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The Sleep Ritual That Works for Me
We all know the effects of a good night’s rest. We are calmer, more focused, less stressed and with more energy to handle what each day brings. Research on the subject of sleep has shown that it even clears waste from the brain and supports learning and memory. So while the body is sleeping, the brain is very much at work. It’s no surprise that while we understand how important sleep is, many of us don’t get enough of it. As a mom, it’s almost impossible. Whether it’s the stresses of the day looming over our heads at night or the to-do list for the next day, it can be difficult to…
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Sleeping with essential oils (and other things)
I have a lot of things in my nightly arsenal to help me go to sleep. Sleep podcasts, meditation sessions, music, a notebook, diffuser, and essential oils. It wasn’t always like that. Every time my son doesn’t want to take a nap, or my daughter gives me the “but I’m not tired”, I want to tell them how they’ll regret it one day. I remember the ability to stay up until 3 a.m, waking up early to get to class. I also remember having long weekends where I could sleep until noon like it was no big deal. Like I said before, things are different now and sleep doesn’t come…
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Remote work: why asking for help is the key
I recently read an article talking about the struggles of entering the workforce after the pandemic. The results were shocking. Check out this graph made by Moody’s Analytics: See that red line? That’s women with young children who haven’t been able to re-enter the workforce due to factors like closed schools and daycares. As a mom with a 6 and almost 4-year old, I get it. I’m lucky that I get to work from home on my own schedule and prioritize work and kids depending on the day. My husband has been working from home since March of last year. It’s tough for him to focus while the kids are…
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Anytime Gifts for Moms
Mother’s Day is coming up! This year I’m celebrating all the moms in my life including my mom, mom friends, family and myself. With the year we’ve had, moms have been the true superheroes of the past crappy year. Since becoming a mom, I’ve realized how important mom friends are, so every year I send them a card to let them know how truly special they are. But even though we have a day dedicated to moms, what about the rest of the year? Call me crazy, but I think moms deserve to be celebrated all year. Working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, we do so much every day that…
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Self-Love
Self-love is a term that’s been thrown around a lot. Almost to the point of making you feel bad about it if you don’t love yourself in a way that is apparent to the world. The quote above is awesome, but also overwhelming. Love EVERY PART OF MYSELF? Taking care of MY OWN NEEDS? It seems far-fetched. I did not grow up engulfed in self-love. More often than not I was self-conscious about my weight, my clothes and fitting in. I was a very shy kid and kids can be mean. I was bullied, made fun of, and so desperate to find my place in my small world. As I…
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the loss of the mid-day nap
We are getting to that point where my son doesn’t want to take a nap anymore. I know, it’s happening. I’ve been milking the mid-day sleep break for as long as I can. I think I’ll have to come to terms with the fact that it’s slowly going away. I knew it was time with my daughter when it took longer for me to get her to nap than the actual nap. She would just play around until we both would decide a nap isn’t happening. My son still takes 2.5-hour naps and it’s gloriously quiet in the house during that time. I’m considered one of the lucky parents whose…
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Do you have a workout routine?
Everyone has been home for a year and a workout room is basically your bedroom/living room/garage/spare bedroom. That’s where we’re at. While some gyms and studios are starting to open, the safest bet is DIY. I’ve been getting into the FitOn and Apple Fitness workout apps and finally bit the bullet and got a 6-piece weight set from Amazon (no longer in stock). Strength workouts are awesome, but a lot of them required some kind of weights and the water bottles/canned vegetables weren’t cutting it. I was into the workout routine about a month and a half ago. I would set up my girl in her room on her iPad…
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Why walk when you can skip?
I remember when my little one was just starting to walk. The push for those early steps. Google searches and advice from other parents on how to do it. Eventually, she did it on her own time. Now she’s twirling and learning ballerina moves. That reminds me, I gotta put that girl in dance lessons once everything settles down a bit more. We thought our son would learn earlier, wanting to catch up to his sister. We got the same suggestion scroll on how to get him to walk but with him our response was different. “He’ll walk on his own time, we are in no hurry” I would tell…
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How are you doing?
It’s been 7 months. 7 months of figuring out what our days looks like. What work, school, kids and connection with friends and family looks like. Some poured their energy into working out, others (ahem, me) decided to get on the sourdough baking wagon. It’s been almost a full year of uncertainty, adjusting, settling and then adjusting and settling again. Where do we go from here? What habits have you found comfort in? For me personally, I’ve embraced my natural waves, re-started my blog and have been journaling my story. I take the most comfort in letting it out on paper (or screen) as I can express myself best with…
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You Should Make a COVID-19 Time Capsule
When all of this started, the four of us were in limbo trying to figure out not only our feelings, but what we would do with this newfound time spent together. Inside. Without outside help. I was on the cusp of being able to have a few hours to myself for the first time during the summer while both kids were old enough to go to school and have it carried over in the Fall. So when everything shut down, all of that became null and void. Our family was thrown into different versions of our day: my husband had to figure out how to work from home with two…
