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Category Archives: #warmthinthewinter

Mom Win Wednesday: Mandy Hauer

1 / 30 / 182 / 28 / 18

Anna
Anna

Today we welcome Mandy Hauer for our Mom Win Wednesday! Mandy, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Anna
Mandy Hauer

Hey, Anna! This is my tribe last Easter, which is apparently the last time we got a picture of all 5 of us together….oops.  Guess it is time to schedule some family photos!

Anna
Anna

I can understand that! I think the last time we had a family photo was 2014.? So I think you’re doing pretty well! P.S. Your kids are adorable!!

Do you wear any other hats in addition to your [big, gigantic, hugely significant] Mom Hat? 

Anna
Mandy Hauer

While my favorite hat is being a mom to my three kids, I have a fairly new hat that I’m wearing pretty proudly these days.  My friends from college started a babysitting and pet sitting app called Juggle in Columbus last fall.  When they mentioned wanting to bring it to Cincinnati, I offered to host their first meet-and-greet at the retail co-op I am a part of, Co-Op on Camargo.  

Anna
Anna

That’s cool! What’s the app all about?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

Parents can turn to this convenient app to find trusted childcare by being able to see who their friends had used and reviewed. The more I learned about this app, the more I knew I needed it in my life, and so would my friends.  

Anna
Anna

Wow! That’s a great idea. How did you get started, and how does this new job fit into your life?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

The Juggle founders decided that to best service a new market, they would like to engage with a local “mom-boss” who would be in charge of marketing the app to parents, and recruiting college sitters.  When they asked me to join them on their journey, I was all in.  I left my day job in HR and haven’t looked back.  

It’s the perfect gig for me: I can literally do my job from anywhere, and I can do it with my kids in tow most of the time.  Plus, it gives me the opportunity to flex my networking muscles and participate in local family events where I can speak to parents who’ve yet to use Juggle and tell them about what a game-changer it’s been for me, in so many ways.  Check us out @cincinnatijugglepage on Facebook and www.whyjuggle.com!

Anna
Anna

It sounds like a really great tool for moms! I will definitely share this with my friends.

Now, can you tell us a little more about the cuties in the picture above?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

Barrett (6) is our oldest and such a kind-hearted, engineer-minded, sweet soul, with more energy than I can handle at times! Berkley (4) is our budding fashionista with a love for all things girly, but with a bit of tomboy in her at the same time. And then our baby girl, Charlie (1), is the perfect mix of her bigs and truly completed our family when she arrived last July!  We are incredibly blessed by all three!

Anna
Anna

What a great family! I love their names, too!

What is a recent mom win you experienced that took time and perseverance to accomplish?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

I have a small group of moms that I meet with on a regular basis and we are currently studying the book Parenting with Love and Logic. As I was cramming for our Sunday afternoon meeting, Barrett asked me what I was doing.  I explained that I was reading this book to learn how to be a better mommy.  His response was, “You are the perfect mom.” Wow, just wow.  I have spent countless hours thinking about what I am doing wrong, how I am not doing enough, etc.  Maybe, just maybe, my best is enough, and I am the “perfect mom” for my three hooligans!

Anna
Anna

I LOVE that! We are always second-guessing ourselves, aren’t we? It’s so good to relax and know with confidence that we aren’t perfect, but we are the perfect moms for OUR kids! ?

What is a mom win that you would text your best friend?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

Ha! I just sent a few friends of mine a text this week, bragging about how I made it through the day without loosing my keys one single time.  Winning!!

Anna
Anna

Absolutely! Haha ?

One more question: What are you learning as a mom right now?

Anna
Mandy Hauer

I am trying to become more intentional with all of my moves in the midst of this crazy season of life! It is so easy for me to become distracted with all that is going on around me and miss out on the sweet day-to-day interactions I get to have with my kids. A day where I can truly hear the belly laughs and feel the warmth from a hug, is a good day for me!

Anna
Anna

Ahh! Isn’t that the truth! I love it. And we’ve been talking about warmth a lot lately! #warmthinthewinter 

Thank you, Mandy, for sharing with us today! Wishing all of our readers out there a day of belly laughs and warm hugs!!

Anna

 

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Stop the Emotional Snowball

1 / 29 / 18

Anna
Anna

I feel like I just got hit by a big, icy snowball. In the face.❄️❄️

Anna
Laura
Laura

Well that can’t feel good!  What happened?

Laura
Anna
Anna

I got an email today from a friend and coworker that was very…well, honest, but a little harsh. Ouch. ? ?

Anna
Laura
Laura

Yikes.  It’s never fun to come face to face with reality!  Or face to face with ice for that matter!

Laura
Anna
Anna

Yeah, and what was said had some truth to it, for sure, but I also know that I shouldn’t take it personally. I shouldn’t. But that’s always easier said than done.

