Smurftastic Sunday!

Posted on April 29, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

: Lazy Sunday with a little Smurf “Punch”.

The kids were pretty tired today and decided to just chill out watching a movie… thankfully, as I have a ton of work to do for an upcoming trip. Inspired by lots of play time in Smurfville on my iPad, they decided to have a Smurf Party. What started as just a ho-hum, chillaxing day became an actual “event”! They rounded up and dressed their Smurfs from Build-A-Bear, popped in The Smurfs movie, and made party signs with phrases from the movie. While this was going on, I secretly rummaged through the pantry and miraculously found one packet of blue Kool-Aid. Voila! Smurf punch! So, what started as a non-descript afternoon became an exciting little soiree’ that both couch potatoes thoroughly enjoyed. (And I was able to get some work done.)

“La la la-la la la, sing a happy song. La la la-la la la, Smurf it all day long!” There. Now it’s stuck in YOUR head!

Sparkle and inspire,

xo, Brandi

Frustrated with life? Just do it!

Posted on April 19, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

Yeah! I said it--- just do it! And by “it”, I don’t mean IT…I mean laundry (or whatever other chore on that monstrous mental list that’s dangling over your head like a ten-pound bag of dirty diapers.)

Nothing is more thankless than parenting, in my opinion. There’s no annual review where the kids sit you down and rattle off all of your awesomeness, pat you on the back and hand you a bonus check.

Rewards and gratification come when they are least expected and are really fulfilling and heartwarming. For me, a night of dry sheets or a smiley face from the teacher in my son’s school agenda cause me to crack open a cold one and let out a “Wahoooo!”. Between these moments is a jam-packed series of to-do lists a mile long and feelings of inadequacy. (And probably a total cry fest a time or two.)

So…what’s a girl to do when the frustration is overwhelming and Suzy Homemaker is kicking your ass? Just do it…in the form of these three things: Continue reading →

Guest Post for DadOrAlive.com: Why I Dropped The F-Bomb (Almost!)

Posted on April 10, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

This is the guest post I recently wrote for my favorite daddy blogger, Adrian Kulp of Dad or Alive! You have to follow him!

Like many other parents, my husband and I had a deliberate conversation about committing to not swearing when our first born hit toddlerhood. I can honestly say that we did an awesome job of staying true to our word. After seven years, I now have a great repertoire of killer synonyms for the bad words. Here’s a few substitutes that roll off my tongue after years of practice: Continue reading →

Fabulous 2.0: 3 Tips To Reclaiming Your Identity While Rockin’ Motherhood

Posted on April 3, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

What is Fabulous 2.0? This is my term for the notion that a woman can achieve (or always strive for) a balanced life after baby that incorporates her own personal goals, desires and style, while simultaneously rockin’ motherhood. Just because a woman delivers a baby, does not mean she also delivers her brain! (Though trust me…for several sleep-deprived months you will actually wonder if that did occur.)

I am a huge advocate for women honoring themselves as individuals with many identities and to always care for and feed those identities rather than surrendering to the mommy hat and the feelings of invisibility that can breed. Beating yourself up over the mom-guilt for wishing you had your “old self” back is pointless. Embrace it, own it, and cultivate it into a new version of you.

Here are the three tips I’ve boiled it down to in order to encourage you to move your life towards Fabulous 2.0: Continue reading →

Climbing Out of the Parenting Rut

Posted on April 1, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

Despite all of our after-school activities, I feel like I have been in a parenting rut lately when it comes to doing things with my kids. We get up, we go to school/work, we cook/pick-up/eat dinner, run to the soccer field or gymnastics and squeak in homework and baths. On a slower night, we play outside after dinner in lieu of sports. When Sunday rolls around, I have a choice: do I drag the kids to Target or do I plan something special? Hmmm…yup, you got it. Target and the grocery store, and sometimes lunch at Chili’s. I don’t try to be predictable and boring—I have crap to do! So, how did this busy mom get out of the rut for a day? Continue reading →

The Tired Wife: 3 Surprising Lessons from Temporary Separation

Posted on March 19, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

Like many modern families, my husband and I have found ourselves in the crazy world of long-distance parenting and weekly separations due to work. Though not ideal and certainly not our long-term plan, I have learned many surprising things after the past few weeks. While I still hate the empty space beside me in bed, I’ve had a couple, “Damn, girl!” moments that I’ve translated into three key lessons to share:

Think Like A Woman, Not A Wife. We’ve been through these long-distance workweeks before and I remember spending the entire week pissed off that my husband was not only not having to change diapers, care for a little person’s needs 24/7, get up in the middle of the night or knock out any household chores, but he was sleeping BY HIMSELF in a hotel and eating out. It was almost adding insult to injury when he’d call at the end of his day because I was a raging, exhausted bitch that definitely didn’t want to hear about his “hard day.” Continue reading →

The Dreaded Scale

Posted on March 17, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

Enjoy this as I put the finishing touches on my lessons learned from temporary single parenting. Excessive tendency to eat out and devour junk is not one of them, but that is definitely a side effect!

Sparkle and inspire!!
xoxo,

Brandi

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Parental Call of Duty

Posted on March 7, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

If you read my last post, you know that I live very close to areas impacted by the tornadoes that came through Kentucky on March 2, 2012. My anxiety was off the charts that day and now my heart swells with compassion for those who lost everything. As a result, I am taking some time off from my usual bantering to collect toys and school supplies for the children in Piner, KY. (Photo above is of the tornado that ripped through that town– just 14 miles from my home.)

Like many of my friends, it is impossible to not help out right now. As a parent, you constantly think about how blessed you feel to have been spared from the destruction AND how the affected parents are struggling to rebuild lives for their families. I feel badly when my kid doesn’t have the latest DS game that their friends are all talking about. Imagine if I didn’t have a home to shelter them??

I am not alone. I sent a note to my fellow mom-friends mentioning that I was collecting school supplies and toys to take down to a dropoff location in Piner and the immediate response of many was overwhelming. You tell a mom that a kid needs something and she is ON IT! Powerful. After watching a little girl light up the room with joy after receiving a new doll as her dad sifted through piles of donated clothing, I can assure you that doll symbolized a bigger gift than the donor ever intended.

With that being said, I will be back next week with more stories and lessons learned. For now, I have to respond to this call of duty. If you would like to help, you can donate through the Cincinnati Red Cross or the old fashioned way- send me a box of toys and school supplies and I will personally deliver them to the appropriate location (brandi@sassymamaboutique.com) .

xo,

Brandi

Screw The Ruby Slippers: How I Keep Anxiety In Check

Posted on March 3, 2012 by The Sassy Mama

As I watched the news this morning and saw the horrible devastation from tornadoes in so many towns and states around me (literally 14 miles down the highway), I decided to devote this week's post to the massive amounts of anxiety that a mother duck battles when responsible for ducklings during a crisis (or potential threat to their health and safety).

I have experienced many crises in my life and perhaps the scariest was being just blocks from the White House on 9/11/2001. Despite how terrifying and life-changing that day was for me, I can say that having children to protect now truly raises the bar of stress and anxiety I feel when faced with an imminent threat. Yesterday provided another opportunity for me to protect my brood while trying to maintain a level head- severe storms and tornado warnings. Having lived in Kentucky for five years now, here's what I've learned on days like that: Continue reading →