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To Be Seen. To Be Heard. By Noreen Heffernan, Writer

There are three things that we should always demand in our lives from the people who matter. To be seen. To be heard. To be valued. I think it is as simple as that. I have a close friend and sometimes when I vent to her, she says that to me. She says, “I see you and I hear you.” It makes my eyes fill with tears every single time. Sometimes she doesn’t even need to respond with advice. I know that when she says that to me, she truly gets it and I immediately feel validate

The Fake Adult by Noreen Heffernan, Writer

Do you ever feel like a fake adult? Like, why would anyone leave you in charge to take care of people, bills, and a household? Do you ever feel like you are in some elaborate game, just pretending to be this person with answers, when the truth is, you have none? I’m all about jumping in, you know when someone gets hurt and has to sit on the bench, but I think it is really hard to be a starter. I’m not the shortstop. I’m the pinch hitter. Sometimes I feel like that, espe

Life From a Different Lens by Noreen Heffernan, Writer

I’m a Mom. I’m every Mom. We might not have the same circumstances, titles, roles, and lives, but we are all Moms. We all want the same things for our children. And although my day might be a little different than my friend up the street, we all can find extraordinary moments in our ordinary everyday lives. All we have to do is look. And when we get a chance to see it, it all becomes so clear. When “A Day in the Life,” came to fruition, I was hesitant to allow someone t

Mother’s Day Reflections by Amara Wagner, Integrative Health Coach

Being a mother is my proudest accomplishment, a tremendous source of joy in my life, and one of the things I feel I’m best at (I’ve literally built my career around mentoring other moms), but I have a gripe with the pressure that comes with Mother’s Day. To me, it feels like trying to fit a big messy blob into a pretty little box that we must politely contain and make sure to feel perfectly happy about, so your family has no doubt that you appreciate their efforts to make you

Mother's Day Giveaway Winner Kerribeth McKenna

Congratulations to Kerribeth McKenna! She is the proud mom of a toddler boy and new baby girl. And to Kerribeth’s surprise, her husband Andrew entered her in our Mother’s Day Giveaway! We asked Andrew to share a little something about Kerribeth, and here is what he had to say… My wife Kerribeth is selfless and puts our children first. No matter what stress comes our way she becomes the rock our family needs. She always puts everyone's needs before her own. And as fo

Something Just Like This by Noreen Heffernan, Writer

You know when you have a bad day with your kids; everyone seems to be fighting and bickering and you kind of lose it?! Then you hear a song on the radio that reminds you of everything good and wonderful and you say to yourself, “%H#T!” I’m a jerk. It is called a gentle reminder. Sometimes these reminders are soft and in the form of a song and sometimes they are LOUD and unable to escape, like a death in the family or a diagnosis. That day, “Something just like this,” by

Your Values Are Your Parenting Foundation by Fern Weis, Parent + Family Recovery Coach

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” – Unknown You bring your newborn baby home with great joy and some trepidation. You are finally a family and ready to lavish love, protection and dreams on this little bundle. But where is the owner’s manual? Your manual tends to be your own parents. Some of you will raise your children the way you were raised. For others, it is just the opposite. “I’ll never do that to my children,” you may have said. Eith

Halftime by Noreen Heffernan, Writer

I turned on Good Morning America today, because it was a snow day. I normally never get to put it on, but in between the meltdowns and breakfast debacle and the poop withholding, (another time and place) I was able to put it on this morning and someone very significant filled my screen. Oprah. I caught the tail end of her interview and she said this to a young girl looking to ‘change the world’: “The highest honor on earth, is the honor of being yourself. And your only jo

The Front Row by Noreen Heffernan, Writer

Who is in your front row? Who is cheering you on? Who is lifting you up and who is throwing bricks in your boat? These are important questions when navigating what we all rely on, The Mom Friend. I went to Disney on Ice in the beginning of the month. We left a little late for the show because my daughter has food allergies and I have to make sure she eats before we go anywhere because I never know if she will be able to find something ok to eat at events. My mom friends

What You Can Do By Noreen Heffernan, Writer

Every time my husband goes to the gym early in the morning, he sees the same guy and that same guy comes up to him and says the same thing, over and over. He says, “you can only do what you can do,” and shrugs his shoulders. When he comes home, I always ask him. “was he there? Did he say it?” Yes. He goes from person to person and says the same exact thing in between his weight routine. We laugh because it’s cute but it is also comforting. He is a simple man, giving a

