many headbands I’ve tried before but this one has the material gathered at the bottom and it rests at her hair line which stays on beautifully, even for my very active 18 month-old. Here is another picture of my cutie pie in this dress. It was the best shot I could get of her because she never stands still:

 

If you want to see another photo of the dress as well as full details click here. You can become a fan of Missie Moosie on Facebook here and follow on Twitter here.

You can purchase the Missie Moosie Flourish Allie Dress in Orange for $46 here and the matching headband for $10 here  or you can enter to win because Missie Moosie is giving one lucky Theta Mom reader the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to shop at Missie Mossie!

How to Enter The Missie Moosie Giveaway:

****Required Entry: Go to Missie Moosie and tell me how you would spend the $50 AND 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 Fan 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. Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs in subsequent entries. (1 entry per daily vote/click)

8. Tweet this giveaway! Just copy/paste the following: Love Missie Moosie? Enter to win a $50 voucher to shop @missiemoosie #giveaway @ThetaMom http://bit.ly/9wzpHi 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 April 5, 2010 and will end on April 16, 2010 at 9 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 a Flourish Allie Dress in Orange and a matching headband  from Missie Moosie. I was not compensated for this review. These are my own honest opinions and experience with the product.

My Week in Random

Most of my posts usually have some sort of purpose but sometimes there are many ideas stirring in my head that I want to share. However, these topics have absolutely no connection to one another. So this is my week in random:

I was watching the Today Show recently and found out that Hello Kitty, the brand that I grew up with as a child is actually now in the market of selling wine. Have you seen this?

Yes, that’s right. The same Hello Kitty that I begged my mom to buy me every time we went to the mall. The name of the store was called Pandemonium which was about the size of a jail cell and every square foot of that place was full of Hello Kitty crap. You couldn’t even move in that space because it was so over stuffed with STUFF. I would annoy my mother every single time we went to the mall because I just HAD to get my Hello Kitty fill. Basically, what I lived on as a kid with all of the pens, stickers, albums and glitter – things I’ll probably be buying for my own daughter soon – is now selling wine. Honestly, I’m still not sure what to make of it all. Hello Kitty. Wine. Really?

Monday was one of the most amazing days of my bloggy life. I was the featured blogger at SITS and the comment love that poured in still overwhelms me. I am in awe. It will take me quite some time to get to those 300+ fabulous blogs that shared some love with me. But if you found me through SITS and have returned to Theta Mom again, I heart you!

Spring is finally here. And you know what that means? Life is so much easier getting the kids ready in the morning. I don’t have to dress the kids in the twenty pounds of winter gear or warm up the car. I don’t have to wipe my daughter’s nose every five seconds. I can actually get outside with the kids and not go so stir crazy in the house. (I’ll just go crazy outside). Spring fashion, cute shoes, pretty flowers, it’s all good…but the #1 reason I love Spring? It’s when we fire up the grill.

Because warmer weather + hubby + grill = NO cooking for Theta Mom. And that my friends, is priceless.

And I cannot believe it’s April already because it feels like it was just New Year’s Day! Spring Break has officially arrived and the holiday is here which means my son is home from pre-school all next week. Every day next week. On second thought, that Hello Kitty wine isn’t sounding all that bad now…

Finally, to the BEST readers and followers in the blogosphere – wishing you and yours a safe and wonderful holiday!

What is the Ideal Age to Become a Mom?

Forbes Woman and The Bump released results of a cobranded survey recently that tries to answer the question of when it is the “ideal” age for women to have their first baby as well as balance a successful career. I would love to start this conversation with the readership of Theta Mom. When do you think it’s the ideal age to start a family? I personally don’t think there is ever a “perfect” time, but I do think women can find a time in their lives that would work better than others…

I was 29 when I had my first child. I knew there were a few things I wanted to accomplish as an individual before I even thought about becoming a mother. I knew once I graduated college that I wanted to immediately begin working in the field and establish myself in the profession. So within my first year of landing a full-time teaching position, I went back to school part-time to earn my graduate degree (knowing that I would eventually at some point want to advance in my career) so earning that degree was a necessity. In the meantime, I met my husband but before I even made plans to get married I knew I wanted to complete that graduate degree.

