I’m looking down at the paper in front of me. I can’t look up at any of my fellow teammates. My eyes are burning… I want to cry. My ears are ringing… I can’t do this. I see the new program changes in front of me and an overwhelming crushing feeling fills my chest. Effective September 1st:
 

• I will no longer be working with toddler-aged children.
• I will no longer be working with the same team members.
• I will no longer be working in the same physical space.

I can’t handle this. I’m barely coping with returning to work and not even a week later I’m given this news? How can I be expected to cope? How WILL I cope?
 

The wonderful thing about having a smart phone, is that I can look through pictures whenever I feel like it. The other day while sitting on my break at work, I was scrolling through my pictures when I saw one that I forgot I had taken.
 

Last October, I entered the land of iPeople and got my first iPhone. I quickly realized there was no turning back... I am an iPhone fanatic! In my exploration of this unbelievable Apple product, I have stumbled across some fantastic applications (apps) that I thought I would share with you!

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/my-favorite-apps.html#.UArEiGFSQi4

I love taking the time to reflect on a favourite moment from the week. This week's moment IS the best.

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/this-moment_20.html#.UAlWI2FSQi4

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

A year has passed. A year since I pushed and cried my way through bringing her into the world. She was perfect. She was beautiful. She was a sister for my other daughter and the newest member to our little family.

The past year has been amazing. I have nurtured, loved, stressed, cried, and prayed my way through every day. I have watched this little person grow and I have loved her beyond what I thought I could ever love.

I thought I had the parenting "thing" figured out... I thought it would be easier the second time around. However, this first year with this new little person has been its own unique journey. God blessed our family with a completely different, amazing little girl... cuddly, affectionate, yet busy and curious.

The weeks leading up to her birthday have been a time of reflection for me. It's been wonderful remembering this past year and my husband and I had been planning to celebrate her first birthday in a magical kind of way.

Here are some pictures from my baby girl's first birthday....

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/first-birthday.html

One week. That's all I have until I return to work after a year-long maternity leave. My heart is breaking. The thought of being away from my girls all day is overwhelming.

There are so many wonderful moments in my days... the thought of missing even one of them is disheartening. Don't get me wrong... I love my job. If I didn't love it so much, there's no way I would be returning to work. My daughters will be well cared for by their daddy and it's a new phase in our family's life.

So where's the magic in being a working mom? Since I'm returning to work, I thought I would take a few moments to think of the "magic" that I could possibly create out of this situation....

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/wheres-magic-in-this.html

Every time I go to the bookstore, I am amazed at how many parenting books there are. And really, why not? After all, parenting is absolutely the most challenging "job" there is. You never master it and you never have it all figured out because your children are constantly changing, learning, experiencing and growing.

So what's this critical parenting advice I'm talking about?

My advice is this....

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/critical-parenting-advice.html 
 

100 postcards... 100 invitations to send a message. What message would you share if you had a chance to have your voice heard... anonymously? 

Come visit and see this week's postcard:

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/postcard-59.html

I packed all my necessities into the small duffel bag... shorts, t-shirts, hoodie, hat, toothbrush, a deck of cards, and a stack of about forty Archie comics.

We're going to the lake for the weekend! My absolute favourite place in the whole world....

http://www.thedeliberatemom.com/2012/07/lake.html   
 

Happy Canada Day, Canada! 

This last week, I have had so much fun reading posts written by proud Canadians. Some made me smile, some made me laugh, and some even made me tear up a bit. We have so many reasons to be proud and the authors of these posts are one of them!

If you are looking for some party tips, some fun facts about Canada, some beautiful photos to look at, a video oozing Canadian pride, or would like to "meet" some proud Canadians, you have come to the right place. 

Happy reading!