Tag: Self Care

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Adulting For the Home Home Life

4 Easy Ways to Make Your House Feel More like a Home

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As the old saying goes, “there’s no place like home.” In many ways, our homes are the places that we turn to for comfort, rejuvenation, and even inspiration. Our homes are where we spend some of our most cherished moments with the people closest to us, and they are where we refine our sense of who we are. For these reasons alone, you must make your house feel more like a home.

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Taking care of your home is so important, and there are many things that can contribute dramatically to making your home feel more like a home. You can make it the kind of place where you enjoy spending time, and where you and your family can thrive.

Perhaps you have just moved into a new home and haven’t quite settled yet. Or, maybe you just aren’t quite happy with how you relate to your existing living space. Either way, taking steps to help make your house feel more like a home is essential.

How to Make Your House Feel More Like a Home

1. Get a Pet

There are many brilliant upsides to getting a pet – especially for families with young kids.

For one thing, getting a pet such as a new Labrador puppy, from a responsible breeder such as https://chocolatelabradorretriever.ca, can immediately fill the home with a rich sense of innocent, jubilant energy, while simultaneously allowing every member of the family to participate in the wonderful aura of enthusiasm that results from this.

For another thing, pets – for many families – symbolise the real solidification of a home. They complete the “white picket fence” dream of what a family home should look and feel like.

In addition to all of this, pets can teach all sorts of valuable lessons to all members of the family, but especially to children. Lessons concerning things like responsibility, to give just one example.

2. Personalize Your Home with Things that have a Personality and a Story

There is certainly a kind of allure connected to the simple and streamlined aesthetic that you will find in many home décor catalogs these days. But, there are setbacks to filling your home with this type of furniture.

The things you fill your home with will dramatically affect how the place feels to you, how you perceive it, and how capable you are of relating to it. If everything in your home was mass produced in a factory, there’s a good chance you will feel alienated from your home.

This is because for a living space to really feel like a home, it has to feel like something that you have a relationship with. Something that has character, personality, and that is personal and relevant to you – rather than just being something broadly utilitarian and pretty.

The more you can ensure that the objects in your home are more than just “objects,” but that they have a story and personality – or, at least, can develop a story and personality over time – the more your house or apartment will come to feel like a home.

3. Get Your Home in Order and Keep it That Way

No matter how great your house may be or how many meaningful items it contains, it will be hard to feel comfortable in your living space if it is messy, and chaotic.

While “comfort” isn’t exactly the same thing as your house feeling like a home, it is at least a significant factor to consider. If you find yourself in this situation, it can be difficult knowing just where to start. You may even struggle with getting the energy and momentum to step forward and begin the process.

Despite those obstacles, the best thing you can do for transforming how your home feels overnight is to dive into the cleaning and organizing process. Make sure that there is a place for everything, and that everything gets put away.

From there, you will be able to see, feel, and appreciate the unique and beautiful features of the place that had been obscured before.

4. Develop Routines to Create a Sense of Happiness and Meaning Each Day

Your home is much more than a place where you simply sleep and eat in between going to work or school.

It’s meant to be a place where you flourish, and where you can get in touch with yourself and appreciate some of the small pleasures of everyday life.

One thing you can do to make your house feel more like a home is to come up with routines that can introduce a sense of happiness and meaning on an everyday basis.

This might mean having a family breakfast each morning at a beautiful dining table, or it may mean sitting on your porch with a cup of coffee before starting the day properly. It could even be as simple as enjoying a good book in your favorite chair.

Your home is supposed to be a special place where you can truly let go. You should be able to relax and enjoy the time you spend at home. This means finding a way to make your house feel more like a home is essential.

What are some of your tips for making a house feel more like a home? Do you have any simple daily routines that help you find pleasure in your home each day? Tell me in the comments! I’d love to hear about it.

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Adulting How To Learning Life

Standing Up For Yourself In Life Is An Important Skill

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There are many life lessons we are taught as we grow up, such as standing up for yourself. Sometimes these life lessons are learned through direct tuition and mentorship, and some through life experience.

Of course, some lessons don’t immediately stick, and it might take several failures or obstacles for us to truly get the point. Also, it’s no great failing in a human being to make mistakes – we all do, and we all do until our old age.

