Quick + Healthy Smoothie That Toddlers Love!

It’s finally here! My highly requested smoothie recipe!

I make this almost every day and Bowen + our whole family love to eat it for breakfast, snack and even lunch! It is a favorite in our house and SO good to keep that gut and belly happy.

Welcome to our home, yes we have smoothie drips on our table and dirt on our floors!

I give you ALL the details including my favorite brands in this video:

---

Here are all the ingredients + measurements written out:

1. Add in 1 cup frozen fruit to blender (we love blueberries!)

2. Cover fruit with your choice of liquid (we use unsweetened almond milk)

3. Add in:

   • 1 banana

   • 1/4 Avocado (or more!)

   • 2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

   • 2 Scoops of Amazing Grass Berry Powder and/or handful of spinach

   • 1 Tbsp Coconut oil

   • 1 heaping Tbsp of almond butter (or nut butter you love!)

   • 2 Tbsp Chia Seeds

   • 1/4 Scoop of Body Ecology Probiotic Protein Powder

4. Fill with your choice of liquid until there is 1 inch of space left at the top

5. Blend!

6. Enjoy!

Please let me know if you try it and how you liked it!

---

About the Blogger

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

---

Recommended For You:

---

Pin This and Save it For Later!

Beating Overwhelm In Motherhood: Small Steps + Narrowing Your Focus

Have you ever had days where you felt like this over and over?

ummmm yeah that was me on Wednesday. It was a hard day and I felt really overwhelmed (yes I still have hard days even though I teach this stuff!). If you follow me on Instagram you know I like to keep it ONE HUNDRED PERCENT honest and real around here. I’m not perfect by any means.

Thankfully I have one tool that never fails me.

First, can you relate to these definitions and feelings of overwhelm?

• to cover or bury

• to overpower, destroy or crush

• to overcome in mind and feeling

• feeling defeated

• feeling paralyzed

• can make us turn away and give up or quit

• breed negative thoughts

• breed anxiety + stress

• state of mind can make us lash out at those around us

• feel victimized by all that we think we have to do or is expected of us (can cause more stress and more lashing out)

Which one do you most relate to?

Do you know the story of peter walking on water towards Jesus?

Matthew 14:22-33 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Walks on the Water

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

---

Notice that Peter ASKED for this and then doubts, loses his focus and gets scared. Can you relate?

Have you every asked for something and then so quickly forgot that it was an answered prayer because overwhelm and stress stole your joy? me too.

I prayed for Bowen. I prayed for a child for so long and once I finally had one I was overcome with overwhelm, guilt and anxiety. All of these things are not from our God. It is not the way we were intended to live our lives. But they are real feelings and real emotions that we have to learn to overcome.

Yes, there will be hard times but we weren’t meant to do them alone or for it to be so crushing day in and day out that we just want to give up.

Overwhelm can make us feel isolated and alone. You are never alone, dear sweet friend. That’s why i’m SO passionate about bringing you actionable advice to change your story. To step into a light full of confidence that you can take on anything that comes your way because you have the tools to do so.

So, let’s jump right in to the tool I want to focus on in this post which is “Narrowing Your Focus” and taking small steps.

Now, I do want to preface that planning for your future or a big picture dream or goal is NOT bad… as long as we hold our plans loosely. But I do want to show you how to reach those without crippling overwhelm or anxiety and that involves thinking small and narrowing your focus.

To-Do Lists are crippling your ability to be productive

Have you ever heard that making a to-do list is the best thing to do? Me too. And while I commend you for taking a step and TRYING, I think I have something that will make you throw out your list and never look back.

Enter: Priority Grid

I’ve talked about it a million times and I will continue to shout it from the rooftops because it is LIFE CHANGING.

Follow me on Instagram to see how I use it: @thelovelyadventure

Okay, now that you have it let’s talk about why it is KEY to narrowing your focus.

This grid helps your brain to understand that everything isn’t just in an endless list. It now understands what is MOST important and what can wait.

That means that your brain can stop bringing up a bunch of irrelevant things that you haven’t gotten done.

Does your brain ever just nag you and make you feel guilty for things you haven’t crossed off?

Well, you can tell it to stop now because it knows what you HAVE to do today and this week and the rest can all wait.

