Mama Mondays | Working, While Being a Stay at Home Mom

Working, While Being a Stay at Home Mom 

Michelle Calva 

In December of 2013, my husband and I welcomed our son, Jude, to our family. Prior to being a mom, I was a full-time registered nurse. During my pregnancy, I had planned on taking 3 months of maternity leave and then returning to nursing part-time. Of course, that plan changed the first time I held him in my arms...

My husband and I hadn't had many conversations about being a stay-at-home mom. I loved my career, and I was proud to contribute to our finances. I knew having a baby would be a life-changing experience, but I couldn't have prepared myself for the joys of motherhood. I couldn't imagine leaving him with someone else while I worked a 12-hour shift. I wanted to cherish as many moments as I could, and I felt strongly about staying at home. It was a difficult decision for a few reasons: I loved what I did, my husband and I hadn't prepared for this and it had financial implications. After many conversations and prayers, I made the decision to stay at home with our son. 

After making the decision to be a stay-at-home mom, I wanted to find a way to earn income with my new schedule. Little did I know asking one of my fellow mom friends about her bracelet during a play date would lead me to finding an exciting new career as a designer for a company called KEEP Collective! 

KEEP Collective is a brand-new company from the creators of Stella & Dot, a boutique-style accessories company. The concept behind KEEP is to create one-of-a-kind jewelry that tells a story of what you hold dear to your heart or a reflection of your personal style. KEEP offers beautiful reversible leather bands, mesh bracelets, bangles, unique tag necklaces and literally hundreds of keys ( similar to charms) to tell your story. And let's face it ladies, who wouldn't love being in the jewelry and accessories business? Whether you constantly keep with the latest trends or prefer something more simple, KEEP has something for everyone.  

So what do I do? Well, I'm a designer for KEEP Collective, and I help my customers create their own one-of-a-kind piece that tells their story.  As a designer, I am able to work at my own schedule and literally take my business wherever I go. Play dates, lunch with friends, KEEP is with me. Not only do I get to wear all of the fabulous jewelry, but by wearing it I'm promoting my business. I carry mini-design guides and catalogs in my purse or diaper bag (depends on what day of the week) and pass them out to anyone I meet. I can even place orders directly from my phone! So no more sitting behind a computer desk while stuck at home, KEEP let's me bring my business out into my everyday life. 

As a mother, there a days you feel exhausted, defeated, happy and excited (the list could go on) but what about "mom time"? KEEP has these wonderful parties called socials. Any customer can host a social whether online through Facebook, at home or maybe at a favorite restaurant. Getting out of the house even for just a couple of hours is sometimes all that we need to get recharged to take on whatever else our day brings us. Socials are great ways to promote your business, create sales and socialize with friends and all while making money. Wine & design night? Uhhh yes, please! I love that KEEP allows me to break away from my mommy role every now and then. 

KEEP Collective is a wonderful company that inspires and empowers women. It has been such a blessing to our family. I love being a part of those one-of-a-kind designs and hearing the beautiful stories behind them. I love being able to live my daily life as a mommy and provide income for my family too. My entire journey has been life changing and I am so excited to see what my future holds! 

Shop, host or join : https://www.keep-collective.com/with/mcalva

Michelle 

XOXO

Mama Mondays | Intro & Starting a Business with Young Children

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a splendid weekend. I've had something up my sleeve for while now and I am so excited to start sharing it with you today. Mama Mondays is a 8 week series I will be featuring on my blog with fabulous articles written by some amazing guests and fellow mommies. We will be discussing topics like, starting a business with young children, adoption, motherhood after loss, mama beauty tips, mama work outs and so much more! Please be sure to follow along so you stay up to date on all the fabulous topics. 

So for the next 8 weeks, Bumps, Babes and Bellins will be taken over by other mommies and you're going to love it! 

XOXO

To kick off our Mama Monday series, I want to introduce my wonderful friend, Alexandra Spitz! I have gotten to know Alexandra over the past year through my OC Mommy and Me experiences and she has been an inspiration to me. I think you will enjoy her story... 

Starting a Business with Young Children

By: Alexandra Spitz, Parent Educator and Founder of OC Mommy and Me

If you asked me 10 years ago before I had kids what I would be doing after I had kids I would have told you that my dream was to have a job where I could work in the mornings so I could pick up my kids from school at the end of their day.  My parents both worked full-time and I always felt envious of the kids whose moms were there to pick them up while I was shuttled off to after-school care everyday.

My dream was to own my own business but I had no idea if that would ever be possible.  When I was a kid I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I just sort of worked in whatever jobs came available to me because I liked making my own money.  When I was 15, I got my first job working in retail in the afternoons after school.  I worked in a small boutique store where I was given the opportunity to learn many different aspects of a small business.  From there I took a series of other retail jobs then eventually landed in operations for a real estate development company in LA for over 10 years.

When my husband was relocated to Orange County, I knew I was going to have to work but I had no idea how I was ever going to be able to work for anybody else.  My old company had become like family and starting at the beginning was just so daunting.

Fortunately, the universe has a very interesting way of bringing you what you’ve always desired.  It never tells you when it will come, but if you’re patient and stay in the present, it does.  After arriving here, I noticed the void of structured mommy and me classes in OC.  This was so surprising to me with all of the families in the area.  It was crystal clear that this was my calling.  We were relocated here not only for my husband’s career, but for my dreams as well. 

OC Mommy and Me was a complete labor of love.  At the time, my now oldest was just about to turn two.  The days were long and he was exhausting, but every free moment I had plus hours after he went to bed each night, I was entrenched in starting my business.  It was so much fun and everything just seemed too easy!  It sort of felt like I was cheating a little.  I always envisioned starting a business to be stressful and overwhelming.  It was anything but.  I loved every minute of building what OCMM is today.

I started small with just one class per week.  After that class was finished the moms wanted to continue on for another series so then I had two classes going.  Before I knew it, I was teaching 8 classes per week and very pregnant with my second child.  I was doing all of the administrative work, plus the teaching and I finally realized I needed some help!  It was a little bittersweet adding teachers and someone to help with the programming because I am a complete nut when it comes to my business. I want everything to be perfect and the moms happy! 

As time went on I noticed I had to work on balance.  As business was busier it took more of my time.  That time that used to go to my kids or my husband or myself.  I had to reinvent the personal wheel.  Once my second was born, this became even more overwhelming.  It is a constant learning experience and I take the twists and turns as they come with an open mind and a big heart.  I always try and remember what the purpose of all of this is.  It is to help other moms which makes me a better mom.  That’s my daily work, every single day.  I go to bed every night and ask myself “was I a good enough mom today?” because that’s what matters most. 

Each day is definitely a juggling act and some days don’t go smoothly at all.  Some go better than planned.  I have learned so much about myself and others and I pinch myself every day that I get to spend time with the most inspiring, smart, successful women that I would have never had the honor of knowing without starting this business.  For that I am so grateful and I’m not sure what I did to deserve such an amazing career!

Owning my own business has given me a lot more self-confidence and I have learned self-love.  It doesn’t come without its challenges but I truly feel starting a business with young kids has saved me in a lot of ways.  I am absolutely a better mom a better wife and a better individual because of it!

One of Alex's groups! 

Alex