Ok, so we all know being a mom makes for BUSY days.  Hey, it’s just part of the deal.  But, it’s how you work through and plan those days that can make or break your sanity.  It’s taken me YEARS to finally perfect my schedule.  Before, I’d make a schedule like I would in my single, childless days.  It would be rigid, and not flexible for little ones.  And we all know how little ones can be unpredictable.  The key to any busy mom schedule is to make sure you are prepared to be FLEXIBLE.  Your schedule needs to adapt with the unexpected kid interruptions, and the even more important part is MOM needs to be OK with flexing.
 
Have you ever said, “tomorrow I’m gonna to start X,Y,Z.” Only to find yourself a month later still not doing X, Y, or Z? I feel ya, Sister Friend. Lots of people ask me how I fit all the things in my day.  Being intentional with my time is 🔑 in helping me stay sane, be productive, and focus on the things that move ME forward. Don’t get me wrong, I have those days when I say “to hell with it, I’m gonna wing it!” and those are the days that I find myself spinning.  
 
It’s easy to let busy mom life become an excuse for not working toward personal goals.  We always put the kids first and MOM last.  BUT, just like the flight attendant instructs us to put the air mask on ourselves BEFORE anyone else, we should treat our personal goals the same way.  You have to make time for them and focus on them.  It’s critical to your overall mama HAPPINESS. So, I’m sharing an example of my daily schedule to help you kick off customizing your own that fits in with your needs and goals. Save yourself some time and structure your day, but DON’T freak out if it doesn’t all go as planned.  There’s always tomorrow to get back on track.  And sometimes we need to throw in a little spontaneity and excitement.

I always structure my day in a way that keeps me moving forward BUT also allows for flexibility, because #momlife. In a nut shell, here’s how I break down my day to make sure I can fit in the things that I know will make me successful. 

Do you know what type of motivation makes you push yourself?  There are two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic.  Why do you need to know what type of motivation works for you? Because that’s how you know what to look for when pursuing your goals. If you know what fires you up, then you can fit more of that in your life to give you a boost, set yourself up for success, and to achieve your goals.

C’mon, you know you have.  You know that WANT for something so badly you’ll do anything and everything it takes to make it a reality.  It seems like after I became a mom, something in me shifted. I realized how determined and powerful my mind and body are. My confidence and motivation to do something bigger grew.
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I constantly have dreams, ideas, and BSG (big scary goals) pop into my mind. I used to run away from them, or tell myself I didn’t have what it takes to make it a reality. This was all a bunch of laziness and self doubt.  Well, now I’ve learned how to lasso those dreams, reel them in, and start taking baby steps to make them happen!  And the second I made that mental shift, bigger and better things started happening.
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I know it’s hard to get motivated to get the ball rolling on making your dreams come true.  All those things you tell yourself that make you keep putting it off are just excuses and the fear talking.  Let me tell you to shut them up right now.  And after you do that, follow these five steps I take when I start getting the itch to work toward those goals:
💭 I write down all my passion ideas. Even the crazy ones. I have to get them out of my brain or they’ll keep swirling around and become overwhelming.
💭 I organize my crazy dreams in order based on how excited and passionate I am about them. I zone in on the first one and set the others aside.
💭 I start plotting a path to make that dream happen by outlining individual tasks and milestones to achieve the end goal.
💭 To keep my motivation fired up, I take walks while listening to podcasts of other big dreamers with similar goals. I also spend 15-30 minutes a day reading personal development books.
💭 I peruse websites to study up on how to execute my ideas or get examples from how others have done it. Then I make note of the ideas I’d like to use for my dream.
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My entire professional career has been dedicated to learning and development.  I love creating instructionally sound programs to help people become the best at what they do.  I’m also a health and wellness mentor in the pockets of time throughout the days and evenings.  I love supporting women to become the healthiest and happiest versions of themselves.  That brings me to my most recent vision; to combine my expertise, profession, and passion for course creation and combine it with health and wellness. I planted this idea, watered it, cultivated it, and have turned it into a FREE course Resolution Restart: 5 Day Health and Wellness Reboot! This course is still in the works, but I’m getting ready to bundle it up for launch. It includes lots of great goodies including 5 days of content like free workouts, meal plans, recipes, tools to keep you on track, tips and tricks and more. If you’re interested in getting access to my free course click the link below to pre-enroll.  The course is housed in a learning management system that I searched for and tested to ensure my courses will provide the best learning experience.  You’ll be able to access your progress, documents and everything you need to kick start your health and wellness journey for the first 5 days.  All for free!  So, sign up, kickass, and let me know what you think of my course!

​🔮 Time block your week.
Highlight (in BOLD) your set-in stone plans, non-negotiables, and meetings. Then pencil in those less important tasks around the pockets of time in between the big, bold items. We all know things shift around throughout the week and we need some flexibility.  Having those penciled in times helps you know when you can make a shift without impacting those important BOLD items.

​🔮Delegate tasks.
I’m the worst at this because we all know mom does it best. Categorize those tasks by age group. Then divvy them up across your kids, spouse, whomever. Build a weekly chore chart for motivation for the littles.  If you can outsource it to someone else, then take advantage of that shit!  For instance, find a local catering mom who has a small business catering weekly meals.  Choose one night a week to get dinner catered so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.  Don’t take on everything or else you’ll get the dreaded mama burnout. And no one in the house wants that.
If it’s not a dealbreaker task, then let it slide and don’t stress over it. You’ll get around to getting it done.

