It’s Time to Celebrate Inspiring Moms!
It is my honor to introduce you to the Inspiring Moms Club. The Inspiring Moms Club is a space to celebrate and learn from amazing moms who are practicing the art of life balance. Click here to join the inspiring moms club or to nominate an inspiring mom.
Our first inspiring mom is Jane Elia Schwartz, who is the founder and creative director behind JelliBee Baby, a fresh line of sophisticated yet practical baby accessories. She believes every woman deserves to enjoy intricately beautiful and practical design, and is dedicated to infusing all she does with a healthy dollop of ‘aahhh!’ Jane lives in southern California with her husband and two children, and is tickled and humbled by the richness that is motherhood.
JelliBee Baby Giveaway
Jane is giving away a pair of delightful petite clothing hangers. These delicious hangers, fit for a prince or princess, are both beautiful and functional. They are so adorable, you’ll want them for yourself.
What You Win
(1) pair of petite hangers from JelliBee Baby
How to Enter
Share one quality of what makes an inspiring mom in the comments section below.
Extra Entries
1. Twitter about the inspiring moms club.
Copy and paste the text Check out the Inspiring Moms Club @CreateaBalance http://bit.ly/W9hjI to Twitter.
Be sure to leave a link to your Twitter status in the comments section.
2. Blog about the Inspiring Moms Club and leave link in the comments section.
3. Subscribe to my Create a Balance for Moms Newsletter.
Other Details
– Winner will be contacted via email.
– If no response in 48 hours, another winner will be drawn.
– Contest ends on June 27, 2009 at 11:59 pm Central Time.
And Now a Word from Our Inspiring Mom – Jane Elia Schwartz from JelliBee Baby
Jane’s View of Life Balance – Like most women, I think we try to make it mean, how can I fit “doing it all” into 24 hours, 52 weeks a year?” But to be serious, for me, it means managing the ho-hum obligations of life while tackling all of the fun and rewarding goals my family and I want to accomplish over the course of our lifetime.
How Jane Practices the Art of Life Balance – I try to approach everything I do with a positive outlook and strong work ethic- both work and play, and my kids see that. I realized recently that by being a mompreneur, my kids are getting to see what ‘work’ looks like, up close and personal, and that’s a good thing.
This eye-witness account of life-lesson-learning is so different than my own memories of my father ‘going off to work’ for 9 hours a day somewhere, and then reappearing at dinner, for 20 years in a row. Work is not compartmentalized to me or to them. I think their observations of what grown up ‘work’ is, is so much more tangible, and I hope, in it being so real, they develop a healthy respect and appreciation for it, in its many forms. By approaching work and play with the same attitude, holding myself accountable, I think I am able to pull into balance both of these aspects of my life.
How Jane Takes Action Towards Living Her Dreams – I am an extremely optimistic person who believes that through hard work, anything is possible. The word ‘dream’ is a little intimidating to me- it sounds out of reach, existing only in our wildest fantasies. I prefer ‘goal:’ sounds so much more grounded and attainable, doesn’t it? Working towards a goal, one with milestones, anything is possible. And realizing that the journey in attainment of that goal, with its nuts and bolts elements, although not as glamorous as we imagined, is true to life. As a society, we only hear about the overnight successes, the plucked-from-obscurity-success-stories; reality is that hard work and years of sacrifice make dreams come true. Setting your sights on a goal is the first active step in living your dream. I try to have one ‘reach’ goal a year; in 2008 my goal was to sell my designs, and I met it, when I launched JelliBee Baby in November of last year.
Jane’s View On…
The Importance of Connecting with Other Women. With everyone rushing around, everyone so busy, I miss the sense of community that used to just happen when life was a little less hectic; these days, I make it happen, by connecting with people, strangers, even, that I come in contact with, throughout my day. It is nice to acknowledge (out loud) that we are not alone on this journey! I’ve met some of my best friends just by starting with hello, when we both found ourselves in new situations.
The Importance of Connecting with Your Authentic Self and Authentic Voice – For me this means shunning time-sucking obligations when and where I can. Do my young kids really need to attend so and so’s 2nd birthday party all day Saturday? Do we need to watch TV 2 hours every night to ‘relax’? It sounds dramatic, but our time is limited on this earth; make sure you are spending it with those you love, doing what matters to you and them. And I don’t mean that you skip all birthday parties or cancel cable (although we did), just figure out what is authentic and meaningful to you and your family, then actively spend your time and attention there.
