Visor Board Planning for the Bomb Mom

When I was a counselor for a girls school in Orlando one of the coolest things I did with my girls was to have them create vision boards. A vision board is a really simple craft project that helps you to reflect on goals you may have or things you may want to manifest in life. To create a vision board you gather pictures, single words or quotes that you would like to adhere to a board. 

When I was in the preparation phase for Amaya Papaya I created a huge double sided vision board. The board helped me to organize my ideas about various play areas and the type of toys I wanted to have at my facility. This really helped me in establishing my vision for Amaya Papaya as a creative play space called a playlounge that mostly offered kid powered & classic toys.

Join me in the Amaya Papaya Play and Support Group on Facebook (so you can participate virtually) or at Amaya Papaya Play Lounge at 11am daily during the 1st week in January to create your own Vision Board! ALL FOR FREE! 

I will go LIVE during the week in the group to discuss our progress together.

This week I will help you will visualize your goals through guided meditation, set your intentions through Bomb Mom discussions, gain inspiration from other Bomb Moms, create a network for accountability and have fun!

5 Benefits of a Vision Board

Helps you to visualize your goals
Helps you to set your intentions
Helps you to gain inspiration
Help you to stay accountability

What does the Amaya Papaya logo mean?

As we take time to reflect on the importance of Mothering, I would like to share with you my inspiration for the Amaya Papaya name and logo. AMAYA PAPAYA is a TERM OF ENDEARMENT FOR MY DEAREST DAUGHTER (and best business partner ever) Amaya.

When I was pregnant with Amaya I dreaded the thought of getting STRETCH MARKS!! It was not until 2 days before I gave birth that the first stretch mark appeared, from that moment on they spread like wild fire! I was devastated (or so I thought, vain I know).

Once Amaya was born my favorite song to sing to her was MY GIRL by the Temptations. The first line was so true..."I got SUNSHINE on a cloudy day".... Amaya was truly my SUNSHINE in the mist of anything that I was going through as a new mom.

When Amaya began to speak she would ask me about the boo boo's on my belly. I would tell her that they were not boo boo's at all. I began telling her that the stretch marks where SUN RAYS that I was blessed with when she was inside my belly.

As I began to think of a logo for Amaya Papaya, I thought that nothing would be more fitting than the SUNSHINE to represent Amaya and every other child that a parent has been blessed with. If you took the sunshine in our logo and turned it sideways where the sun rays are facing down it would appear as if it were a mama's belly with sun rays beaming from it.  Isn't that beautiful and so true! 

Ask Amaya....she will tell you how she put the SUNSHINE on mommy's belly! If your ever at Amaya Papaya and you hear the song "My Girl" playing please excuse me if I get a bit teary eyed. After all it's "our song" and it reminds me of my forever blessing.....MY GIRL. 

I am ever grateful to have been chosen to be her mommy. I come from a long line of amazing women and I look forward to watching Amaya become an amazing woman as well. 

Now with the addition of my new mission and movement, Bomb Mom, I hope to inspired and support other moms to be their greatest self.  Bomb Mom grew out of my daily interaction with mothers at Amaya Papaya.  Through those moms I see a need for a motherhood empowerment movement that will address the mental health of mom, her need for non-judgemental bonds with other moms and overall support for her on her journey as a mom. 

Happy Mother's Day Bomb Moms! 

Bomb Mom Stories: Donating Breast Milk After Miscarriage

On a busy Thursday afternoon at Amaya Papaya a sweet mama walked in to drop off her donated breast milk. Amaya Papaya is a breast milk drop off location for Get PUMPed so initially, the moment was routine.  Every donation is special. I love getting to celebrate the mamas for such a huge act of love. While every donation drop off is amazing, this moment and this act of love would leave a huge impact on my heart. Like normal, I asked for the container that the milk was transported in so I could take it back to the freezer to be stored. I noticed that the mama was hesitant to let the milk go, literally. She said "I'm not ready to let it go". I asked her how old her baby was....she looked at me with loving eyes and told me that she had lost her child a few weeks ago. In that moment everything that was happening in the lounge stopped. It was just that sweet mama and I. I noticed her eyes begin to fill with tears so I asked her if I could offer her a hug. We embraced. Mama support is one of the most powerful forms of energy another mom can show to another mom.  I offered her the chance to be able to walk to the freezer with me to unload the milk from her cooler. She gladly accepted! We walked back through the busy lounge to the freezer. I'm not going to lie....all types of thoughts popped into my mind about the mom seeing other babies playing.  While at the freezer I asked her about her family. I was really hesitant to ask if this was her only child, but to my surprise she was very open.  I'm a counselor by trade, so I am very cautious about asking people to much without a sign that they are willing to share more. She told me about her two small daughters and how the baby that she lost was her first born son.