​🔮 Plan your meals.
Not only does this save time throughout the week, but it also helps you stick to a healthier diet.  Instead of reaching for some high sodium, prepackaged bag of crap, you’ll reach for your nutritious option.  Also, this is a great way to cut down costs.  You’ll be less tempted to stop and pick something up, which I hate to break it to you sister, that drivethru junk costs waaaaaay more than whatever you could have prepped at home.  To block this during my week, I prep as many meals on Sunday as possible. I make the kids lunches so I can toss them in their lunch box first thing in the mornings.  I portion out snacks, and any salad toppings, meat, cheese, etc. for my lunches.  If you need help with meal plans ideas, hit me up and I can help you with that by providing meal plan programs, recipes, tips and tricks.

​🔮 Set aside mama time.
If mama’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy. So, set some of that time block each week as non-negotiable MAMA time.  That’s right, put special mama time IN BOLD on your calendar.  Do not let that become one of the penciled in items because, truth be told, you’ll always find something else to take its place.  It’s important to get time in to relax, regroup, and do something you enjoy.  Go for a walk listening to your favorite podcast.  Take a long, hot bath with your fav bevvy and book.   Take up meditation and find a quiet corner to sit, breath, and reflect on life.  Whatever it is, factor it in AT LEAST once a week.  Hell, make it once a day.  P.S. No, laundry does not count as alone time. Make it something FUN, relaxing, and rejuvenating!

​🔮 Let the little shit go.
This is probably the hardest for me. Choose your battles. Ask yourself, is this really worth the upset? If not, then take a deep breath and walk away from the issue. You’ll feel better about your response later on.  Hanging on to little, meaningless things just takes up space in your mind and clutters it from being the most efficient, effective, HAPPY mom possible.  So, take a DEEP breath and woosah that ish away.

Me too. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out the solution to that. What I have figured out is how to keep mom from opening the car door on the highway while on a 12-hour road trip. I’d say that’s a win!
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Last week we went to one of our favorite places to visit. New Mexico! We usually visit the Santa Fe area, and made sure to pass through on our way to our final destination.  We stayed in an amazing cabin in the Jemez Mountains, about 2 hours northwest of Santa Fe, isolated from most people and spotty cell service. If you’re ever in the area, or looking for a really neat Airbnb, check out The Freelove Cabin in Jemez Springs, NM (linked HERE).  You won’t regret it!  We broke the road trip up over two days and stayed in a small, unknown town in West Texas.  We spent the week hiking, playing in the freshly fallen snow right outside our door, bathing in hot springs, eating New Mexican food (hello red and green chile!), and visiting historic sites and national monuments.  Check out some of our vacation pics.  We found a local photographer Counterpart Creative, to come take some pictures of us in our element.  It was SOOOOOOOO cold during our shoot, but I think the pictures came out great!
 
Then, keep reading to find out my tricks to staying sane during a loooooong car ride with small children.

2021 is really giving 2020 a run for its money. The past couple of months have been some of the MOST trying. To say the least!
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The harder the situation, the further and further away I get from the goals I’ve set. It’s almost like self sabotage! The more I do the things that take me further from my goal, the more I give up and give in to those things that drive me further away. It’s a vicious cycle.
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For instance, letting my sweet tooth dominate my nutrition. I have one treat and then I let myself have all the treats! Then I feel like crap and do it all over again. I skip one workout, next thing I know I skip all the workouts! And the cycle continues.
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Today I decided to start with a renewed sense. I put the past behind me, gave myself some grace, and focused on my new goals. A baby step at a time. Today I chose to start my Day 1 with yoga. Yoga has always been a positive, calming, renewing practice for me. So, I found a comfortable space, pressed play, and completed a VERY imperfect yoga routine. The great thing is, I didn’t care one but it was imperfect. In fact, that’s lit a fire under me to keep working to get back to the calming center I once had.
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Check out one of my favorite, calming yoga sequences on my YouTube channel!

I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease when I was in my early 20s.  Thyroid disease to be exact.  If you suffer from autoimmune disease, you know the physical and mental impact it has you.  Almost 20 years later, I wish I knew then what I know now.  Though I will always have to treat my disease, there are things I can do and change that have a HUGE impact on the way I feel when I have my downs.
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For starters:
?Taking better care of my body.  Fueling it with more of the good stuff, and eliminating the bad stuff. It already has a difficult time, I don’t need to add things that make it harder to operate at maximum capacity.  This includes eating more fruits and veggies, meal plan and sticking to it!
?Moving my body more.  Stretching, walking, or more intense workouts when I feel my body is up for it.  I make sure to get at least 20-30 minutes of continuous activity that gets my heart rate up!
?Taking time for mindfulness.  I sit with my thoughts, work through them, and try to find the root cause of any discomfort.  Meditation and yoga has become a HUGE help in this area.  And yoga is a two-fer; I get my exercise and my mindfulness.
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Thankfully, I have an arsenal of tools to help me stick to healthier choices and actions, I don't have to do it alone.  I have access to an endless number of streaming workouts to fit my mood and fitness level, I have meal plans, recipes, and grocery lists outlined for me, and I have an army of women who support me, encourage me, and lift me up to keep going!
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If you struggle with autoimmune disease or chronic illness, don’t hesitate to reach out.  It’s not something you have to live with alone.  We can talk about the suckiness that is chronic disease.  And I can share what works to help me have more good days. ?

Smoothies are my go-to breakfast choice for me and MY KIDS!  Between the "chicken nunnets" and pizza, it's hard getting in all the servings of veggies and nutrition me and my kids need.

That's why I'm taking the month of March to Go Green and share the best smoothie recipes for your nutrition! Whether your goals include getting in your daily veggies, improving your complexion or regulating your digestion, download the PDF below for my favorite Going Green Smoothie Recipes!

Making a green smoothie every day eases my mind knowing my kids are getting the nutrition they need in a quick and simple way.  I also use an EXCELLENT green smoothie mix that's super simple to scoop right into the smoothie.  You can get it HERE.