Sunday, January 31, 2010

Naperville Moms Network

I’m not sure why I haven’t been talking or blogging much about the Naperville Moms Network or NMN as I like to call it. It’s kind of weird actually because it’s my little (or BIG) project right now.

NMN is a social network that I created to connect a local “community of moms empowering moms.”  There are monthly events to bring this diverse network of mamas together as well.

I launched it December 1, 2009 at a local family owned restaurant. I had about 20 women show and stay beyond the time we had the private room reserved for. It was amazing to see these women out having a good time, connecting with friends and making new ones. It was very apparent that this was meeting a huge need in the community. I was really happy with the turnout and the feedback.

Since the launch, we have over 150 moms and continue to grow every day by word of mouth. We’ve been featured in the newspaper and on the local TV station. I’m amazed and excited to see the potential here. I feel like my vision for this community of moms is becoming a reality and people’s lives are being impacted positively.

I have a great feeling about the future of this group, but I’m definitely getting out of my comfort zone more and more as we grow. I just pray that I will continue to have clarity  on the direction I’m supposed to take this thing. This is not “mine” …I’m just the facilitator and vehicle to making it happen. I have a huge responsibility to this amazing community of women and to my Creator that has lead me to do this.

I’ll try to continue to update on NMN. It should continue to be an interesting ride!

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Naperville Moms Network

Windows Live Writer

Just discovered this tool on my new netbook and was curious to see how it works. What’s the benefit of using this over going to blogger directly? Feedback anyone?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

That Darn Cat

I was thinking of starting another blog under an alias to tell all of the ridiculously embarrassing stories of random things that happen to me. Just when I think I couldn't possibly be any more embarrassed, something else happens. The thing is, I'm not all that great with keeping up with this blog, so why would I want to spend more time starting another one to tell these stories...simply because I would be mortified if people that I actually know read them?! Ehhh

Well, I suppose I'm lazy and I'll share this story with you...even if a few people I know happen to stumble upon it.

I often joke that I live on a mini farm. I have a cat and two dogs in a humble little three bedroom ranch. My kitty is about 10 years old and has recently discovered that she LOVES being outdoors. Now that it's winter in Chicago, she can't spend nearly as much time outside. We keep a litter box in the house, but she rarely has to use it since she has learned that she can just go outside.

Through the winter months, she has decided that she enjoys sleeping in my closet under my low hanging clothes. Not quite sure why, but she sneaks in there a lot these days. I've started noticing that she gets shut in there sometimes without me realizing she was in there in the first place. Not good...


It's the start of the new year and like millions of other Americans, I'm ready to shed this extra (baby)weight. My trainer likes to think of it as excess stored energy. ;) Sweet, huh! Anyway, I tend to leave my gym bag on the floor in my closet. My husband was rushing me to hurry up so we wouldn't be late for our appointment to drop Brady off in the infant room. He usually drops me at the door to take Brady in while he parks the car.

I was standing in line with Brady sitting on the counter and I'm digging in my gym bag for my membership card when I hear, "Kelli, Oh my gosh! I didn't know you go to this gym!" I was like, "Well, yeah we got the membership back in August when Brady was old enough for childcare, but I'm not as regular as I would like to be."

My friend notices that I'm digging in my bag for my card. She reaches in to help me because she thought she saw it. What does she end up grabbing? Oh yeah! You guessed it... dried up cat poop. Are you freakin' kidding me? Mortifying!!!

I wish I would have had the time to go through it before I left the house. I keep the bag packed for the next visit, so I didn't really need to. I just had to throw a water bottle in. Ohhh my gosh! I can't believe I haven't seen this girl in forever and she just grabbed dried up cat poop from my bag while trying to help me find my card. She avoided me the next time I ran into her in the gym. Go figure!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I Need a Wife

Do you ever feel like life would be a lot easier if only you had a wife? I've determined that's what I really need since I'm not your stereotypical wife and happen to have a very traditional husband.

I know he loves me and knew exactly what he was getting when he married me, but sometimes I can't help but feel completely inadequate in fulfilling my "wifey duties." I HATE cleaning and household chores. I do them, but I loathe the daily household tasks. Going to the grocery store stresses me out. The idea of cooking completely freaks me out and overwhelms me.

What I've come to learn is that I'm a total perfectionist, so if I'm not super awesome at something or don't enjoy doing it, I try to find a way to not do it at all. I always justify by saying that I could spend my time better doing things that I'm good at. I WANT a clean home and delicious, healthy meals, but if I'm honest, I don't want to be responsible for making those things happen. I hate that about myself. I wish I felt differently. I wish I could change my mindset to enjoy those duties, but I'm not sure that's ever going to happen.

So, I have this friend that's divorced with two boys. She's dating a guy that is also divorced with two girls. They just moved in together over the summer and each have joint custody over their children. They're sort of like the modern day Brady Bunch! If you were just meeting them, you would never know that the children have a different father and mother. They all look alike which is kind of cute and they seem to get along pretty well together.

My friend has totally lucked out by dating this guy (that she will eventually marry). She found herself a wife! She's not super organized or clean, but her boyfriend is a total neat freak that loves to be organized and cleans EVERY day from top to bottom. He freaks out if the bed isn't made immediately after getting out of bed. Did I mention he loves to cook healthy gourmet meals? Yep, another huge perk.

This friend of mine gained about 50-60 pounds through the divorce process. She also owned a business with her ex, so she had to split that off and somewhat start new. Talk about stressful scenario! This new guy has decided that he will cook full meals from the South Beach diet cookbook three times a day and pack her snacks for work. Are you freakin' kidding me?! She has lost 13 lbs. in a week and a half. Wow!

Let me just say, I'm very happy for her. She deserves to be happy and treated like a queen. She was cheated on several times by her ex and very much unappreciated. I want nothing but the best for her.

All I'm saying is that I think a lot of my stress would be relieved if only I had a "wife" of my own. Then I could focus on what I'm good at and not always feel like an inadequate failure for not living up to society's expectations of what a wife should be.

My husband doesn't give me a hard time about my inadequacies. It's more me being super hard on myself. But he did admit the other day that he wouldn't mind if I did become more wifey...cook and clean more. This just confirmed that I'm not a good housewife. Dang it! I love my hubby and don't have an interest in trading him in (even though he is a complete slob), I would just like to find a wife for both of us! I'm pretty sure that would solve all my problems ;)