...Nikki Curnutt!
Her amazing friend, Lisa Grund, nominated her as her #MomCrush through our "Nom-A-Mom" program, which asks our customers to nominate those friends/family members in their life that they want to recognize for any recent "wins" (either big or small) they may have had as a mom. After all, we are all on this journey of motherhood together and we know it takes a village to raise a mom :) We need to support, mentor and help each other through the daily tribulations of Mommyhood and celebrate each other's wins - whether big or small.
Lisa told us that Nikki is "...wise, brave, and passionately committed to the well-being of her children not only spiritually but in every way a mother can". We loved what she wrote and for that reason, we are recognizing her as our first ever official #MomCrush!
As our winner, Nikki has won $100 to treat herself to something nice, and a $100 donation in her name to the charity of her choice! Nikki has chosen Preemptive Love Coalition (Read more, CLICK HERE) as her charity. Read more about why she chose this awesome organization below! We also gave Lisa a little somethin', somethin' too for introducing us to Nikki :)
Want to know a little bit more about why Nikki is so great? We asked her a few questions about herself to get to know her better and here is what we learned.
"I have three kids: A 3.5 year old daughter, a 2 year old son, and a 9 month old son. My husband and I have been married for almost 7 years, and I'm living my dream: Being a stay-at-home wife and mom. That is NOT to say that it's all rainbows and unicorns--having three children ages three and under is what you could call "intense." :-)"
"My most recent mom fail was this weekend. The past few days have been unseasonably hot for our area, and--just like EVERY YEAR when we have our first sunny days where the kids can play outside--I totally forgot the sunscreen. Sure enough, my 2 year old son (who basically lives outside when the weather permits) has a nicely toasted pink face! Thank goodness he was at least wearing a long sleeved shirt!"
"My favorite thing about being a mom has got to be the sweet, snuggly newborn stage. Even though I'm way beyond tired, always smell faintly of sour milk, and feel unkempt and bloated and like I'm never....ever...going...to...emerge...from...the...newborn...sleep...deprived...fog...I am also beyond in love with nursing and rocking a tiny baby in the stillness of a sleeping house in the middle of the night. With the way each baby burrows perfectly in the crook of my neck and shoulder. With the way I'm the source of nourishment, comfort, and first smiles. With tiny feet and fingers, tiny creases on feet bottoms and skinny little chicken legs before they get those luscious thigh rolls (though I love their thigh rolls, too!). With the milk comas and the way they will sleep ANYWHERE, so in spite of having a newborn and no energy and having not slept in weeks, you are strangely free to do things almost like you don't have a baby. Ah, yes, I have to stop--I'm going to give myself baby fever!"
"My guilty pleasure is giant chocolate chip cookies from the grocery store. Or chocolate ice cream--the chocolatier, the better. I can almost never justify the cost, but when I do, I will DEVOUR as much of Ben & Jerry's "Tonight Dough" as I can afford!"
"If I had an extra hour in the day, I would totally spend it reading design/home/DIY blogs. The Nesting Place is my #1 pick, but I love a lot of them--Young House Love, Little Green Notebook and Vintage Revivals are way up there, too!"
"I chose the Preemptive Love Coalition as my charity for a couple of reasons. As their website says, "Preemptive Love is a global movement of peacemakers changing the way we engage the world’s most polarizing conflicts by confronting fear with acts of love...Every day, you make choices that either sustain conflict or transform it. In the face of terror, you can confront fear with preemptive love and remake the world." Preemptive Love does this by providing lifesaving heart surgeries for children, emergency relief for families victimized by ISIS, empowering grants for small business owners, education for at-risk children, and a variety of other avenues. The surgeries they provide to children in Iraq with heart defects, though, is what really stirs me. Before becoming a mom, I worked as a cardiac sonographer, performing ultrasound exams of the heart. Then, my first child was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia that required major surgery when she was 21 hours old. I can't imagine the anguish of moms and dads in broken countries like Iraq, watching their children die of heart defects that are treatable--sometimes easily treatable--in America. If I can help an Iraqi mom's child get the medical care that I took for granted for my daughter, I am all about that!"
WOW, Nikki! You really are an amazing woman, mommy, wife and friend. We understand why you are Lisa's #MomCrush and we enjoyed getting to know you. Thank you for being so honest and real. We could not be more excited to celebrate you!
Nominate Her now HERE OilogicCare.com/pages/Nom-A-Mom