 While she transferred the milk to the freezer I offered to take a picture of her doing so and of course all 164oz of milk that she donated! More hugs and some laughs later we headed back to the front where we chatted a bit more about her son Dominic and most important how she was feeling about the drop off. This milk was the last "physical" reminder of her son that she could see, feel or smell. I messaged her the picture that I had taken and gave her another hug before she left.  Later that night when I got home I messaged her to share how this moment made a huge impact on me.  I asked her if I could share the story about her drop off on my blog and if there was anything that she wanted me to include about her story. I was surprised to receive back such an amazing text about her birth and her son Dominic.  This sweet mama's name is Sharita. Here is her story in her words........ 

"I was 16 weeks pregnant when I went into preterm labor with Dominic on February 9, 2016.  My boy was healthy, my body wasn't, I had just suffered a miscarriage in August of 2015. After eight hours in labor I had my first vaginal birth, he came feet first! My heart was broken, I hated my body and it has taken me a while to trust my body again. I didn't anticipate my milk coming in as the Doctor assured me it wouldn't, but it did.  Once it did, it was the most devastating thing after my loss, the milk that was supposed to nourish my baby was here, but my son was not.  I couldn't take the pain of my breast being engorged. I asked for advice from people in the ICAN (The International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc)  group.  One of the ladies suggested I donate my milk.  I knew it was the right thing to do.  I got in touch with Get PUMPed. They explained to me that donated milk stays local and that they don't charge for it.   I knew that was something I wanted to be a part of. I knew my son, even in death, would be a blessing to another baby and mom. In his name I wanted to help and do the right thing. 

Supporting a mother who has lost a child due to miscarriage in the second trimester can be tough.  For a while, I did not want to see another pregnant mom.  I did not want to hear a baby crying.  I found no comfort in pumping.

To offer support it is important to listen, encourage and also respect the mother's space.  Understand that she is not broken or handicap.  She is hurting. Everyone grieves differently and that is OK.  There is no comparison to the loss of a child. Don't compare your loss to another woman's loss."

Sharita was able to express her milk and store it with the donation of a brand new breast pump and supplies from Get PUMPed.  She says that Get PUMPed played a huge part in her donating her milk. Per federal mandate for insurance companies they cannot give a pump before 28 weeks.  Her milk was donated locally here in Orlando to a baby that was adopted! The mother who adopted the baby suffered her own loss previously by loosing two children via miscarriage and also pumped to donate milk after those losses as well. Upon accepting the milk from Sharita and Dominic she wrote Sharita a note.

About Get PUMPed: 

Get PUMPed(Providing Urgent Milk to Parents) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing breast milk to babies in Central Florida who, due to extraordinary circumstances, cannot be nursed by their biological mothers. We do not sell or buy breast milk. We facilitate the donation of milk from screened donors.

Starting this week I will select one mother's story a month to write about. These stories will be titled Bomb Mom Stories. The stories will be about the triumphs and challenges of motherhood. I am honored to share Sharita's story as the first blog in this series. 

About the Bomb Mom Movement: 

Bomb Mom by @amayapapayasmom is a modern mama movement that supports mothers at all stages of their parenting journey. 

Bomb Mom is a community of women who honor a "no judgement" approach to uplift each other while navigating the maze of motherhood.

If you are interested in sharing your story please email me at amayapapayaplay@gmail.com. 

Adult Interaction

I just read a thread in a mom group that asked, "How many hours of adult interaction do you get, as a stay-at-home mom, a week besides with your spouse?". About 95% of the women said they got none. Throw on sleepless nights, crazy days, and no friends and you'll find a depressed and stressed out person.

