Fell Into It

14/07/2022

Truth. Or give away pile!!! Just took 15 of the 2,000 stuffed animals while he’s at camp. 😃 He’ll never miss them. The trick is small batches.

21/04/2022

Story time!
A lady was baking a cake. She had all the ingredients laid out and began her work. As she was hurrying around she DROPPED AN EGG. Ugh. She only had enough for the recipe. Now what? Any advice for her?
Borrow from a neighbor
Run to the store
Google an alternative
Try it with only the eggs she did have
There are probably more options but that’s a good start! I bet none of you said- don’t bake the cake. Right?!
Have you ever DROPPED AN EGG? Committed to something and then an unexpected twist caused a disruption? Or maybe the disruption was motivation. Did you commit to a book club, a diet, a gym membership, a regular date night, a volunteer opportunity, a business opportunity, a work project, a self care routine, etc., etc. And then you DROPPED AN EGG? We’ve all done it! I’d have to write a whole other post with all my examples! Truth be told, my new health journey has seen a few DROPPED EGGS. But we can’t ‘not bake the cake’! We need alternatives. We need to keep going. Picking up where you left off is great. Starting over is great! Not baking your cake is not an option! What DROPPED EGG is on your floor? What alternative are you going to use to get back to baking?

19/04/2022

I found myself reflective and thankful this Easter season. I know we all make our thankfulness post in November normally. And Easter is more a time for celebration and excitement as we look at the new life our Lord gave us.
Maybe I’m getting older and more reflective. Maybe I’m getting more sentimental with every holiday. Maybe my momma heart is just experiencing it all in a new way, through my child’s eyes.
But I was so grateful! Grateful for nice weather, down time with my family, egg hunt with my favorite, my new found health and wellness journey, church, even my job (it’s not always on the list 😊). I had time to “stop and smell the roses”. I had time to really appreciate the small things. And, give myself some time away from those things that burden me. As I reflected over my long Easter weekend I thought- I need to do this more often!
What’s a little thing you are thankful for today? No need to wait until November! 🦃

12/04/2022

Okay frans- if you’re following you’re my friend. And I don’t have friends who are quiet or lack opinions. Ha! So where my comments at? Scroll back through the page and let’s get some discussions going! Every comment enters you to win a $20 gift card to Starbucks! I send it electronically so doesn’t matter where you live. Winner drawn Friday!

08/04/2022

Y’all- am I right?! Sounds good to me! Ha. This is why I need a health plan. (Down 10 lbs btw) I have found I need plans, and planners, and spreadsheets and To Do List! I don’t need fancy. My calendar is basic- just one week per page. No stickers, no motivational sayings- just places to write things down. And at work- I ❤️ a spreadsheet! Ones I can sort and color code. Oh yeah baby!!! I meal plan too (even before my recent changes). Plan the week, then plan the grocery list!
If not- y’all! I’m eating all the snacks, double booking and forgetting appointments, coming close to missing deadlines and ordering out! I like to think it’s my organizational skills and just enough OCD to be healthy. It’s a little Mom Brain and Old 🧠 kicking in I’m afraid. But either way- I have to plan to stay on track or I derail quickly! What about you? Do you wing it? Or plan like me? What’s your favorite “staying on track” trick?

05/04/2022

Vitamin D is my favorite vitamin! Add some salt air and blue water and you have my cure all! Something about it just resets my soul. Feeling so free and open and looking around at the sun, clouds, water, space. Knowing all the creatures that are living beneath me. Really does put things in perspective and reminds be what a small spect I am.
I think nature does that for many of us. Whether it’s water, the beach, mountains, wildlife, farm country- it helps us remember the circle of life. The life that is all around us. The life that would be there whether we were or not. Feeling like a small spect also helps be put my problems into perspective. Helps me balance what’s important, what needs my time and attention and what I need to move on from in my small, small world.
What is it that helps you reset?

01/04/2022

I love this page I found some time ago! Lots of good stuff for parenting younger kids. But great reminders for us all on how to be good humans. We all have big feelings and being a good friend, partner and parent is hard sometimes. But so important.

