I know I’m not the only WAHM out there guilty of this one – I don’t try things on in the stores when I shop. I remember back when shopping was a joyous pastime. Of course, back then clothing fit correctly and I didn’t have to accommodate the C-section tummy, but still, I loved trying things on, finding new outfits and combining looks. Now it’s all I can do to grab something I think is close to my size and when I get a few minutes at home, try it on. If it’s close enough, I go with it. If not, it goes back and more often than not I walk out with something for the little men instead. It’s a good thing they are dressed like little stud muffins – mom is certainly not.
Buying Online
So since I can’t try things on, I did the next best thing that most of us that work online do. I started buying everything online. It’s great. I can order something like Zara clothing or H&M clothing, or go with the staples from Gap or Old Navy and have them delivered to my house. There are always coupons of some sort to cut costs even more and half the time I forget I ordered myself something and it’s like a bonus when I get the package – a WAHM Christmas!
Trying On Clothing at Home
Of course, there isn’t a lovely large dressing room mirror at home, but since I go some morning without even brushing my hair, this isn’t a huge problem for me. I just try things on – if they pinch, they go back to the store. If they fall off me, I might keep them because they make me feel thin, but usually they go back to. The ones that fit get to stay and join my ever- increasingly stylish wardrobe.
And I’m not kidding. My clothing is looking better because I get to shop online without distraction unlike stores where I have so much “help†from little men. I love that the online stores help combine looks for me and I especially love the reviews that tell me things like certain pants run short or small and shirts are particularly thin. Who knows, in another year or two I might be a truly stylish mommy again. I’m not sure I’d even recognize myself, but a girl can dream!
March 23rd, 2010
Posted by
Rebecca |
Notes from a Real Freelancing Mom |
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They have to be kidding. Apparently Brittney Spears has been voted overwhelmingly as the best celebrity mom. She beat out Angelina, Katie Holmes and Jennifer Garner who I consider pretty decent moms from what I’ve seen through the media. If nothing else, the 9 other moms on the list provided by Park Christmas Savings poll have not been arrested. They haven’t used their children for blatant media attention. They haven’t dropped their children or driven off with them in their laps. And they certianly weren’t so terrible a mother that they actually lost custody and some visitation rights with their children due to drug habits and erratic behavior. Does Britney even have access to her children? Why was she even on the list? The whole thing is a big fat WTF as far as I’m concerned.
October 15th, 2009
Posted by
Rebecca |
Notes from a Real Freelancing Mom |
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Every mother has regrets and among my group of friends we occasionally bring up our various regrets.
At the top there is:
Nursing
Baby nursing is tricky business. I regret not nursing my first, but he couldn’t latch properly 90% of the time thanks to being tongue tied. I regret not nursing my second – that might have worked, but I didn’t have the support or the internal reserves to nurse him around the clock with a needy toddler at home and a business to run.
One friend regrets not being able to nurse more than few months before her milk supply dried up. Another friend regrets having so much milk nursing was uncomfortable for her and the baby so she stops. Others who nurse successfully regret having to pump instead of feeding at the breast and so on. In my perfect world, I would have been able to nurse both boys wonderfully – I loved it for the week or so it worked out with both.
Quickly followed by:
Working
The working mother bears more burdens than a non-working mother can imagine. I know – I’ve done them both. There are crosses to bear on each side, of course. When I was home with my boys, half of my brain was completely unstimulated and I got edgy a lot.
When I went back to teaching after a year, my brain was completely fried and I literally survive Monday to Friday only to clean up on the weekends and do it all over again. My boys come first, but there are so many things I’d love to be able to do that simply never get done – like vacuuming and dishes. I’m waiting on the cleaning elves to show up any day now.
Of course, I’m not typical on either front. My SAHM experience was actually a WAHM experience as I dealt with a newborn/infant and a toddler/preschooler all day long and immediately sat down to work every night – beginning four days after my second C-section. Teaching just took the place of the daytime childcare (in a sense, you can argue I now care for 85 children instead of two, but I digress.)
The Ideal
I think everyone has a different ideal for their particular version of Mommyhood. At school today two teachers were dreaming of soap operas and shopping for housing knick-knacks. My dream? To enjoy just one successful business from 9-2 while the boys at are preschool and spend all other daytime moments with my children. My evenings would be full of good movies, good books and an hour on the treadmill or elliptical. It’s a dream that I might be able to bring to fruition next year. Only time will tell.
February 19th, 2009
Posted by
Rebecca |
Notes from a Real Freelancing Mom |
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