The Rebranding Story of Verified Mom!

There is a reasonable explanation for me rebranding Verified Mom.  Being a mom is all I know how to do.  It’s all I’ve done for 18 years.  Now that the kids are older, things they say or do are far from cute.  Things they say or do make me want to punch them.  They are also at ages where they don’t really want me talking about them to the masses.  There are things that happen that as a parent, you just cannot talk about no matter how much information it could provide someone.  I have somewhat of a conscious and have to draw the line in the sand somewhere. 

Sitting here one night I really thought about what I wanted to accomplish in the second phase of my life. 

I’ve decided that I want to make it less about my kids and more about me.  It’s the whole rediscovering who I am and what my relationship is with my husband and kids.  And, how I adjust to letting my most valuable possessions go to build upon their own lives.  It’s now about MY life.  I will share things like, my idea of beauty & style, my home’s renovations & upgrades, buying “things” for my kids, my love for cooking and baking, shopping for cool gifts and promoting & supporting work-at-home moms.  My site wouldn’t be complete without a little dose of conversations shared with my teenage “adult” daughter, and of course, I will also be sharing some parenting tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way too!

The definition of Verified is to make sure or demonstrate that something is true, accurate or justified.  Mom means one’s mother.  If you have given birth or have adopted, are a foster mom or step-mom, you are a “Verified Mom” by definition. 

I want women to know that there is a huge world waiting for them.  There comes a time where you need to let go of the children you once knew and respect the adult children they have become.  Letting go of your children does not mean your life is over, in fact, it’s just beginning.  It took me a LONG time to come to terms with that.  This year I watched Alyssa grow up and turn into an official “adult”.  It tore me up inside.  I could cry at the drop of a hat thinking about her leaving the house one day for good.  But, I know the child I raised and I know that she will be just fine!

Rebranding for ME!

My rebranding consists of a clean look for the blog.  I have a fresh new logo, new direction, new goals, new vision and more importantly, I have a plan.  I’ve never ever had a blogging plan and now I do and it feels SO amazing!

I’ve struggled for a long time trying to “find my place”, much like trying to “find where I fit into my kids lives now”.  I sat down and was honest with myself.  The answers to all my questions flowed through me like hot lava!  I instantly knew that this was what I was supposed to focus on for myself.  We put so much effort into doing things for our kids that our lives begin to pass us by.  This is now my time to capture MY life for ME and finally do something that I truly love doing while still being true to me.   

I recently heard Rob Lowe discussing (on the James Corden show) what it has been like for him and his wife after his children left.  He told James Corden, ‘after looking over my wife, “Wait a minute, I remember you.  We used to really like each other, a lot.”‘, he goes on to say that ‘”all those things that you fell in love with in the first place all come back to you and so we’re back to being like newlyweds again without all the time being taken up by the boys.”‘.  He shares that it has been a blessing that he didn’t think would necessarily happen.  It was as if Rob Lowe was reading my mind and addressed my own concerns; what would it be like when your kids leave?  

It’s inevitable that our kids grow up & move away.  
It’s up to me to prepare & write the remaining chapters of my life with ME as the main character!  

I can’t guarantee my journey will be all sunshine and unicorns because that is not real life, but there will be a rainbow from time to time to remind me that I am indeed on the right path just as the one I saw right after I decided to make this life altering change.

Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive access to my exclusive FREEBIE page!  I just added a Things To Do printable that I started using in efforts to keep me on track with this relaunch.  I placed it in a frame and it’s on my desk as a constant reminder of what I need to do today!