Anna
Laura
Laura

For sure!  And what does that even mean?  Personally.  ?

Laura
Anna
Anna

I know, haha, that makes me think of that old movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, You’ve Got Mail, where he’s making her book shop go under and he says it’s not personal!

Anna
Laura
Laura

And as Meg Ryan said, you pour your heart into work, so it is a little personal. So how did you handle it?

Laura
Anna
Anna

I did what I often do in those situations — I’ve perfected the art of “Deer in the Headlights.”? And then I get angry and think of all the things I could have said.?  And after that, I seem to bury it in my heart. But… it comes out in other areas. It’s like I just try to hide my feelings deep inside, but the icy snowball is still in there…. ❄️

Anna
Laura
Laura

And it’s growing bigger and bigger and bigger?

Laura
Anna
Anna

Yes! How did you guess? Like a true snowball.

Anna
Laura
Laura

Yeah, I have no personal experience with snowballing emotions.  ? Wait, yes I do!  So do you have trouble letting go of those thoughts you “should have said”?

Laura
Anna
Anna

Oh yeah, for sure. But I usually talk myself out of saying them. The problem is when that built-up snowball comes out in other ways: Less patience with the kids, my husband, my other coworkers…

Anna
Laura
Laura

You mean, your massive snowball becomes ammunition for a zillion little icy darts you can throw at your family?

Laura
Anna
Anna

YES! Exactly!

Anna
Laura
Laura

And you know you’re taking your anxiety and anger out on them, but you just can’t stop?  And then you feel guilty.  And then you end up thinking that you are some sort of terrible wife and mother.  And then you realize you let this one half-truth from work define your entire life.

Laura
Anna
Anna

Wow, are you inside my brain?

Anna
Laura
Laura

I may have rolled an emotional snowball or two of my own??  Like when I let my messy house get to me and then I take my frustration out on my family… then everyone is upset and the house is still messy!

Laura
Anna
Anna

Then do you feel like it all backfires? It’s like the obsession with what’s happening and the guilt of how I’ve reacted to it all settles in my stomach, and then I want to quit things, or I just withdraw.?

Anna
Laura
Laura

Yes. There has got to be a better way? Right? I mean, if we could stop the anxious-thought-cycle before it is full-spin-mode?  Or before the snowball is larger than life or before we throw the darts that hurt others??? How do we melt those frigid thoughts?

Laura
Anna
Anna

I do know this: when I remember to go to God as quickly as possible with the things that are starting the snowball effect, it at least starts to melt my heart at the core. The sting of the snowball is still there, but God’s warmth is right there too, showing me what is true.

Anna
Laura
Laura

I agree.  You know it doesn’t necessarily stop every unhealthy thought pattern, but drawing up to that warmth certainly lets me me sort out what’s what.  And I can find His grace even when my thoughts are spinning.

Laura
Anna
Anna

And sometimes, if I’m being honest, praying doesn’t seem to be enough. It’s great because I’m surrendering my issues, but I need to hear back from God too.

Anna
Laura
Laura

Oh, yes!  And the best way to hear from Him is to read the truth found in the Bible!  That is what really helps my mind get straight.  Speaking out loud truths about who I am or who God is, reminds me that I am not alone in my mess of thoughts. And that snowball effect slows WAY down.

Laura
Anna
Anna

And maybe in the big picture, He is using my struggle with my “snowball” to draw me closer to Him and the warmth He gives.

Anna

Soaking in the Truth

Scripture to encourage you:

  • “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:27,33, NIV).
  • “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)
  • “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

Music to inspire you:

  • “Alone” by Hollyn

Readings and Resources to come alongside of you:

  • Casting Out Anxiety, by Anna Currin on Proverbs31

Related Posts on Texting The Truth:

  • Warmth in the Winter

 

Living Out the Truth

Ideas to try:

  • The next time you are alone, maybe driving in the car or during nap time, try just talking to God about what’s been freezing up your heart. Ask Him to help you get to the first, icy snowball that started it all.
  • Ask Him to help you with this person, or this offense, or this irritation. What is the lie you may be believing about your situation or yourself? Invite God into that and ask Him to give you wisdom to deal with your heart first.
  • Then, when you can read (not while you’re still driving, ha!), read the above scriptures. If you can, sit up close to a fire and let these truths sink into the cold places of your heart.

 

{These suggestions are ideas from novice moms. Sometimes our life situations need more.

In that case, seeking out professional help is the right call.}

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We don’t claim to have motherhood figured out. Actually quite the opposite. We’re a group of women who first and foremost love the Lord and want to honor Him with our lives and talents. And we decided that what better way for us to sort out this beautiful and messy thing called motherhood but to process it together in text messages? Our prayer is that as we share our real-life stories and honest experiences, every mom who visits our blog will receive tangible truth and experience real grace.

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