Working Mom Series | Heir to Blair

Look, ma! No undereye circles! aka CoverGirl Lash Perfection

4 Oct posted by heirtoblair

Despite what some may think, I’m not a weirdo that holes away in a basement selling Avon & listening to Christmas music in August.

Okay, scratch that. I totally listen to Christmas music in August.

I have a job that I love as it challenges me & puts me in front of clients on the daily. Which is wonderful, because I love people. But having to look my best every day? oh, do I often fail. I was most worried before returning to work after my son – I had 40 extra pounds on my frame & no clothes that fit. I was losing hair like a husky & had this weird thing going on where my feet sweat a lot. (new motherhood = totally glamorous) But after three months of maternity leave, we still had a mortgage to be paid, so I bought a few new pairs of slacks, slipped my stinky feet back into my pumps, & tried desperately to still feel confident & pretty in my job.

I realized quickly that the weight would take awhile to melt off. But I could brighten my face up in just a few minutes with my old trusty friends, the blush stick & mascara wand. So I covered the dark circles under my eyes that appeared sometime during the 3am feeding & dusted a little bronzer across my cheeks to help me look among the living. I am not a huge make-up enthusiast, but surely, I entered my new stage of life as a working mother with a little more confidence each day until I was comfortable with my clients once more.

CoverGirl & BlogHer wanted to make sure I was staying on top of my game almost two years into the gig of being a working momma, so they sent me the new CoverGirl Lash Perfection mascara to try out in a brown-black shade.

Oh, my. It is very pretty on. I never really believed that mascara could “lengthen” lashes until this one & I didn’t even have to dig out a toothpick to take out clumps! (kidding! I’m too clumsy to put sharp objects near my eyes.) It held up beautifully, even though the tears of a therapy session. Also, this may have been the first mascara I have tried where I didn’t look like a raccoon by 5pm. Thank you, Lash Perfection, for not smudging under my eyes. Love you, mean it!

[Read more...]

HeirtoBlair500x150 v41 Look, ma! No undereye circles! aka CoverGirl Lash Perfection

188 Comments
Filed Under: Give Aways!, Sponsored, Stuff I Love, Who's body is this?, Working Mom Series

A discussion.

3 Jun posted by heirtoblair

I’m afraid I’ve been thinking.

(…a dangerous past-time! I know. <– name that movie!)

Let me be frank that this is not a stab at ANYONE. Friends, foe, strangers. There ain’t no harm or hurt feelings anywhere in me right now.

Perusing various social media sites, I noticed a trend of stay-at-home mom’s profiles that both status & employer is “full time mom.” I bristle for a hot second because I get all dukes-up when I think about anyone viewing me as a “part-time mother” just because my family requires me to bring home bacon found both on & off the meat aisle. I saw a link running amok of a play on “If you give a mouse a cookie…” that follows the brain process of a mom; someone wrote “People wonder why stay-at-home moms are tired!” with stay-at-home moms agreeing that THIS WAS THEIR MANIFESTO & I’m all, “Ladies, that applies to me, too. I’m tired, too!”

(actually, I’m pretty sure that applies to all women because my brain’s been running like that since the womb.)

I’m guessing it’s the same stabby knee-jerk reaction stay-at-home mommas feel when someone implies that they don’t work. I also saw something that dug in about “wasted education” & I’m two seconds from sending my fist through that status update because no education is wasted. School is more than learning to send office memos.

The thinking snowballs & I realize that I’m lucky that I have not met my demise by tossing around the term “working mother,” even though I never mean the term as a slight. Because we all work with sweat & blood & tears & frustrations & exhaustion, but in different avenues & different compensations.

I am simply curious – gals that work outside of the home, do you bristle when someone says they are a “full-time mother?” Stay-at-home moms, does the term “working mom” make you feel stabby?

Do you feel silly internalizing it this much & thinking about something that honestly doesn’t matter, as long as the kids are alive & there is food on the table? Because maybe, if we didn’t get so butt-hurt over who-said-what on Facebook or a blog, we would be one step closer to ending the mommy wars?

My take on it: Stay-at-home mommas, write that you’re a “full-time mother,” as long as you don’t see me as part-time. & I promise that while I call myself a “working mom,” my hat is still off to you for the guts it takes in your profession.