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That being said, sometimes life lessons are worth considering, especially if they seem universal and you have yet to fully practice them. Not everyone learns how to stand up for themselves in life, because not everyone has a strong character from the offset.

Even those with meek dispositions can benefit from learning how to defend themselves, however. Thanks to the way modern society is set up, we don’t have to play by barbarian rules to do so.

But how can you exercise your self-defense in life, in a range of different areas? In this guide, you will get a primer on how to behave this way in three different life scenarios. This advice could help you if going through a difficult patch.

How to Work on Standing Up For Yourself

Know Your Legal Rights

Knowing your legal rights is the first step in the process, and it’s surely one of the most important steps. It’s important to know if you’re acting within legal guidelines in many respects.

For instance, knowing consumer law can help you more accurately complain if your consumer rights are being abused. It may help you assign a personal injury lawyer to a case if neglected at work. If ever in doubt, be sure to research online what possible precedents you can use in your favor.

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There’s No Need To ‘Accept’

Remember that in life, there’s no need to give in to someone unless you have previously accepted their authority (such as in a work setting), or unless they have the law on their side. This can be important to know if someone oversteps and expects you to be okay with that.

You may encounter this situation if someone takes your table reservations without asking, gives you less than what you paid for, or simply wishes to treat you harshly. This can be important to know, because when you don’t immediately feel as though you have to accept this treatment, you can actively defend against it.

Don’t Set A Precedent

The worst thing you can do is allow for a precedent to be set. It might be that someone in your office made a comment to humiliate you, and instead of addressing it, you smiled and took it.

This means that next time, it will happen again. It doesn’t mean you have to cause conflict with people every single time they do something you don’t like. Causing conflict each time may only cause more difficulty.

Sometimes, however, shutting things down as soon as they appear can show people you’re not that kind of person and that you won’t tolerate that type of behavior.

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It is clear that standing up for yourself is an important life skill. If you don’t do it, people will walk all over you and treat you badly. They’ll say hurtful things, inconvenience you, and take advantage of you.

Use these tips to get ahead of the problem. Standing up for yourself will change your life for the better.

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Adulting Mental Health Parenting

Self Care And Personal Development Focuses All Moms Can Have

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We can all be guilty of neglecting ourselves and avoiding self-care or personal development. We can become transfixed with our daily routine and commitments, such as work, family, or paying bills. It can cause us to lose sight of what life is all about.

Personal development is an essential part of growing, and too often, we can flounder our ambitions and plans in favor of leading a mundane and unfulfilling life. Of course, everyone has commitments. You may have bills to pay, deadlines to meet, and young children to take care of. That doesn’t mean there aren’t areas where you could put some focus into your personal development, however. With that in mind, here are some ways to focus on your self-care and personal development.     

Personal Development and Self Care For Moms
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Practice positive thinking

Being positive doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but we can all practice and develop better habits. After all, thinking negatively is exactly that, a bad habit we fall into during hard times in life.

In theory, positive thinking means focusing on your thoughts and turning anything negative into positive. Over time, it won’t feel so forced, and you will naturally become a more positive person as you search for the good in everything. It can be a life-changing way to live. 

Increase your qualifications

Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut with work and daily life. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a career change or try something new.

Whatever your age or circumstance, you can take an online course or obtain qualifications in a different role or industry. They are flexible, and you can study at any time. There is no excuse not to live the life you have ambitions to have. 

You might even want to consider taking an in-person course, as some institutions like Harvard offer subsidized backup care, through care.com for children and adults for family members of masters and PhD students. This means that even if your child’s school is closed, or you have a parent that needs a ride to the doctor you’ll still be able to attend classes and achieve your dreams! 

Time for yourself

Let’s be honest… not all of us focus on giving ourselves some alone time, self-care, or attention. But yet, making sure we feel good inside and outside can positively affect other aspects of our lives.

Whether you focus on looking after yourself in areas such as a Laser Toenail Fungus Treatment or do something else, it is essential to take this time. You can book a hair appointment, a facial treatment, or have time for a bath and reading your book. No matter what it is, it can make a world of difference to your ability to act in other parts of your life. 

Start up a hobby for personal development

Having a job and taking care of a family are just some of the necessary attributes of life. So more often than not, people take up a hobby to give them a new focus that is just for them.

