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Monday, April 6, 2009

Getting to Know: Jennifer & Tiny Oranges

Have you met Jennifer? She is a mommy to one, with another little darling one the way. As she says "motherhood has been joyous, exciting, exhausting, humbling, frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time." & Yet, somewhere she has finds the time to write the fabulous blog, Tiny Oranges. Haven't check it out yet? Then you don't know what your missing... "Tiny Oranges is an online lifestyle boutique for today's stylish mom." We've been lucky enough to get to know Jennifer a little bit better & thought you'd love to hear from her as well...

Just Spotted: What's a normal day like for you?
Jennifer: My husband leaves for work around 8:30am, so I am lucky he gets up with my daughter and lets me either sleep in or have some morning time to myself before the crazy day begins! Then I get up, we have breakfast together, and I hop on email, Tiny Oranges, and Twitter to see what is happening for the day! I usually then plan a little outing for the morning with my daughter. I like to get out of the house at least for a couple hours, so we either go to a park, run errands or meet up with friends some where. Then it's back home for mid-day nap time (my daughter - not me - I wish!) When she naps I try to fit a day's worth of work into 2 hours on the computer doing my blogs and answering emails. After she wakes up, we usually play for awhile, or do another little outing. Some days my mom and dad come down in the afternoon to give me a break, so I can either work or do errands "kid-free." I am very lucky they live only 10 minutes away. Then it's dinner time, we look forward to daddy coming home, and the nightly routine of bath and bedtime. After she goes down, I hop back on the computer to finish up any work. Then by 9pm, I am usually just exhausted. These days since I am pregnant, I usually collapse on the couch with a little bowl of ice cream and watch my favorite DVR'd shows for an hour. In my non-pregnant nights, the ice cream would be replaced by a glass of Chardonnay!

Just Spotted: What's the best advice you've ever received?
Jennifer: For parenting advice, my cousin Angie, who has two older kids, told me, "Just when some behavior or some situation with your kids gets so bad, you think you can't take one more day, it will CHANGE!" I have found that to be so true. Things will always be better the next day. My dear friend Pam (mom of three), also told me, "Ages and stages. Each age has it's challenges and it's rewards!" This has also been true for me. Just when something gets "easier" with my daughter, another challenging behavior will pop up. They always keep us on our toes!

Just Spotted: Any advice for new moms?
Jennifer: Be prepared for motherhood to also be a journey about learning more about yourself as you settle into your new role. Also to be prepared that parenthood can be like a great ride on a roller coaster. The highs are SO high and the joy is almost undescribable, but then the lows can leave you feeling defeated and out of control. Just know that after a low will come a high again, and try to enjoy the ride along the way!

Just Spotted: How do you find time for yourself? Favorite treat or indulgence?
Jennifer: Lately I have been making it a priority to go to Prenatal yoga at least once a week. The class is an hour and a half and it has been the greatest gift for myself. I am really a Type A personality, so for me to practice slowing my mind, and breathing and focusing on my core, has been incredibly helpful and been not only good for me physically, but mentally as well!

Just Spotted:
What was the inspiration for Tiny Oranges? How did you get started?
Jennifer: I was a wedding planner and had my own business for 6 years. It was amazing, and a great experience, but after I had my daughter I wasn't prepared for my world to be turned upside down! I thought I could do it all and be super woman. HA! That turned out to be a joke! To run my business like I wanted to would have required a full time nanny and many, many 13 hour days on weekends away from family at my events. I have always loved to work, and love having a creative outlet, but I didn't love the demands of my business and time away from my family. I knew something was going to have to change since we were considering having another baby, I just didn't know which way my life was going to go. In the meantime, two dear friends in the wedding industry launched a wedding blog called www.weddingchicks.com and I wrote an article for them, and saw their vision come to fruition with their blog. I absolutely fell in love with their site! I loved the layout, the simplicity, the design. I was totally inspired. Talking to them one day, I said, "I wish I could do a blog like this for OC moms and families" and they said, "why don't you???" That got my wheels spinning and I knew it was my next calling! I was already doing so many things in OC with my daughter, and felt with my network of friends, we were always sharing information and ideas, so I thought it would be a really great forum to share tips and local finds. The designer of www.weddingchicks.com designed my site for me and I worked really hard for many months to get it just how I wanted it. I launched www.tinyoranges.com in August, and the rest is history! It has been amazing for me because I can still be home with my daughter, but my work can be done totally on my own schedule and hours. It has allowed me the flexibility I didn't have, but still gives me an outlet for my sanity!

Just Spotted: Do you have a favorite post?
Jennifer: This is going to sound crazy, but my favorite post was the one after our home was burglarized (read it HERE). It was an awful experience to go through, but in a way, being able to blog about it and share the information I learned in the hopes to keep it happening from others helped me get through it.

Just Spotted:
Do you have any favorite blogs you visit?
Jennifer: Yours of course!!! I also love Fun Orange County Parks because we spend so much time visiting parks. I also discovered Daytripping Mom, which I think is a great one too!

Just Spotted: Do you have a favorite OC family friendly activity?
Jennifer: Lately we love doing an outing to Balboa Island and the Peninsula. We will meet friends on the Island by the ferry, take the ferry across to the Peninsula, go on the Ferris Wheel at the Fun Zone, then walk over to the playground by the Balboa Pier. If we have enough energy, we sometimes do lunch at Ruby's. It is such a fun outing, we get to do lots of things, and it is really cheap!!!! _____________________________________________________________________

Thanks Jennifer for letting us get to know you just a bit better. Personally, I love being able to get to know the real gal behind the blog! & For all of you looking to find "the juiciest places, spaces, products, services, outings & ideas" in Orange County, check out Jennifer & Tiny Oranges.

xoxo, K
image via Sandy Heit

5 comments:

Julie {Angry Julie Monday} said...

Great post! I love Tiny Oranges.

Daytrippingmom Media said...

I love Tiny Oranges!! Loved getting to know more about Jennifer. Thanks for the great post.

Jen said...

Thanks for the wonderful post ladies! I appreciate it so much! xoxo

Michele - @OCPlayParks said...

Very nice post! Glad to see you are having fun being a mom and sharing all your finds with younger families.

Suz Broughton said...

It was great to get to know you more! Love Tiny Oranges :)

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