Warning: All douchebag remarks will be removed with zero hesitation or apology. Mud-slinging & name calling? Leave it in the sandbox. Act like adults, okay?

229 Comments
Filed Under: Unpopular opinions, Working Mom Series

I have that super-fun Montell Jordan song in my head now.

7 Apr posted by heirtoblair

woahmomma 300x300 I have that super fun Montell Jordan song in my head now. A little over a year ago, I wrote out my working momma schedule with a small baby. It’s really interesting to me reading through it & seeing how much has changed now that Harrison is older – we get up later because he doesn’t take a morning bottle, there are fewer chores, less to get ready & with me not in a fog of Klonopin, I get so much more done.

Today I’m hanging out over at Woah Momma!! in her working mom series to talk about how I handle the day-to-day of being a working momma of a toddler.

______________________________________

Do you & your husband work as a team?
Absolutely. It’s necessary, along with strong coffee in the morning & good wine in the evening. I take longer to get ready in the morning, so Nate does most of the morning grunt work but I usually manage dinner & toss in the laundry at night.

What is your current struggle as a working mom?
My biggest & most current is probably the most popular struggle – EXERCISE. There’s not much left in my schedule for daily exercise. I do go to Zumba on Monday nights & I try to squeeze in a run or two, but that means that either chores, blogging, or time with the husband is sacrificed. It’s hard to keep a balance but still get fit & lose weight.

17 Comments
Filed Under: Adult Club, Finding Balance, I wish parenting came with a manual, Life in General, Potential for Doocing, Working Mom Series

It’s more than just a paycheck. But the cash money is nice.

7 Mar posted by heirtoblair

Today I’m guest posting over at Just Another Manic Momday & talking about why being a working momma has its perks. Join me, please?

_________________________________

BAworking 300x225 Its more than just a paycheck. But the cash money is nice. When my son was 13 weeks old, I slipped back into a black pencil skirt & three-inch stilettos to take my place in the corporate world once more. Every day for the next year, I tearfully kissed my little boy goodbye & bitterly plowed through paperwork & client calls. I hated being a working mother. I was wracked with jealousy over my stay-at-home-mom friends when they held play dates & lunches. I struggled with finding balance between work, marriage, motherhood, home, & myself. News articles hounded home that the children of working mothers were fatter, sicker, & worse off than children of mothers who stayed home. & it didn’t matter if Charlie Sheen himself wrote the study, I believed that I was failing my child by working.

Slowly, that cloud of despair has lifted as my postpartum depression healed & my little family settled into a comfortable routine. I met a few fellow working momma friends that helped me feel less alone as we shared tips for managing it all. & you know what? I realized that it doesn’t suck. Sure, being a working momma is HARD. You’re “on” 24/7, not only meeting the demands of a family & toddler tyrant, but also the demands of clients, bosses, products, & everything in between. But it definitely has its perks.

[find out what those perks are here]

Filed Under: Guest Blog, Outsourcing Parenting Skills, Potential for Doocing, Working Mom Series

I keep giving but somehow find reserves.

19 Jan posted by heirtoblair

I’m so tired. So weary. An ache settled into my bones, making me feel stiff & heavy. My to-do list is scattered now on three sheets of paper, full of scribbles & phone numbers & codes & doodles. A document spread in front of me, mocked up to be re-written for a specific case. & sandwich growing cold at the side of my desk because a client interrupts lunch. I pencil in yet another appointment on my already-full Thursday schedule.

Everything about this day feels heavy & overwhelming & out of reach.

I have nothing left.

I need the hug of a good friend. A cup of coffee in a pair of jeans & boots, curled up in a chair. I yearn to be discussing & growing with women that share my own excitement over written word & the outpouring of emotions. I need a day to sit in a stream of sunshine while playing trucks with my little boy, fixing him a grilled cheese, & listening for him to wake up from a nap. I long for stillness that will settle peacefully, rather than stillness that seems fleeting & a cheap escape.

I feel that I have nothing left.

But I know that’s a lie. So I finish my sandwich & lunch hour. I take a deep breath, raise my chin, & continue the day.

Filed Under: Adult Club, All about BA, Fears, Potential for Doocing, Working Mom Series