Friday Five: Fulfilling Friendships + I'm A Trendy Mom

Pouring into the cups that sustain your own is one of my fave life hacks

Welcome to The Mom Flow’s Friday Five - where I (hi! Erin here!) pour my heart out on what this mom-life really is like. Next week will be my last The Mom Flow newsletter until 2024. I can’t wait to slow right down cozying up with my family for my favourite two weeks of the year in hibernation!

✌🏾I’m a trendy mom

For those of us who are into trends… I’m gonna call this for 2024: silver jewelry is making a comeback! I saw someone at an event wearing big chunky modern silver jewelry and it looked so fresh and chic. It’s bringing me back to high school when it was all about silver… any elder millennials feel me on this? I think it might be a good time to get some chunky silver earrings to test the waters? I have these in gold and am going to see if the silver pops and takes things up a notch. Might even be ahead of a mainstream trend this time, which I never am (or really, I don’t try to be bc who can keep up!). I do like low effort, low cost trends so this one ticks my boxes.

🎄 Sleighing the season

I’ve been taking a bit of a slower approach to the holiday season this year which has been really nice. We are creating new traditions with Lola like this loaf and gifting it to the special people in our lives we will see before the holidays, which has actually been such a beautiful reminder about what the holiday magic really is. Baking up these loaves with love alongside Lola, teaching her the nurturing aspect of doing that, wrapping it up beautifully, taking our time doing the advent calendars, browsing for a new ornament… those seemingly small things that can be so delightful for both of us and put the focus back on that simple joy. AND, we did our very first movie night at home, just her and I. Got cozy with a bowl of popcorn, for her first Home Alone viewing - she was enthralled the whole time! That will be one of my fave memories. I think because of her age, it’s a little easier to not ‘do it all’ for the season and when she gets older, it might be a little different. I’m enjoying this stage for what it is. P.S: yes, I’m doing Elf on a Shelf but keeping it verrrrry simple. Joy (named after Joy Behar, yes, I’m serious) just moves around from place to place. Like I said, I’m sure when she gets older I’ll need to step it up.

🤗 Creating fulfilling friendships

Creating friendships in my life that are fulfilling has literally been a lifelong project and finding friends who connect with different parts of you is, to me, just really essential to living a happy life. An important part of friendship is showing up for friends when it’s maybe not easy for you, but when you know they need you. The other part of this is trying to know which friendships you’re pouring that into, because making an effort to be that person for someone isn’t easy when you’re doing the mom/life/work etc. juggle. As I’ve touched on before, like anyone, I’ve had disappointing friend experiences that include breakups… expectations that I’ve had on friendships that don’t pull through. At this stage in my life, I’ve gotten to know myself enough to know which friendships fill my cup and it’s a game changer for my happiness! I always say that you know I really love and trust you if I ask you for a favour. Do you feel like you have a good circle of friends who really make you feel understood, loved and comforted? If not, how can you prioritize that a little bit?

❤️ Remembering the journey

The holiday season can be really hard for many reasons, and for those of us who have struggled with wanting to become a parent… it can be really hard. OMG have I been there. I remember several Christmases being totally despondent seeing families celebrate with their kids. And chances are, we all have someone who is struggling with fertility - please check on them and offer an ear. I get DM’s to this day asking me how to support a friend who is going through fertility struggles and/or IVF, and I always say the same thing: listen to them, ask questions, try to understand. Nurture them. I’ve been very open about what it took to get Lola here and I recently shared my story with Daily Hive - they put together a great piece about women who just want the right to choose what is right for them. I loved the video interview they shared alongside b-roll video of our journey. I still can’t believe I get to be a mom and it will never be lost on me what it took to get here.

😍 What’s new around here

The second season of Paris in Love does NOT disappoint… it’s a fluffy watch

I know it seems crazy, but Lola doesn’t really play with toys all that much, but she’s into this toy, so we got her a new set for xmas

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and I really appreciate your likes and comments to help me feel like these unpaid few hours I pour into The Mom Flow actually matters!

xx, Erin

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