Honoring Your Body by Moving and Being Active – I grew up with very physically active parents- not athletes, but regular exercisers who ate healthfully, so it is just part of how we live now. I have a very supportive husband in this regard, too- he is an avid cyclist; I understand that his time spent riding is time for him to get away, challenge himself, and set goals. He watches the kids while I go to ballet classes at least 2-3 times a week. His reward is a fit, refreshed, wife. We also do activities outdoors with the kids. The idea is to get moving and have fun while clearing your head.
Getting Energized – Something my father always says: ‘success breeds interest.’ My husband and I are in the habit of spending our free time, our down time, pursuing activities we love. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, but reviewing our accomplishments, as well as looking forward to future goals (“within 5 years I want to have done X”) is exciting to us. Then we talk about what we need to do to make those things happen, both in work and play. That is energizing.
Jane’s Advice on Balancing Personal Needs and Dreams with the Needs of All the Other Things that Demand Our Time, Attention, and Energy.
1. Allow yourself to admit when you need help. I know it is hard for overachievers! After my second child was born, my husband asked repeatedly if I was overwhelmed. I kept saying no, thinking saying yes meant I was admitting failure. Guess what? I couldn’t do it all. Once I admitted I needed help, and I allowed others to help me, I loosened up on myself and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
2. Accept that you might want to be more than the Mother of your Children (if you do). And that that is ok. I still wrestle with this one as a hybrid stay at home mom and entrepreneur- as much as I want to remain the center of my kids and my husbands’ universe, sometimes I just want to chuck my Hello-my-name-is Mommy-badge and get on a jet plane as Just Jane and fly far, far away where the baby monitor/cell phone/PTA can’t find me. Acknowledge these feelings. They are normal. And then go find an outlet- cooking, dancing, yoga, scrap-booking, whatever- to do just for yourself, at least once a week.
Final Words from Jane – One more thing, make it a habit to borrow from others’ life lessons. If there is something you want, talk to those who have it, or those who have done it. Research it. Join groups who do it. If there is something you like already out there, see if you can find out who did it, and how they did it. Ask questions. Take note of the lessons that those you admire have already learned. You’ll still make mistakes, but you might avoid a few.
And Don’t Forget to Register for Jane’s Giveaway
1. Share one quality of what makes an inspiring mom in the comments section below.
2. Twitter about the inspiring moms club.
Copy and paste the text Check out the Inspiring Moms Club @CreateaBalance http://bit.ly/W9hjI to Twitter. Be sure to leave a link to your Twitter status in the comments section.
3. Blog about the Inspiring Moms Club and leave link in the comments section.
4. Subscribe to my Create a Balance for Moms Newsletter.
Hi Stacey. Hi Jane. The Inspiring Moms Club sounds like a great idea. Congrats on your launch Stacey.
I’m not a mom, but am inspired by your creativity and self-awareness Jane. You have provided some great advice here: Allow yourself to admit when you need help & borrowing from others’ life lessons are two that stood out for me. I wish you lots of success with JelliBee Baby.
Davina´s last blog post..365 Days & Still Blogging
Excellent ideas to live by! Kudos to Jane for living and promoting the balance of practicality and beauty in her line of products and her approach to life.
In answer to what it means to be an inspiring mom, well, I think of my mom who, despite the fact that we knocked heads along the way, was always there for me. She was my cheerleader, she was my anchor. A few weeks before she died, I asked her what she considered to be the happiest moment. She said, “When my baby MaryLynn was born.” I always had the secure feeling that she would always be there for me.
Hi Stacy and Jane,
I love your post….beautiful and full of energy and love of family and your quality of honoring yourself uniquely by the way you choose to live.
One quality I think as a mom I appreciate is teaching that we can choose to enjoy and have fun doing what we have to do through out our days. We can put on the music as we clean our rooms together with our kids and then run off to play at the park or beach. We can reward ourselves with good healthy activities when we finish the days needs to do. We can carry joy through out our day and hopefully instill a sense and essence of love and happiness in all we have to do each day! Smile and laugh and joke and sing while we do our work! Love to you all! Diane
Davina – Know when to ask for help is very important. And thanks for the nomination!
