I Want To Be a Deliberate Mother

A little over a year ago my cousin-in-law told me about something I had never heard of before.  She asked if I would like to write a blog post and help promote this new to me thing.  I agreed, blogged and spent a day at a conference that changed my life.

On Saturday I was back- back to attend this same conference for a second time.

What is this mysterious conference I am eluding to?

It is the Power of Mom's Premium Retreat.  

The attendees at this year's conference

Since attending a year ago, my life has changed so much for the better.  I left with ideas for how to finally get my counters free of those piles of papers, ideas for how to teach my kids to work, ideas for having a good fun family culture and ideas for how to take care of me- a mom who is also a person; as we all know, if mama ain't happy....

This year as I pulled up, I was much less nervous than last year as not only did I know what to expect but I am all in, as I serve on the board of the Power of Moms helping run the twitter feed.

I love these conferences as not only do I learn a lot of great ideas but I get to meet lots of other moms who are wanting to do their best and want to love motherhood, as let's admit it, some days it isn't easy.  It feels and is a safe environment where we can open up and share ideas, share our struggles and help each other out.

The day began while April Perry, one of the cofounders taught us all about the MOM system.

I am telling you-- I love love this system!!  Now I am not 100% at it by any means, but because of it my email in-box is almost always empty, my stacks of papers all have places and are places where I know I can find them again.  I have a system to organize and a place to put those ideas, those projects, whatever may be floating around in my head, down so I can actually be there and be present with my kids.

The morning went quickly and soon it was lunch time; which was a delicious meal catered by Panera Bread.

During lunch I led a discussion, helping a group of ladies know how to do the MOM system using their phones (rather than a paper planner).  We even got most of the group set up using the To-do App on their phones while we where there so they are all ready to jump right in!

After lunch we began the segments on how to take care of mom, covering everything from emotional, spiritual, physical, etc.

I even shared a few thoughts and ideas, but I was also the official photographer so didn't get a picture of myself up there sharing.

During the physical segment, a mom led us in 5 minutes of squats-- and okay I will confess my working out totally fell off the face of the planet over the holidays and I am feeling it today!

And then we got into family culture, family economy (where I got the idea for the job chart that we do-which you can see and download in my previous post by clicking here).

April's oldest daughter was at the conference that day and it was so awesome seeing how she and April interact and she even helped teach some of the things their family does.

It was such a truly wonderful day.

A few of the many awesome moms I met

And even though I am heavily involved in Power of Moms, I was amazed at how many little things I feel like I have missed or realized I could do a little differently or more efficiently while I was there.

Me with several of the board members and co-founder April Perry (to left of me)

We didn't get too deep into the family economy this time as there is a couples retreat coming up!  The couples night is on February 8th in Orange County.  It will be a night where you and your spouse can attend together to learn about the family system, learn ideas for teaching your kids about work, about money and find what works for you!

There are still some spots available, so seriously if you live in SoCal or can get here for that weekend (we had one lady fly in from Kansas for the retreat on Saturday)-- you will not want to miss this!   They say the other times they have done the couple ones, the husbands often end up being the most chatty ones there,  So click here to sign up before it fills up!!

I am so grateful for this opportunity I had to attend this weekend and am feeling recharged ready to be the best most deliberate mother I can.