Have you ever heard of Executive thinking? It’s a term you typically learn in Psychology 101. (Hey mom and dad, if you’re listening, I’m finally using my degree!).

It’s when your brain does any of these things:

• Paying Attention

• Organizing + Planning

• Initiating tasks + staying focused

• Regulating emotions

• Self monitoring + Keeping track of what you are doing

When your brain is overwhelmed / stressed with a task or just life in general you struggle to do any of these things well. It’s all too fuzzy and hazy and full for any of these to be a priority.

Have you ever had times when you COULDN’T pay attention?

COULDN’T initiate tasks?

COULDN’T regulate your emotions?

COULDN’T remember what you were doing (helllooooo “mom brain”)?

Your brain is too busy freaking out over all the things it has on the endless to-do list that it can’t begin to prioritize or puzzle. That’s why the priority grid is so great. It helps your brain sort all the things into pre-determined categories (a huge piece you didn’t have to think of) and then put blinders on to everything that didn’t make the “MUST” list for the time being.

Are you looking ahead without a plan?

This can be a huge cause of overwhelm and a great time to narrow your focus

My biggest tips for this:

• Pick a deadline

• Make a list of every tiny step (narrowing your focus) you have to do to complete the project (break it into categories if that helps)

• Now, schedule a reasonable amount of those small steps each day until your deadline

• Make sure they are manageable and can get done! You want to check them off, and then feel confident and motivated to continue!

If you need to, use this technique for a smaller chunk of time like for instance, your morning or afternoon. Create small time blocks and detail out by every 15 or so minutes what you are going to do + add rewards in between tasks to motivate yourself.

Want a detailed example of what that could look like? Read this blog post and I’ve written it out for you!

Do you have an overwhelming problem you don’t know how to solve?

First, get rid of toxic thoughts like:

• “just get it done”

• “get it over with”

• “just finish it”

While these sound “motivating” they actually aren’t. These thoughts are causing you guilt and anxiety because they are jumping to the end result without a plan.

Change your thoughts to:

• “What is my very first step?”

• “I need to educate myself more, when can i do that?”

• “What steps do I need to take to get this done?”

Breaking your problem down into small manageable steps is key. And no step is too small! Remember, you want to motivate yourself and bring momentum to finding the solution! Baby steps!

Also, many first steps to solving a problem we are overwhelmed with is education. It is something we almost never schedule or give our selves permission to do… to learn. SCHEDULE IT.

Give yourself permission and schedule time to watch a Youtube video, google it or read a book. Education is empowerment and that’s what we need to tackle the overwhelm.

---

So, hopefully now you can see that “Narrowing your focus” and breaking things down into smaller steps is a huge step to overcoming the overwhelm and bringing more joy into your life and motherhood journey.

I would love to know what step resonated with you most? What is your biggest takeaway?

---

About the Blogger

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

---

Recommended For You:

---

Pin this and come back later!

Putting Mental Health In Motherhood Over Hustle

Have you ever had a day that went like this?

Yeah, me too. Here’s me fully transformed from Mary to Cruella last Thursday evening after my child cut another molar (LORD JESUS, HOW MANY MORE?!)…

Oh, also… you’re welcome for putting this on the internet. Over here in motherhood land… we just can’t always take ourselves seriously.

Sometimes you have to draw on eye brows with cheap eye liner and pretend your furry vest is a fur coat. Also, you’ll be pleased to know that Russell walked in long after I had put this make up on and was hardly phased. hahahaha my shenanigans are normal at this point.

If you’ve had a day like this, friend, you are NOT alone. It almost feels normal, doesn’t it? There are so many memes and so much going around in “mom culture” that tell us we should be a frazzled mess at the end of the day.

I’m here to tell you that I don’t think it has to be our normal. Will we have hard days when we end up as Cruella Deville by 5:00? heck yes. But I think there are so many things we can do to end the day in a healthy mental state so that we are more like Mary Poppins’ slightly less energetic and imaginative third cousin.

I think it all starts with focusing on our end goal. I had a huge revelation about what mine was when Bowen and I had THE BEST DAY EVER. So, let me tell you about it…

THE BEST DAY EVER

Russell walked in and Bowen and I had the music full blast, I was singing into a microphone/shoe and dancing around the living room with my best Mr. Bean moves. It was pure joy. My husband had walked in to a scene that hadn’t happened for a long time in our house but that I had been working towards for so long.