MaryLynn – I can relate to words like cheerleader and anchor. My mom is my rock.
Diane – Honoring yourself is a gift each of us can give to the world.
Congrats on your launch!
I like Jane’s point on making it a habit to borrow other people’s life lessons. There are so many mentors all around us all the time.
J.D. Meier´s last blog post..Sources of Insight is 10 Months Old
The hangers look so lovely! Definitely perfect for a prince or princess!
Stacey, excellent idea about having an inspiring moms club. It’s great that you are putting together a group of mommy bloggers who can share a tip or two on creating life balance. Wishing you success always!
Evelyn Lim´s last blog post..Holiday with Happiness
Hello Ladies!
I am not a mom, but one quality an inspiring mom has is to be an educating challenger. My mom and I have knocked heads numerous times along the way, but she never handed me the answer or did the dirty work for me. She always challenged me to figure it out on my own, by getting up and dusting myself off each time I fell. If it wasn’t for this who knows where I would have ended up in life today!
these remind me of my grandmother who made soft covers for all her hangers…and she was a wonderful example and an inspiration of creativity. You never know what you’re going to run into as a mother and that spark is important to have.
Thanks, Jane, for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Good luck with Jellibee Baby. I’ve checked out your website and your products are really beautiful. I know where I’ll shop whenever I need a baby shower gift!
Hi Stacey and Jane,
Wonderful to meet you, Jane! I love Stacey’s site, for the real life wisdom she always provides. Balance…something I can always work on! Jane – I love how you’re reminding us that our time here on earth is limited. It is! And that’s something I’ve been thinking much about recently. Live life! And that can be things like just being still, or getting outside for a walk, or pursuing those big goals you have for your life (which come from time to just be still…). Anyway, great stuff all around!
Lance´s last blog post..Sunday Thought For The Day
J.D. – I definitely had an ah-ha moment when I read Jane’s lesson on borrowing other people’s life lessons.
Evelyn – Hopefully we will be honored to have you be part of the club soon.
Sarah – Yes! That is what I call the blessings of a skinned knee.
Kate – Jane’s work is definitely an inspiration of creativity.
Elizabeth – Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Lance – Thanks for mentioning the concept of “living live” instead of letting life just pass you by.
Hello Stacey and Jane,
It is always a pleasure to find a place on the web that has wonderful articles to read that may better me as a mother.
Jane, your article was really touching and inspiring to me. In the past, I have been guilty of giving it all to my husband and children and not leaving much left over for myself. Recently, I started my own vegetable garden and it has become my sanctuary. Though it involves a lot of hard work I am very proud of it. Learning about how to start and maintain a garden has been very fulfilling for me. It is also a major bonus to be out early in the morning with all the peace and quiet nature can offer.
Your advice about asking for help is right on the money. I have always felt guilty asking for help. As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother my plate is always full. Thankfully, after being married for 13 years, my husband knows when to pick up the slack and offer assistance when I need it most.
As far as an aspiring mother quality, I would have to go with total acceptance of your children. My mother loved me no matter where my life’s choices are leading me. She has never judged me, offered excellent advice and always supported my decisions. Knowing there is someone in the world that would love me no matter what has been what has helped me take those hard leaps in life.
Good luck with JelliBee Baby, Jane. I will definitely be buying some of your amazing products in the future.
Hi Stacey. I’ve come back to tell you that I have just nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger Award. You have a creative spirit! I hope you will accept; I’d love to learn more about you. The details are in my most recent post.
Davina´s last blog post..It’s All About Me — Or Is It?
Sounds very nifty. 🙂
Just stopping by from another site to say hi, and love your site. I’ll be sure to bookmark you so I can visit again. 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Jenny´s last blog post..His Skin’s So Soft
Jennifer – Thanks for your kind words. May we all find a happy balance between being moms and being ourselves.
Jenny – Thanks. Hope you stop by again!
A mom that has embraced the freedom to be herself. Loves herself – curves, quirks and all. Doing the mom thing in her own unique way and giving herself permission to be more than just a mom. We are moms and so much more!