Tiny Diapers in the house

When every person I see says "wow - you're getting close!" or "you look like you're gonna pop tomorrow" I figure that I better get out of denial and get mentally prepared for our new arrival.

I have 4 weeks a couple of days until, GULP, our new baby is here!

Unlike my previous 2 pregnancies, I'm not stressing about the room or any of the "stuff". A few things are checked off the list already like the big boy room is painted and almost set up and we've gone through the baby stuff we already own.

On the weekend, we did 'prep' a bit -bought this monkey some tiny diapers, a new crib sheet (just one, he/she needs *something* new) and some breast pads for me (!). Still need to drag out all the newborn clothes and run them through the washer but I have tons of pink and blue so we're set either way.

That's really all we've done. We don't even have a name picked out. Or a bag packed. Have not registered at the hospital. Have not made the list of everyone's phone numbers. We're comfortably 'unprepared'. I'm blissfully only thinking about March 2nd and this new baby's sweet arrival. I've not spent any time thinking about March 3rd and beyond..... mainly because I am scared to death.

I am not scared about the new baby or handling the introduction of a third child to the family. I'm worried about 2 things: Recovery & Life After Arrival.

The first, which is temporary, is healing properly. This is my third section and the recovery process took about 3x longer than it should have on #2. The main culprit was myself and pushing myself to get back to life much too quickly. I don't want to rush back again and wind up in weeks and weeks pain. But this brings us to the second worry which is directly connected....

How will I fit in my life? As a mom entrepreneur who works from home around her kids schedules and steals minutes where she can ... I'm about to lose what little time I do have. This scares the crap out of me because it will impact my recovery (how can it not?) and also I'm just panicked about how to continue on as before...?

First child I was on cushy maternity leave from my corporate job. I focused on what all moms do -- their precious baby. Delivery #2 happened just 3 months into the launch of momstown.ca when the company itself was still an infant so managing 2 kids + infant business was difficult but reasonable.

momstown.ca is probably well described as a toddler now. It's as fast growing and energetic as my 2 year old son. It's a wonderful phase but it's exhausting. HOW am I going to keep up? There is no 'maternity leave' from your own business or from your existing children, just maternity guilt on all fronts.

I asked momstown partner Christi for her tips (her third is turning one in February and I think she does an incredible job keeping all the balls in the air) and she actually laughed out loud at my request and told me it's about "getting by" not "making it work".

Sigh.

I'm going back to putting my head in the sand and I'm only thinking about now till March 2nd. Nothing past. I need those blinder things that horses wear to stay focused on the NOW. I want to stay calmly satisfied in my unpreparedness.

At least I have diapers in the house.

An inspiring team is better than a vat of coffee!

Warning - I am about to gush!

My typical daily energy can be called Coffee. I think there is an old Dolly Parton song that references a "cup of aspiration"? Coffee, my momstown partner Christi and the need to keep up are my daily pushes.

Yesterday, we had our first ever workshop for 15 of our Ontario momstown team members and gotta say - they INSPIRED ME.

Isn't that the entire point of a team? We all want to be able to bounce ideas off of, support one another (and debate) and to feel like part of something bigger. But true inspiration can bring out such clarity in focus and goals and I found that in our amazing, multi-faceted group of women who run & own our momstowns.

momstown has grown so much over the last 17 months (from 1 to 16 chapters!) so it was incredible to sit in a room and look at the faces who are running with the momstown concept in their own towns, making a real difference in local moms lives and making momstown REAL. It was a mini reality check (and actually a rare pat on the back) that we really are doing something good & meaningful.

It was fun too! Get a bunch of mamas who all work from home independently into a room together and the need to gel just comes naturally. They put faces to names, bond over similar struggles & achievements and chuckle. A bit of wine didn't hurt either.

We missed a few mamas (hello to our far-flung Alberta team and a few moms stuck at home with newborns, sickness & snow!) but we're all gonna gather again in June for our first annual 2 day "momstown conference" (whoa that sounds important) and I officially can't wait!

Thanks to our ladies who make things happen and for the inspiration!

Product Review: Affresh in your washing machine

Just before Christmas, some neat little tablets came our way for 100 moms in the momstown minds panel to try out. These white pucks were Affresh Washer Cleaners which claim their oxygenated cleaning action lifts away odour and residue from our washing machines and leave the inside of the washers clean and fresh smelling.

All you do is drop in a puck, run an empty load of hot water and voila - your washer is clean. Sure sounded like one of the easiest cleaning jobs I've ever had to do! The tablets smelled great and the process was super simple.

