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Why I Gotta Be Me – My First Ever Instagram Giveaway

April 26, 2016
BLOGGING

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inspiration,be me, expectations,mom,motherhood,children

There are moments in life where we hide who we really are. Whether it's because we feel guilty, or we are completely taken over by other people's expectations, I think we all deal with it in one way or another. As a mom, I am constantly worrying about whether I am making the right decisions or acting the way I “should” be. I'm disappointed because I am not doing what other moms are doing – sometimes I get my son a hamburger and fries from zips, and let him eat a licorice beforehand, I leave the clothes in the washer for WAY too long, my arms are covered in tattoos, and I work full time instead of staying home with my son. With a world full of people who think they know best, and a world that seems to trap us into the same molds, the one thing we must do is differentiate between who we “SHOULD” be and who we ACTUALLY are.

I went into a local gift store (Boo Radley's)  the other day to find a planner to help organize my crazy life, and as I was searching the bookshelf a journal caught my eye. On the front cover it said “I Gotta Be Me.” After reading the front cover, and flipping through the pages filled with inspirational quotes, I thought to myself “This is exactly how I feel.” The words on the front cover completely changed my way of thinking and made me realize these emotions and feelings of disappointment are completely useless.

“A journal to document who I truly am in my heart of hearts now that I'm well on my way to releasing the shame-inducing shackles of others' unevolved molds and expectations, which isn't so easy with families who think they know best and a world that squishes us into the same little school chairs, but one of the glories of adulthood, real or impending, is differentiating between who we “should” be and who we actually are, whether that means excavating an inner child, wearing purple, piercing something, or putting the “me” in “memoir”.”

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to be a mom. I was going to be that mom that made her little boy all natural baby food in the baby bullet, a mom who would never let her son eat inappropriate things, had a clean and spotless home, and I would make dinner and do the dishes in my expensive gap pumps. All of these things that I was hoping and wanting to do, were purely what I thought I “should” be doing – a pretty and organized mold of what I thought a mom should be like. Where did these thoughts come from? How did I get to that point where I thought I had to be all of these things? In reality, this is not who I am. My house is not always spotless, most of the time the floor is covered with toys that I constantly trip over, I have never used a baby bullet, and you will always find me making dinner and doing the dishes in my sweat pants and a bath robe. At times, this made me feel guilty, disappointed in myself, and embarrassed.

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Even this blog makes me feel guilty sometimes. I know what a lot of people out there is thinking. I have gotten comments that suggest I should be spending more time with my son, rather than writing on some stupid laptop. As my son sits next to me right now, coloring in his animal coloring book, and me stopping to help him color in the lines, I realized that a lot of people only think this because they don't see what happens behind the scenes. This blog is a part of who I am, and who I want to be. It does not change who I am as a mom, nor does it make me a bad mom. My mom-in-law Eileen, is a big part of why I am able to have this blog. She is so involved in James' life, and her desire to spend time with her grandson, allows me some down time to pursue what makes me happy – and that's blogging. I have a husband who supports me completely, that makes me blessed, it does not make me an absent parent. What I am learning is that people's' expectations of me, are just that, they are expectations, they don't determine who I ACTUALLY am.

We are allowed to put the “me” in “memoir”, and we should be able to do it without feeling ashamed. To celebrate this, I am doing my first ever Instagram giveaway! I love this journal so much, I wanted to share it with one of my readers. Here is how to enter the giveaway:

|{GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED}| CONGRATS TO @creepycrystal!!!!

I Gotta Be Me Instagram Giveaway
Starting on 4/27/16 (8am PST) – Ending on 4/29/16 (10pm PST)

  1. Go to my Instagram
  2. Follow @thebudgetmom & @boo_radleys_spokane
  3. Like the giveaway picture & tag one friend you love for who they ACTUALLY are
  4. To better your chances of winning, you can tag multiple friends, please limit one tag per comment
  5. For an additional entry, follow me on Facebook

For all of my local followers in Spokane, WA – if you are interested in buying this journal you can find it at Boo Radley's. They have some amazing gift ideas, and have some great inspirational books.

Boo Radley's
232 N. Howard St
Spokane, WA 99201
Tel: (509)456-7479
Hours:
Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 am – 5:00 pm

 

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Filed Under: BLOGGING Tagged With: BLOG, BLOGGING, CAREER, MOTIVATION

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Comments

  1. Emma | Creative Explorations says

    April 27, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    Ah. I love this post. I know EXACTLY what you mean — I too often feel pressured to be what I think I should be, based around other people! It’s difficult, but so, so important to not try to be someone else, but just to be yourself.

    Emma | http://www.creativexplorations.com

    • kumiko Ehrmantraut says

      April 27, 2016 at 1:49 pm

      Thanks for the lovely comment Emma!So glad you enjoyed the post!

  2. Sarah says

    April 28, 2016 at 7:13 am

    Oh, the pressures of being a modern mom. There are so many trolls out there telling us how to live our lives when they probably don’t have their own lives put together. Do what you do and be fabulous doing it!! I love your blog and as a fellow blogger, I can say that blogging definitely does not get in the way of spending time with my child… who do you think helps me bake all those cookies???? lol

    Blog on, Kumiko! And continue being awesome!! 🙂

    • kumiko Ehrmantraut says

      May 4, 2016 at 1:29 pm

      Thanks Sarah! This made my day:-)

  3. Leslie Rossi | alifewellconsumed says

    May 2, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    what a unique giveaway! i try to ignore society’s expectations of what my life should be like, it’s hard sometimes.

Hello, I'm Kumiko, but everyone just calls me Miko. Welcome to my blog, The Budget Mom. I am an Accredited Financial Counselor® , and mom to a rambunctious boy. Come along with me as I strive to live a life I love on a budget that I can afford. Read more about me.

RECENT YOUTUBE VIDEO

Ryen & I are talking about our June 2022 budget numbers! Not only do we show where our dollars went, but we also discuss if we stuck to our budget limits.

In this video, we are going over some heavy spending I had in June (thank you, sinking funds!) and Ryen gives an update on her debt payoff timeline. 

What do you do with your budget after the month is over, and you’re ready to begin a new month? Most people don’t realize it, but your spending throughout the month gives you some incredibly helpful information.

One of the first steps to creating and sticking to a realistic budget is tracking your expenses. Your spending is the underlying foundation for creating a budget and ensuring that your budgets in the future are successful.

If you are not aware of where your money is going, you can’t make the best decisions for your dollars. Today, I am going to show you how to extract all of the vital information from your expense trackers using the "Where Did My Money Go?" Worksheets.

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00:00 Introduction
09:57 Miko's Budget Category Breakdown
12:46 Miko's Investment & Savings Breakdown
14:21 Miko's Spending Comparison to May 2022
15:10 Ryen's Budget Category Breakdown
17:18 Ryen's Debt & Savings Breakdown
18:22 Ryen's  Spending Comparison to May 2022
19:08 Conclusion


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