That day Bowen and I had played in the dirt, squinted in the sunshine and crunched all the crisp fall leaves with our feet in the back yard. I had done laundry and tidying and a few other side projects that I had made a priority that day. And in the moment that Russell walked in after work I was dancing and celebrating that I had finished everything I had planned to do that day. I didn’t feel overworked or tired. I didn’t feel guilty or frazzled and unorganized. I felt joyful and energetic and confident.

It was that day that changed the way I viewed time management forever. It wasn’t about check marks or getting THE MOST done. It was about practicing it daily so that you eventually come to a place where you can schedule the perfect amount of work and play into one day. Where you can look at your priorities and understand how much time you truly need to follow through and get them done. I had thrown busyness out the door and invited productivity and joy in for a nice cup of tea.

Being busy gives us a false sense of accomplishment. It tells us that multi tasking and doing the most is how we feel successful at the end of the day. Busyness is full of sweet lies, my friend. Multi tasking has been proven to be ineffective and actually impossible. Self proclaimed multi taskers have been scientifically studied to have a false sense of confidence and success in their ability to get things done. Doing more isn’t always best.

So I know… you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, Andrea, being joyful and energetic at 5:00 pm sounds like a dream but how in the heck do you actually achieve that?”

Well, keep reading, sweet friend. I’ve listed all the concepts and actionable steps to help get you there below:

Throw out the standard

It’s normal in mom culture for our life to look like this at the end of the day

I don’t want that to be our normal anymore. Of course there will be days when we want to hand our children off and run for our secret stash of chocolate and eat it alone in the bathroom (PURELY hypothetical example… of course…).

Life happens, we are human and that’s OKAY. But, I don’t think that being exhausted, grumpy and “done” at the end of a day needs to be your normal. Keep reading to find some ways you can make being joyful and confident a regular occurrence.

Evaluate your end goal

• What is your goal at the end of the day?

• When you plan our your day / schedule … is your goal to get a ton of things done off of your list? If it is… you’re not alone!

• We’ve been taught that checking the most boxes you can equals success. We tend to measure a day “good” or “bad” based off of how much we can accomplish.

• What if, instead, our end goal was to be mentally stable, joyful and confident instead of doing more?

• What if we scheduled things that helped keep us productive but didn’t drown us?

• What if we were consistently able to accomplish EVERYTHING on our list ( don’t assume the list is huge!) and feel confident and energetic going in to the next day?

• I think it’s possible if we change our perspective and place the importance of our mental state over the importance of our checked off to do list.

Over-scheduling

Over Scheduling ourselves can cause:

• Guilt

• Low-Self Confidence

• Burn Out

• Exhaustion

• Us to go into “victim” mode because we feel out of control

Take saying “Yes” to things VERY seriously because every yes is a no towards something else.

We are always trading our time and it is our most valuable currency. In a world that tells you to HUSTLE HARDER and DO MORE to feel successful… I want you to challenge that.

know your priorities

Organizing your priorities (with my priority grid) can help organize your thoughts and “to-do”s so that you can put them in the most efficient order and get them done. Your brain doesn’t have to juggle that list and organize it on the fly because you’ve already written it out for your month / week and day.

If you haven’t downloaded my priority grid you can get it sent straight to your inbox for immediate download here:

---

Narrow your focus

if you’ve done the priority grid, you’ve taken the first steps to narrowing your focus. This already categorizes your list and helps your brain to forget about things that aren’t a huge priority for the week or day.

Now that you’ve narrowed your focus to what MUST get done this week or day you can take it one step further if you’re really having trouble with motivation + productivity. Narrow your focus to the morning and write down an hour by hour schedule of what needs to get done (I encourage you to include rewards)

Example:

• 9:00 - start load of laundry + dishes

• Reward: Chocolate

• 9:30 - Fold Laundry

• Reward: Watch show while doing

• 10:30 - Call Dr.’s office

• Reward: Dance Party

• 11:00 - Snack Time

Repeat this for your afternoon and GET. IT. DONE. I believe in you!