It might be creating an online blog about your passion, taking photographs, or creating artwork. Or, more simply, it could be exercising or doing yoga. Make time in your life for whatever gives you joy.

Music production can be a great hobby for personal development. It can help you to improve your musical skills, learn new technical skills and knowledge from singularsound.com, and even make new friends. The process of music production can also be very therapeutic, helping you to relax and de-stress. And, if you’re lucky, you might even be able to make a little bit of money from your music production hobby. So if you’re looking for a hobby that will help you to grow as a person, music production could be the perfect choice for you.

Define your future goals and aspirations

It can be hard to look forward to the future if you haven’t defined your goals or aspirations. These could be anything from a step up the career ladder to publishing a book. Having the ambition to reach those goals motivates you during the mundane parts of everyday life. 

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Recap: Personal Development for Moms

These ideas should help motivate you to focus on your personal development and self-care for the future. Do you have any other suggestions? Let me know in the comments! 

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Adulting How To Life

Lose Weight By Avoiding These Common Mistakes

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Are you eager to lose weight and get in shape? This can definitely be more of a challenge for some people compared with others. If you are struggling to lose weight, there can be numerous problems that are causing havoc with your body.

For instance, you might find that it’s your metabolism. A slow metabolism will make losing weight a nightmare because your body isn’t able to process the food you eat as quickly as it needs to. Some people do put on weight a lot easier than others and, sadly, this can’t be helped.

Alternatively, you could be approaching weight loss the wrong way and that’s what we’re going to look at today. Here are some of the weight loss mistakes that you definitely need to avoid. 

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Lose Weight by Avoiding These Common Mistakes

Cutting Out Meals 

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when trying to lose weight is cutting out a meal or two completely. The common one that people avoid is breakfast. They tend to forget that breakfast does actually kickstart your body in the morning.

There is even research to suggest that eating a solid breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism. So, it could be the perfect tool for weight loss that you might be completely skipping over.

An extra tip would be to drink an ice-cold glass of water each morning. This will provide big benefits for your metabolism too. 

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Relying On Ready Made Diet Meals 

You might think ready-made diet meals that you can buy from the store are a lifesaver for someone who is trying to lose weight while juggling a busy lifestyle. However, this isn’t the case because they don’t provide the nutritional value that your body needs.

Instead, you should think about using the advice of a nutritionist like Kristen Blake. You can find guidance from her and similar experts online.

They’ll teach you all about the fruits and vegetables that you should include in your diet. Don’t forget, if you don’t provide your body with the energy it needs, it won’t be able to deliver the key results that you want. 

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Forgetting About Exercise

Finally, a lot of people do make the mistake of assuming that a healthy diet is all you need to lose weight. This just isn’t the case.

Instead, if you are interested in getting rid of those extra pounds, then you do need to think about your exercise routine as well.

It’s important that you work on building up a solid fitness routine. You can try a few different exercises before finding the one that works for you. Swimming could be a great choice and breaststroke, in particular, is a fantastic option when you’re trying to get in shape. 

What are Some Tips You Have to Help People Lose Weight?

Do you have any weight loss tips or things to avoid? Let me know in the comments!

By following the tips mentioned in this post, you’ll be able to avoid problems and lose weight quickly. Don’t get stuck in an unhealthy rut when you deserve to be at your best!

lose weight, weight loss mistakes, how to lose weight quickly, lose weight easily, healthy, quick weight loss
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Adulting How To Life Mental Health

3 Tips for Getting Less Stressed about the Small Stuff

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less stressed about the small stuff, don't sweat the small stuff, how to be less stressed, tips for stress, tips for less stress

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Life contains a number of different sources of stress, which can wear you down quickly. Before it becomes too much, you should find a way to get less stressed about the small stuff.

Between rushing the kids around, dealing with household chores, meeting work deadlines, and staying on top of appointments, you will find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed.

Some of the things that will stress you out will be major and will need to be taken seriously. But, at the same time, there are also plenty of “smaller” things that may be stressing you out.

Here are a few tips for getting less stressed about the small stuff.

1. Indulge in regular opportunities to be playful and to have a good laugh

Laughter can serve as a potent and effective medicine against stress. It can help put things in perspective and remind you of what’s important and what isn’t.

