Once upon a time…Two successful career women decided to trade in suits for supermom capes! Eileen Estok, former Account Supervisor at a New Orleans advertising agency, and Adrienne Rupinta, former Fashion Buyer for Nordstrom. Now, knee deep in the trenches of child rearing, we are forever searching for ways to pull together our love of art and fashion.
 With a friendship spanning over eight years, and a history of artistic ventures, we’re just two great friends who endlessly push each other to strive for a balance between creative expression and freedom from the daily grind. …One day, hipJunky was born!

Over the years, how have you learned to balance career and motherhood?

It’s an ongoing juggling act, but with well-oiled systems, fierce organization and lots of colored pens to manage everyone’s calendar, everything has a way of working out. Some days are more successful than others, but we approach everyday with a ‘can do’ attitude. Like most Moms, we’re masters at multi-tasking. We both come from career backgrounds that were very demanding and deadline oriented (Adrienne, Fashion Buyer; Eileen, Advertising Account Supervisor), which proved to be fertile ground for learning how to manage the chaos. At the end of the day, both of us maintain that our families are our first priorities, so if something has to give, it makes it easier to make the tough decisions.

Is there one particular parenting lesson you’ve learned about raising kids?

EE: I would have to say that learning to appreciate the different personalities and needs of each child, and how to meet them where they are, is an ongoing lesson. My sons Sawyer (12) and Cooper (7), and daughter Piper (4) each has his/her own set of successes, disappointments, triumphs and struggles. I have learned that taking the time to listen to each of them and really hear them is time well spent. They can’t always put their feelings in to words, but a tight hug speaks a thousand words!

AR: There are so many lessons, I could go on for days. The biggest ones I have learned while raising my litter – daughter Spencer (9), son Tanner (7), daughter Quincy (5), and son Kiegan (3), are fairly simple…consistency is key, fairness is a must, and I should treat them with the same respect that I expect from them. I also know, that none of my little people care what time I went to bed and that sleep deprivation affects EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. Making sure I get a decent night sleep (at least a few nights a week) is very important for my juggling act.

Battling stress? Any advice?

Exercise, exercise, and more exercise. It doesn’t always fit in to our schedules, but we try to make it a priority because we both feel more productive when we do! Also, we try to remember that everything is temporary, so take it all in stride. The kids won’t be screaming ‘Mommy look at me…I want…I need’ forever, so now is the time to listen and be present in the moment.

(more…)

It’s tough when you feel like you’re stuck.

You’re uncomfortable. Unhappy. Stifled. Frustrated.

If you’ve ever been there you know that it is incredibly difficult to try to get yourself unstuck. Especially when you can’t quite pinpoint the cause for your state of mind.

I know this personally. I’ve been stuck for months now.

Happiness was fleeting. Inspiration was challenging. My attitude was lacking.

I just hadn’t  felt… stimulated. It was as if I was going through the motions of my days, stuck in a holding pattern.

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day? Yeah, that. Exactly that. I’m not going to lie to you, it wasn’t pretty in my head. I’ve been quite the miserable wretch.

Until yesterday.

Let me just stop here and profess something to you – I am a woman of  faith. I don’t talk about it much here on the blog. (Although I probably should.) But I am.

And yesterday I received an incredibly inspired message from the big man upstairs:

“Bloom where you are planted.”

That phrase, completely out of the blue,  hit me like a ton of bricks. “Right here?” I thought. “In this frustrating place? I don’t even want to be here. How in the world am I going to do that?”

Upon further introspection I realized that I ultimately had two choices:

• To continue to frustrate myself by cursing where I was and wind up bitter
• OR Till the ground beneath me and see what I could grow under the circumstances

I believe that God has me exactly where he wants me. I don’t know why. I certainly don’t like it, but there is a reason I am here and a lesson I need to learn from it.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

I’m going to take a step in faith and go with this revelation.  Let’s see where it takes me.

Where are you today? Are you stuck in a place that you can’t get out of? I suggest you come along on this journey, gather up your gardening tools and cultivate life around you. Together we may find that the things we long for are right underneath our feet.

My friends and I call it the “tiny little clip of guilt.” The Fitbit Ultra has been my constant companion since opening it up Christmas morning of last year. (As in, I wear it every single day. Without fail.)

Aside from my iPhone, I can honestly say that if I were to lose it or it somehow broke, I would run (not walk) to the nearest Best Buy in order to get it replaced.

It is absolutely that fantastic.

This incredibly inconspicuous  tech device essentially measures your motion patterns to tell you your steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled, vertical climbs and sleep quality. It is so much more than a traditional pedometer.

And it is very easy to use. You just clip it on your bra or put it in your pocket. It’s so petite that no one will know you’re wearing it, unlike some of the other models I have tried which made wearing  while sporting professional or evening wear impossible. (more…)

I write a weekly column on “Tweet Nothings” for Want2Dish.com.  this week I’m talking about the abdicating Mother’s Day to raise awareness of those lost. Read on…

Every 90 seconds, one woman dies to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. (Approximately 358,000 per year.)

For every woman who dies each year in childbirth, 20-30 more suffer from lifelong debilitating disabilities.

Does this shock you? I know that it did me. I had no idea the stakes were so high.

(more…)

PROJECT: The 2012 Frederick 1/2 Marathon

STATUS: Conquered

ANALYSIS: Surprising results for me considering I haven’t had a whole lot of time to train for this one. The sky was overcast which made for a terrific climate, especially considering how hot is was predicted to get.

Starting the morning off right. Normally I am a peanut butter and wheat bagel kind of gal but this morning I opted for peanut butter and oatmeal. Nom, nom, nom…

Pre-race photo. Looking confident on the outside but inside truly nervous about how I would perform. I was running with a very strong companion (Lori) and a friend of hers so I felt a ton of pressure to do well. I was about as calm as someone about to undergo oral surgery…

Mile 5 and looking strong! Of course, I knew the real test for me would be mile 10 and on. Normally, I try to keep a long run base of 10 miles so that it is easy to ramp up into marathon training mode but, as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve hadn’t been the most dedicated in my training program in recent weeks. (more…)