MamaManagement

I sent my kids back to school last week with mixed emotions. For me, not them; they were super excited. I am, of course, excited for them to start a new adventure. And I am filled with hope that this will be a great year, full of new learning and cool experiences, and fun and friendship, and lots of amazing growth. I love watching my kids grow. And while part of me misses aspects of the younger years (you know, the sweet stuff), mostly I really like the stage were in right now (except the sass...and the not listening...but I digress). In the past, I've been so excited for school to start come August. My introverted, quiet-loving self is usually in need of breathing space after two months of nonstop kids. But as they get older and more independent, I find that there are only certain days when I feel that way. Now that they run out and play with friends for hours on their own, I get a little of that breathing space even when they're around all day. Some days they drive m...

When things get crazy in your life and you just can't do it all, what are the first things you drop off your to-do list? I can tell you, without the least bit of hesitation, the first things to fall off mine: Exercise Meditation Healthy eating Downtime Hobbytime Sleep Which means that when I'm stressed out, the first things I stop doing are the things that help me manage stress. Brilliant, I know. Am I only one who does this? I have to believe I'm not. Nowadays, the month of May and first half of June are almost as crazy as the back half of November and the month of December. Of course, in all the wisdom of my pre-kid-self, I conveniently gave birth to my children in December and May. (Who knew?!?) So in addition to all the other craziness that we all have in those months, I also have kid birthdays. Which basically means I'm insane in May and December. It also means that I am stressed out, more likely to have anxiety attacks (a new-this-year added bo...

I just read this Instagram post by Glennon Doyle that shows a photo of a woman walking her dog from a golf cart. Glennon had named this woman the "VP of the #OOF Club" (that's "Out of Fucks to Give Club") for "carrying a bucket of coffee the size of Florida and finding a way to beat the dog walking system at its own game-- driving 1 mile per hour in front of me and not even considering pulling over or speeding up for me." Glennon wasn't mad; she goes on to say, "HERE'S TO WOMEN WHO REST WHEN WE'RE TIRED." (And we're tired.) This made me think of the notes I put in the kids lunch boxes today. For the last 8 months I have written a fun joke and a note to each of my kids and put them in their lunches pretty much every day. These notes are on colorful, cute-shaped sticky notes; they are written in multi-colored pens; they are usually done the night before. This morning I scribbled I <3 U on a sticky and tossed it in...

My family has been on edge, people. February was yuck. And March wasn't any better for them. The recipe has looked something like this: 2 cups Winter Blues 1 cup Cabin Fever 1 cup General Life Stressors 1/2 cup Grey Skies 1/4 cup Freezing Temperatures 2 tbsps Stuffy Noses and Sore Throats 1/2 tsp Aches and Pains 1/3 cup Sick of Everything Mix all together for a big batch of blah, and then go back to bed. My husband's been massively stressed out at work. My daughter doesn't even want to go to school because she's so sick of the noise and chaos of stir-crazy kids. Everyone's so on edge that they're blowing up and breaking down over even the smallest annoyances. Even my always happy little man has a lower tolerance for frustration these days. This family is in massive need of a mental health break. And that's exactly what we're doing right now. It's Spring Break week at the kids' school and we have run away to North Carolina ...