Last post, I talked about some the common challenges that new moms have, that no one really seems to want to talk about.  There was some great feedback in the comments section and it’s nice to see so many honest replies. As promised, here are my thoughts about the other points on the list:

• Colicky or crying baby
• Lack of support, from partner or family (possibly due to distance)
• Body image and weight loss

The good news is that after 3 months, the colic seems to settle down.  It’s very hard to know what to do when you first become a mom and your baby is crying – a lot. Sometimes it seems like everything you’ve read about, every suggestion you’ve been given, every gadget you buy still doesn’t work.  We certainly bought the gadgets! We have a vibrating chair, a swing, an exercise ball to bounce on and none of these seemed to work for Céline.  Of course there is always the lamby swing.  If you’re not sure what this is, not to worry, you’re not missing out.  It just happens to be the perfect swing to put babies to sleep. So of course we definitely thought we were missing out!

Many of my friends already have children and one of the things that they had mentioned that was a challenge was that either they were far away from their family or their family was far away from them.  I never really understood this to be a challenge at the time. Now I completely understand what they meant. When family is close by, it’s easier to call someone and have them come by to help, give you a few hours off or maybe even babysit. I have a friend who takes her child to her mom’s once a week so that she gets a break to do errands and go to the gym.  What a luxury! My family has been apart for many years, I was the one away for several years in Switzerland and now my parents live in Mexico and my sister is in Vancouver. I’m lucky that my in-laws are within an hour drive, this helps to give me a break some of the time. Being a full-time mom is a very daunting job! Having family around to help, especially during the first year is a blessing.

Being pregnant was great, having a baby bump is cute and it’s fun to wear maternity clothes. Of course, it’s not as much fun wearing maternity clothes for months after you have the baby. It’s hard to be prepared for all of the changes that happen to your body after having a baby.  Some of them are permanent, like stretch marks or a C-section scar and some of them can be changed, like losing all of the extra baby weight.  It’s also about learning to accept the changes in your body – the one thing I will say is that even though it might be hard to be a few sizes bigger than before, it’s pretty amazing that our bodies can grow a couple of cells into a human being in approximately 9 months.

So there you have it – the deep dark secrets of motherhood you’d wondered about but no one was sharing. I’m glad to have opened up the conversation with all of the amazing moms that read this blog! Dads, you’re welcome to check in too – I’m sure there are many hardships new dads face too, that no one talks about.

Next time, let’s look at the flip side of things and explore the Best Things About Being a New Mom!

Did you have a chance to complete your Goal Sheet yet? Are you starting your year off on a positive and optimistic note? I’d have to say that so far there have been a few challenges in 2011, but for the most part, things are starting off relatively well for me and my family.  We all know that it’s important to make our goals public – this helps to keep us accountable and also allows us to have support and encouragement from others in our lives who care about us. This is also why I’ve encouraged you to share some of your goals on this blog, to have the support from myself and the community who follows Motivation For Your Life.

Here are the highlights for 2011 and beyond, including a short explanation of why each goal is important to me:

1. I am a healthy 140 lb – by July 2011. I am very blessed to have had my daughter Céline in 2010, but it is also important for me to return to a healthy weight and begin to train for triathlons again.
2. I meditate for 5-10 min, 3 times a week – by Apr 2011. This is a habit that I used to have, before I was pregnant. For some reason, I stopped doing this while I was pregnant, probably because I was focusing on Hypnobabies.
3. Two career goals for Aug 2011 – I am an Agel Senior Manager and I am earning income through my blog and online presence. First, I have been a Team Member in Agel for two years in April and I am ready to make the changes and do the work to move up in the ranks. Second, I love what I am doing with the blog and would like to find a way to make my online presence another stream of income – I am open to suggestions!
4. We are financially free with at least $10,000/month of income by Jan 2013.  This is to fund my even bigger dreams!
5. I spend a week at a yoga retreat in Costa Rica by Oct 2013. I love Costa Rica and I love yoga – nuff said.
6. We move into our family home by April 2013 at the latest.  This an essential part of growing our family as well, there just isn’t the space here for another child.
7. I donate at  least 25% of my gross income by Sept 2016.  This goes along with the goal of being financially free and building passive streams of income.
8. I journal daily by Jan 2013.  Another lost habit, which I think will take time to start up again, especially with a baby to care for.
9. We spend a season (or longer) living in Switzerland starting no later than the summer of 2016. I love Switzerland and think about my time there every single day.  I miss the mountains, the air, the beauty, the culture, the people, the skiing and hiking … I could go on and on.
10. I am an Agel Diamond Director by Aug 2016.  It takes time to get to the top and of course I would love to be there earlier but I also want to give my family a chance as well.  Another big dream but also very possible!

