The end of 2018 is fast approaching and 2019 is just around the corner. How in the world that happened, I have no idea! Ready or not, here it comes. At the end of a year it’s common to reflect back and remember some of the past events or triumphs that the year brought. Here at the Duluth Moms Blog we found ourselves doing the same thing, thinking back over the year and remembering some of the blog posts published our talented writers.
One of the best things about the Duluth Moms Blog is that our content is written for you by local moms. These women are the heart of the blog and it wouldn’t be possible to have such great content with out them! Our team of writers is made up of all types of moms each with their own voice and experience to draw from. The blog posts that these moms write can be raw and real, inspiring and uplifting, practical and helpful, or just down right funny.
We’ve compiled a list of our top 5 posts from 2018 for you to look back on. Whether you missed these posts the first time around or not, they are all worth a read. Take a look back at 2018 with us!
5. Let’s All Just Agree on This: The Art of Interrupting
The women of the Northland have begun to set the mental wheels in motion, the wheels that remind us that we looked truly awful in last year’s swimsuit. Those machinations that turn out phrases about cellulite and flabbiness and sagging and skin tone and things that are too flat or decidedly not flat enough. Whisper campaigns that originate in our own minds about WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO THINK.
Oh, man. I get it. I have never been one of those taut and tan types. My own genetics landed in me in the pizza dough category — pale, mushy, stretched, and enjoyed by children. It’s a hard thing for a young woman wrap their mind around: that you will never look like the prevailing cultural standard of beauty no matter what you do.
4. From Blindsided to Beyond Blessed (Birth Defects Prevention Month)
“Your baby has a birth defect.” Words no mother should ever have to hear. Yet there I was at a measuring ultrasound, with a new doctor who specialized in ultrasounds because my regular OBGYN happened to be booked solid and the measuring issue was apparently pertinent. I was alone, anticipating hearing the sound of my beautiful babies’ heartbeat and leaving with a healthy report just like I did the times previous. Instead, I encountered a very young, very nervous ultra sound tech who gave me my first glimpse of something not being quite right with her silence and inability to make eye contact with me while ignoring the questions I asked. She told me the doctor would be right in, so after what seemed to last an eternity, the doctor came in followed by a random woman who was dressed in plain clothes without any identification. Neither of them making a comfortable eye contact with me either. My suspicions were confirmed and I immediately felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
3. What Moms Should Know About a Boudoir Photo Shoot
When I decided to take the plunge and surprise my husband with a boudoir shoot for his 40th birthday, I was a little nervous and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have always been pretty comfortable in my own skin, but I’m not always good with liking myself just the way I am–post babies, especially. Luckily for me, Amanda at JaneCane Photography fit me into her schedule right away so I didn’t have too much time to pick myself apart or obsess over what I was going to wear. We emailed back and forth a bit beforehand and she gave me a Pinterest link for some examples of boudoir-style outfits. I wanted to be true to my personal style and keep it simple. I thought about what I love about my body instead of what I dislike and tried to keep the focus on that.
2. Hear Me Roar: Shattering the Silence around Selective Mutism What Moms Should Know
I have a confession. Until this past year, I had assumed that courage meant the lack of fear. I was a firm believer that being brave meant extinguishing fear. That is, until my little boy was diagnosed with Selective Mutism (SM for short). It was then that I truly learned that bravery isn’t conquering fear, but instead, discovering the the strength to move forward despite feeling terrified. October is Selective Mutism awareness month. Little did I know last October, that I would be thrown in the ring, fighting this battle alongside my little boy, who feels terrified every single day of something most of us brush off with ease: speaking.
1. How I Do It All
The fact that I have one thousand children, a house, a business, and two giant horse dogs, causes people I meet to frequently ask me a question. HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL, SHARON? HOW? How do you answer all the emails and edit all the pictures and snuggle all the children and brush all the dogs and smear on all the lipsticks?
Over my lengthy career of being a “working mom,” I have developed a foolproof strategy. I thought about creating an e-course that I would charge $299 for, but really REALLY want to help people, so I am giving away my wisdom FO’ FREE.
I can’t wait to see what 2019 holds for the Duluth Moms Blog and what new fresh content our writers will have for us. Thank you to all of our fabulous readers who support this content and read the content we put out weekly.