Simply indulging regular opportunities to be playful and have a good laugh with those close to you will help. One fun idea is gifting each other fun sweaters from UglyChristmasSweater.com. Activities like this can really help calm you down and allow you to see things through a clearer lens.

It’s difficult to stay stressed about forgetting to buy milk when you’ve just had a really good laugh.

2. Take up centering and grounding practices such as mindfulness meditation

One reason we get stressed out by “small” things is that we get caught up in our negative thought loops. We end up confronting a version of reality that isn’t the one that’s right in front of us.

It can be a very useful and uplifting exercise to take up centering and grounding practices. Mindfulness meditation can be used to help return your awareness to the present moment. You will be more aware of when you are getting lost in your own mental projections.

3. Focus on getting enough sleep, eating enough, and taking care of your physical well-being

Stress is a physiological phenomenon as well as a psychological one. If you find that you are getting easily worked up about small things, there’s a good chance that at least part of this is because you are caught in an ongoing cascade of stress hormones.

There are various things that lead to a chronically stressed physiological state. This includes sleeping too little, eating too little (and not getting enough vitamins and minerals,) and chronic illness.

To the best of your ability, you should focus on optimizing these features of your physical well-being. Then, you will have the best possible safeguard against stress coming from that direction.

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How Do You Get Less Stressed?

What do you do to stress less about the small stuff? Tell me about it in the comments. 🙂

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Adulting

How To Regain Control Of Your Wellbeing Amidst COVID-19

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Let’s face it; COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of our lives. Even if you haven’t been directly affected by the virus, the lockdown and social distancing rules have disrupted your year. Now is the time to regain control of your life situation once and for all. 

The key is to build a winning strategy that focuses on the main areas where the restrictions have caused problems. To regain control here’s all you need to know:

Maintaining A Social Life

We all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and others in relation to the virus. Unless you fall into the greatest risk category, though, small social gatherings are ideal. Wine and painting parties are a great example of activities that can provide hours of fun and entertainment.

It’s safer than hitting public spaces while you still get to spend time with loved ones. While the video calls and quizzes were fun at the start of the lockdown, real contact is essential. Just be sure to do it in the safest manner.

Maintaining Your Health

COVID-19 has put medical teams under a lot of stress, while various health centers have been forced to close or run limited services. However, those challenges cannot stop you from gaining the support needed to maintain your health. Video GP appointments allow you to diagnose any problems that may have surfaced.

Meanwhile, great quality eyeglasses are the best solution when you’re unable to get to the eye doctor for replacing your broken pair. The simple solution will make a big impact on your life.

Maintaining Your Look

Looking good has a telling impact on your overall wellness. Some of the health-related items can certainly boost your appearance as a byproduct. Still, you must not forget to invest in your look.

Salon quality nail kits are a great way to gain an instant improvement. Meanwhile, a new hairstyle can work wonders too. Additional steps, such as buying new clothes or revamping the outfits you already possess, are equally rewarding.

When you look good, you feel good. Do not ignore it any longer.

Maintaining Fitness Levels

Good fitness levels can feed into each of the two points above. However, even if you’re not bothered about body image, it’s vital that you stay active. All of us are forced to spend more time at home than usual, and it has seen a reduction in step counts.

Whether it’s cycling, running, or playing sports under the right conditions is up to you. Either way, keeping your fitness levels high is vital in this testing time. Besides, if you allow them to slide right now, it’ll be difficult to rediscover them later on.

Maintaining Sleep Patterns

Sleep patterns are the foundation of a winning lifestyle. Not only do they account for a third of your life, but they also influence everything from your mood to energy levels. The strange routines will threaten your sleep patterns, but you can fight back against these issues.

Preparing your body for sleep and avoiding the blue light of smartphone screens before bed will bring quick changes. Once you have rediscovered a healthy approach to sleep, your entire life will feel under control. Perfect. 

regain control of your wellbeing amidst covid-19, corona virus, regain control of your life, don't let covid-19 control your life
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Adulting How To On My Mind Our Family Parenting

How to Balance a Busy Life and Still Take Care of YOU

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Guys, life is CRAZY busy. I’m sure most of you feel the same way. It’s an overwhelming feeling, just knowing that there is ALWAYS something to be done, and finding a way to balance a busy life is the only answer to easing some of those feelings.

