Mia Gordon
Reporter, Host, Content Creator, Blogger

Mom life: Returning to work after mat leave

While the first few days feel like I blur I still remember the feeling. The feeling of utter joy to have my new baby in my arms but I also remember just feeling so overwhelmed, anxious, scared, and of course tired. I remember wishing away the early days. I can’t wait until he sleeps through the night or I can’t wait until he no longer has to feed every two hours.

But then the days started to fly by, and those early sleepless nights were a distant memory. As someone once told me “The days are long but the years are short.” And it’s so true – this year flew by in the blink of an eye. And 13 months since I said see ya later to the Weather Network to embark on this incredible new journey as mom – it is time to head back to work.

This year has been my biggest year of growth yet. It has taught me patience, kindness, love (like I have never known before) and what is truly important to me. It has been a year full of memories, laughter, tears, and now it is time to turn the page on the book again and start a new chapter.

I was speaking with my therapist the other day about the anxiety I am having around finding the perfect balance. A balance between work and life they say but it is so much more than that, work, life, family, friends, my baby, and myself. It sounds like something only a superhero could do. I was feeling so overwhelmed that this wasn’t possible. And you know what – finding that perfect balance might not be humanly possible -but we decided I would just take it one day at a time.

Before having Max my life was my work – I had worked for 10 years to get to where I am and I finally found a job that I actually saw as a career that I love. After years of working part time, freelance, hard news and all the in between moments. At the Weather Network I have finally had a chance to tell real stories, ones that matter. Bringing important information to people, while also focusing on climate change and sustainability – which is something I care deeply about. I have had a chance to even create my own documentaries on these topics. I love my work – it has allowed me to travel and explore. I have seen the Northern Lights in the Yukon, the glaciers that tower over Whistler, the grizzlies of the Great Bear Rainforest. I have been given so many incredible opportunities and I am truly excited to see what comes next as the videographer and bureau chief for the Weather Network out here in British Columbia.

But now I have this new priority in my life. Gone are the days where I can just pack a bag and go. Gone are the days where I can just drop everything and run out to cover active weather. It is going to be a new balancing act for sure – one that I am nervous to try and conquer, but also one that I am excited about. I am excited to write this next chapter of my life – of our lives.

I know it isn’t going to be easy, there are going to be hiccups, and bumps and challenges – but that is the world we live in, and now I know just how challenging it is to be a working mom, but I want to be a mom that my son is proud of.

So mommas I see you, I feel you and I am here with you as you start to write new chapters of your own lives.

xo

Mia

Our winter one-derland birthday party tips

Oh the joys of having a baby born on Christmas Day – every birthday will have a winter or holiday theme for the rest of his life ( I mean we already have all of the decor out right?). And so for one we just had to go with a Winter One-derland. 

The wanna be Martha Stewart in me looked up 25 different holiday snack ideas and decided I was going to make all of them – my friends talked me off that ledge and told me to focus on a few key items. A good combination of savoury and sweet and both adult and baby friendly ( I mean it was Max’s birthday after all).

Then came decorations – I favourited a million things on Etsy, but realized a first birthday party should not cost us hundreds of dollars. I also have been focusing on reducing waste – so decided on a few key items and also tried to make a lot of them with items around the house

The icing on the cake for me though was the idea of a hot coco bar. What kind of winter one-derland would be complete without one right?

So this is what we ended up with:

Food: We went with some winter wonderland themed treats

A veggie snowman

Every party needs a healthy snack tray and so took a wintery twist and used the veggies to make a snowman. As dog owners we know there is always some yellow snow to avoid so we added in some yellow peppers

Cranberry brie bites

Is there anything that says the holidays more than cranberry brie bites. Super simple to make and absolutely delicious

Christmas tree pull apart cheese balls

This was the bread and butter of the day. I had a vision to create cheese balls from pizza dough and bake them in the shape of a Christmas tree – this one took the most time and effort (remember a friend telling me to focus on one big item) well this was it and they were worth the effort.

snowflake cookies

Sugar cookies are always a delicious treat to add to the dessert table and so I baked and decorated 50 sugar cookies – we had left overs for Christmas so that was great.

We also set up

Hot chocolate bar

It was my dream to have a hot coco bar and wanted this to be a highlight feature.

We made the hot chocolate in an instant pot so it would stay warm throughout the evening and had some toppings like marshmallows, candy canes, chocolate chips, and some Baileys for the adults.

Decorations: It is easy to create a winter one-derland with decorations we already had

We kept everything simple and winter themed but there were a few highlights that I absolutely loved that really personalized the decorations.

We created a personalized banner with pictures through the months. Another favourite for me was we create a Max’s First Year poster, showcasing some of his accomplishments in his first year.

