Mom Prom will be April 12 at Coeur d'Alene Eagles

COEUR d'ALENE — Sometimes, she might only be known as "Mother," "Mama," "Mommy" or "Mom."

She wakes her kids up for school, makes meals for the family, does the dishes, folds the laundry and tucks everyone in at night. She gives the best hugs and kisses away the pain from bumped heads and scraped knees.

Her advice is wisdom. Her support is unwavering. Her love is unconditional.

Yes, she is Mom, but she's also a daughter, a sister, a wife, a girlfriend and a woman who sometimes needs to kick up her heels and be reminded of her awesomeness.

Two words: Mom Prom.

"Moms are my heart," Doree Handford said Wednesday as she and a handful of other moms tried on sparkling sequin gowns at The Dress Shop in Riverstone.

The second Mom Prom will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. April 12 in the Coeur d'Alene Eagles Ballroom. It's a women-only evening that will be filled with fancy frocks, music, dancing, games, prizes and friendship. Hosted by A Parent's Paradise, all proceeds will support moms in the community.

"We just want people to come," said Handford, founder of A Parent's Paradise Charities and 20-year doula and childbirth educator.

"You could come in sweatpants, I don't care. We just want you here with us," Handford said. "We want to give you a night off where you don't have to feel that load that you feel 24/7, the constant worry, 'Is this done? Is that done?' We just want to give them a minute of shared joy, help their central nervous systems to realign. If moms are taken care of, they take way better care of their family."

A Parent's Paradise Charities is a nonprofit with the goal of helping parents thrive in their roles.

"A lot of times new parents get handed a baby and they don't really know what to do with that baby," Handford said. "It's not because of lack of trying, it's because being a parent is really trying and exhausting, and our generation is so different from the past generations. There's a lot more isolation. I see it every day, parents that are overwhelmed and overloaded and they don't know what to do or where to go."

The nonprofit offers scholarships for families to pay for doulas, who provide education and emotional and physical support for expecting and new mothers.

"What happens with doulas is they also have a bleeding heart and a lot of doulas will do pro bono, and that's just not sustainable for a 36-hour-long birth," Handford said. "Their heart wants to do it, but I want to be able to bridge that gap in some way."

She said the nonprofit's ultimate mission is to create a place where parents can find respite, like when they are up all night with a new baby and just need a morning nap.

"Sleep deprivation is not good for anybody, especially if you're trying to change generational things — being a well-rested parent allows you to be a good parent," Handford said. "Getting that respite care is a big deal."

Kim Olsonberg of Post Falls serves on the Parent's Paradise Charities board. She went to Mom Prom with one of her besties last year.

"When we got there, they gave us corsages, which was so cool, just a neat little thing," the mother of two said. "It was decorated so pretty, and there was lots of room. They had food and all of these cool raffle prizes."

She said some people don't quite get it when they hear it's a prom for all women. 

"They ask, 'It's just women, who do you dance with?'" Olsonberg said. "You just dance, by yourself or with your friends. They play songs women like to hear, like, 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody,' so all the women are singing and it's just this cool feeling of camaraderie."

Mrs. Hayden Terri Reece Nagrone also went to the inaugural Mom Prom. She wore a sparkling royal blue gown as she checked her tiara in a Say Yes mirror.

"It was amazing, just seeing all the ladies be able to let go and have some fun and not be moms for a night," she said. "The most special thing for the ladies was being able to just go dance, but actually making it feel like a prom, because a lot of moms never went to prom.

"We had so much fun just celebrating each other," she said.

Handford said a dad approached her and asked why she isn't doing anything for dads.

"I said, 'This is for dads. If she's happy, that's going to make your life so much better,'" she said.

The Dress Shop is offering $175 dress rentals for Mom Prom attendees, a discount of $100, with proof of ticket purchase.

Mom Prom tickets begin at $60.

Visit aparentsparadisecharities.com for tickets and details.

    Mrs. Hayden Terri Reece Nagrone fixes her tiara Wednesday as she tries on gowns at The Dress Shop in Riverstone. Mom Prom will be April 12 at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles.
  

    Mom Prom and A Parent's Paradise Charities founder Doree Handford laughs during a dress try-on session Wednesday at The Dress Shop in Riverstone, Coeur d'Alene.
  

    Moms party it up on the dance floor during the inaugural Mom Prom in April 2024. This year's Mom Prom will be April 12 at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles.