Being a mom has been gratifying, scary, exciting, stressful, frustrating at times yet fun and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I think of everything I didn’t and still don’t know about being a mom, and I’m so very grateful that I had a mom who was around to guide me for as long as she did. I’m always ready to step up my mom game! I wanna Be That Mom, you know, the one who is more relaxed, more organized, and generally happier! It just so happens that “there’s a book for that”!
Be That Mom, written by Tina O’Connor is a part of the Be That book series, inspiring books for women. This book challenged my ways of thinking as it relates to being a mom. I never envisioned myself as a self-help book kinda girl, but there were some great nuggets in a few of the chapters that I will definitely take away and apply in my own life. At the end of the day everyone has their own experiences and Tina wrote about hers. I believe we can all learn from each other!
I found some great information in each of the 12 chapters of the book, however three chapters stood out to me personally at this point in my life. I’m sure as I read this book years from now, I will glean knowledge from other chapters. The advice for first time moms in the first chapter ‘Baby Mine’ is very insightful. It’s funny how until we have our first child how judgemental we can be of those who became mothers before us. Tina gives some great survival tips for new moms including: 1) go with the flow, let baby set the schedule for the first few weeks, and 2) free advice is worth only what you pay for it, everyone has an opinion, take it all with a grain of salt.
My favourite chapter is ‘Planet Do It’. In this chapter, Tina gives simple ways to Plan and Do what you want through a 15 minute exercise. Dream and create the life you want for yourself! Doesn’t that sound great? It’s much harder to put into action than you think. Once you are done the exercise you have completed a 5 year plan for yourself!
The goal is NOT to be perfect as a mom. The goal is to be happy and enjoy what you have and what you do. Happiness is a choice.
Another chapter I loved is ‘The Shelter’. In this chapter Tina discusses clutter clearing and reorganizing your home using basic Feng Shui rules. We all know how easy it is to accumulate “stuff” in our homes. Having children further adds to that accumulation! Everything in your home must have its own place; therefore, if you don’t have room for an item, get rid of it or get rid of something else to make room for the item you want to keep. Sounds simple enough right? It takes a lot of effort (well, it does for me anyway)! Tina gives tips on how to maintain your organized home in a way that is easily relatable to anyone.
Your house is your home only when you feel you have jurisdiction over the space. – Joan Kron
Finally, chapter 11, ‘Release Your Inner Girl’ speaks to me in volumes and it is a chapter I need to re-read daily. TIna hits the nail on the head when she talks about self-love and taking time for YOU to be a girl! It’s my biggest challenge and something I need to constantly work on. It’s ok to remove the mom hat once in a while and go beautify myself with a mani/pedi or a spa day. Giving myself the gift of time without guilt is necessary! I am blessed to have found my soulmate, a man who treats me like a queen but I also need to remember to treat myself as the gorgeous amazing woman that I am too! One golden nugget from this chapter that I plan to incorporate immediately is meditation, to reduce stress and cleanse my body and mind.
Overall Be That Mom connects with the female psyche in more ways than one. Could someone who isn’t a mom read this book and walk away with great tips and a deeper sense of self? Absolutely! There are many transferable skills and ideas that apply to everyday life whether you are a mom or not. There are recurring themes in each chapter that at times seem like duplication; however, it is written conversationally and not your standard step-by step guide which appeals to my reading style. Again not everything applied to me but I was able to come away feeling great about the tips that did.
Would you love to meet Tina in person? She is currently on her book tour and will be making a stop in Winnipeg! Join me in welcoming her to our city!
What? Release Your Inner Girl Book Tour
When? Wednesday October 23rd, 2013
Time? 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Where? Second Sensation Boutique 10-725 Corydon Ave
How? Go to Be That Books and get your tickets! They’re FREE!
Hope to see you there! I can’t wait to get my book signed!
we all need help this sounds like a great book
Sounds like a good book. I will have to check it out 🙂
sounds like a good book
I like how this book discourages trying to achieve being “the perfect mom”. A lot of moms I come into contact with seem to treat parenthood as a competition, striving for perfection. It’s just not possible! Do the best you can & be HAPPY.
Makes me want to read
sounds like a good read.
Love positive books about parenting. we all need to be cheered on sometimes!
Oh yes, I agree. It is so easy to ‘parent’ another child…until you have your own!
Like the cover page, this is good to read at the beach
This sounds like a good read for everyone
Being a mom is such a hard job. I don’t know how you ladies do it!
sounds like a pretty interesting book, not like some of the boring self help books out there, and reading your review it sounds like this one would be a good read, I’m interested in some more of chapter 11
It’s a tough and compensating job, being a mom! Reading helpful books would really help, have you read the book, GROWN LITTLE GIRLS, it relates experiences and lessons families can learn as they go through challenges when raising teenage daughters.
It sounds like you really enjoyed the book. I hope that it was a good time seeing the author at the event.
This seems like a good read. I wonder if they have it at Chapters?
You are in luck! It is at Chapters/Indigo!
I am way more of a fiction read girl, but this one does sound interesting.
Sounds like a good read.
Cheers!