Sporty Mommas

The dynamics of Raising kids a few years apart!

Filed under: Mom Life ·

The other morning I had breakfast with one of my friends who is expecting her second child any day now. She expressed her concerns of being a new mom of two under 3 and asked me how I did it. My response was simply to ask for help. Asking for help may be the hardest thing to do for women. We are natural born nurturers and most of us ok I will speak for myself here, want things done our way. Because our way is the best way, right?

First Time Mom

When I was a new mom I read so many books, took a bunch of classes and made long lists of things that I would do and wouldn’t do. I had it all planned out and well let’s just say things don’t always go as planned. From breastfeeding to co-sleeping to selecting the pediatrician it was not easy but like all other phases of motherhood you have to do what works for you. Please remember that mommas. Your mom, mom friends, grandma, aunts, cousins might not always agree on your parenting choices and that is perfectly okay. My number one rule as a mom is to always trust your gut.

The Juggling Act

Life as a mom of one is probably the hardest part. All of a sudden you have this tiny little human to nurture, feed, protect, educate and basically take with you almost everywhere that you go including the bathroom. I will never forget placing the infant carrier in front of the shower with the shower door open just so I could bathe. But a momma has to do what she has to do. From this moment on it is no longer about you, it is all about the baby. Before you know it you have this mom thing down pat and baby number two is on it’s way.

My second pregnancy was a lot different from the first. I was so busy running around with my daughter that I really didn’t pay attention to the discomfort, weight gain, and exhaustion. We traveled a lot because my hubby played baseball. I became a master packer, willing to nurse anywhere (with the proper cover up) and able to make friends practically anywhere cause I really didn’t have a choice. I literally blinked and my son was here and now I was a mom of two. They are 27 months apart. Some people said to wait until they would be at least three years apart and now I know why. The diapers. Two kids in diapers is expensive and a lot of work. Oh and if you think that you didn’t get much sleep before, having two little ones meant even less sleep. It’s just a phase though it gets better, I think lol.

You Got This

I was a pro by the time the third baby came home. Our surprise bundle of joy came exactly 28 months after her big brother. She was delivered via cesarean at 39 weeks but had to spend 10 days in the NICU. It was so tough on me. I didn’t understand why this pregnancy was any different than the first two. I did everything the same the whole pregnancy. Between having the two other little ones at home and leaving her in the NICU, I struggled for a few weeks. I asked for extra help this time. We hired a live in nanny for the first three months. It was a total disaster. It was so bad that I promised I would never hire help again. (That’s another blog post) Now we had a four year old, two year old and a newborn. I drove my Momma Bus (Infiniti Q56) and kept a double stroller until they got too heavy for the stroller.

Up until this day there is never a dull moment. We are always doing something. I am always at a doctors appointment, meeting or shuttling kids around to sports activities. My hubby is retired so he is home and is very hands on. The best part of having them close together is that they are very close. They still like the same things. The oldest one still plays with the younger ones and they don’t mind sharing. They are fun, happy, loving kids that leave their mark wherever they go. They look after each other and are truly one another’s biggest fan.

Count Your Blessings

One thing that I do struggle with is trying to make sure that I spend enough one on one time with each one of them. That can be very challenging. Each kid is different and have their own needs. One needs more cuddling. One needs more help with homework. The other needs space to just be themselves. It is going by so fast. Seems like yesterday I was pushing a double stroller with one hand and holding my oldest with the other hand. Now they are 13, 11 and 8.5! Parenting three back to back ain’t easy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

XO,

Sharonda

For Eyes: Makes Back to School Easy for busy Moms

Filed under: Mom Life ·

The staff at For Eyes in Pinecrest made getting our annual eye exams so easy. As a mom of three, back to school shopping can get very stressful. Since there are three kids that makes three of everything including doctor’s appointments. Yesterday we completed our dental visits and today the Stew Crew headed to For Eyes for their annual vision check ups and new glasses.