Overall it was honestly the most special day and to see our little one so excited to smash his cake, play with friends, and open gifts was incredible. But I my top tip for planning the best birthday party is don’t stress it mama. I was so nervous and stressed leading up to the big day. Did we have enough food? Were his friends going to have fun playing with the toys in the house? Were there enough decorations?

And then I realized that none of that mattered. It was all about friends and family coming together to celebrate Max. So just enjoy this special day mama’s, because after all your first baby only gets one first birthday.

xo

Mia

 

 

 

The best way to spend a solo getaway in Whistler

It has been 11 months since I slept in past 7 am and chasing after a very mobile baby is exhausting  – momma needed a little break and so I packed up my bags for a solo night away in Whistler.

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The best ways to make mom friends in your community

I was extremely nervous when I saw those two pink lines on a pregnancy test. My husband and I were excited, but of course a little scared – especially since we were the first of our friend group to take the baby plunge. I had never held a baby before, or met a newborn, I was so scared and felt so alone. (Now 3 of my close friends are pregnant and all due a month apart from each other and all I can say is you’re welcome for jumping odd the cliff first).

Thankfully for me, Squamish is a hub for young families. Taking a drive down any street you will see as many Thule strollers as you do cars – but the question was – how do I become friends with these other moms around town? I wanted to share some tips for moms that might be in the same boat as me, finding new mom friends outside of your friend group (While I will share some specifics for Squamish these tips go across the board in any community).

Join a pre-natal fitness class

I signed up for local classes with Carrie Charlton. At first it was a way for me to  do workouts that were safe and help me stay healthy throughout my pregnancy. In the end it helped me with that, but it also helped me make some friends. Through these workout classes I made a mom group and we did weekly activities throughout our pregnancy and postpartum as well. In fact last week we celebrated two of their little ones first birthdays – how special is that?

Same goes for post natal workout classes, and the best part is as babies get older and mobile it is a great way for you to get a workout in and for your babies to socialize with friends.

Check with the local library

A lot of libraries have baby activities. Our local one has a bi-weekly half hour baby story time. Every week I bring my son here where we sing, dance, and tell stories for 30 minutes. It has also been a great place to connect with other families and a lot of the time we will head to the park for a little hang out afterwards.

The Park

Speaking of the park -what better way to tire your kiddos out while also potentially meeting other moms. Max has a love for the swing and so at least once a week we head to our local park and I have had a chance to meet so many other parents there, it just takes a bit of courage to start up a conversation.

Local Community Services

I am so lucky to live in a place that prioritizes young families. The Squamish and Sea to Sky Community Services offer so many incredible free programs for mom and baby. Through the SSCS I have learned about the Health Pregnancy Outreach Program – which is a bi-weekly opportunity to connect with other parents, they also offer pre-natal vitamins, baby vitamins, diapers, clothes, you name it. Another great program through the community services is Mother Goose – a free in the park sing along opportunity.

Check with the local rec centre 

I have signed Max up for both swim and gymnastics through our local rec centre. It has been a great opportunity for him to get exercise and learn some important life skills while at the same time a great way for me to connect with other moms in the community.

I know how overwhelming it is to be thrown into the role of new mom and you can feel so alone, but I know my mom group has really helped me get through the tough times and so I hope you are also able to find your own go to group to make this crazy yet beautiful experience a bit more fun

Sending love to all my mommas out there,

xo

Mia

Home renos: closet addition with Stor-x Organizing Systems

When my husband and I moved into our house in Squamish 3 years ago we decided to forgo the closet upgrade… we later learned this would be one of the biggest mistakes of our marriage. Here is a little before picture of our closet – a mess of wire hangers everywhere. Clutter, unorganized, and I definitely didn’t have enough space ( I mean questionable if I ever will) but it was a big contention in our marriage.

And so when we decided to make some changes to our house, the closet was first on both of our lists. Being a big research guy, he looked around at different options – not to name any names, but may of the more popular closet companies didn’t quite fit the bill. Very expensive and not enough customizing options to make full use of our space.

After days of searching, he came across Stor-x Organizing Systems and Stor-x Sea to Sky. In his words “it maximized space and organization and was modern and clean looking.” Also as parents of a newborn, we didn’t have time to do the work, and Stor-x would come and install everything. My response was something along the lines of “As long as it will fit all my clothes I am on board.”

The whole process was quick and easy. The team came in for install day and it took just a few hours for them to completely transform our closet. See below.

 

After a few days once all the glue had dried we were able to hang up our clothes and I have never been happier. I finally feel inspired to keep my side of the closet organized (and if you know me you know that is in fact a very big deal) on top of that it has added a lot of value to our space.

This was one of the first renos that we did in the house and we are excited to continue to make the house a home with these customizable options.

xo

Mia