Meet our MOMumental Mom of the Week (July 31, 2008)

Name: Michelle

City: Frisco

Marital Status: married

Mom to: Seven year old daughter, Presley and one year old son, Camden.

Occupation: Mommy, wife, and volunteer/founder of Chloe Duyck Memorial Fund, a fund we started in memory of our second daughter who passed away during open heart surgery.

What was the best piece of parenting advice you got? Who gave it to you?
Choose your battles wisely and remember that you want your children to grow up to think for themselves. One day the persistence that drives you crazy will pay off in their career and future success. Advice from my parents! I think they are the greatest parents.

What are three products that you could not live without (e.g., your journal, your Blackberry, your facial moisturizer – anything you use constantly!)
my laptop, my lotion – I have super dry skin and love Johnson’s Soothing Naturals (from the baby section — It’s clean and fresh and very light. Great for sensitive skin!), and my bottled waters (with Lipton Green Tea (Lemon and Honey) when I need a little variety.) Another product I LOVE is Lash Injection mascara by Too Faced. It forms tubes on your eyelashes and makes them long and voluminous…The best part is that when you wash it off, it comes off in tubes and you don’t have the big black smears underneath your eyes (the ones that cause you to pull and tug as you try to wipe them off!) No more black underneath the eyes…It’s wonderful!!

If you could put one product on the market that doesn’t exist today, what would it be?
Cups or bottled waters with a scratchable label to say who the bottle belongs to. (You would etch your name or initials on to it with any handy object or even a fingernail.)

Has your definition of success changed since you became a Mom? If so, how?
Definitely! Before becoming a mom, my sense of success was based on how much recognition I received at work and how high I could climb the corporate ladder. Now, my definition of success has nothing to do with status or career…It has everything to do with how happy and content my family is. It’s about having a balanced life and making time to give of yourself.

What do you do in your “me”-time? How do you protect it?
I need to work on this one…I have very little “me” time with a baby that is high maintenance, my daughter, and planning our yearly event in memory of our daughter to raise funding for CHD research.

How are you different today than you thought you’d be at this point in your life?
I definitely did not plan to be a grieving mother…I planned to have 3 children all of which I would get the opportunity to mother and raise. I didn’t plan to be so involved in a charity or cause. I have always supported a number of causes, but I didn’t plan to be so involved in a fight against a specific disease or issue.

If an expectant mother asked you “what it’s like to be a Mom”, what would you tell her?
It’s the most amazing gift that anyone could receive…It can also be the most heartbreaking and stressful job you will have, but on the flip side the rewards are far beyond what I can put into words.