mom life Archives -

#39: A Behind The Scenes Look At My Life As A Solopreneur And A Mom

The life of a mom-entrepreneur: It’s definitely NOT like what you see on social media and not as smooth as I’d like it to be. However, I know this’ll all be worth it down the road. Plus, I love doing this, sharing with you and being real when it comes to parenthood, our mindset, being a woman, a mom and entrepreneur. So, on THAT note,

School’s out for us living in the province of Quebec. As I record this, it IS the first day of summer vacation, the kids are home, and it’s also a long weekend for us Quebecers. So that means, the husband’s home too! So if you hear any weird noises it’s probably him in the garage or any drilling sounds. He’s building his bbq shed in the backyard. And our bedroom is at the back of the house and above the garage. In case you didn’t know and just to be clear, my office/studio is right here in our room! Fancy huh? Lol

Now, this is the 2nd summer since the launch of my podcast show. And I remember last year, despite ALL the good intentions, and even mentioning it on the episode before the summer hit last year, I warned my audience that my episodes would be released less frequently BECAUSE the kids were home, pool life was about to start again, meaning mom life was about to be amped up which also meant biz life was taking a back burner but not completely shut down.

Well, summer came, we had a lot of fun, I gave myself grace because the thought of my podcast being put on “hold” was always on my mind. And I have to admit, in hindsight, it was bugging me.

Then summer flew by and we had to prepare ourselves mentally for the next season and new beginnings such as, our oldest entering his first year of high school! It started out smoothly until there was a whole issue with the transportation company and the buses. Long story short, I was in a group chat with other moms for a good month and a half scheduling and coordinating carpools for our kids. Yeah, fun-fun.

September also meant volunteering picked back up again with the professional organizers in Canada with our monthly meeting preparations and presentations. Also working at the school started up again, so my schedule took another adjustment. I was happy for the structure to be honest. Because from there, I was able to see the pockets of time where I can work on my business.

Establish Your Time

Podcast #17: Let’s Talk Mental Health – Stop Spreading Yourself Too Thin

Dianne / May 5, 2022

When I became a mom and went through all the first time mom-feels: joys, discoveries and all the challenges. It REALLY became apparent on my mental load after I had my second baby.

I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt that I was spread way thin.

I was still adjusting to knowing my daughter, a very different baby than my first, and all the tricks that were working before, didn’t work at all or as effectively with her. I felt, as millions of moms out there also felt: like crap. I had no idea what I was doing. Well, I knew the basics but this was a whole different personality. It’s as though I was starting back at square one; but STILL trying to be present and attentive to my son and at the same time be a loving and supportive wife: 24/7 , 365.

My mode was either OFF, which felt like a blink, or ALWAYS ON: there for everyone AND everything. Doing things on my own and trying to figure things out, is just who I am. It’s part of my ‘being’.

Now, this isn’t to say that my husband didn’t help or wasn’t present. Not at all. He’s a very involved parent and husband. When I was in massage therapy school every second weekend, he was perfectly fine taking care of our son. And our son…. knew no difference!

But, while Onnig was asleep, call it stubbornness on my part or just wanting to ensure he’s at his best for his employees and business partners, I would rarely wake him up overnight. I tended to all the wake ups from either one or both kids.

Now don’t get me wrong, we had many conversations about me needing to wake him up, even if it was to bring the baby to me, wait for the feed, and bring her back to her crib – he was so on board with that. But my thoughts were about taking care of him too.
In hindsight, I wanted and needed to do the work: feel all the feels, gain the experience and knowledge about myself. As much as my babies were growing, I was too.

But my mental health was also taking a toll. I didn’t know or didn’t pay much attention then, but I do remember one night, annoyed after a quick feed, standing by the corner of the bed, awake but exhausted. What felt like months and months and months of trying to keep it all together, while feeling like I was being pulled in all directions, I felt resentment brewing.