Wow, 2021 feels like it is flying by. It is almost June and we are getting spoiled with some great weather recently. I would be lying if I said I remember this entire year. I feel like I have been in a whirlwind most days barely being able to catch up.

I started a new chapter with the kiddos in the past month and even though it did not necessarily happen the way I would have planned - it has gone wonderful. They started going back to school and even though at first I was anxious because Hailey has never been in school - she has really done great these past few weeks. We are blessed to have found a wonderful school that the kids both love. THANK YOU, God.

Since that started - we have had to adjust to a whole new routine. The kids and I have to be out the door by 8:25 am each day and it is a struggle. Mainly because there is always something that goes wrong the minute we try to leave the house. Do you feel like I do in that most moments I spend trying to anticipate what is going to happen next so that I can avoid x, y, z…. meltdowns, boo boo’s, huge messes, etc…

This new beginning was much needed for me. As anxious as I was to start them at school, I was more anxious to be home alone with them all day while trying to work full time. I absolutely ADORE my children but trying to work full time, while taking care of them the RIGHT way and giving them the attention they deserve, was a HUGE weight on my shoulders. I felt like I was always doing something I shouldn’t be doing. It was really tough. I’m so blessed to have a great job. But mama’s - working from home with a toddler and an infant is not really humanly possible for the long-term.

So there are some new tools I implemented these past few weeks that have really really helped me not only show up as a better mom, but a better version of myself. I decided to set boundaries with my home (yep, my house chores), my kids, and in my life in general. Saying no, saying yes, and making sure I stick to my plans.

My 8 p.m. rule. I decided that past 8 pm, I would no longer engage in any form of chores. No dishes. No laundry. No cleaning up. NOTHING. Because, I could stay up for a long time making the house perfect for the next day - but at the end of the day - what’s more important is my SLEEP, my quiet time, and my time with my husband.

Prepping lunches. I prep lunches while I’m making dinner. There is already a mess out on the counter while I’m cooking so I might as well just get it all done at once.

When I buy meat, I let it sit in the fridge. Ok the biggest reason I was not cooking from home is one of two things: I forgot to take meat out or I was too lazy to take meat out. Therefore, no food to cook for dinner. Takeout it is. Now, when I go to the store I leave the meat sit in the fridge until it’s time for that meal to be cooked. This also gives me some wiggle room with meal planning, because I am a much better cook when I go off of my instinct like … hmmm tonight I want to make tacos - rather than planning to make something else and not sticking to the plan. If I have all of the tools it’s easier for me to show up in the kitchen and get a healthy meal on the table for the fam!

Only consuming positive information. I’m SO over the negativity of the world. I’m only consuming information that makes me happy and fuels me and gives me energy to be a great mama.

I started listening to RightNowMedia devotionals. OMGosh… they changed my life.

Chores for my son. I started giving my son some chores that really takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Not anything he can’t handle - easy stuff. Putting the silverware away, putting his clothes away, making his bed. These are easy tasks, that he can do that teach him personal responsibility.

Encouraging my son to pick up after himself. ALSO, instead of just picking up his shoes and putting them where they go (by the door) - I have made sure to remind him that he needs to put his shoes on the shoe rack. I know it is WAY easier for me to just pick them up and put them nicely on the shoe rack, and hang up his jacket. But that is NOT teaching him anything. Once he starts putting his shoes in the same place when he takes them off, he will get into a habit of doing so. Same with his jacket. He can’t reach the hook so I showed him where to put it so that it’s not thrown on the floor when he comes in from outside. Teaching him these little acts of responsibility are not just helping me stay more organized, they are helping him to learn how to take care of his things! Literally, anything he leaves laying around (shoes, toys, jacket, tooth brush, etc.) I tell him to put away and eventually he starts to make it a habit of just putting the things where they belong and I don’t have to remind him anymore.

Learned to appreciate the small stuff that helps me. If Liam puts his shoes on the shoe rack, I don’t go over to the rack and fix them to make them ‘perfect’ I leave them there the way he put them there. That’s how he does it, that’s fine - it’s done. MOVE ON. Same with literally everything that my husband does for me too, I don’t care how it’s done - just so it’s done I appreciate it. I am a recovering perfectionist. I realize that this is hard for most women but what is more important is your sanity. Your sleep. Your mental health. Make that the priority, not the way the dishwasher is loaded or the laundry is folded, or what your child’s room looks like today.

These are just a few things that have helped me the past few weeks… I hope it’s helpful!