I did a good inspection of my washer beforehand because honestly, I have never cleaned it. It had not occurred to me before. I have an old fashioned top loader and other than the odd wipe around of the basin edge and top it's never been on my cleaning priority list (is that bad?). It wasn't smelly or overtly dirty to start but it did look like a cleaning wouldn't hurt it.

But I have many friends with HE front loaders who claim as efficient as HE models are, they can get stinky! Affresh is geared more to HE washers because of their higher potential for build-up and bacteria from their efficient air-tight seals and design.

After the test when I opened my washer, I noticed a clean drum with a slight scent. But momstown mamas who had HE front loaders noticed much more of a difference and felt they improved the odour and cleanliness of the washer. Many of our panelists were thrilled to learn about the product because they had become frustrated with the odour and didn't know such an option existed to clean their machines.

Some panelists enjoyed the trial but felt bleach or vinegar would be a less expensive alternative to the Affresh Washer Cleaner. But a quick read of the Affresh website explains how bleach only masks the odour issues temporarily whereas Affresh removes residue not just from the drum but the inner parts of the washer. I have a feeling that in the debate between price and efficiency that households who have already chosen an expensive HE washer want to maintain it properly and keep the stinkies away!

Kudos to Affresh for an innovative new product!

A new decade, a new me?

Hello 2010! So far so good...

New Years has never been a favourite holiday of mine. I find it filled with pressure to "do something memorable" and often I wind up a little sad for no reason at all at midnight. This year, hubby & I specifically planned nothing. It was the best new year's ever - we ordered Chinese (yay said the preggo belly!), watched a little Mad Men marathon and then started laughing about the last decade. We've been together since a wee bit past new years 1997, make that January 3, 1998 and we were having some of pee-your-pants laughs about smart-ass new years past.

Anyhoo, for some reason the reality that this was not just another year but a new DECADE was lost on me until this morning. Maybe it's because after the the transfer into Y2K, another decade doesn't have as much importance or history? Or I'm just so lost in diapers it failed to catch my attention...

When I think about the DECADE thing though, my mind starts going a mile a minute in an attempt to process it.

Really, this past decade has been the only one where I've been a full-fledged independent ADULT the whole time.

Being born in the 70s means I spent the 70s & 80s as a child. The 90s were filled with coming of age stuff; going off to university and then graduating, hitting Europe and then embarking into the career world.

But the 2000's... we're talking about real stabilizing experiences here. We bought our first house in 2000 and got married in 2001. 2001-2005 were spent pretty much working hard on developing a career, renovating said 100 year old downtown city house and making travel a priority. The first half of the decade was selfishly all about ME.

Then 2005 hit and I became a mom. Good-bye Me, Hello Baby. The last half of the decade... gave birth, quit my job, bought a new house and moved to the 'burbs, had another baby, co-founded a little something called momstown.ca, and am now pregnant again.

That was certainly an ADULT decade. When we celebrated 2000 by screaming from our apartment balcony at Yonge & Eglinton, I didn't know all of what has happened, was about to happen. I didn't know that the coming decade would bring so much - both joy & frustration. I just hoped for the best and drank my champagne.

The cork is off of this decade and one day in I can't help but wonder what the next 10 years will bring?

In 2020... we will be one year off of celebrating TWENTY years of marriage (yikes), have 3 big kids aged 14, 12, 10 (scary), and likely still be living in this house in this town. Will I be home with those kids still? Will I want to be? momstown will be 12 years old and may not even resemble its current self at that point. Maybe I'll be back in the traditional workforce again? One thing for sure, darnnit, in 2020, I will NOT be pregnant again.

In 2020, I know family will still be my first priority but maybe, by then will I have figured out a way to add in more for myself? Will there be more or less time to work me in when kids are no longer babies? Will my old hobbies have time to resurface? Will I still be this tired? Will I still love what I do for work? Will date night still be so scarce? Will my 14 year old babysit the 10 year old? Most importantly, WHO will I be in 2020??

In 2020, after my 2nd 'adult decade' I'll sure to be a more seasoned adult than the one I've developed into during the last 10 years. Seasoned how? Maybe I should just not even think about it anymore. My horoscope this morning told me to live the year 'as it comes' and that 'time is your ally' which sounds like solid advice actually.

My only hope is that seasoned adult doesn't LOOK 10 years older..... (mental note, apply that night cream every night!!! there's something I wish I could tell myself circa 2000).