That’s it for now – I’ve shared some of my small dreams and some of my huge lifelong dreams with you.  What is the point of life if not to dream big and to live life to its fullest? This year brought to life many dreams for myself and my family and there’s nothing stopping us from doing that again in 2011.

Have a wonderful day everyone and set your sights high! Share your dreams and goals with us in the comments section.

It’s snowing in the midwest right now.  A lot.  This is the biggest story on the news, and rightfully so.  There are so many challenges that come with a snowstorm, yet some of my best memories have been created during and after a storm.

Let’s start with some the GOOD memories associated with snowstorms. First, I’m sure that as a kid (and for those who are teachers) we all loved a snow day. Nothing like waking up to a perfect blanket of snow, school canceled and spending the whole day enjoying the weather. How many of us built snow forts, had snow ball fights, decorated snowmen, ate a bit fresh (white) snow or licked a cold pole?  I did it – just once.  We had a metal swingset in the backyard and I thought I should try it at least once. I was probably around 10 years old.  I believe it’s a right of passage for Canadians.  The kids where I teach love it when it snows! They make snow angels in 1 cm of snow. I love how excited kids are when there is snow on the ground. And there is so much to do in the snow – it’s easy to stay physically active. How many of you take part in cross country or downhill skiing, snowshoeing, skating, hockey?

As an adult, my best memories of snowstorms are from my time in Switzerland. There was nothing better than being the first person on the slopes after a snowstorm. Even better when the pistes haven’t been fully groomed yet. Or just going on the edge of the piste in the soft, fluffy snow. I get chills just thinking about it again. It was really amazing to have the chance to become a better skier.  Spending two winters skiing with ski instructors has its privileges.  We often ventured off piste, we knew those mountains so well, and for the most part, stayed in the safer areas.

One of the bad snowstorm stories for me occurred the day after a big storm in Switzerland.  The snow was still falling and wind still blowing, so the pistes hadn’t really settled yet.  I was out skiing with two friends of mine, one newer instructor and the other who had a great deal of experience.  The avalanche danger was high, the orange light was flashing at the top of the ski lift. We headed over to a part of the hill that was closed off due to the snow (usually an area that had open pistes) and realized our error.  We knew that if we were to go the other way, down the other side, we would end up back down near the lift.  When we got to the edge, the snow was cornice shaped.  As I found out later, this is a dangerous sign.  We made the decision to go down, over the cornices.  As we slowly edged on the slope, we made our way through the trees to get to the open slope.  As we slowly skied across, we heard a WHUMP sound and the slope seemed to drop below us.  We were scared! Nothing happened … but my heart was already beating quickly.  I was not nearly as experienced as my two companions in the powder.  It was too late to turn back, so we continued down.  When we got to the open slope, we didn’t have that far to go to get to the bottom.  They started off making nice, beautiful figure-eight turns.  I followed behind them and had my rhythm going for a while, but then lost control and fell face first.  I wasn’t hurt – there was so much snow – but I had a hard time getting up because it was so deep.  My companions were yelling at me to get up as they were worried that we had triggered an avalanche.  I got up, shaking, and made it the rest of the way down.  We were VERY LUCKY that day.  We made some critical errors in our decision to go off piste and took too many risks.  Needless to say, the 3 of us didn’t end up skiing together after that.

The downright ugly snowstorm memories for me are two very big ones that impacted Toronto and all of Southern Ontario. First, the ice storm of 1998.  How many of you remember that? The impact of the storm hit 57 communities in Ontario and 200 in Quebec.  It was such a natural disaster that they made a movie about it.  Where we you when the storm hit? I was still living in Hamilton, studying at McMaster. I remember that the roads were absolutely treacherous. And I remember feeling helpless when I heard about the number of people who were without heat, electricity, food and water across Ontario and Quebec.

The next is the famous storm in January 1999, less than one year later, when Mayor Mel Lastman called in the Army to help clear up the snow in Toronto.  This “wimpy” storm as it was called will always be what Lastman is remember for. The old joke about calling in the Army to clear up never gets old.

