In the summer of 2000, my boyfriend at the time, now my husband and I were living together and I convinced him (begrudgingly) to get a puppy. I had been on the Humane Societies website and saw that they had four American Eskimo puppies. I fell absolutely in love with a photo of one, then named Indy. I went to meet him all by myself. He was the runt of the litter. All ears and we named him Buddy.
By Victoria Smith
Stress is on the rise, particularly with women. But, I don’t need to tell you that, do I? Intuitively, we feel overwhelmed. From acting as a perpetual chauffeur to coordinating play dates, or from healthy meal planning to juggling sick days and attempting to work from home, motherhood is stressful. Here’s the deal, though, it can be less stressful when you have the right tools, strategies and mindset in place.
Before we get into five strategies that you can implement immediately, we need to start with mindset. If you think your day is going to be stressful, it will, because that’s how you’ve primed your brain. You’ve given it the signal to find evidence of stress wherever you look. To counter this, what I want you to do is start every day by setting an intention. Believe me, I know that if you wake with the kids, it can be hard to find a moment for that, so a fall back can be to write out your intention and set it next to your alarm clock. What should that intention be? I put it back to you – how would you like your day to go? For example, my daily intention is to show up as an engaged parent, wife and friend, and a Rockstar entrepreneur. Yours could be to a search for gratitude. Or to be mindful. The intention is personal to your needs and desires, but set one and start each day reminding yourself of it. Only then will the following strategies take real effect.
It is so easy to get into a shame-spiral of how you are performing as a mother when your friends or Insta-community are throwing Pinterest-perfect parties for a two year-old. Or maybe you pick
up your child from daycare only to find out that they’ve bitten another child – of course it would be the most well-behaved child of the seemingly put together momma. We are all on our own motherhood journeys. We all have our own past, our own challenges, and our own beliefs to grapple with. Just because you do things differently doesn’t mean you’re doing them worse. First step if you find yourself in this comparison black hole? Take a social media break. If the comparison is coming from in-person interactions, before each encounter remind yourself that you are doing the best with what you have, and your kids are well-loved. Because at the end of the day, your child won’t care about the perfect party or baked goods or that they were potty trained a year before all the other kids. They’ll remember time spent one-on-one with you, the cuddles and bedtime stories. Presence and love matter most.
We LOVE Farmer’s Markets. There is nothing better than being able to enjoy all the amazing local produce, meet the people growing your food, and finding unique gifts from people in your community. When you buy from a vendor at the market you know where your dollars are going. Plus we promise each vendor does a little happy dance with each purchase. We have written multiple posts declaring our love like this one and we also have a great recipe using the freshest market ingredients here.
One of our favourite markets to visit is Callingwood Farmer’s Market who is celebrating 35 years this year making it one of the longest running markets in Edmonton.
My first born. This beautiful, tall, lean, long physique, gorgeous smile, thoughtful, patient, gooby sense of humour, mini-man. And promptly burst into tears. It has been such a surprisingly long road, it’s not over, but man!
Suddenly he’s 16 and adulthood is around the corner. For him! I can barely believe that I’m no longer the “young adult”. I still can’t exhale. I’m still scared. When he was first born, to the oft asked “How is he? How is motherhood?” I would reply, “Still alive,” not because he had any history of disease, but because it was my new mantra and let’s be honest, many an African violet and bamboo plant have expired in my care. And now I had a human?!?!
It’s 4pm, you are trying to get all the things from your to do list done in the last hour of the “work day” while shuttling children back and forth to sports and playdates. Then, you get the call, “what’s for dinner tonight?”. Ahhhhh! This is the thing nightmares are made of. Planning dinner every. single. night. Who else is with me on feeling the burden of this chore?
We don’t know about you but we are SO excited for the snow to melt and the reno’s to begin! But we really don’t even have to wait do we? Lots can be done inside while it’s chilly outside!
With big names like Bryan Baeumler hosts of HGTV’s Bryan Inc., plus, with more than 225 exhibitors and a slew of exciting new features, there’s real advice and real inspiration at the Edmonton Renovation Show!
Friday, January 25th, 2019 – 12PM – 9PM
Saturday, January 26th, 2019 – 10AM – 9PM
Sunday, January 27th, 2019 10AM – 6PM
Buy your tickets online here or enter to win passes below in our GIVEAWAY! Did you know, Kids 12 & under are free!
Thanks to the Renovation Show we have a four pack of tickets to giveaway! Tickets can be picked up at the show box office and the draw will be Monday, January 21st.
Self-care during the holiday season is almost impossible with all the things on our to-do lists. But, getting run down over Christmas is a very real risk if you don’t carve out a little time for yourself. Relaxation has never been easier with an at home massage with Mobile Massage YEG!
Albertans don’t let a little cold weather or snow keep them from getting out and enjoying some fun now, do we? No, and the All is Bright Festival on 124st is a great example of Albertans embracing this season in the city.
On Saturday, November 10th from 4PM to 8PM, the businesses of 124 Street and High Street invite you to their annual light up festival and let me tell you – it’s a must-see. My kids and I have gone every year and it never fails to impress.
Weehelp, one of my favourite Edmonton sales for getting second hand kids & baby clothes/shoes/toys/books is coming this Friday and Saturday! Here’s a few reasons why you should check it out:
