The Mommy's Time Pie

In Chapter 8 of Eve Rodsky’s book Find Your Unicorn Space, Rodsky (bestselling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space) considers The Case of the Pie Lady. The Pie Lady (a/k/a Stephanie Hockersmith) is a mother of two boys who combined her love for baking and books and now creates amazing works of art (via pies!) that have been seen on shows such as Good Morning America and the Today Show. What I loved about Stephanie’s story is that she began baking gluten-free pies to address her celiac disease (health first). After mastering the gluten-free pie, she started tapping into her creative side by creating pies that are inspired by the covers of her favorite books. The end result? Beautiful culinary artistry that will send every book lover down a pie-filled rabbit hole of happiness.*

When I read Unicorn Space, I was already well into the creation of Mommy’s Time. The book was in the illustration and design phase, and the book’s illustrator (Katie Risor) and I were busy collaborating trying to capture all the elements the book had to offer, including images presenting Mommy as a whole person that takes care of her health, connects with her dearest friends, and pursues the activities that bring her joy. In Mommy’s Time, you will see the main character enjoying time in her art studio, and you will see her mom friends enjoying such things as gardening, yoga, and reading. Upon coming across The Case of the Pie Lady in Unicorn Space, I instantly thought Stephanie’s story embodied the message of Mommy’s Time. I immediately opened the Mommy’s Time rollout plan and wrote “Mommy’s Time Pie – a MUST.” Lucky for me, Stephanie agreed to create the Mommy’s Time Pie:

I squealed with excitement when I saw the first image of this pie! My son’s initial reaction (for those who do not know, my son is an eater): “what kind of pie is this?” Answer: Gluten-Free Strawberry! The pie is just stunning, and such a representation of the beautiful creations mothers can make when given the space and support to pursue their dreams. I caught up with Stephanie on the day she created the Mommy’s Time Pie and asked her my three favorite “Mommy’s Time” Questions:

What’s Mommy’s Time to you?

SH: Mommy’s Time to me is a hot cup of coffee and uninterrupted reading or baking time.

What’s your favorite summer activity with the family?

SH: My favorite summer activity with the family is traveling/exploring new places!

If today had 25 hours, what would you do with your extra hour?

SH: If today had 25 hours, I would probably use the extra hour to make more pie!

I am so excited to share the Mommy’s Time pie with you. I recommend everyone check out @pieladybooks and tap into some pie-filled happiness! In honor of the Mommy’s Time pie and given 4th of July is great weekend for pie, all items in the Mommy’s Time Store will be 25% off with the discount code: PIE through July 5th. Happy Shopping and Happy Pie Eating!

* As a lawyer, I know I should not make such bold claims. But I guarantee this one. The images on @pieladybooks guarantee pure joy!

Kristen Reads Mommy's Time (Watch Here!)

The Academic Calendar

I love calendars. Paper calendars, electronic calendars, shared calendars, hanging calendars - I love them all. Give them to me for any gift, and I will use every last one of them (add cool pens and we may become best friends). I currently operate my life - managing my days as a mom, wife, lawyer, writer, and owner of a very old house that is always undergoing repairs - with the help of an assortment of calendar products from Simplified by Emily Ley. Upon becoming a customer of Simplified products, you get access to a Facebook group where a bunch of people discuss topics calendar fanatics love. A recent post in this group discussed using calendar year v. academic year agendas. Overwhelmingly, the post responses were split two ways: people with kids = academic; no kids (or grown kids) = calendar year. I immediately logged my response as academic; reasoning - small human that comes with wonky school schedule.

As I saw this Facebook post during my son’s last week of school, the post really got me thinking about how we organize life before kids v. after kids. If you ever told me pre-kids that a child’s school calendar - including events, days off, and even the pizza schedule - would become more challenging to keep track of than harsh lawyer deadlines and meeting company goals set on a fiscal calendar year, I would have laughed in your face. And yet, once I had my son, I literally tossed out the idea of living life on a calendar year, meaning I tossed out every tool I used to keep me on track professionally up until becoming mom. I no longer set goals on January 1st. January 1st became a mere day to help indicate that school would be reopening soon.

While the post got me thinking about how hard it is to keep track of our kid’s schedules, it also got me thinking about how much I absolutely LOVE the ebbs and flows of life with littles. When I think back to being a young lawyer with no child, I kept my nose in my work for days on end. I never came up for air and barely took vacations. While I always spent holidays with family, the holidays didn’t bring the preparation or buzzing excitement they do with children. The year would pass in a linear fashion from January 1st to December 31st absent any event of consequence that would provide an indication I was in a different season (it is important to note here that I live in Florida, so the weather does nothing to help me identify seasons). By December, I would find myself setting new goals and reviewing a hefty balance of unused PTO.

Then you have kids, and you start to live your life through their experiences. You find yourself shopping for new clothes and cleaning out old things before school starts in August. Then you are searching for Halloween costumes and stocking up on candy. Next thing you know your kid has brought home a pile of crazy turkey crafts, and you realize you’ve decorated for Thanksgiving without even buying one thing (who knew people decorated for Thanksgiving!). Then comes Christmas and Hanukkah and the kids are literally just buzzing with excitement for an entire month. You take a few days off of work over their Christmas break to make cookies and watch the Grinch and realize the Christmas season really is magical. Then school resumes until Spring Break and you realize a break in March or April is as much a mental break for you as it is for the students. Then the school year ends, and you find yourself in the chaos of an unstructured summer.

Last year was the first summer we decided not to send our son to school or find childcare for the entire summer. We took trips and took our son to swim lessons. We visited family and let our son get lost in the shuffle of a bunch of cousins each day. We broke routine for the months of June and July, and it was one of the best things our family ever did. Our son, who has been in daycare since he was ten weeks old, got two months of virtually no schedule, while my husband and I realized we could take time off without things falling apart. Sure we had to take calls and log hours at work, but everything was fine. As it turns out, a lot the world pauses in the summer.

Today marks the first day of our 2022 summer adventure. I have the last two months of my 21/22 academic calendar filled with fun things and moments of nothing - the perfect summer combination. I also have my 22/23 academic calendar in tow with hopes to start planning next year - a year with big changes on the horizon. But next “year” doesn’t start until August… so until then, it is time to enjoy all that summer has to offer.

***Note: The Mommy’s Time Store will be closed for Family Time June 1st through June 15th. While Mommy’s Time is soooo important to me, so is Family Time, and I have to make space for both. That is truly what the book is all about! If you want to purchase the Mommy’s Time book during the store closure, please visit Amazon or Barnes and Noble. While the Mommy’s Time mug is exclusive to the Mommy’s Time store, the mug was designed and produced by the Made for Mama Shop and their mugs are the absolute best. If you are in the market for a mama-inspired mug while the store is closed, visit Made for Mama and use “mommystime” for 10% off!***

Thank you for your continued support of Mommy’s Time!