Woman Behind the Blog

the woman behind the blog

Hi, lovelies! First off, thank you for sharing your precious time with me to learn a little about me. Starting this blog is definitely something outside of my comfort zone. Thank you for allowing me to open up my life to you.

I want to share with you some information about myself, so that you can get to know more about the woman behind the blog:

facts about me

1- I am a vegetarian. I love animals, and I made the decision almost nine years ago to stop eating meat. My husband is NOT a vegetarian, and he can’t stand bread (yes, you read that correctly). My daughter is also a vegetarian, but hates vegetables, so mealtime at our house is always a fun time. #whatsfordinner?

2- I am a crier. I cry at movies and TV shows, I cry at the Subaru commercial, I cry at Kleenex commercials, I cry at jewelry commercials. Okay, I cry at almost all commercials. I don’t watch animal rescue commercials or commercials about sick children because it breaks my heart too much. I cry when I read books, I cry when my daughter gives me notes and pictures, and I cry whenever I see a homeless person (and then my husband drags me away because I try to give them all of our money). On second thought, it might have taken less time if I listed what I don’t cry about… I think that is my superpower. I think that the world would be a better place if people cared more.

3- I LOVE children. I got my master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology, and I provided services to children from birth-pre-K. I stopped working when I had my daughter, and now she is my only (and favorite) client. When I was a child I wasn’t popular at all, but as a grown-up I have a great rapport with kids. My daughter’s friends want me to play with them. My daughter has gotten annoyed.

4- I was a soda addict. The hardest thing I had to give up during my pregnancy was my diet-soda because it has phenylalanine. I loved soda so much that right after I gave birth, I asked for Diet-Pepsi (after making sure my daughter was okay). I decided I wanted to set a better example for my daughter, and five years ago I switched to only drinking sparkling water. Although I can’t stand water, I actually like the taste of flavored water. If you’d like some recommendations, hit me up.

5- I have CPTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). I did not know what CPTSD was for most of my life, and I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder. It was only a few years ago that I did some research on my symptoms and realized that there was a name for what I experienced. It was a huge relief to be able to gain insight into those parts of me that I felt a lot of shame about, and to begin the road to acceptance and self-compassion.

10 facts about me

more facts about me!

6- My husband and I moved 6 times (and 3 different states) in the almost 14 years we’ve been together. We moved to Brooklyn before we got married because Manhattan is expensive. Then we moved to New Jersey for a year after my husband convinced me to give his hometown a try. We then moved back to Brooklyn where I finished my requirements to get my license as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Unfortunately we had to switch apartments because the walls and floor were so thin. I could literally hear my upstairs neighbors’ phone ring in our two-family house.

It was in our last place in Brooklyn that I finished my pregnancy and had my daughter. We then decided that uprooting ourselves was so much fun that we should relocate to Atlanta. I joke, we moved because we wanted a different way of life than the hustle and bustle of New York, but boy, do I miss it. You can take the girl out of New York, but you can’t take New York out of the girl.

We rented a home in Atlanta for a year before buying our first house there. If you are exhausted reading this, imagine how I felt living it. I wish I could say it gets easier with each move, but that would be a lie.

7- I love home design. We hired a contractor for major renovations, but I personally designed every room in our house. I used to watch HGTV religiously back when I was childless and actually had free time.  As a parent, the only time I have to myself is when I sleep. So instead, I stayed up at night scouring the web for home design plans.  Since our home is done, I’m driving my husband crazy with designing our front and back yard. #Sorrynotsorry.

8- I taught myself to cook. Growing up, I knew it was time for dinner when the smoke detector went off (I kid you not), and I tried to come up with clever ways to dispose of the food in the garbage can rather than my mouth. I learned to cook as an adult because I wanted to provide my family with homecooked meals. My now-husband had to endure many burnt meals, but with time and a lot of errors I became a pretty good cook. My husband and daughter both help me in the kitchen, and my husband has become pretty good at it (just don’t tell him I said that).

9- I am an avid reader. I loved reading as a child. I loved reading so much that my parents would actually take away my books as punishment.  Most kids had their toys taken away as punishment. I wasn’t allowed to read.

10- I love junk food. Growing up, I had a pantry filled with candy and chips. I love chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, sour-sticks, and basically anything that is terrible for you. I was super excited the first time I took my daughter trick-or-treating because I knew I’d get to eat all of her candy because she was too young. #pleasedontjudgeme. I now eat a more balanced diet (as I can’t convince my daughter to eat broccoli as I’m gorging on Doritos), but I still eat my junk food nightly. I learned that moderation is my friend.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know more about me! 

birthday surprise

the unexpected birthday surprise

It was 2015, and a birthday surprise party was planned to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday. A restaurant was selected, guests each wrote in a book that we had inscribed, and the place was decorated. Every detail was well thought out, planned, and set into motion. What could go wrong? Answer: My then three-year-old daughter, Brielle.

The day before the birthday surprise party was like any other day. My daughter was her usual hyper self, and she was particularly excited because she knew that the next day was her Gramme’s birthday party. She did a great job of keeping the party a secret. The party, the cake, the balloons…it was all so wonderful! So wonderful, in fact, that my daughter was bouncing with energy, ran into the living room, tripped over her own feet, and crashed face first into the side of our coffee table.

My husband and I are not naïve when it comes to our daughter. We know her energy is limitless, and she leaps first and looks later (literally). Our entire apartment was babyproofed, especially our coffee table. It was an old, cheap coffee table because Brielle+ nice furniture= Mommy having a breakdown when the furniture inevitably gets ruined. We not only babyproofed the corners, but we put rubber adhesive strips all along the perimeter of the table. As much as we tried to babyproof our home, there was not a babyproof gadget out there that could help if our daughter went flying and smashed the side of her face with full force.

the aftermath

birthday surprise

My daughter started to cry. I immediately ran over and looked at her face, and held back a gasp. It looked like she was starting to get a black eye. I put ice on it immediately, and then rushed her to the doctor to make sure nothing was broken. Luckily, the doctor assured it was a bad bruise, but Brielle looked like she had gone twelve rounds with Mike Tyson.

What were we going to do? The party was the next day, and I wanted the surprise to be the party, not Brielle’s face. I prayed that it would all go away by the next morning, but of course, no such luck. I did my best to put some concealer on her black eye (every mother’s dream). When we got to the restaurant I told her not to move a muscle. We waited for my mother-in-law to arrive.

When my mother-in-law got to the back room of the restaurant, she was shocked. First she was shocked about the party. Then she was shocked (and probably horrified) when her granddaughter ran over covered in concealer and swollen on one side of her face. Brielle was on cloud nine that she was wearing makeup, and she proudly told everyone the story of how she fell. I spent the entire party walking beside her as she told her story to make sure that nobody called Child Protective Services.

It was a wonderful party and a wonderful day. Brielle thanked everyone for coming because she decided it was her birthday party since her face was the center of attention. Needless to say, family pictures were taken to show only the right side of Brielle’s face. I reconsidered the need for furniture in our apartment.