Posts

Mother's Day

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  On the eve of Mother’s Day, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it really means to be a mother. It’s a gift, a blessing, a non-refundable life-long agreement. Being a mother gives so much, but also takes the greatest of tolls. I wouldn’t trade motherhood for the world, but there is one thing I would like to experience: I would want to spend one day as a father. This isn’t a lash-out to all the fathers out there. I know there are a lot of great fathers who really put in the effort and do an amazing job, but there are also a lot of fathers who just don’t get it. Mother’s Day is all about mothers, so dads, this is for us moms, don’t take it personally even if we sometimes feel this way:        I would like to know what it feels like to come home and have the children g...

Guest post: Mindfulness for Mothers

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  The joy and excitement of introducing my first guest blogger, the wonderful Kitt from One Red Hazelnut ! Kitt is an amazing friend and beautiful soul, one of those people who will always bring sunshine to even the gloomiest of days. Grab a cup or glass of your favorite beverage and enjoy! 5 Simple Tips For Cultivating Calm During the Emotional Storms of Parenting a Toddler Parenting Toddlers How ironic it is, that I sit down to write this after 3 days of apparent HELL from my 2 year old. I am not feeling very zen – I am feeling grumpy, exhausted and left wondering why I seem to be doing such a crappy job of, well, everything. However, the very process of sitting down to write this blog is creating the perspective needed to start making sense of the ever revolving cycle of parenthood; th...

Feeling overwhelmed?

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  Life can get a bit overwhelming at times, regardless of what it is that you do or who you are. If it feels overwhelming or you’re going through something tough, that’s exactly what it is, and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. I often hear people say, “but it’s nothing compared to you or what you’re going through”. There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don’t even know where to begin. It’s like arguing about taste; just because I happen to love peonies, and you might prefer lilies, doesn’t mean that your preference would be worth any less than mine or that it would really make a difference. The same goes for personal issues or struggles. What may be a huge matter for you, is and remains a huge matter for you, regardless of what someone else might be going through, and it’s pointl...

Hooked on technology

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  I’m an iPhone-iPad-laptop junkie. Google is my friend, Pinterest to the rescue and social media to see the latest regarding what my friends are up to. Online dictionaries for quick word translations, Shazam when I hear a song on the radio I like but don’t recognize, and YouTube & Netflix as baby sitters. My laptop was down for a good two weeks, while I struggled with updates and rebooting my computer. It’s still not completely fixed, but it works, I have Office and Google Chrome up and running again, and it’s euphoric. I misplaced my phone last night for a couple of hours, and it bothered me the entire time. Everyone in my family has a lot of screen time, and we’re all hooked.    My husband announced the other day, that when we go on our annual summer holiday this year, no phones will be...

Mother, mother by the wall, lift your chin and stand up tall!

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  “A baby changes everything.” An almost worn out cliché but yet such a truth. When we become parents, being a mom or dad defines us. To which extent, I would love to say is up to us, but it’s not. For mothers, from the moment you get pregnant, everything changes, especially in working life.  I don’t know how things are in the rest of the world, but for example in Finland, it’s officially none of your employer’s business if you have a family or not. A future employer is not allowed to ask you at an interview if you plan on having children, etc. Ok, in all honesty, it is to some extent unfair towards your employer if you’re applying for a new job that requires extensive training and introduction, and you’re planning on having kids in the near future and possibly staying at home for the first years. It ...

Defining happiness

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM    Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  I was watching the news the other day, and there was a short clip on a new art exhibition by a British artist, Grayson Perry. His art may not be directly down my alley, but what I fell in love with was his definition of happiness: “Happiness is not ecstasy, and a lot of people get them muddled up. Happiness is sort of bumping along ok, having a drink on a Friday night, walking a dog, watching the TV with your family. That’s happiness. It’s not swimming with dolphins. So I’m happy.” I think he makes a great point. To be happy, your life doesn’t need to be overflowing with constant extreme experiences and excitement, it’s so much easier than that. Learning to appreciate and enjoy the small things, the regular things, the “boring” things. Life is also supposed to surprise you, to challenge you and give yo...

“So you don’t work, you’re just a stay-at-home mother”

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO  WWW.SHEROCKSABUN.COM     Hop on over! You can always read the post here, but for more and updated posts, come join me at my new site!  Want to see lightning bolt through my eyes? Well you better be attentive, as the flash will pass in a split second, but it will definitely be there. Now how I reply to such a delicious statement will depend on the situation. There are pretty much three possible reactions I will generally provide: A shrug of the shoulders accompanied by a heartfelt laugh and reply, “Yup, just a stay-at-home mother, no need to work for me”. And I will probably think to myself, ignorance is bliss. The second possibility is that I will give you a sympathetic wink of the eye and say “You said it sister”. The third, which only a few will have the pleasure of witnessing, is an immense explosion of justifications and self-defense accompanied by a lot of foul language to why you should never ever let such a statement escap...