Our appointment at For Eyes was great from start to finish. The staff was super friendly and helpful. My son was a little nervous about the new state of the art eye machines but the optical assistant helped him feel safe and comfortable. She even made a few jokes to help him relax. Dr. G gave us a mini lesson on eye health while reviewing the digital images. They were very accommodating and patient with all three kiddos.

Featured Designers

For Eyes has all of the latest styles and designers that will keep you looking fabulous. Choose from Ray Ban, Prada, Jimmy Choo to Gucci. There is definitely a frame for everyone. For Eyes also has a great selection of sunglasses and contact lenses. I learned that polarized lenses are amazing at protecting the eyes from the sun. Get an opinion on what frame to choose from dd frames review.

For Eyes is a great place to go for quick appointments and great service. It is perfect for the entire family. They also accept walk ins and have great office hours. Some locations close at 6 p.m. , but For Eyes in Pinecrest stays open until 8 p.m. Be sure to check your local For Eyes for office hours. I am so happy that I can cross getting new glasses for school off my list. Next up….annual physicals. Have you made your back to school appointments yet?

Giveaway

Enter to Win FREE glasses for your entire family*. Simply follow @foreyes on Instagram and comment on this post why you’re excited to get your #BacktoSchoolEyes on, and you’ll be automatically entered to win up to 6 FREE eyeglasses or prescription sunglasses valued at up to $250 each. 

**Restrictions apply. Winners will be randomly selected on September 6, 2019. Prizes must be claimed by October 31, 2019, and must be claimed in a For Eyes location.

XO,

Sharonda

Basic Invite Rocks: Your one stop for custom invitations

Filed under: Mom Life ·

The ladies at Basic Invite sent me an email at the perfect time. I had literally just used my last personalized thank you card and was searching all over for a new design. So I was thrilled when Basicinvite.com invited me to partner with them and share all of the great personalized products and services that they have to offer. Trust me Mommas, Basic Invite is far from basic! 

Basic Invite offers a variety of products and services including over 900 wedding invitation sets, save the date cards, bridal shower invitations, holiday cards, personalized stationery, thank you cards, business cards and so much more. You can use their easy to use website to upload photos, text, and graphics to customize your items.  I had so much fun mixing and matching my logo with different color options and designs. There were so many great selections to choose from it was hard picking just one. So I made three lol! 

Free Wedding Websites

Are you planning on getting married soon? Basic Invite also offers free wedding and birthday party websites that includes a free address collection service that will help you not only collect guests addresses but print them on the envelope for free. Basic Invite has all-new wedding websites that are completely customizable just like their wedding invitations! These wedding websites are mobile friendly and super easy to use. You can instantly upload all of your wedding details along with images and a map with directions which is super convenient for your guests. Choose from 180 custom colors and even choose a design to match your wedding invitation suite!

Samples

Not quite sure about your choice? Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation. So you can actually order a sample of each item before you decide to print in bulk. This way you can test out different options, paper quality and color choices before placing your order. I know that I like to touch and feel before I buy. How about you? 

Distinct Products 

Basic Invite is full of unique products. Their new Bridal shower invitations beach theme is gorgeous!!! From custom magnets, wedding coasters to send and seal wedding invitations you are sure to find something that will stand out. Need help with your Basic Invite order? Just ask and customer service is ready to assist you with designing the perfect piece.

Moms Love Basic Invite

I think that Basic Invite is perfect for busy moms who want to make beautiful products in as little time as possible. Are you planning a bridal shower, birthday party, quince or baby shower anytime soon? Basic Invite is your online destination for high quality products that will leave you coming back for more. Head over to basicinvite.com and tell me what you think. 

*This post was sponsored by Basic Invite. All opinions are my own.