Picture the worst day you've had recently. Just a really, awful, sh*tty day. What would have made you feel better? What did you deserve in that moment?⁠
⁠
You deserved:⁠
✨A hug⁠
✨Understanding⁠
✨A pass to just feel however the F you felt! Even if it may have been overblown or ridiculous⁠
✨To be seen⁠
✨Some extra love in that tough moment⁠

And? our kids need the same thing. PLUS our toddler's brain is super under construction. 🧠🚧, That's why we see them scream, yell, flail on the ground over every tiny thing. Coping skills, like the ability to self regulate or calm down, don't come naturally to a toddler. Coping skills are something WE as parents need to actively teach.

"But how do we show them that the behavior is NOT OK?! We're supposed to be all rainbows? Kids need discipline!"🤔 Yep! The latin root for the word discipline is "disciple" which means, to teach. And fear is a terrible teacher.
⁠
If you feel stuck in an endless cycle of yelling/disciplining only to come across MORE bad behavior the next day, you're not alone. You're not a bad parent. Your kid is not a bad kid. We just need to shift the strategy.✅⁠

When do kids (and adults) learn best? During calm, collaborative moments. NOT during heightened tantrum moments. So, in the moment, we empathize with the feeling, we set boundaries:

✨"You're feeling so sad that iPad is all done. It's hard to turn off the iPad, I get it! And we're all done with iPad today. We'll watch more tomorrow.✨

✨"You're feeling angry. It's ok to feel angry, it's not ok to hit. I'm going to move baby over here to keep her safe now."

Then, later, during a calm moment (when our brain's are able to learn information), we teach better behavior, coping skills, what to do next time.

✨Want to learn how to discipline in a way that WORKS and protects your child's self esteem? Want to end power struggles for good? Our best selling course, Winning the Toddler stage teaches you how. For parents with kids aged 1-6.✨

31/03/2022

You may have seen on my personal page where me and Michael are on a new health plan. I was reading an article by the company we’re buying our products from. They sent it to me and were congratulating me on my first steps success! And talked about ways to celebrate that doesn’t involve food.

Um… excuse me…. I’m from the south… that’s what we do! Someone gets married- food. Someone dies- food. Graduation? New baby? FOOD!!! It’s what we do. It’s our love language! Planning a vacation- where we eating? Am I right?! And let’s don’t get started on emotional eating. That’s for another post. 😀

But I loved this list of ideas on ways to celebrate without food. I know- it’s not natural. 😄 But some great suggestions and I’ve already tried a few with my recent weight loss success!

Which ones do you like? What would you add?

28/03/2022

So is it just me or does ‘contouring’ seem to be the new beauty buzz word? I always imagined this is what I would look like if I tried it. 😂 I mean- stick to what you know right?!
Well, a friend and coworker is a consultant for a sort of new line of make up and I decided to have a make over to see what the hype was about. Y’all- I can contour! And it’s easy and it looks good.
Honestly, with the pandemic, working from home and mask my make up game wasn’t off- it was dead in the water. I really had gotten used to not wearing it and didn’t even care what I wasn’t concealing or hiding. But since my make over I have been wearing it daily! Mask just became optional at school a few weeks ago. And it has given me such a boost!
I don’t think you need make up to look pretty. But it has done so much for my mindset! I feel…. put together, professional, sure of myself! And it’s led me to step up my outfit game too. Since returning to school this year I had a mindset of- what most feels like pajamas that meet dress code. Feeling ready for the day sure makes it a more productive day! And I love it.
Do you have a beauty routine, product or process that’s a go to, must have, helps you feel amazing? Please share.

27/03/2022

I haven’t posted in a bit but need some positive around me! So why not create it yourself? Honestly, the pandemic has been rough. Even with supports in place it’s draining. I feel like I’m coming out of the Covid Fog and need a place to celebrate. 🎉
My mental 🧠 , emotional ❤️ and physical 🏃‍♀️ health all took a hit and I’m working on each of them in a more focused way now.
What is something positive that has come out of the pandemic times for you?