Your Goal / Objective needs Big Picture planning

Have you ever made a goal + decided an end date and then just sort of wung (is that a word?) it in between?

Me too.

I was feeling overwhelmed with writing these blog posts + emails during the holidays etc. And I realized that I was just winging it week to week instead of looking at the bigger picture (8 weeks at a time).

Once I looked at the 8 weeks + found time within each week to write a post + send an email I felt SO much better! I knew I had the time. I had given myself boundaries (no writing on Mondays or Tuesdays) and my brain felt so much less overwhelmed. I new it was possible to get it all done because I could SEE IT.

I give you a peek at my real life 8 week calendar in my Facebook Live.

You can view that here:

Allow yourself to practice time management

This isn’t something we often give ourselves permission to do. We tend to think that we should just naturally be good at it. But truly I tell you it takes so much trial and error to figure out what works for YOU and what a “productive” day can look like for YOU.

The more you practice puzzling together your priorities within your free blocks of time the more your gut and intuition become practiced and in-tune with what you CAN accomplish. You begin to be better at discerning how many tasks or what types of projects you can fit into your morning, afternoon and evening.

Practice leads to discernment and discernment leads to confidence. You begin to trust yourself because you CAN get it all done.

You CAN have joy at the end of the day. You ARE successful.

Find the sweet spot of time management:

When you allow yourself to practice time management you train yourself to know what IS possible in the day so that you can avoid over-scheduling. Eventually days where you can accomplish EVERYTHING (no one said your list was huge!), feel joyful, not fully depleted at the end of the day and confident will be your new normal.

Will you still have hard days? yes. Will you still have seasons when you need to push yourself and schedule more? yes. But following these concepts and steps can help you break the stereo-type of exhausted mom and bring more joy + less overwhelm back to your days.

Results of putting your mental health over check marks:

• Confidence (because you were able to accomplish what you set out to do)

• More Joy (because you aren’t exhausted and overwhelmed + you set boundaries)

• More Energy (because you didn’t over-schedule and burn yourself out)

• A happier + healthier mama and family in all aspects

---

About the Blogger

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

Recommended For You…

---

Pin This and Come Back Later!

10 Things to Make Times of Transition in Life Easier

We had just arrived back home from the airport and I could feel it. That discontent feeling when you arrive home and so many things are different. My husband had done a lot of projects when we were gone and even the slightest change in furniture placement made me feel uneasy. It’s not that I wasn’t grateful for his hard work when we were gone… I’m forever grateful for his handy and hard work. I just knew that it was never going to be the same as it had been for months… and on top of having to adjust to a new routine we now had to change the way we moved about our house and it felt like a lot to wrap my tired brain around.

Now, this may seem like a small problem. And in fact, you’re correct. Having my laundry in a different place and my bedroom configuration moved around isn’t that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. But, it was still a transition we had to get used to and it caused me to really look at how I deal with change and what tools I can develop and use to get through them more easily.

The definition of transition is: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

Transitions in our lives can be big or small. Big examples could include; moving, getting a new job, getting married, adding another child to your family or adding a new pet. Transitions could be small like; transitioning from dinner to bedtime, moving the furniture around, a house renovation (could be big or small) or a change in schedule.

**As a note I do want to point out that not all transitions are joyful. Sometimes heartbreak and loss can bring us into a season of grief combined with transition. While some of these tools may be helpful during those times, please know that I think grief and loss are a whole different topic and type of transition. They require extra gentleness, care and a whole new level of tools and resources. I’m not going to touch on those during this post, because I honestly don’t have the answers, but I encourage you to seek out other blogs, counseling services and friends who can better serve your specific needs.

These are the tools I was inspired to think about and practice as we transitioned from one season of life to another. As you’ll see, the psychology degree in me really came out for this one! haha Analyzing and becoming self aware of where our energy and emotions are going is a large part of the foundation to managing your time, finding a rhythm and embracing change.

10 Steps to Help You Embrace Change

1. Recognize that you are in a transition

If we fail to do this, we can cause a lot of guilt or negative feelings to build up. Transitions are hard. I don’t know many people who deal with change without some level of tension or grieving the old. If we continue to go on without stopping and recognizing what season we are in the tension and feeling of being a little “lost” can knock our confidence and have us wondering why we can’t seem to find our rhythm.

