2019 was an amazing year for Charleston Moms! We started off the year as Charleston Moms Blog and in October, became Charleston Moms. We may have a new name and a new look, but our mission has always remained the same: to connect moms.
Along with amazing content and resources, we also hosted our 4th Annual Bloom: An Event for New & Expecting Moms event (and sold it out!) and our first family-friendly Hanging with Heroes event! We’ve published more than a dozen local resource guides and added to our contributor team, bringing our total to more than 40+ local moms sharing their stories of motherhood.
To cap off 2019 and ring in the new year (and new decade!), we wanted to share our top 10 most-read articles from this year. From the bottom of our hearts, thank YOU for letting us walk through this journey of motherhood with you!
10. How to Make Mom Friends in Charleston by LeeAnn Neumann
“Once you hit motherhood, you’re in a life stage that’s different from every other time you’ve made friends. You’re no longer in high school or college, where friends are literally everywhere you turn. Fast forward a few years (or more…eek!) and you’re a stay at home mom, you work from home, or you work in a small office with limited girl tribe prospects.
Now what?”
9. Mom, I’m Sorry We Live So Far Away by Allison McCleary
“It was never in my master plan to leave home. I never felt like “I need to get out of this place” or “I’ll never grow if I stay here”, but…meeting a man (who’d become my husband) whose job brought us out of state changed all that. The two of us moved and grew closer as a couple and had an adventure in a new place. We’d come home for holidays, or you’d come visit us. It all seemed to temporary then. We thought eventually we’d move back home to be near our family, especially when we started our own family. But we didn’t.
And I feel guilty about that.”
8. The One I Never Knew I Needed by Windy Silver
“The previous month had felt off, we had friends in town every weekend. I had been looking forward to hanging out, but the thought of drinking made me feel sick, and I was bloated like I’d downed a vat of salt! It was a photo posted on social media from the 4th of July where I thought to myself “I look pregnant” (although my baby was eight months old), I realize now the photo probably triggered something deep inside waking me up. I guess deep down, I knew. I didn’t just cry. My whole body shook.”
7. Sex O’Clock by Erin DiNicola
“Scheduling sex may not sound like the definition of romance – and certainly, if you had suggested such a concept in my heady youth, I would have pitied your lackadaisical sex drive. But given that sexual boredom and incompatibility are listed as two of the primary reasons for divorce in the U.S., it may be worth pulling out your weekly planner to schedule in a nooner.”
6. 5 Reasons Why I Love Living on James Island by Allison McCleary
“When my husband and I moved to Charleston, we had zero clue what part of town we should live in. We asked our realtor where all of the young families were, and he said, “everywhere.” Super helpful. So we looked…everywhere! And by luck, we ended up on James Island.
My love for James Island runs DEEP. I don’t think I have ever loved someplace I’ve lived as much as I love James Island. There is something so special about this little island and it feels like everyone who lives here knows it. There are so many reasons to love living on James Island, but here are my Top 5…”
5. When Your Child Looks Older Than Their Age by Rhonda James
“My son is two years old, but he looks like he could be four or five. He’s tall. He’s in the 99th percentile on the growth chart. He’s wearing 4T clothing (sometimes 5T depending on the brand) and a size 10 in shoes. I see the questioning stares when strangers hear him babbling toddler talk instead of forming sentences. How old is he? He should be doing this by now, right? No. He’s only two. “
4. Why We Give Each Other the Night Off by Allison McCleary
“A few months ago, my husband and I started giving each other the night off from parenting and I’m telling you, it’s the best thing ever. One night each week with no guilt, the freedom to relax, and the choice to do what we want. “How about we each start getting the night off?” I proposed to my husband last fall. I had read about this idea somewhere on the internet and was intrigued. With two boys, age two and four, we were both feeling drained.
We both needed a break from our chaotic day-to-day and this felt like this the answer.”
3. 12 Local Organizations to Donate Your Used Items by Amy Kay
“Something amazing happens when you de-clutter your home. A huge sense of accomplishment, relief, and freedom washes over you and you think, “Why have I waited so long to do this!?” We’ve created an excellent list of organizations located right here in the Lowcountry, where you can donate your gently used items and help your community at the same time!”
2. What the Heck is a VSCO Girl Anyway? by Amber Chandler
“I hear it . . . the grumblings of the parents. These kids think they have somehow fooled us all. VSCO girls and E Girls and the factions in-between. I mean really??? They are too young for Clueless and too old for High School Musical (the original), so they had to make up their own name. So here I am, a mom of a soon to be twelve-year-old girl sharing all that I have learned over these first weeks of middle school.”
1. My Mom Died. Please Stop Asking Me This Question by Whitney McDuff
“My mom passed away suddenly a little over a week ago. To say it was devastating to my family is a gross understatement. Like many mothers, she was the anchor of our family. She was my idol, an icon in my life and heart.
We ask this simple question with the best intentions, trying to bring peace to those we love. But now that I am on the other side of grief… living it instead of watching from the sidelines, I beg everyone to reconsider asking; “How are you?”
And here are just a few of our popular local resource guides that we published this year (not included in this Top 10 list!)
This year we also introduced a new series called Ask the Experts where you, our readers, could submit questions to be answered by local parenting experts in their field. We are excited to continue sharing this valuable resource with you in 2020!
