Working Moms

There’s this sign on our dishwasher. It says "Clean" on one side and "Dirty" on the other. It’s worn and dirty (ironically, for one side) and old. It’s been there for years and years. We’ve only had two of those signs during the entire length of our marriage (14 years this year). I don’t know why, but I like to keep the same sign and watch it age.   It’s an effort in communication. Here’s how it works: if I start to empty the sink of dirty dishes but don’t have enough to finish filling the dishwasher, I leave the sign to read “dirty.” When my husband sees there are no dishes in the sink, but has a dirty dish to...

Last July a series of events led me to co-found a children’s company, The Doll Kind. As any entrepreneur will confirm, launching a startup is super challenging, takes more hours in a week than are available, requires focus you didn’t know you had, and a slight obsession with what you are creating. Add small children to the mix and 'challenging' doesn’t quite cover it. But at the end of each week, I’m fulfilled beyond measure. Having the titles of wife, mom, and now social entrepreneur are helping bring the life I’ve always imagined into focus. Our company, The Doll Kind (TDK), has a mission to empower and inspire a generation of children to create a kinder world, one heart at a...

When I was pregnant with my first son, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I would daydream about all the fun we would have running errands, attending play dates and just spending time together. I thought of all the milestones I'd be able to witness firsthand. To me, it was clear that being a stay-at-home mom was the ideal dream job. Unfortunately for me, I didn't live in a fantasy world. I lived in a place called reality, and the reality was that my family needed my income in order to make ends meet. And sadly, no amount of cutting back was going to make it possible for me to quit...

This post may be met with some controversy, but I feel like the air needs to be cleared about all direct sales business people and the goods and opportunities they promote. Full disclosure, I am personally involved with a direct sales company and have thoroughly enjoyed the financial rewards I've received, the connections I've made with others and the business opportunity given to me. With modern technology at our finger tips 24/7, the presence of direct sales in our lives is apparent just by opening a social media app. Many people view direct sales as others "pestering" them, or attempting to get them involved in a "get rich quick scheme," but if you are one of the many whose livelihood depends...

Last week, as we joyfully celebrated my son's first birthday we also celebrated another milestone: another trip to the pediatrician's office. I'm really starting to feel like I should have a VIP parking spot or some kind of frequent visitor punch card.  For more than half of my sweet baby's life, he has battled a multitude of illnesses.  All of which my pediatrician says are normal for an infant in daycare and experiencing his first cold and flu season (not what any mom wants to hear).  I'm just not really sure how much more my heart can take watching my son in misery with yet another illness.  My husband and I are exhausted from sleepless nights, weary from rocking him...