I have this overwhelmed feeling quite often, but I’m realizing that it’s even worse this time of year. Back to school time in our household is absolutely insane. We’re going on week 4 of school and things are finally beginning to become more “normal” for us.

That’ll be thrown completely off next week, however, as my daughter is starting 3-year-old preschool and there will be yet another thing thrown into our already busy schedule. It’s so worth it, though. I’ll forever choose providing for my children and giving them every opportunity I can over living a “simple” life.

Our children deserve the best and, as parents, we all know that we’re going to give them the best life that we can. Even if that means running around like crazy from school to practice to work (yep, our teenager just got her first j-o-b!). The only thing we can do is find a way to balance the crazy schedules and stay sane while doing it.

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So what is a mom with a million things on her to-do list to do? Take a bath. Read a book. Listen to music. Watch her favorite Netflix show. Whatever self-care technique you prefer, DO IT.

As parents, we ALWAYS have a million things on our to-do list. Get done what can’t wait, and make the rest wait until tomorrow. Take care of YOU. After all, how can you take care of your child when your own cup is empty?

how to balance a busy life and still take care of you, what to do when life gets too busy, how to manage a busy life with kids, parenting tips

Make a list

Each night before bed, sit down and write out all the things that need your attention in the coming days. This is the easiest part.

Prioritize

First, organize your list into things that cannot wait. Obviously you will have to get those done. Then, take all of the things that need to be done but can wait until tomorrow or until the weekend and put those on a separate list. You can add some of those to your “can’t wait” list the next day.

Schedule self-care time

You have got to take care of yourself. This is the single most important tip. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, you won’t be able to give much more to anyone else. For success and great parenting, you have to make time for yourself. Remember, self care isn’t just about taking a break every so often. You will also need to be in the best way with your health and wellbeing. It might be that you have an appointment to get suspected tinnitus checked out, this could be bringing you down. If you think you have this then take a look at tinnitus treatment options near you.

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Ask for help

Ask your partner, your parents, your siblings or friends… ask whoever you trust with your kids. They’ll be more than willing to help out, and you will be able to take a load off of yourself, even just for one day.

Remind yourself that one day, you’ll miss this

I know you hear this all the time, but it is so true. I get sick of hearing it myself sometimes, but it really does make life a little easier when things get hectic.

One day, life WILL be “simple”, and you’ll think back to the days when your kids were still kids and you were trying to figure out how to balance a busy life. Believe it or not, you will learn for those days back. Try your best to embrace is now… I know that isn’t always possible (TRUST ME), but with intentional reminders, you’ll likely find yourself in a better mood.

Make sure to spend time with your partner

Parenting really takes a strain on your marriage, but you guys are in this together and that means you have to connect in order for things to stay in sync. Nurture this relationship by scheduling regular date nights, even if the dates are in your living room. Just spend time together… have fun and talk.

For more blog posts on marriage, choose one of the following titles:

how to balance a busy life and still take care of you, what to do when life gets too busy, how to manage a busy life with kids, parenting tips

Final Thoughts on How to Balance a Busy Life and Still Take Care of YOU

Are you feeling overwhelmed with how much stuff there is to do each day? I’m with you! What do you do to manage it all? Leave a comment and let us know!

how to balance a busy life and still take care of you, what to do when life gets too busy, how to manage a busy life with kids, parenting tips
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Adulting How To Parenting

6 Step Morning Routine that Will Make You Want to Wake Up Before The Kids

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Mornings are hectic if you wake up at the same time as your kids. You won’t be able to have even a few minutes of quiet time before the morning craziness begins. Getting kids ready for school, daycare, or wherever you go that day can lead to stress. This is why it is important to follow a morning routine that will make you want to wake up before the kids.

If you take time to yourself in the mornings you can avoid feeling stressed during the day. You can have a cup of coffee and read, write, or check your blog stats before beginning the morning requirements. This will set you up for continued productivity, less stress, and just a better day overall.

With five kids, I need to make sure I’m taking this time in the morning to set myself up for a great day. My morning routine allows me to have some peace before the kids wake up, and I can get myself ready instead of scrambling around at the last minute.

