I’m a mom living in Orange County, CA.  I have one amazing daughter, age 6, and one incredible husband, age undisclosed (because he’s 2 months younger than me and never lets me forget it!).  I have a background in accounting and finance, but have been a stay-at-home mom from the moment my daughter was born.  I enjoy cooking, reading, exercising, dessert and taking care of my family.

I believe in living a healthy life.  I’m not a dietician, nutritionist, or chef.  I’m just a mom who enjoys cooking healthy, yummy food for my family.  I believe in buying nutritious, whole ingredients and using them to prepare easy meals that my family will actually want to eat.  I believe in challenging my husband and daughter to try unusual or new foods (most of the time, they do!)   I don’t know the nutritional values of my dinners, I just try my best to include vegetables, whole grains, and protein, while minimizing processed ingredients, sodium, saturated and trans-fats.  We don’t eat perfectly, but we try.

That being said, I believe in dessert.  Every day.  Yes, that’s right, we eat dessert every day.  And guess what?  None of us are overweight or suffering from diabetes or heart disease!  Depriving yourself just isn’t necessary – everything in moderation.

I believe in exercise.  I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my body for years, but right now, I’m in love.  I’ve been through bouts of bedrest, had miscarriages, given birth, breastfed, pretty much the gamut of things you can put a body through.  But once I made up my mind to love my body, I started working out regularly, and realized how good it feels!  I look better, have more energy, and am just a more positive person when I exercise.  And I make sure my daughter exercises, too.  She’s really into gymnastics, which she does three times a week, so she’s super athletic.  Way more than I ever was, to be honest.  And I’m so proud of her for being fit and healthy at such a young age!

I believe in miracles.  My daughter is an IVF baby, and though science played a huge part in making her life possible, there was still a whole lot of miracle needed to bring her here.  No, we didn’t only want one child.  But we have one, and she’s amazing, so yes, we’re happy.

I believe in the power of friendship.  Friends are a necessary part of my life, and I am blessed with some really, really good ones!

I believe in marrying your best friend.  My husband and I were friends for 4 years before we dated, and we are still the best of friends.  We have been married almost 10 years, and I love him more now than the day I married him.  Our marriage is solid, fun, and a fine example for our daughter.  We’ve been through the highest highs and the lowest lows together, and have come out just fine every time.

I believe in allowing your children to be who they are.  Like I said, my daughter loves gymnastics.  I am actually surprised how much she loves it, given her cautious nature.  But she also has a very intense side, which makes it a great sport for her.  I cringe when she’s up on the balance beam learning handstands, and it’s probably not the sport I would have chosen for her, but it’s part of who she is, and I don’t want to deny her that.

I also believe in: God, science, the Pledge of Allegiance, band-aids, the power of prayer, celebrating all holidays and special occasions, that money really doesn’t buy happiness, morning coffee, that happiness is a choice, pajama days, that stuff is just stuff, that family matters, that pregnancy and child-rearing depletes brain cells, that art is crucial, that chocolate is an effective medicine, and that parenting is the best job in the whole world.

Like many of you, I get my best ideas in the shower or at 3 am, so you never know what you might find on RealOCMom.com – it’s just my way of passing along some parental thoughts and good motherly advice!