XO,

Sharonda

Cake It Miami

Filed under: Mom Life ·

My Sporty Momma and her BFF’s since college meet up almost weekly for their G.O.T.M. outings. It’s an exclusive club that they created just for them after they all retired from teaching. Well once a year the daughters are allowed to go on an outing with them. Last year we all hung out at Town in South Miami, but this year our god sister Heather came up with the perfect outing. After multiple group texts and trying to find the perfect time, we booked Cake It Miami.

 

Have you ever heard of Cake It Miami? Cake It Miami is a DIY cake decorating studio in Miami Lakes. They provide the ultimate cake decorating experience for adults and kids. It is a great way to celebrate any occasion like birthday parties, girl’s night out, bachelorette parties, or even a baby shower. Cake It also sells delicious custom cakes. You name it, they will make it happen.

As soon as we walked into the design studio, we were met with a warm and friendly ambiance. This set the tone for some much needed Mommy-Daughter time. We quickly unpacked our snacks and bottles of wine. After taking a few pictures with all of their cute backdrops, we got down to decorating. Cake It provides everything you need to decorate a professional “Instagram” worthy cake. Each station is equipped with freshly baked layered cakes, an apron, decorating tools and icing… lots of icing. We asked Alexa to play Beyonce and it was on!

 

Let me be perfectly honest, cake decorating takes some serious skills. The time and patience that it takes to create a mermaid cake is no joke. Now I know why these custom cakes cost so much. I am thankful for the instructor who walked around and assisted us through out the class so that we all could take home beautiful cakes. And guess what, the cakes tasted as great as they looked.

The best part of Cake It Miami was creating memories. My daughters couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had. It was a blessing to watch my mom and her friends laugh and smile as they watched their daughters and granddaughters play together. The cakes were pretty damn good too. Learn more at Cake It Miami! Here’s what my daughter’s had to say.

 

“It was fun, we got to experience how to decorate cakes.” -Shalisa

” I loved decorating with the piping tools, creating flowers and eating it!” -Shayla

 

 

XO,

Sharonda

 

Meet Sharonda Stewart

Filed under: Mom Life ·

I have some very exciting news to share with you all. My first post went live this week over at Miami Moms Blog. I am thrilled because it is my birthday week. I know that this year is going to bring bigger, better and bolder things for me and Sporty Mommas. Miami Moms Blog is a community that provides resources and fun events for moms all across Miami. It is part of a bigger unit called City Moms Blog. There are currently 92 cities affiliated with City Moms.  I am so blessed to join the team of fabulous Miami mommy blog contributors. Check out my post here! 

 

XO,

Sharonda

Teami Detox Challenge

Filed under: Fit Moms ·

Well Mommas, after slacking on my fitness routine and all of the late nights eating on vacation, this Momma needs a detox. I am about five pounds heavier than I want to be and I can feel it. My skin is suffering a little too. Whenever I get pimples on my chin, I know that it is my diet.  I texted my girlfriend a few days after I returned from Turks and asked her what type of tea did she used to help cleanse. She told me to try Teami. I rushed to the website and did a little browsing and Instagram stalking lol. I saw that it was a natural based tea and a replicable company, so I purchased the skinny tea and a cute tumbler.

 

Now you ladies know when I find a great product that I have to share it with you guys. So today I started my tea detox. I will keep you all posted. If you want to join me on my first teami challenge, head on over to teamiblends.com and use my special code: sportymommas. I know that it will take consistency, patience and mindfulness in order to see results. Are you with me?

 

P.S. I did get back on my workout routine and downloaded the My Fitness Pal calorie tracking app.  I hope that helps too.

XO,

Sharonda

Beaches Turks and Caicos

Filed under: Mom Life ·

Hey there Sporty Mommas! How is your summer going so far?  I am almost settled back in after our family vacation to the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos. First of all let me say that it was pretty amazing. Some of you have already seen my pictures on Instagram or Facebook so you know that the Stew Crew had a blast. I wanted to share with you some of our favorite things about the trip and a few tips if you plan to visit.