The Seasons of Motherhood by Randi Levin

“So much is written about the ages and stages of childhood and becoming an adult, yet we seldom flip the script to take a closer view of the seasons of being a mom! Pregnant with our first children, our vantage point is focused on taking care of the unknown. In that moment we feel as though time will somehow stand still!” ~ Randi Levin Coaching I vividly remember being pregnant with my first child over two decades ago. I recall being clueless as to just what the job descripti

The Brink by Noreen Heffernan

Is my house clean? Are my kids ok? Do I worry? Can I relax? DO I get enough time to myself? Do I exercise enough? Do I drink enough water? Am I keeping my kids safe and healthy? Am I happy? Do I know who I am? Am I enough? What are the answers to these questions? Who knows. We are all moms. And if you are home, like me, chances are that some of the answers to these questions could involve pages and pages of explanations. BUT… WELL…. SOMETIMES…. And maybe they

A Letter To All Moms by Randi Levin

To All Moms, With almost 23 years of motherhood under my belt, I have been both a teacher and a student of the process. I think that we most often consider ourselves in the role of “mom” as the ones in charge of modeling behavior and imparting wisdom, yet I urge you to re-evaluate that. I feel as though we seldom stop to consider the impact that our kids actually have on us. It’s a lot of responsibility to be someone’s mother. We don’t fully realize the scope of the job until

Digging Deep by Noreen Heffernan

Life is changing all around us. It is up to us to do what we can control. First things first, love your family. I saw a quote circling around the web. Do you like how I said, “the web?” Anyway, it was a quote from Mother Theresa. “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” I do believe that to a certain extent. I’ve always believed that everything starts at home. What are we teaching our children? What values are we instilling? If we are teachi

M&M's and Seconds by Noreen Heffernan

I am just getting over the stomach bug. I got it January 1st. What happened to my big goals for 17? Happy New Year to me?! What a funny twist of fate. Some good did come out of it, however. My husband had to take care of the kids for two days. When I finally reemerged from my room, hair astray and ripped pajama pants, I shuffled downstairs and caught him stuffing M&M's down the hatch. I laughed out loud because I get it. When you are taking care of little kids all day, you

The Sounds of Our Lives by Noreen Heffernan

We lay in bed. Both spent from the day. Arms draped over our heads. And someone says it. Someone dares to say it out loud. It echoes in the dark room, in our heads. “Where is the baby’s monitor?” It is ALWAYS downstairs. And someone ALWAYS has to get it. Every night. You would think we would learn. You would think we would bring the thing upstairs when we go off to bed. But, no…we ALWAYS forget to. Almost like the recycling. “Is tomorrow recycles?” Another Tuesd

Reinventing the Strong Mom by Noreen Heffernan

"Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them. " -Unknown. How does this image make you feel? If you are anything like me, you kind of feel like it could be unbecoming? A mom with an apron, baking fresh homemade bread and tidying up the house. For me, it sparks up the feeling that I don’t do the stay at home thing well because I don’t whip it up like her. I bet she has a mixer. I got one at my wedding but it is sitting in a box in the garage

Bleeding Heart by Noreen Heffernan

How do you raise an introvert in a world that prides extroverts? How do you teach someone to take the first step, make the first move, when it goes against everything in their nature? How do I do it? How do I come out of the baby making stage and into the stage of life where things get hard? When I see girls who don’t want to play with my daughter because it takes a while for her to get comfortable with others? Everyone tells me to schedule play dates? I don’t think I h

Seeking Order by Noreen Heffernan

Whenever I see a mom and I say “Happy Back to School,” they smile so big and bright that I have to look away. It is so painfully bright. Blinding. I think it is happiness. Maybe relief? We get so sick of the routine and then we crave the routine. We wish for the end of school and then we decide that we NEED back to school. NOW! Everything gets out of order and then we decide that we need order. It can’t continue to go on like this…you know? Summer. It cannot continue.

The Zone by Noreen Heffernan

Isn’t it strange how some things stick with you? I feel as if it is always random; random things people say to you….they may think it is a fleeting comment, but it could be something you look back on, something you never forget. It can happen when you are driving and you have a moment; those are the times you remember these casual and sometimes arbitrary remarks. And, as casual as they are, sometimes they make you change and grow. They do it, without even trying. That is

BERGEN COUNTY MOMS