The Complete Mama
106 FOLLOWERS
Hi Friends, I am Carlye and I am so excited to have started this site so I can try and live out my passion of helping others. I look forward to having you along the journey called Motherhood. I'm a step-mama, a mama and our home is bursting at the seams with our children, their friends, our insane American Bulldogs [and other creatures] and all the energy and chaos and love that all that..
The Complete Mama
4y ago
Having a hard time during the Corona lockdown? Here are three (3) methods to turn your ideas into reality and start your side hustle as a busy mom.
When is the last time you heard the word, “serendipity?”
People use it to describe a chance encounter, like love at first sight, or when you meet someone who highly influences your life…
Like a STRATEGIST…
…who sees the big picture for your life, and knows the groundwork to put ideas into action.
Like a TRANSFORMER…
…who can walk you through the logistics and the “how-to,” to turn ideas and visions into realities.
Like an EXECUTIONER…
…who ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
As a Mom, have you ever felt burned out, worn down, and just plain exhausted from what the world throws at you? Well, you’re a Mom with kids, so let’s talk about how you can always be their guiding light. In the end, I will give you my five tips to recharge and keep charged that light.
Have you seen Home Alone? The scene when the mom is on the plane, and she’s trying to recall what she’s forgotten, but she can’t. So, she forces herself to shake it off.
That feeling, forcing the shake off… that’s how I feel every single moment that my three oldest kids are with their bio ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
Listen. I became a mom by accident. Like fell over the cliff into the tumultuous waters of [step] motherhood. To be clear, by the way, I wasn’t tricked into being a mom or anything. I just never thought I’d fall in love with a single dad with three kids 5 and under. And tumultuous because, 1. my step kids have a high conflict bio mom, and 2. Motherhood is scary as fuck.
But, here’s what’s scarier. Making true mom friends. I’m talking about the kinds of friends who see you; who, see your fucks ups and your “lose your shit moments”. Friends who hea ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
Being a [Step] Mom I’ve found that transparency is one of the best tools in my belt. Being a parent, in general, is totally fucking hard. It is also terribly humbling and even more rewarding. Recently I have come to realize that one of the best tools for teaching your children how to be humble is to yourself be transparent.
Last week was an exceptionally hard week for my husband and I. The big kid’s biological mother was in town for a court date as a result of the custody battle she recently began. It’s the second one in two years that she’s initiated. I’ll ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
Traditions
Apple pie. Is it the All-American Pie? I don’t know, perhaps. But to me, it’s tradition. It’s the pinnacle of mine and my mother’s relationship. This might sound sad. It is, but it’s not. As a mom, you want to create traditions for your kids to remember and pass on. I used to think that these traditions had to be spectacular, intentional, and well planned. This is why for years, at least in part, I thought I wouldn’t cut it as a mom.
I perceived my childhood as rough. How sad right? I had the things I needed, a little of wh ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
I believe in food. I really really believe in it. I love food. Eating it, preparing, and especially sharing it. It makes me happy. And over the last few years becoming a [Step] Mom it’s been one of the most unifying things for my family. The kitchen is the heart of our home.
When I first came into my three stepkids’ lives I was unsure of so many things. Boundaries weren’t yet clearly defined. And so it was hard to know what parental roles were okay to assume. But cooking, that was always easy. Lots of people cooked. Not just pa ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
Waiting for the Storm to Pass
Fake it till you make it. Keep your head up. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
All those things. Right? Do you know what I’m talking about? Sometimes putting one foot in front of the other sets all things in motion. Inspiration breeds inspiration. Right?!
One Hell of a Year
So, let’s back up. It’s been a minute since I’ve written a blog. Mostly because life got busy. Shocking, I know. But, really soccer season kicked my ass this Spring.  ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
There is a concept in psychology called the Drama Triangle, or the Karpman Triangle. It’s about relationships. Really, it’s about ineffective relationships. There is a persecutor, a rescuer, and a victim. If you look at an inverted triangle the victim is at the bottom. The persecutor and rescuer share the top looking down on the victim.
The goal really is to become adults self-responsible and insightful enough to never be a part of the triangle. Having been a part of one of these triangles with my mother for a very long time, I can tell you that it takes A LOT to ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
In my blog the other night I wrote about grit. A few blogs ago I wrote about optimism. Writing about something and practicing the things you write about are two different things. I’d love to say that I’m always practicing. I’m not. But, what I am doing is always trying to practice. One of the ways I do this is by writing. And the reason I’m able to write is that I’m becoming friends with my demons.
I have always hated the saying; “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” It’s so depressing. And whether or not there is value to that statement, I don’t care. It just sucks that sometime ..read more
The Complete Mama
4y ago
I’ve thought a lot lately, for various reasons, about what I really want to teach my kids. I don’t want to control every little thing they do. First, that’s exhausting. Second, more importantly, it’s just not effective. My kids have to fail and struggle and piss me off to learn. As a good friend reminded me, I’m not raising “good kids” but “good adults”. I really want my kids to be productive members of society. They have to feed the dogs and drop food everywhere. I have to extend my trust a little more than I want to when they ask to make slime on their own. I want them to become respon ..read more