Why Beaches? Every summer and sometimes spring break we always head to Atlantis. We actually spent the day there on our Disney Cruise back in March. My husband and I were talking with the kids and we all voted on trying something new this summer. I think it is a blessing to be able to take them to different places so they can experience new things. We love the beach and I’ve heard amazing things about the Beaches property so I figured hey let’s give it a try. However, I didn’t book the trip until early May and there wasn’t a lot of availability. (Tip 1: Book early)

 

We originally booked a five night stay in a family kids suite in the Italian Village. But, about a week before our departure I searched online one more time for any available upgrades. There were two suites available in the Key West Village and since it was five of us for so many nights, I went ahead and changed the room category. We were so glad that we did. The two story, two bedroom Key West Villa was just what we needed. It was equipped with two king beds, two full bathrooms, a kitchen, living and dining area, a cute little porch and two balconies. It was like having our own beach house for 6 days. (Tip 2: Check for upgrades/cancellations)

It was our first time staying at an all inclusive resort with the kids. All of the food, drinks, water activities, x-box lounge and shows were included in our package. We experienced great food and service and they made special accommodations for our son who has a gluten-free diet. The kids enjoyed riding in the golf carts, the slides in the water park,  going to the beach and playing video games in the X-box lounge every night. I even played Just Dance 2019 a few times. There was complimentary childcare and day camps for families that needed it but since we have a tween, we kept them all together.

The best part of the trip for me was to see the kids playing in the water with their dad. They laughed, made videos with the go pro and looked for fish and seashells. That reminds me, I have a bag of shells inside one of my purses. The water was so clear that we could see schools of fish in the shallow area of the beach. The sand was so soft it felt like baby powder under your toes. The sunsets each night were breathtaking. Besides overeating at the buffets and gaining four pounds lol, there were really no complaints.

 

 

We wrapped up our trip with an amazing photoshoot. All guests receive a complimentary 20 minute photo session on the beach. I am usually really good at planning our family pictures but I forgot this time. (#mombrain) At the last minute I threw together our outfits. All we needed was a white top and denim right? (Tip 3: Coordinate your family photo look in advance) So if you are looking for a great all inclusive vacation, I highly recommend Beaches. The service, food, beaches and smiles were worth every penny. Did you go on vacation yet?

 

 

 

XO,

Sharonda

Let it Go

Filed under: Mom Life ·

Let me start out by saying this is not my average upbeat post because let’s face it life isn’t always upbeat and happy go lucky every single day. Some days life is hard, things might not go your way, the bills might be stacking up, rent is due, the doctor report comes back with bad news, people might hurt your feelings and well it can just suck. We have all had those days or weeks and sometimes even months where you might ask, why me?

Over the past month I have been going to a Bible Study class. It’s actually a small group called connect where we are working on a course created by the pastor called Hurdles. At first I did not really want to commit to bible study on a Tuesday night. Like most moms, I am always exhausted around 7 p.m. and I really just want to go find a quiet space to chill. After receiving texts from two different women from our church, I decided to get my stuff together and give it a try.  The first class was so powerful. I left feeling lighter, understood and supported. I think that’s what most women want. Do you feel me?

Throughout the study I have learned a lot about myself. I don’t let things go easily. I hold my feelings in so much sometimes to the point where I am probably exploding on the inside. You see I am very, very good with not letting it show. But this is not a good trait to have. It turns into anger and then anger turns to resentment then to stress and then sickness. To prevent that from happening, you can battle the stress with products such as SelectVape. Last week we spoke about the hurdle of offense. How do you handle when someone offends you or you offend someone else? Do you trip over it or let it roll off of you like water on a wet duck?  I laughed cause I knew this was one of my struggles.

