MOM OF THE MONTH The three most important lessons you plan on teaching Truman: 1. To be polite. It’s so crazy, the day-to-day things of life, going out and saying thank you, telling someone that you appreciate them, saying welcome. I think even as adults, we lose sight of that sometimes. And I think those polite words will go a long way. 2. Just do it. I’d rather him learn to do things and regret later than to never have tried, experienced or had the opportunity to do something. 3. Be empathetic. I know in life there are going to be many experiences, but I want him to be empathetic.

One uplifting mom Donna Marie Post

 Husband Craig; Rescue Bot-obsessed son, Truman, 3  Forest Park

{M.O.M}

 Creator of I Admire U, iadmireu.com, that celebrates everyday women and their stories What kind of mom inspires you? To be honest, a mom that gets up and tackles every day with a smile. I think there are so many different parts of being a mom you can get lost in, the scheduling, the tantrums, the ‘how am I going to get through this.’ How has becoming a mom changed you? It’s changed me in a way that I will never forget. Before motherhood, there was about four years when I kind of lost myself. I was a bully; I did a lot of damage with my words. And being a mom, I had to realize I am about to mold someone else’s life, that how I speak and how I treat other people is how this human being is going to grow up and reflect that. He reminded me you’ve got to be good, you’ve got to say kind things, you’ve got to encourage people. Life is crazy and doing good and speaking good is so much more rewarding, and without him, I would never have seen that.

What is your parenting style? This is going to sound crazy, but fun. I am obsessed with fun. ... Life is too short, that’s too cliché, but it really genuinely is. I am one that crams in as much fun as possible so I am sure he will get to an age where he’s just, ‘Mom, can we just do one thing today?’ Since your background is in fashion, what outfit would you not want to be caught dead in? I don’t know about an outfit, but definitely Crocs. I know they are cute on a toddler but on a grown woman, no crocs, no booty shorts with holes. I don’t do sexy well. I believe style can be done in a tasteful classy way without being too out there.

Celebrating women Donna Marie Post wants her new website, iadmireu. com, to celebrate everyday women, to remind them they are doing a good job and to encourage them to celebrate others. “Social media is so filled with negativity, to have something so positive on the web is so different,” she says. “I hope the site reminds women that we all have different battles and that we all wake up with different strife and that we all should encourage each other, that ... if we choose one thing over another, we are choosing it for our families and we are choosing because it’s right for us. The fact that we are daring ourselves to make choices and live the consequences after, that in itself is bold.”

Keep babies safe from school kids’ germs Back to school often means back to illness. Newborns are especially susceptible to infection since their immune systems aren’t as developed as older kids’ are. If you have an infant in your home with older siblings in school, make sure school kids wash their hands as soon as they get home. You also may want to consider having special “home clothes” that they change into after getting home from school and wear before holding the baby. Dr. Heidi Renner, Loyola University Health System, 30 Second Mom contributor

26 August 2015 ChicagoParent.com

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