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1. Wake up at the same time every day

There are many reasons why waking up at the same time each day will benefit you throughout the entire day. First, you will have time to get stuff done before your kids wake up (which is the point, right?). You will also have an easier time falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning, you’ll take fewer naps, and you will feel less sleep-deprived.

Some other perks of waking up at the same time include:
⦁ being more alert and focused
⦁ having better short-term memory
⦁ being in a better mood
⦁ feeling less pain
⦁ feeling an increase in your immune system
⦁ performing better at your job
⦁ driving more safely and alertly

2. Make your bed

The best reason to make your bed as soon as you wake up is that it will keep your mattress and sheets clean and only allow the outermost layer to become dirty. The second most important reason is to start your day off on the right foot. By crossing something off your list the minute you wake up, you’ll feel accomplished and motivated from the start.

Making your bed also makes your room seem cleaner and less cluttered, which can reduce your stress levels. This benefit at the beginning of the day can make a huge difference.

3. Drink a big glass of water

Your body will be pretty dehydrated after sleeping for 6-8 hours. Coffee may be your go-to, but it leads to further dehydration. Before you caffeinate in the morning, drink at least one glass of water.

Aside from hydration, drinking water in the morning can help you be more alert and focused. Additionally, drinking water first thing in the morning increases the function of your immune system and helps your metabolism kick in sooner. If you’re not fond of water because of the waste, that could be because of the pollutants in it, which is why having your water come from American Water makes sense – it’s much purer and great for your health. 

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4. Eat a nutritious breakfast

After fasting for an entire night, your body needs nutrients. Without nutrients shortly after waking up, you’ll likely feel groggy all day. Studies have shown that eating a nutritious breakfast in the morning leads to higher cognitive function and energy levels, helps maintain or reach a healthy weight, prevents heart disease and diabetes, and can also help you maintain or reach a healthy blood pressure level.

5. Get yourself ready for the day

It is so much easier to get motivated when you get cleaned up and ready for the day. Don’t sit around in your pajamas or you’ll be more likely to be lazy. When you feel good about yourself, you feel good about what you can do.

6. Plan your day

Get your thoughts organized, and write down when you need to do each thing on your to-do list. Having a plan helps you get focused and makes it easier to get things crossed off the list that day. This clears your mind for a more enjoyable day and ensures you have time for everything.

What to do Next if You Still Have More Time

Then, if you still have time left before your kids wake up, practice self-care. Do something you love or something that will help you relax a bit.

My favorite thing to do in the morning is to read a book. It’s my quiet time, and it gives me a chance to do what I love BEFORE beginning the real-life stuff.

Having quiet time or self-care time in the morning also helps me stay focused at work instead of constantly thinking about what I’d rather be doing at home. If I already did something that I’d “rather” be doing, I don’t think about it so much at work. It’s the perfect way to end my quiet time in the morning.

Unfortunately, I don’t ALWAYS have time for it, but I’m working on giving myself more time in the morning to ensure this self-care time. When I don’t have time, however, I make sure to get some self-care time before bed each night. Bonus if I get the chance to do it at both of those times. 😉

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Final Thoughts on a Morning Routine that Will Make you Want to Wake Up Before The Kids

A well-planned morning routine that makes you want to wake up before your kids is important in ensuring that the rest of your day runs smoothly. Every parent needs a chance to wake up, focus, and gather their thoughts before the craziness of parenting kicks in.

You will find yourself happier and in a better mood, too. So, wake up early, drink some water, and have a cup of coffee while the house is still quiet, plan your day, and do whatever else you need to get done to have a productive day.

What is your favorite part of your personal morning routine? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

easy morning routine, 6 step morning routine, morning routine, make your day better, morning routine that will make you want to wake up before the kids
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How To On My Mind

9 Ways to See The Good In Each Day

how to see the good in each day

“Every day may not be good… but there’s something good in every day.”

Alice Morse Earle
ways to see the good in each day

This quote from Alice Morse Earle, an American Historian, is one of my all time favorites. It is the best quote for when I am struggling to find the positive aspects of my life. We all (I think) struggle with being a negative Nancy on some of our bad days, but it is so important to remember that there is still good in each day, even on the worst days.