There is so much power in letting go of things that no longer serve you.  Your thing might be a relationship, addiction, habit, job, old offense…. Whatever your hurdle is there is power in letting go. Calm down with help from using hhcp vape carts. Additionally, the Geek Bar Pulse X vape performance is impressive, offering a smooth and consistent experience for users. This will help you improve your mood and give you a relaxing feeling. The other day I was highly offended by someone that I use to consider a good friend. However, over the years the friendship has been strained and well simply put time to really let it go. After I let my emotions get the best of me I remembered something that one of the elders in the group said. “Most of the time the other person doesn’t even know that they offended you.” This turned out to be very true and all a big misunderstanding but it reminded me of why I needed to let this relationship go.  It is unhealthy and no longer serves either one of us. Finally, I am okay with that.

This is our last week of connect groups before the summer break and I am honestly sad to see it end. It has stretched my mind and empowered me to continue jumping over life’s hurdles even if I knock some of them down a long the way. I am not perfect and that is okay. God has equipped you with all that you need in order to get through whatever is standing in your path. Hurdles will be available online very soon and I will be sure to share the details with you all.

XO,

Sharonda

The Salty Donut

Filed under: Mom Life ·

Have you heard the big news? The Salty Donut just opened it’s newest location in South Miami. I kept seeing posts on Instagram about the Wynwood location but I had never actually been. Well guys I have another confession… I have a sweet tooth and a love for trying new things so I could not wait to see what the Salty Donut had to offer. The Salty Donut is a family-owned artisan donut shop. It is known as “More than a donut shop”. All of their items are chef-made and created in small batches with the freshest ingredients.  They even have a gluten free option!!! My son was so thrilled when I told him the news.

 

On Friday I tried to get a taste but the line was insane. I actually drove by the location more than once, but the line was wrapped around the side of the building.   A friend of mine posted that she waited in line over an hour for her fix.  My daughter and I were in line at 5:15 p.m. and the hostess came out to tell us that they only had 18 donuts left for the day and there were 20 people in front of us. Talk about a bummer!!! Last night I had three dreams about donuts so I woke up early Saturday morning and tried my luck again. After 10 minutes in line chatting with a lovely lady and her mom who filled me in on the #cronut, I walked out with some goodies for the Stew Crew. Have you ever heard of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch latte? It was like a trip bak to the 90’s!!!

 

I left the shop with a variety box. But the focus was on the Cronut. A cronut is a mixture of a croissant and a donut and let me tell you that this was a work of art. It was crispy, airy, rich and creamy all at the same time. Like magic. It says that it was only offered on their grand opening weekend but I hope that they bring it back. I just might wait an hour in line to get another one of those. If you make it over soon please let me know what you think. Hey we might even do a Sporty Mommas Connect over Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lattes soon! How would you all like that?

 

XOXO,

Sharonda

Hey Momma, Breathe!

Filed under: Mom Life ·

Now that Mother’s Day is behind us, some of us probably didn’t get much of a break. #momlife most of us are back on our grind planning the summer, making to do lists and gathering gifts for teacher appreciation week. Yes this week is teacher appreciation week so don’t forget to show your teachers some love. When I was a teacher I loved receiving gift cards so that I could buy whatever I needed at the time. (Hint, hint)

As summer approaches I thought that it would be good to share some quick ways to destress while you have the kids at home for the next 10 weeks. Yes, Lord 10 weeks. Last summer I drove myself a little cray cray because I didn’t really have any plans. We were just sleeping in and playing it by ear. This year I am putting the Stew Crew on a schedule lol! Contact air conditioning repair indianapolis ahead of time to have a cooler summer. I hope that you all have an amazing week. Feel free to add more suggestions on ways moms can stay sane this summer in the comments below.

Ways to Destress

  1. Take a yoga class
  2. Enjoy a cup of your favorite hot tea
  3. Take a long walk at the beach or park
  4. Book a massage
  5. Say no to the things that you just don’t want to do
  6. Dance to your favorite jam
  7. A quick 2-5 minute meditation works wonders
  8. Light a candle or use a diffuser with essential oils
  9. Go to lunch solo and sit near a window and people watch
  10. Paint or try something new

XOXO,

Sharonda