You can do this by:

1. making a list of things that have changed

2. making a list of why those changes are hard or easy for you

3. Talking through the changes with a friend and vocalizing why this season is hard for you

2. Being aware of your mental state

This can go hand in hand with number 1 but I think it is important to separate them. It is important to first recognize that you are in a transition and then become aware of how this is effecting your energy/mental state. Have you transitioned to a new job? Did you just have another child? Those are two examples of big transitions that can be very draining mentally. You are constantly thinking, the change in routine has your body exhausted and these can all contribute to your ability to adapt during this time.

Even small transitions can take a toll on our mental state depending on what events have come before. Have you just worked a long day and now have to come home, cook dinner and put kids to bed? Or have you just taken care of your child, cooked, cleaned and run errands all day and now your husband walks in the door adding another human who needs attention? It can be exhausting and noting your mental state at times of transition can be key to recognizing what tools or changes need to be implemented.

Besides draining our energy transitions can leave us feeling uprooted, uncomfortable and vulnerable. All of these feelings can cause our defenses to go up and our unhealthy emotional responses to come out in everyday situations we used to be able to stay calm in. Recognizing our vulnerabilities and defense mechanisms can help control the way we respond to perceived stress in times of transition.

You can do this by:

1. Looking at your day and recognizing what transitions are hard for you

2. Thinking about your mental state during those transitions (do you tend to have more negative thoughts? Are you overwhelmed? Do you dread it?)

3. Look at any of the next steps and see if they can help you determine how you can make this transition more joyful / less draining.

3. Recognize tension in relationships

Russell and I tend to argue more during transitional periods. When we come home from vacation - boom. When we moved- it was rough. When we had Bowen - tired, stressed parents + transition = all the arguments.

The transition from our afternoon play into dinner time is hard on Bowen and I. There is a tension and often some screaming and exhausted sighs. It’s something we are working on but the tension is definitely there.

Your marriage isn’t broken. You aren’t a bad mother. Your friendship isn’t over. You my sweet friend, are in a transitional period.

You can do this by:

1. Recognizing that the arguments are more about the stress and overwhelm of the season than you personally can heal many wounds.

2. Look at the pattern of arguments or moments of tension in your day… are they coming from a time of transition?

3. Try (this is a hard one) to recognize this in the moment or shortly after… what is this argument / tension really about?

4. Do the minimum

In times of transition we can be tempted to fill our schedule with busyness to ignore that uneasy feeling of being uprooted and vulnerable. But, in order to put down roots we need to stay still for a little while. Be gentle with yourself and embrace the uncomfortable. I’m not telling you to be a hermit or sit around and do nothing. I’m telling you to be aware that there is a line between being busy and being productive. Be productive with your time. Your mind and body may need more rest than usual during this period.

You can do this by:

1. Scheduling the minimum during your day.

2. Creating larger time blocks for events than usual

3. Saying no, even if you might normally say yes (if you need help with this read my tips here)

5. Have Staple Routines

Creating a morning routine was one of the best things I have done for myself. Mornings have always been a hard transition for me. I always felt lost, grumpy and overwhelmed. So, I implemented my morning routine (you can read about it here) and now mornings are starting to be my favorite time of the day. Creating a routine that brings you joy (even if it is temporary) during times of transition can make a huge difference.

You can do this by:

1. Pin pointing times of transition

2. Creating a 3-4 step routine filled with things that bring you joy / ground you

3. Stick to them + follow through, you’re worth it

4. Also, getting on the same page as your spouse/family can be a game changing routine for your week (you can read about how we do that here)

6. Priority Grid

Have you ever made a to-do list and then felt even more lost and overwhelmed? Have you ever stared at it and not known what to do next or where to start? Maybe you just decided to scroll your phone instead because the list just made you tired…? That was me before I had a priority grid. It is my MUST HAVE item for managing your time. Have you used this yet?! Girrrrrrl, you NEED this! Download my guide to “your most productive week ever” and it will be sent straight to your inbox along with my other top time saving tips. They help your brain decide what is important for RIGHT NOW and forget the rest so that your overwhelm can significantly decrease.

p.s. I also wrote a whole blog post on this that you can read about here

You can do this by:

1. Downloading my Priority Grid via the form above

2. Write out everything swirling around in your brain onto the grid

3. Choose what tasks need to be done TODAY and schedule them.

4. Follow through, because you’re worth keeping promises for

5. Feel accomplished! You did it!

7. narrow your Focus

Narrowing your focus can be KEY during a time of transition. When everything around us seems to be impermanent or up in the air it is nice to mentally push everything aside and focus on a few small tasks.