Since we all need some help finding the good in every day, and even the best quotes can’t always pull you out of the funk, I decided to put together a list of ideas to help you (and me) recognize the good in each day. I’m going to print the list and pin it above my desk so it is always in sight, giving me the reminder that even the bad days have good parts.

ways to see the good in each day

How to See the Good In Each Day

1. Start your day with a positive thought.

This can be a favorite quote or your own personal mantra, as long as it’s positive and it reminds you of good things, it’ll do the trick. Whatever you choose, it can help set you off on the right foot each day. It’ll be your beginning of the day reminder to look for all of the good things happening in your life and around you.

2. Change your routine.

If you are struggling to get through a bad day or if your bad days begin early in your day, think about your routine. Sometimes your morning or afternoon routine is causing you to only notice the bad things that happen.

By waking up earlier or having a cup of coffee in a quiet, calm environment, maybe you could think about the good part of your morning routine when something bad happens later.

Think of 2 positive things each day.

For me, it is most beneficial to write these positive things down in my planner each day. That way, when I open my planner in the morning, I see the good things that happened the day before, as well as the rest of the week.

It is awesome to have a quick reminder of all the good parts throughout the week as I remind myself of my current day, and I have the chance to positively reflect on each day while I plan for the next day.

3. Visualize yourself succeeding.

If you are anything like me, you may think of yourself as a failure when you mess up or when you are having a bad day. Try to change your own mindset by envisioning yourself succeeding in the future instead of dwelling on your mistakes. Remember, you WILL be successful if you keep being positive.

4. Go for a walk.

Going for a walk can help you see the goodin your day in more than one way. First, walking outside and seeing the natural beauty of the world can be an amazing way to remember all of the good in your life consistently. The plants growing, the birds chirping, the fresh air… all of that is GOOD.

Walking also gives you a chance to think clearly with little distraction. It is easier to think things through and remember all of the good when you are on a leisurely walk. Trust me, it’ll help.

how to see the good in each day

5. Live in the moment.

Put your phone away. It’s hard to remember the good in your life when you are constantly staring at a screen.

I make excuses as to why I can’t ditch mine… the kids or my parents might call, I might need to take a picture, an emergency could occur, etc. I’ve been working on just leaving my phone out of sight, however, because 15 years ago I didn’t have a cell phone glued to my body and I got by just fine.

I find myself enjoying life more and really noticing how awesome life is when I put my phone away and just live. This is also something I’m trying to teach and model to my kids.

6. Find something to laugh about.

If you notice that you haven’t laughed at all in a day… seek something to laugh about. Watch a comedy on TV, call your bestfriend and ask to hear something funny, or even write your own funny story.

Laughing can make you feel SO much better. Plus, if nothing else happened that was good, at least you laughed.

7. Remind yourself that you are enough.

You really, truly are ENOUGH. Your kids want you more than they want anyone else in this world… your spouse CHOSE you over all the other people in this world, and you are on this earth to leave your mark. You matter and you are definitely enough.

And even if you aren’t married or have no children… you are still enough. You are still on this earth for a reason, even if it is to only lead a happy life and bring happiness to others. No matter what your destiny is, you are enough.

9. Make time for self care.

This is seriously SO important. At the end of a “bad” day, skip the cleaning and other household chores and just take care of your mental health. Find something that you love to do and spend time for yourself. If you need some self-care ideas, check out this blog post.

how to see the good in each day

Final Thoughts On How To See The Good In Each Day

We all have bad days. It’s a basic part of life, although it doesn’t seem so basic when it’s happening. Turning your bad day around and remembering the good in your life is possible, however.

Finding a way to remind yourself that there is good in each day can turn your mindset around completely. Who knows, you might be able to turn your entire day around and end your bad day in a positive mood.

What is your favorite motivational quote? When do you find yourself needing reminders of the good in your life? Share in the comments… I’d love to hear about it!

how to see the good in each day
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Spring Sports Season: 5 Ways to Survive

spring sports

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived… SPRING IS HERE!! Do you know what tiny little event most of us forgot about? Spring sports season AKA: THE BUSIEST SPORTS SEASON OF THE YEAR.

I am so serious… spring sports seem to be busier than any other season. This may all be in my head (and the yearning for a relaxing summer schedule doesn’t help), but it is a problem none-the-less.