Once I earned my MA and we were married I also knew I wanted to travel, for once I started a family I knew this would be much more of a challenge. My husband and I were lucky enough to be able to take trips to Europe, The Caribbean, as well as other parts of this country. We really got a chance to travel quite a bit in our early married life.

Having said that, I also wanted to enjoy our time together as a married couple because I knew once we had children that part of our relationship would drastically change, such as the small freedoms of eating out whenever we felt like it; being spontaneous and not having to make plans well in advance because we could just get up and go – that kind of stuff. I knew that if I had children before I began my career, earned my MA or traveled some with my husband, I might have regretted it so I did not even think about having a baby until those other dreams of mine were fulfilled. This was truly a personal decision.

I must also admit that I was very selfish and self-centered in my early twenties. Quite frankly, I was VERY into myself so I can’t even imagine having to take care of another human life at that time in my life. In my early twenties I was really not emotionally ready to care for anything other than myself, let alone a child. As I matured and grew as a woman and individual, I believed that when the time was right when both my husband and I were emotionally and financially ready to raise a child it would happen. And I am truly blessed because that’s exactly how it turned out for me.

If you wait to start a family until you have a bigger house, more money or a better job, the reality is you’ll probably be waiting for a very long time because you’ll never have “enough” money or that “perfect” job. I think the ideal age to become a mother really depends on each woman’s individual goals and aspirations, as well as where she is in her life. Some women are not as career oriented and/or do not go to college (for various reasons) and their one dream is to have that baby – so for these women, having children in their early twenties would make sense.

On the flip side, women who are driven by their career end up waiting until they are in their mid to late thirties to start a family, as they are trying to establish themselves in the professional world. So when you think of it this way, there really is no cookie cutter answer to the question. I believe it really boils down to each woman’s preferences and life experiences/choices. However, if you throw in some curve balls of infertility or unplanned pregnancy, well that’s a whole other variable to add to the equation…

You can read the full article at ForbesWoman here and view all of the results from that cobranded survey here. Cited directly from the Forbes Woman article, below are some of the findings quoted from that survey:

  • “Non-moms and women in their 30s are more likely to think 30-34 is the ideal age, while women in their 20s are more likely to think 25-29 is the preferred age.”
  • “35% of moms who had their first child at 30 to 34 wish they had their child at a younger age and 57% of moms who had their first child at 35 to 39 also wish they had their child at a younger age.”
  • “62% of women surveyed feel that motherhood negatively impacts a woman’s career. Yet, only 30% of working moms felt this way.”

Now, I would love to hear your stories and for you to share some insight into this very hot topic. When did you become a mom and what do you think is the “ideal” age to start a family?

Featured TMC Blogger: Sevin Family

I’m excited to feature Katrina, author of the blog Sevin Family.  Katrina is a faithful Theta Mom reader and is very active and supportive of  TMC! I know she enjoys coming here as much as I enjoy reading her blog. She is an amazing talent that would give even Martha Stewart some competition and I am waiting for the day she begins a blog dedicated to her amazing craft and decorating ideas! She’s also known to take some great photos which you can see in some of her posts. In her own words, here is how she describes her blog:

“I’m Katrina, a wife of 3 years and mama to my 2 year old son. My boys are my world and I love to share our stories. I originally started Sevin Family when my son was 3 months old as a way to keep my family and friends updated.  Posts were far and few between and it wasn’t until 2008 when I made the decision to stay home with my son, that I realized the real power behind blogging.  A whole new world was introduced, relationships were built, and lasting friendships have been made.

I’m slightly, and by slightly I mean completely, obsessed with my camera and love taking photographs.  Besides plastering my blog pages with pictures and stories of my family, I love crafting and showing what I’ve made. I can jump around the house with my son pretending to be super heroes and joke that I’m Super Mom but I’m certainly not afraid to laugh at my shortcomings and learn from my mistakes. Every day is a learning experience and I love the support and friendships I have found through this amazing community.”