You can do this by:

1. Focusing on JUST your morning. Don’t let yourself look ahead

2. Focus on JUST your afternoon. Don’t let yourself think about tomorrow

3. During a smaller time block make a detailed list of tasks that need to be completed and rewards you can give yourself when they are done (mine usually involve chocolate hahaha). This can help narrow your focus to only the tasks at hand

8. Ask For Prayer / Find Community

In times of transition I usually need more prayer. I have a lot of unknowns in my life, a lot of stress, tension and vulnerable feelings. Find a community or at least one person you can reach out to when you have a prayer request or just something you need to talk about. Looking to God’s word, having a devotional you can turn to and community is an overarching tool that can help you in any of these steps and any season of change.

You can do this by:

1. Being willing to be vulnerable and reach out to friends or family

2. Offering the same support when friends need you

3. Testing out and finding a devotional / Bible study that works for you

4. Finding verses and scripture to turn to during this season. Write them down so that you can easily access them.

9. Don’t wish it away

It is easy to wish away times of transition. No matter the size or the circumstances, change can be hard on any level. Wishing away the transitional season can be a dangerous mental state to be in. It can create a cycle of negative thoughts and leave you less likely to persevere by using these tools to add more joy instead of overwhelm.

You can do this by:

1. Using any of these tools to spark joy during this time of change

2. Create a time each day to write down AT LEAST one thing you are thankful for from your day (I recommend three).

3. Create accountability with a friend or spouse so that they can call you out (lovingly) when negativity tries to take over

10. Think Outside the Box

When we choose to not wish away our times of transition we become more open to change itself. This can inspire a “thinking outside the box” mentality and create changes that may actually be more healthy / life giving than what you were previously doing. Being open to change and an opportunity to grow or become a better version of yourself can be a gift and often create a sense of gratitude for this time instead of negativity.

You can do this by:

1. Thinking critically and creatively about struggles / tensions that are happening during this transitional season

2. Being proactive and coming up with solutions that bring more joy to your situation

3. Recognizing that feeling of “more joy” and using that to inspire more “out of the box” problem solving

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

---

Recommended For You:

---

Pin This and Come Back to it Later!

I hope this list can help you better understand and approach times of transitions / change.

I’d love to know if you have any other tips to add! Have you used any of these 10 tips yourself? Did you find them useful?

---

Time Saving Easy Instant Pot Recipes for Moms

If you’ve been following me for a while you know that every Monday is the day I do all things that “are not my gift”. On the top of that list is cooking! I do not like it, I’m not good at it and I find that it steals all my energy and joy. So, I make big batches of our favorite recipes on Monday with my Instant Pot and then I don’t have to make any more for the rest of the week! You can read more about my Monday schedule and how I brought more joy and energy to my week HERE.

These are the Instant Pot recipes I use almost every season and are great basics!

---

Instant Pot Basmati White Rice:

---

Instant Pot Frozen to Shredded Chicken:

---

Instant Pot Mexican Beef and Rice:

---

You could easily substitute the beef in this meal for the shredded chicken!

The instant pot has saved me SO much time. I don’t get joy from cooking so it is a great way to quickly get my cooking done and out of the way so that I can do the things that DO give me joy.

---

About The Blogger

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

---

more Blog Posts for you . . .

---

Want to save this for later? Pin This post!

How to Make Time For Your Marriage in the Midst of Parenthood

Our Arguments On Repeat

“I feel like you would rather do anything on your “to-do” list than spend time with me”

“I feel guilty for working on projects because I know you wish I was doing something different”

“You never spend time with us!”

“Why can you plan a guy’s trip and not plan a date with your wife?”

“You are pressuring me to get all these projects done but also making me feel guilty for spending my time elsewhere”

Do any of these lines sound familiar? These are all taken directly from arguments between my husband and I. Most were arguments after we became parents but the discussions themselves have been happening long before we had even considered having kids.