This year has gotten even busier for me since my pre-schooler is signed up for t-ball. So now we have our oldest on the high school soccer team, our 11-year-old playing major league baseball, and our preschooler playing t-ball.

spring sports, how to survive spring sports, spring sports for kids, how to be less busy

How Will We Survive the Spring Sports Season!?

When I realized that we would have so much going on every single day this spring, I began to panic. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t pretty.

Then, after taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I have to do this no matter what, I started brain storming. We have done spring sports every year, the only difference is that this year will be a little (or a lot) busier. I realized I needed a plan.

To start, I started thinking back on our past spring sports seasons and then took notes on the following:

  • The items I commonly found myself needing but didn’t have
  • Our dinner predicament
  • The lack of time I had for anything else in my life (self-care, housework, quality time)
  • How to be in multiple places at one time (impossible, obviously)

From there, I was able to compile a list of ways to survive the spring sports season this year.

spring sports, how to survive spring sports, spring sports for kids, how to be less busy

5 Ways to Survive Your Child’s Sports Season

1. Keep an “emergency” bag in the car full of things you might need.

This bag should contain all of the things you find yourself needing, but you never seem to have with you. I always find myself in this predicament where I’m asking all the other moms for ibuprofen or a jacket. This method doesn’t always work for me, so this season I plan on being ahead of the game.

Some of the things I plan on keeping in my emergency bag are:

  • ibuprofen or Tylenol
  • bottled water
  • snacks (for the kids and I both)
  • a jacket (it gets chilly toward the end!)
  • sunglasses
  • sunscreen
  • small toys for the littles

I plan on keeping this bag in the car at all times, and my goal is to not have to re-pack it each night before heading out.

2. Plan ahead for dinner

I know I’m not the only parent who gets stuck hitting up a fast-food drive thru after practice most nights, right?! I can’t do that again this year! Not only does it leave me feeling like a terrible mom, but it also just makes me feel so unhealthy, bloated, and frustrated with myself.

This year, I plan on using my crock pot for the nights that I know we won’t have time to cook. For other nights, I plan on packing sandwiches and yummy sides to take with us to practice.

Another option is to cook meals that can be reheated the next night for a quick and easy dinner. I plan on using my meal planning printable religiously because sticking to the plan will be so much easier that way.

3. Squeeze in some “free time” whenever you can

OK, I know this might seem impossible, but it is SO important. Self-care is still important, even when your kids’ lives are extremely busy. You have to take advantage when your partner offers to handle all the running around once in a while, or you could ask one of the other moms to pick your child up for practice in exchange for a night where you do the same for her.

Figure something out so that you can get your housework caught up, read a book, watch your favorite TV show, or even take a long shower without interruptions. You can also use this time to spend some quality time with your other kiddos, because quality time can easily be pushed to the back of your mind during this busy time of year.

4. Become comfortable with saying “no”

You don’t have time for everything, and the sooner you admit to that the better off you will be. Be picky about what invitations you are accepting, and be comfortable admitting that you don’t have the time (or energy) to volunteer for a bunch of extra events.

5. Plan carpools with the other parents, or split forces

During the spring sports season you will be spending a large amount of your time with the other sports parents. Chances are, many of them are just as busy as you are this time of year. You can offer the other parents a deal that might just help you both out (and if it doesn’t help them, maybe they’ll just do it to be kind). 

The deal:

You take the kids to practice one night, and the other mom does it the next night.

Now, if this doesn’t work for you, you can always split forces with your child’s other parent. Rotating who will be responsible for practice each night can help with your kids’ overlapping schedules. Parent one will be at baseball practice while parent two will be picking up the teenager from soccer practice, and then rotate the next night.

spring sports, how to survive spring sports, spring sports for kids, how to be less busy

Final Thoughts on Ways to Survive the Spring Sports Season

The spring sports season brings so many mixed emotions for me. While it is the busiest time of the year, so chaotic, and a bit overwhelming, it is so much fun to watch my kids doing what they love and making memories that will last forever.

My goal for this year’s spring sports season is to enjoy every bit of it. With these tips, I’m pretty confident it’ll happen. I can use all the help I can get, however, so leave a comment and tell us your best spring sports season hacks.

spring sports, how to survive spring sports, spring sports for kids, how to be less busy
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