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I had the pleasure of joining thousands of other women to attend Michelle Obama's book launch event for her book, Becoming, on Nov. 13 at United Center. It was amazing! I was in awe of her story, her strength, and steadfastness to become the Michelle Obama so many of us have come to love and adore. No matter your political affiliation, you cannot deny the superpowers she displays as a daughter, wife, mom, friend and leader. A true boss! Ok, so now that I have finished gushing about Michelle Obama (can you tell I admire her just a little bit?), there was so much that I took from listening to the over two-hour conversation between her and my other hero, Oprah Winfrey. I am sure every mom felt a little bit more confident in their walk leaving the event! I know that I walked away feeling reassured by my mission as a mompreneur to inspire and enable moms to be more intentional about their self-care. One of the things that Michelle Obama shared that evening was to "push yourself up on your priority list." Sounds easy enough but yet it is so challenging for moms to do. I mean, if we push ourselves up on our to-do list, what will need to get de-prioritized? Will it be our partners? Our children? Mommy chores? It will likely be something, but we as moms have to get to a place where we are ok with it. We have to feel confident in knowing that the benefits of prioritizing "us" will far outweigh the cost of not conquering the to-do list or temporarily de-prioritizing someone else. It will be there tomorrow. I can talk to you about this until I am blue in the face. I can have your bestest girlfriends call you and tell you once a day to have some me-time. I can even ask your significant other tell you its ok to be selfish every once in a while to have a mommy break. But if you do not truly believe this yourself, it will be in vain. If you do not put mind over matter to make it happen it will not. In order to become the moms and, most importantly, the women we were destined to be, we must be more intentional about our self-care in 2019. Here are three easy things you can do: 1. Create a list of your favorite things to do. From working out to trying new restaurants to taking a walk along the lake, there are tons of different things you can do. 2. Once you make your list of favorite things, pick two things to do over the next two weeks. It can be as quick as 15 minutes or as long as a couple of hours. Write it down on the calendar. (Writing it down is important.) 3. Share your intention with at least one person. This can be a fellow mom (and if it gets her on board to join you), your significant other, or a co-worker. Ask them to check with you a couple of days before the scheduled break to make sure you are on track for still taking it. If you are successful with completing these tasks, “rinse and repeat” and try again next month. We not only owe it to Michelle Obama so that she has tangible proof that her story made an impact, but more importantly, we owe it to ourselves. I am ecstatic for 2019 and all of the awesome women we will continue to become as a result of being intentional about our self-care in 2019.

Before having my daughter, I never thought about what stay-at-home-mom life would be like because I never thought I'd be a SAHM. Fast forward though the newborn stage, my return to work, and then my decision to quit my job and I'm now living the stay-at-home-mom life. It's certainly been interesting, fun, challenging, wonderful, exhausting and all the usual descriptors. But I thought I'd give you a glimpse into the real thoughts that go through a stay-at-home mom's head every day. You know, the things you might never say out loud, but shamelessly float through your mind on a daily basis. 1. *Baby crying* "It's seriously morning already? I just went to sleep! Why don't kids sleep in? I should really start drinking coffee..." This is me. Every. Single. Morning. 2. "Shower time. Just kidding! Topknot, check! Now, what should I wear today? Jeans? Hahahahaha! Leggings or yoga pants it is." Somehow, leggings or yoga pants have become the official uniform of moms everywhere. Why? Because they are stretchy, comfortable and don't inhibit your movement when you're trying to chase and catch your toddler before she makes it to the stairs. 3. "Is it nap time yet?" Every mom around the world looks forward to nap time. 'Nuff said. 4. "Am I on my phone too much? I'm on my phone too much. I should play with my child more. Want to play patty cake?! Patty cake, patty cake... Ooh, Facebook notification!" As mothers, we are so hard on ourselves about always making sure our children get enough socialization, stimulation, play time, sensory play, exposure to new things, classes, music, the list goes on and on! So much so that when we veer off track a little to check our phone or turn on the TV, we feel guilty. But ya know what? As long as my kid doesn't put his finger in a socket, we're good. 5. "I NEED to get out of the house." Sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean all the time) I just need to leave the house (with my baby, of course), whether that means just to roam Target or drive in my car. As a SAHM, those four walls close in fast! 6. "It's 3pm. Have I eaten lunch today? I should probably eat something besides leftover puffs and yogurt melts." I never used to understand how moms wouldn't have time to eat. I mean, eating is a basic need. But when you're a mom, food falls way down on the totem pole of priorities. 7. "OMG, when is hubs going to be home??" It's like a movie when my husband walks through the door. Lights are shining down on him, music is playing in the background and I'm running slo-mo with arms outstretched toward him. What are some of your brutally honest SAHM thoughts? Do share! Lauren Plotkin, former Chicago Public School teacher turned blogger, started blogging to document her journey through life, motherhood, and all the craziness in between. She tries to approach life with a sense of humor (and maybe a little bit of wine) and loves sharing her experiences—the good, the bad and the ugly—with her readers. You can find more of Lauren's writing at www.myplotofsunshine.com.

“It takes a village”—an over-used phrase when it comes to raising children, but it’s true. Day one: More like day 40 of being a new mom and a new stay-at-home mom, I decided I needed to take control of my new career. If I was going to be happy and “good” at this, I had to make some new friends. This decision led me to join NPN and enroll in an infant music class. I also decided to join an NPN New Moms Group for stay-at-home moms (SAHM—I didn’t even know what the acronym meant when I was looking at the options). Two weeks later, I attended my first meeting. Upon entering the hostess’s building, I met another mom coming to the group; we both looked stressed. Getting showered and out of the house in the cold and taking our babies by ourselves to an unknown location was a little overwhelming. Another mom, with twins, had one of her babies completely blow out a diaper, poor girl. Out of the 10 of us, perhaps two had it together. I went home and told my husband I wasn’t sure I’d go back. Year one: Looking back after a year, I can’t believe I almost didn’t go back! In fact, almost half of us went home after that first meeting not planning to return. But we all did! The first year of my son’s life, my moms group met almost every Tuesday. We helped each other through the challenges of being a new mom. Sleeping, illness, solid foods, teething, walking—you name it, we experienced it together. After a year, I had nine new friends and my son had 10! I have no idea what I would do without my moms group. We help each other in many ways; we even took a weekend trip to Kohler! Year two: The last year with my moms group has been just as great as the first. As our kids approached age two and became mobile, we started meeting at parks and other fun locations around the city. We still meet every Tuesday, and now our conversations are more about how much TV is okay and when and where we’re thinking about preschool. Our kids know each other, and they call each other by name, now that they’re starting to talk. A couple, including my son, have become older siblings. It’s yet again great to have a support system to lean on—lending a hand, bringing meals and sharing clothes and other baby items. On occasion we watch each other’s kids and share babysitter information. More than half of us use the same person to clean our homes. Year three: Looking ahead, I am grateful to have such a wonderful group of friends. I do believe it takes a village to raise a child, but that village can include anyone you choose. Without my NPN New Moms Group as part of mine, I truly would be lost. Check the NPN calendar to find upcoming New Moms Groups!