Amy's Parenting Story
"When my husband and I married, we had every conversation
under the sun about what kind of marriage we wanted. We
also both knew we wanted children. What we did not
discuss was what kind of parents we wanted to be. With
our first child, we read the books, attended classes,
and listened to other people's opinions - A LOT OF THEM;
both welcomed & unwelcomed.
I continued to work the first year of my daughter's
life. I had a successful career, but eventually found
that I was not meeting my own expectations at work or at
home and decided to become a "stay-at-home Mom." I was
great at it! I joined a Mother's Group, took my
daughter to all of the fun Mommy & me classes, spent
more time visiting extended family, and learned how to
have an organized, clean home.
When I became pregnant with my son. I was tired all the
time, I was still very involved in the Mother's Group,
added other community & church activities and on top of
everything else started my own business. That is when
things really started to fall apart for me.
I was trying to do everything I had done before plus
adding 12 - 20 hours of work a week into the mix. My
home was a mess, I was crying often, and was separating
myself from friends and family. I found myself yelling
at the kids more often than not. I was always worried
about what the next thing on the schedule was and never
taking the time to enjoy the moment. One day I walked
into my daughter's extremely messy room and started
literally dry-heaving.
I knew then that I needed help.
I decided it was time to seek the help of a
professional. Finally I was connected with a
psychologist. I learned so much about myself during
that process. One of the greatest things to come out of
those visits was the recommendation of Kelly Nault's
book, "When You're About to Go Off the Deep End, Don't
Take Your Kids With You."
This book and Kelly's tele-class has enabled me to learn
to mother without guilt - something I was having major
issues with. I look back now and it is amazing to me
how many things have changed since this parenting
information crossed my path. I have taught my children
how to do so many things, which has made my life so much
easier. I now have the courage to be imperfect. And
most importantly I have learned that "Peace begins with
me." I no longer allow someone else's bad hair day to
cause me to have a bad hair day (most of the time)! I
find myself going back to the book and Kelly's
information again and again to look up information on
whatever is currently going on in our family. I will
cherish this book and tele-class and will continue to
return to it as my children grow and change. I am so
grateful to Kelly for this information and so proud of
myself for the positive changes I've made so far."
- Amy Hammond, PA, USA, "Ultimate Mom" to
Rachel 5 and Ethan 3.
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