I wonder if this storm will make the books and been remembered by this generation? It is an enormous storm, crossing almost all of the mid-atlantic states. The roads are closed, cities completely shut down, feet and feet of snow has fallen.  I don’t think that I will forget about this storm, even though it has not directly affected us.

What is your best or worst snowstorm memory?

Sorry for the lack of photos and links – using a very slow airport connection today. Thanks to @greg_a_elliott for providing snoerty.

Next blog post will be from San Francisco!

Not too long after our holiday travel fiasco (the story starts here), I am already getting back on a plane tomorrow! Using one of the vouchers we received from Delta, I’ll be flying to San Francisco from Buffalo tomorrow evening.

After my last experience I wasn’t really sure that I would even want to go on this trip at all.  Yet I have always been a fan of travel and it’s hard for me to resist when I have the opportunity to take a trip. I have never been to San Francisco and this time I decided to arrive early so that I would have at least one day to take in the city.  At one point in time, Dan & I were planning to take this trip as our honeymoon (with a few days of training at the end).  That just wasn’t in the cards though, mostly because we just came back from our trip to Mexico last month.

Ironically, the part I really enjoy is BEING in a new place. And spending time there.  Not so much the airport and airplane part of things. That’s why when I moved overseas to Switzerland, I tended to stay in one spot for a long period of time and explored what was nearby. I’m a lot like my parents in that way.  When they sold their home in Oakville to live in a 31 foot trailer and drive around North American, they tended to spend at least a week – if not a month or two in every destination.

Even though this trip is a short one, I still have my day to be a tourist.  Whatever I choose to do has to involve more watching and relaxing, as opposed to walking (due to the aircast) but I have a feeling that down at Fisherman’s Wharf there is a lot to see. I am excited to see the Golden Gate bridge for myself and to experience the incredible weather changes that San Fran has on a daily basis. I think I’m escaping just in time as we are expecting snow over the next few days.

My questions for you today: First, have you been to San Francisco? And if so, what not to be missed if I only have one day? Second, do you prefer to travel to lots of places or live in one place for a longer period of time?

Thanks for all of your comments and emails about the cast. I was offered some very encouraging stories.

See you in San Francisco!

There is one place in the world that completely captures my heart for it’s majestic beauty, clean, fresh air and rich culture – Switzerland. I was first caught in the trance of the mountains in 1998, when Lee-Anne and I backpacked around Europe for 9 weeks. The first time I rode up the mountain in the cog train, I almost lost my breath when we came out of the forest and saw the mountains. Les dents du midi – the teeth in the middle – is the name of the range that first caught my attention.  I ended up spending 12 days at a hostel in Gryon, that faced these mountains.  This image of the mountains was burned in my brain.

Six years later, my first marriage had ended, my contract with Hershey’s was coming to an end and I no longer had anything really keeping me here in Canada. My sister had already been living in the UK, in Cambridge, for a year.  With bleak and un-exciting job prospects on the horizon, I booked a one way ticket to the UK to visit my sister. I still remember looking for jobs in Europe on the internet, and also having a telephone interview with Village Camps in Switzerland, while on my lunch hour at Hershey! My plan was to visit my sister for 10 days and then book a flight home. The day before I left, I received a phone call from Switzerland.  Somehow, I had managed to land a job teaching French at their summer camp in Leysin.  Leysin is on the same mountain range as Gryon – and I would have a view of those beautiful mountains every since day. I must be very convincing because at that time, I had no French teaching experience, and besides being a TA in University, I also had no teaching experience.  I certainly had negotiation experience though and landed my dream job for that summer.

When I look back on how my Switzerland and overseas adventure began, it certainly involved taking some decent risks. I had a little money in savings, a one way ticket, an 8 week job and no plan.  It ended up turning into over a 2 year voyage, with 7 different jobs in 3 different countries and truly one of my experiences of a lifetime. As I continue to re-read The 4-Hour Workweek, I realize that I have already experienced a portion of what Ferriss is writing about.  And there is certain a part of me that would like to do it again, albeit with Dan and with more cash flow, so that I could spend more time doing the things I really loved in Switzerland, such as rock climbing, powder skiing, hiking and just relaxing in the mountain air.

To my friends in Switzerland, I hope you are having a beautiful winter and enjoying the fantastic on and off piste skiing. Perhaps I will revisit Switzerland in a future post.  Ah, who I am kidding, of course I will.  It’s something I think about every single day since I last visited for the summer of 2007.

What place has had the most profound effect on your life? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section.