These last several weeks have been a whirlwind, chile! In addition to the retreat, we celebrate two out of three of our kids’ birthdays in September as well as our anniversary. And I also launched my very first summit the day after returning from the retreat! I then attended Plaid St Conference in Virginia (formally Type A), Shift Con in Atlanta, just got back from my Mastermind meeting in Atlanta, and leave Wednesday for Beaches Social Media on the Sand.
So this is how I’ve been feeling since the Motivated Mom Retreat…
But so happy to finally share some of my favorite moments! Last year, I had the honor and privilege to co-host the first annual Motivated Mom Retreat with my girl, LaToyia Dennis of the Motivated Mom. When we first spoke about her vision for this retreat, we immediately clicked. Our brand missions align and we both know the value of self-care and empowering moms.
We understand that in order to be the incredible moms that God created us to be, we need to take time out to love on ourselves and to heal ourselves. We have been long lost sisters every since we met at Disney Social Media Moms.
Why I said “YES” to the Motivated Mom Retreat
On the last day of the retreat after brunch, LaToyia asked all of us as co-hosts why we said yes? The short answer: LaToyia. She has such a heart of service. And we share the same passion. There is something so rewarding about being able to create a space for moms to not only gain resources but to also just be. For us to let our hair down, surround ourselves with a circle of other moms, and truly find time to retreat.
We all know most of us don’t give ourselves enough grace and don’t take enough breaks from being mom, wife, business owner, teacher, etc.
The Motivated Mom Retreat is just that. It’s for us. And it’s curated by us because we know what we need.
Conversation with Malinda Williams
Malinda was truly a breath of fresh air. I loved how laid back she was, and how transparent she was in sharing her own motherhood journey.
I started this blog to empower moms to go after their goals and dreams in addition to being a great mom. So I was so happy that she shared her journey of being a mom while pursuing her goals and dreams of being a great actress.
She also talked about journaling and the importance of writing down your goals as though they have already happened. So often we write down what we want and our aspirations but we don’t claim them to be ours or believe that they can be. She said this has been a big driver for her in her own success.
Her advice: “Watch what you say. Your words have SO much power.”
It was also her birthday a few days later (same day as my son’s which is September 24th). So we were able to sing Happy Birthday to her.
Momma Rose Rock
First of all, this woman is just someone I could listen to all day. She is so honest, full of wisdom and straight up down to earth. I really enjoyed her not only being there all weekend. But she actively participated. In everything. She shared her opinion and expertise during panel discussions. She partied with us at the PJ party. And she engaged with us as moms to graciously share her experiences with us. It was surely a treat.
LaToyia Dennis & Mrs. Rose Rock (Chris Rock’s mom)
Pajama and Karaoke Party
Speaking of the PJ party…fun is an understatement! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. And what is better than getting custom bamboo PJs from our girl, Angela Hawkins of Bamblu?! Click here to check out last year’s custom PJs. These pajamas feel like God came down from heaven and made them himself. Just heavenly!
Custom PJs by BamBlu.com
If you ain’t all the way in, you ain’t doing it right! 😆
And you can’t do “Bel Biv Divoe” without the old school running man…
It ended with a fun photo at the Prudential photobooth with my girls T. Espi and Mimi, reminding us that our “Legacy Lives On”… The GIF we created was even funnier. Click here to see all of my story highlights from the event.
Surprise African Ancestry Reveal for Flex Alexander
Last year, when I met Flex for the first time as he was running through the hotel. He mentioned how he had been trying to reach out to African Ancestry. I’m all about making connections, so I immediately got Gina Paige (Co-Founder) on the phone so she could chat with him. She agreed to send him and his beautiful wife test kits to trace their roots and find their African tribes.
We won’t talk about how it took him almost a year to send in his test kit. But we WILL talk about how the stars aligned for Gina to be in Dallas at the same time. When I told her he was going to be there again, she immediately offered to put a rush on his results so she could be there to surprise him with them and do the reveal for him.
Flex Alexander and Dr. Gina Paige, Co-Founder of African Ancestry
African Ancestry was gracious enough to give away two test kits. We gifted one to Dondre Whitfield and the other to an attendee who was celebrating her birthday. Dondre was so surprised and super grateful for the gift! He said he was a little jealous of Flex getting his results as he was sitting there listening. 😄
Real Talk about Self-care Panel
Now, I may be a little bias since I spoke on this panel. But I truly enjoyed having this conversation. It felt like we were amongst sisters and everyone was in the conversation as well.
We talked openly about everything from postpartum depression, running a business, maintaining relationships with our spouses and juggling everything in between. It was a reminder that while we may live different lives, we all go through similar situations that we can all learn from. It was also a reminder of the importance of being willing to share your story. You just never know who needs to hear it and who will be blessed by it.
Fashion show
We wanted to highlight some great designers and who doesn’t love to get dressed up and walk the runway? These designers had some really cute pieces. And my girl, T. Espi of The Style Medic rocked the mic hosting this runway show and panel discussion.
The fashion show hostest with the mostest and MC, T of TheStyleMedic.com
Legacy Lives On Discussion + Documentary with Prudential
It’s crazy what we sometimes don’t know. I really appreciated this documentary that Prudential shared with us because it broke down the disparities when it comes to legacy building. It explores the economic challenges of black America, historic and current, through the lens of three determined women. And looks at ways to help heal past wounds and create legacies of financial wellness.
The full documentary is available on YouTube and you can view it below.
Conversations with Dondre Whitfield
All I can say is that you just.had.to.be.there. He spoke to us about raising black children, especially black boys.
Converse and Cocktails Soiree
This is something that is done to raise awareness for A Chance to Learn, LaToyia’s organization for early childhood education. The best part? Getting fancy AND having comfy cute shoes on to party in. And this year’s icing on the cake was having Celebrity DJ Flex Alexander on the 1’s and 2’s!
If you missed out this year, don’t make the same mistake again! Be sure to head over to Motivated Mom Retreat and follow @MotivatedMomRetreat and #MotivatedMomRetreat on Instagram for updates.
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