I feel like I have always been begging him for more time together. It’s my love language. I feel most loved when he takes time out of all his many “to-do’s” and plans a trip or takes me out to eat or orders takeout that we can enjoy cozied up in bed watching our favorite show.

He has not always been good at this. He’s a perfectionist and the “ideal” date or romantic gesture always made him feel like nothing he thought of was ever good enough. That caused a huge wound for me in our marriage because I always felt ignored or unworthy of his time / creativity.

I’d bring up my hurt (usually in a very unhealthy and angry way) and he would become defensive because it was something he was insecure about. And then we would go round and round… arguing about all kinds of things but in the end it always came back to one of us wishing the other would just pay more attention and invest more time into our relationship.

And Then It Got Complicated

Then we had Bowen… and I feel like the first 6 months just don’t even count. You’re just trying to survive. You’re so consumed with this new tiny human that most of your arguments are because you haven’t had sleep in what feels like 3802939 years. But you move out of the fog, sort of get the hang of this parenting thing and then you realize… oh yeah… we’re still married. We made it. And I still like you, right? You begin to want more time together, just the two of you. At this point passing your little human off to a trusted family member or friend seems more and more tempting.

But our kids become more mobile, we get more busy. Our to-do lists during nap time and evenings become longer and longer because slowly it’s the only time we have to get things done. I get it. I get it all. We were there. Some days we still are.

Our to-do lists were a mile long, we couldn’t remember our last date night and our arguments slowly became more and more about the lack of attention we were giving each other.

So, we decided to change it. We couldn’t keep going at that pace. It was impossible. We decided to implement Monday night family meetings.

That choice to be intentional for 10-15 minutes one night a week has healed so many of our wounds we’ve been arguing about for years.

We call our Monday nights “Band Meetings” because it made us laugh but you can call them whatever you want!

Here’s how our meetings go:

After Bowen goes to sleep (around 8:00) we sit on our comfy vintage couch and go through our list of topics:

1. Schedule

2. Finances

3. Dreams / Goals

4. Favorite Part of the Past Week

5. Pray

How It has healed us

Talking through these things, understanding each other’s weeks, expectations, plans etc. is SO HEALING and important. We have decided to plan 1 date night and 1 family night into every week. This fills up my “please spend time with me or I’ll die” cup. Any other projects or adventures he needs to do without me doesn’t hurt me like it used to. I know I will get my time with him and as a family and that’s enough.

Russell now doesn’t feel guilty going climbing or working in his shed because he knows he is giving me the time I need.

I wish I could bring you into my house and sit you on my couch with my favorite mug full of coffee that says “choose joy” and tell you with all the seriousness and passion I have behind this computer screen right now that YOU NEED this in your marriage. You need the intention of setting aside time to talk about the mundane and ordinary things we gloss over. It looks different for every couple but IT IS SO HEALING. How many times have I said it? not enough.

We have struggled for so long with deep hurts that stemmed from putting “to-do” lists and personal goals over spending time with each other. Now that we have implemented “Band Meetings” our marriage is better than it ever has been. It’s still not perfect. We still argue and hurt each other with our words and actions. But, having weekly dates and family days has breathed new life into our relationship and I am so excited for what’s to come.

So, I highly encourage you to talk with your spouse and figure out what works for you.

Questions To Ask

• What are you missing in your relationship?

• What are your love languages?

• How can you include them more in your weekly schedule?

• What topics do you need to cover weekly to be on the same page?

Life is happening now. Let’s make the most of it, sweet friends.

Build disciplines and intentional rhythms that set you up for healing and a more beautiful life than you ever thought possible.

---

About the Blogger…

Hi, love! I’m a little (okay… a lot) obsessed with vintage everything, married to an Aussie and love exploring Colorado.

I worked in Christian camping for ten years creating activities that are simple but effective.

Now I’ve learned that in order to fit in those important activities about God into our week, we need to first learn to find the time and manage it wisely.

So, I’m bringing you ways to manage your time and spend your new found freedom with intention and those you love most.

I’m so glad you’re here, sweet mama.

---

Other Posts You May Like…

Need to pause and come back? Pin this for later!