I'm a #DontSweatMom! You can be one too--Giveaway

A few weeks ago I (Jamie) decided to join the campaign to become a Don't Sweat Mom.  What is the Don't Sweat Mom campaign?  It is based on the book "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Moms" by Kristine Carlson. The campaign is creating a community of moms that are coming together to stress less and choose happiness more. It’s about finding our joy in everyday parenting.

As Colorado Mountain Mom said in her book review, I too had a little blogger regret after I signed up for this campaign.  Like her, I didn't think I was going to have time to read the book.  I quickly discovered, however, that the book was broken up into short, easy to read chapters.  It doesn't have any particular flow, so it's convenient to simply pick the chapters that you want to read and skip around.  In fact, this blog post has taken me MUCH longer to write than actually reading the book!

There were many chapters in "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Moms" that struck a cord with me.  "Make Special Mommy & Me Time" became clear when I finally got my first large chunk of time alone with my 5 year old (Nutty) since my 3 year old (Tottie) was born.  As the book states, "Sometimes our kids don't know how to verbalize that all they really want is some of our attention."  Since Nutty has been in preschool and now Kindergarten, it's been easy to spend alone time with Tottie, and because Tottie is more demanding than Nutty, I often forget that Nutty needs one-on-one time too.  Nutty and I got some great, and much needed Mommy & Me time when Hubby took Tottie to his parent's house for a few days.  The "Don't Sweat..." book reminded me that I don't need to wait for Hubby to take Tottie away for a few days, I could easily take 10 minutes a day to pull Nutty aside and spend time with just her.

"Keep The Lines Of Communication Open" along with the chapter "Practice Breathing Before You Speak" made me realize that I am in desperate need of a communication revamp with my girls!   I often react rather than respond to situations, and I end up yelling a little too much.  I need to remember to breathe before I speak allowing me to "access [my] inner wisdom and bring [myself] into a calm resolve that is conducive to healthy responses.  Keeping in mind the 12 factors for effective communication that Kristine shares will hopefully improve the way I relate to my girls and in turn, I hope, strengthen our relationships.

"Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Moms" doesn't tell you how to be a good mom, it makes you think about the type of mom you are now and gives you ideas for how to improve by focusing on who you are as a person.  You are first a woman, and second a mom.  By improving who you are as a woman, you improve who you are as a mom.  

Want to be a #DontSweatMom too?  Enter to win a copy of "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Moms" below (or buy your own copy) then join the community on Twitter and Facebook or check out the website.  

You can get the first chapter of the book for FREE here! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway I received a free copy of the book "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff For Moms" for the purpose of this review post.  I received no other compensation.  All opinions are 100% my own.