So be sure to show her some TMC love on the blog and follow her on Twitter.

Please Roll Out the Red Carpet: It’s My SITS Day!

Today is my SITS Day and I am just the happiest girl in the blogosphere right now! I have waited so long for this special day and I couldn’t be more excited! I recently mentioned that I had a scheduled post ready to go live this morning about a really hot topic that would generate lots of discussion. Obviously, that post will have to wait until Wednesday because I officially received the email over the weekend that today would be my SITS Day. So let’s get this party started!!!

When I first began my blog SITS was the very first community I joined. I knew once I got to know Tiffany and Heather as well as their Mission it was certainly a group I wanted to belong to. If you are new to The Secret is in the Sauce be sure to go check out their site because they created a wonderful community to affiliate yourself and your blog with. In fact, some of my closest bloggy friends are those I found through SITS.

If you are already a faithful reader of Theta Mom you know how much I adore my followers so keep reading because I may just surprise you with something you don’t already know and for those of you who are new to Theta Mom, welcome! I am so happy you are here!

Many often think (before reading my blog) that my blog has some connection to a sorority. This actually couldn’t be farther from the truth. As I write in my About page, I explain that once I became a mother I defined myself as an Alpha Mom but quickly realized I was also a Beta Mom. I then recognized as mothers, we are all in this together and deep down there is part Alpha and part Beta in all of us – which makes us Theta Moms – The True, Authentic Moms. [The-T-A] We are authentic because we live authentic lives. Life isn’t perfect and neither are our kids. Coming to this revelation is truly when Theta Mom was born.

My Mission expresses that once I became pregnant for the first time I felt like there was a secret code among mothers that wasn’t totally offered or shared. Even the tons of books I read about pregnancy and “what to expect” that first year didn’t fully spell-it-out for me. I actually feel the same way about motherhood. Why didn’t anyone tell me the real deal about motherhood? Although I love my children more than anything in the world the reality of this “role” was never clearly defined for me. So, I decided to break that secret code or at least maybe the silence and began the dialogue about what it really means to be a Theta Mom.

I always had a passion for writing so partnering that with a vision of beginning the conversation with other moms about the role of motherhood is truly what inspired me to create Theta Mom. Along with my love for writing I also began this blog because I knew I wanted to connect with other women. I cannot even begin to tell you how many inspiring, creative and amazing women I have met since my blog’s inception. Through this platform I realized that I was indeed beginning a conversation that other mothers could relate to. I was creating a community all its own.

Based on my amazing blogging experience and growth thus far, I knew it was the perfect time to launch Theta Mom Community which was introduced to the blogging world a mere three weeks ago. We are over 200 members strong and we continue to grow. Theta Mom Community is a place that encourages social networking and fosters the support of bloggers through a space all its own. I would LOVE for you to check out TMC and all it has to offer and join us! Just click Theta Mom Community on the navigation bar or click here.

Having said that, whether you are a veteran blogger or just starting out, I thought I would share some of my favorite posts on blogging that are definitely worth a read:

3 Secrets to Getting ‘Return’ Blog Followers

Build Your Following Through the Power of Social Media

Blogging Like a Rockstar

And here are three more of my absolute favorites:

Responding to Snarky Comments

Carrie Bradshaw Would Be a Theta Mom

Goodnight Mommy

And if you like what you read, I would love for you to follow or subscribe to Theta Mom! You can also become a fan on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and be sure to tell me you found me through SITS!

I really hope you enjoy taking a look around and spending some time with me. I can’t wait to “meet” each of you and get to know you better. Please be sure to leave me a comment so I know where I can find you!

Thanks again to The SITS girls for featuring my blog because I really feel like queen for a day! And I look forward to continuing the conversation and connecting with you because at the end of the day, isn’t that what this blogging thing is all about?