Mama's, you have a very special job of holding down the fort, you GOTTA take care of yourself FIRST! (Crazy right) Accept company at home, no one cares, truly, that a hurricane frequently passes through your home leaving chaos in its wake. We all understand. Go out with a friend or 2, even if it's just to sit around. Join a local play and support group and come to their meet-ups. Socialize outside of the Internet.

To family and friends: Try not to take no for an answer when we say we don't need help or want to go out. It's not easy accepting help from others when we feel that we're supposed to do it all. We don't realize that sometimes we're drowning and need a hand or just someone to talk to. Heck! Come over and just let mama shower alone and sleep alone while you watch the littles in the living room. Bring a meal, even if we don't ask. Help tidy up, even though we all know it won't last long. Every little bit you do makes a difference and that mama will appreciate you more than words can describe.

Lots of love to all mama's out there! You're doing a GREAT job!

Blog written by Ashlie King

Ashlie King is the mom of Isaiah. She enjoys volunteering at Amaya Papaya and keeping cupcakes away from Amaya Papaya's mom! Ashlie is the Happy Momma Orlando for Happy Family Brand Foods.

Vision Board Planning for 2016

When I was a counselor one of the coolest things I did with my clients was to have them create vision boards. A vision board is a really simple craft project that helps you to reflect on goals you may have or things you may want to manifest in life. To create a vision board you gather pictures, single words or quotes that you would like to adhear to a board.

When I was in the preparation phase for Amaya Papaya I created a huge double sided vision board. The board helped me to organize my ideas about various play areas and the type of toys I wanted to have at my facility. This really helped me in establishing my vision for Amaya Papaya as a creative play space called a playlounge that mostly offered kid powered & classic toys. 

5 Benefits of a Vision Board

• Helps you to visualize your goals
• Helps you to set your intentions
• Helps you to gain inspiration 
• Help you to stay accountability
• It works!

Creating a vision board is simple and only requires a few simple items that you most likely have sitting around your home. Gather the items below, set your intention and start creating!

Materials needed
Blank piece of card stock or poster board (8x10 or larger)
Glue
Scissors
Various Magazines

To create a vision board follow these simple steps
1.) Set your intention, think about your goals and the things you want to manifest in your life.  


2.) Cut out pictures and words from magazines that related to your goals or things that you want to manifest in your life.

3.) Organize the cut outs how you would like to have them on your board.

4.) Glue the cut outs to your board


Putting your vision board to work


Once your board is created you can share it with your friends or keep it to yourself.   Ideas of sharing with friends are posting a photo of your board to social media and explaining your board in a post.  You can meet up with a friend or friends to discuss your goals and intentions. Talking about your goals can often times be therapeutic and help keep you accountable.  If you should decide to keep your board to yourself,  keep it in a place where you can see it and reflect on it often. The more you are reminded of your goals and have them organized the better it is to achieve them.  You can add items to your board over time if you would like or create a new board for various aspects of your life.

Join me on Sunday January 10 at 2:30pm or Wednesday January 20 at 3pm for a Vison Board Session for the Bomb Mom! At this session you will visualize your goals through guided meditation, set your intentions through a Bomb Mom discussion with Amaya Papaya's Mom, gain inspiration from other Bomb Moms, create a network for accountability and have fun! 

Be a Bomb Mom

Even as adult women, we have self esteem issues. We worry about what others think. We base our self worth on how much others love us. We are not happy with ourselves without face enhancers. Sometimes, we are a mess, yet we are ashamed to admit it. We live in a word where congruency is not accepted. 

I challenge you this year to post a photo a day of yourself. The photo can be with make up on or better yet, without. Under it use the hashtag #bombmom and post your emotion in that moment. Be truthful. Be congruent. Be beautiful. Be you. 

Join the movement to gain back our self confidence as women!  

Show your support for fellow #bombmom selfie posters. When you see the selfies posted be sure to LIKE them and even add a positive comment telling her why she IS a #bombmom.

Bomb Mom by @amayapapayasmom is a modern mama movement that supports mothers at all stages of their parenting journey. 

Bomb Mom is a community of women who honor a "no judgement" approach to uplift each other while navigating the maze of motherhood.