Featured Mama of the Week: Tina from Life Without Pink

This week’s featured mom of the week on Mama’s Little Helper is Tina, the author behind the blog Life Without Pink, “a mom trying to survive in a testosterone filled world.” She is also the co-founder of Girls Lunch Out, a social networking group for women. She is the mom to two boys, ages 5 and 2 1/2 years….hence the testosterone filled life! Her boys keep her busy with their many adventures, including their love of playing outside, flying like super heroes and playing games. Seeing her boys grow, learn, and try out new things, along with viewing the world from their eyes, are some of the things she loves about being a parent. Like so many moms, Tina finds it challenging to balancing work and family. She stated that she has accepted that she can’t do it all and focuses on taking one day at a time. She said, “My boys are demanding little guys so at times it can become hard and frustrating. That’s when I take a deep breathe and try to refocus. Being a parent is the hardest job I have ever done, but one I would never trade for the world.”

Tina is currently a WAHM (work at home mom.) Prior to parenthood, she worked as a Marketing Manager for an International Chemical Company. She worked part time after her first son was born but decided shortly after the birth of her second son that she wanted to stay home with her boys. To keep busy and meet other moms in her community she started a local events company. There she arranged luncheons, toddler events and workshops for parents in her area. From there, she discovered blogging. What was originally a hobby has lead into a full-time job working from home. Tina used social media as a way to find employment too. She mentioned that she landed two of her jobs through Twitter. She said, “It is a great way to connect with brands and develop a relationship with them. One of the companies I am currently working with now, followed my blog and made a few comments to me that they were laughing at some of my stories. We tweeted often and next thing I knew I started working with them!” Tina also maintains Facebook pages for her blogs, where you can connect with her at Life Without Pink and Girls Lunch Out. As mentioned she is on Twitter, where she uses the handles @lifewithoutpink and @girlslunchout.

Working at home with two kids keeps Tina’s family busy. She shared a family favorite crock-pot meal with Mama’s Little Helper readers that couldn’t be any easier! To have fun with her family, Tina shared that they enjoy having picnics at the park, where her boys love to play. “Its a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the nice weather in the spring/summer!” The family also loves having movie night. They share HUGE bowls of popcorn, move the furniture out of the way so they spread out a big blanket in the middle of the floor to sit on. The boys get to choose the movie for the evening. Tina hopes this is a family tradition that they will always remember. Without her kids, Tina likes to relax by watching reality TV. She stated, “I love watching reality TV, I am seriously a reality TV junkie! I also just started working out again {after a LONG break} and it makes me feel good about myself. I feel energized!”

Tina talked about the values that she wants to teach her boys, including growing up to be strong, confident and kind men. To do this, she and her husband let the boys make their own choices from provided options. This helps them develop self-confidence. Tina finds herself working with her boys to develop patience, a hard task for two young boys! This is an ongoing lesson for the boys, who like most boys, are patient some times, and other times, not so much. Tina remarked that she “used to jump up and get what they wanted as soon as they asked but quickly realized this wasn’t teaching them to be patient. Now if I am busy I tell them to give me a minute and I will help them.”

When asked about what tip she would give new parents, Tina said, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help! When I had my first son I thought I could do it all. I never took people up on their offer to help me but the second time around I wised up. Its ok to ask for help, its not easy especially being a new parent. People are offering to help because they love and care about you, so take advantage of it when you can.” That is wise advice!

Thank you Tina for sharing yourself, your parenting methods and recipe with Mama’s Little Helper!