For those busy moms, tired moms, over-stimulated moms and spread-too-thin moms, this is for you. 

I’m 33 years old, married to my college sweetheart and have an almost two year old son. 

Before having my son, I had doubts: Am I going to be a good mom? I have no idea what I’m doing. What if I don’t like being a mom?

I’m here to tell you that little boy has stolen my heart. He may be a living hurricane with an attitude to match but one little “mommy” and I’m wrapped right around his finger. Needless to say, I dove head first into mom-ming. I wanted to give this boy the best of everything – nutritious meals, family traditions, crafting, creative learning, etc. and just be the best overall possible mom to him. Which in this day in age, there is no shortage online of what you, as a mom, “should” do, buy, say, teach, cook, look like, feel like…

I’ve been a vegetarian for majority of my life (i’ll also note that, this is very important to me). My husband and my son are not. (Do I hope he decides to join my team one day? Of course, but that will be his decision to make when he’s older). I do 99% of the cooking in the house because my husband works long hours. How does that work? Some meals we all eat the same thing but many meals we don’t. Normally, I would have their meal prepared so they can eat after daycare/work, then I would eat my meal later. What did that slowly morph into? Enchiladas, tuna casserole or baked Tuscan chicken for them at 5:30 and a handful of granola and a slice of cheese for me at 8. 

I was putting my energy into finding recipes, grocery shopping and cooking meals for them and by the time I was done and my son ate, played, was bathed and went to bed, I was just too tired and didn’t care enough to make something of nutritious value for myself. Not to mention, I would still need to pack his lunch, do the dishes, switch over the laundry, cleanup the toys….

What was bound to happen with that way of eating? I became tired and sluggish more often than I wasn’t, which led to less movement throughout the day and many missed workouts, which in turn turned into it’s own energy sucking, blah-feeling cycle.

How did I change this? 

✅ I pivoted. I looked for more simple recipes that either we could all eat or I could make modifications to, i.e. chicken, veggie quesadillas for them and black bean, veggie quesadillas for me. 

✅ I started making time to do the things that I knew “kept my cup full” and if the dishes didn’t get done until the next day, oh well.

✅ I asked my husband to take over dinner duties once a week and he was more than happy to.

Some things to remember:

1️⃣ Give yourself some grace. The world is tough. Being a mom is tough. We’re all just figuring it out as we go. 

2️⃣ Don’t compare yourself and don’t feel like you need to do everything, everyday. We all do things differently and at different rates. Plus a lot of what you see online (either influencer or people you know) isn’t telling the real or whole story.

3️⃣ Take care of yourself. A) you deserve it. B) you can’t take care of your family if you’re always tired or burnt out. 

4️⃣ There is a reason they say “it takes a village.” Ask for help. Ask your significant other for a break when you need it.

5️⃣ Learn to say no. Sometimes saying no to the party, or to a favor, or to volunteering for your kid’s school event, is just something you need to do to avoid unnecessary added stress.

6️⃣ Your kids won’t remember if the house was spotless, that the family photo was perfect or that the laundry was always done. They will remember you getting on the floor to play with them, reading them their favorite bed time story or that you had the best dinosaur roar.