Work of the Heart

Well, it’s that time again. It’s about to be back to school. This year looks different, but regardless of what your school is doing this fall there are things you are going to need this fall. If your house is like mine, school supplies and craft supplies are running low.  Between finishing school at home and quarantine... we are making due. Here in GA, we are starting back to school as normally as can be anticipated. Masks included, if possible. My elementary age kiddo is pretty good on clothes, but definitely needs somethings to start the year. These are a few things that I have bought or will be buying in addition to the required school supplies. First, as a third grader... she needed a bigger backpack. Lands End is my very favorite place to order back packs and lunch bags! They are wonderfully made and hold up so well. My kids love the prints. The website allows you to filter the size of the backpack based on height. For me, this makes shopping for a backpack SO much easi...

Meal planning If you are like me, two things are going through your head lately. One, time to reel it in and get my eating back on track. Time to tighten things up and put the holidays sweets away. Two, back to school and evening activities are taking over my calendar in a serious way. How to balance getting the kids everywhere and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for momma (and kids). Planning is key . Every Sunday, during littlests nap I pull out my trusty Lilly Pulitzer planner and get to work planning our weeks meals.  I like to take into account weather... I’m not big of eating soup when its 90 degrees out! On a normal day, we usually eat between 5:30-6:00. We have young kiddos (9,6,2)... the babe of the group goes to bed by 7:30 most nights. That means we can not push supper back too late. One of my kiddos has a 5:30 basketball practice one day a week. On that night, we eat after practice. I try and have something ready to go on those nights. Hello Croc...

Boundaries is a tricky subject matter. I think some people have a natural propensity for strong boundaries in their lives and some people have to work harder to establish them. When I say boundaries, I am specifically talking about ones ability to establish specific limits and guidelines for certain relationships and activities. I have a natural ability for well established boundaries. Many times friends and acquaintances have come to me seeking advice & recommendation on improving this area. I definitely don't say this to toot my own horn, but to share with you what I know about my successes and areas I still need to work on. One of the reasons boundary discussion can be complicated is that there are so many facets; emotional boundaries, physical boundaries, relationships boundaries & time boundaries... just to name a few. I could write an entire blog post on each facet of boundaries. And maybe I will get to all the points eventually. When you are a momma you ...

Motherhood has the unique ability to expose our deepest weaknesses as well as highlight personal substance you never knew was there. In the trenches of the days of no sleep, spit up covered shirts and endless dirty diapers you discover the deepest part of who you are. One thing I have learned in the last almost 10 years of motherhood, is that knowing who I am is vital to my success. As Americans, I see great fear in understanding one’s own weaknesses. I know the opposite to be true. I see strength in your own full self discovery. We see women that look a certain way and are wearing certain things and we think that we have to imitate that to establish our identity. I see women everyday who are stretched to the brink, trying to do it all. As mothers, it’s important to relay to our children that weaknesses are a part of who we are, we are not defined by those rather we are defined by our strengths. When we truly know who we are, we can feel more comfortable making choices t...