Hey Guys! Hunter here with another Teen Takeover! So I’ve been super into books lately (I’m sure you’ve seen over on my mom’s Instagram) and basically reading whenever I get some spare time! The last couple have beens so good, I can’t put them down! When I asked what you guys wanted me to cover here, I actually got a lot of requests for my favorite books, so I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of my favorite recent reads, as well as books I have on my “to read” list!
Before I share, I feel like I should say, I promise I’m not like a creepy murder planning person! I just really love mystery suspense books! So keep that in mind when you check out my favorites! Haha!
: THE LIST
Ok the first one I read this year is called The List. It is about this school where every year at homecoming a list is posted all over school that has the prettiest girl and the ugliest girl. It kind of highlights 8 different girls that are on “the list” and how whether you are on the good side or bad side, the price you pay, how it affects them badly, and what they do to get rid of it.
: WE WERE LIARS
Another one I have to tell you about is We Were Liars. It was so good I read it in like 24 hours! Ha! It is kind of a mystery that has you hooked right from the beginning. It’s about a really rich family that spends all their summers on a private island. One of the summers the main character has a head injury and can’t remember what happens. The book goes through her finding out all the crazy things that happened and why relationships and things around her have changed.
: ONE OF US IS LYING + ONE OF US IS NEXT
Oh my gosh, One of Us Is Lying + One of Us Is Next had me hooked so fast!! It is about a group of high school kids that are all suspects in another high school kids murder. They all have secrets they don’t want to get out and it switches from different characters narrating as they solve the mystery. I wanted the sequel so bad I had it shipped to our vacation rental in Florida!!!
Ok these are the next 4 in my books to be read list! As you can already see from the title and covers, they are also in the same suspense/mystery category which I’m so excited about! I linked them all above if you are interested!
But my biggest question is WHAT BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?! I am always wanting new ideas so please share them here or over in the comments on today’s Instagram Post! And if you ever need to shop my updated list of favorites you can do that here.
Are we still building our new home?? As of now YES! I’ve had a lot of messages and comments asking what is going on since we have been pretty radio silent about it since our post back in March sharing our excitement on the lot. The main reason for the silence is just because there is not a lot of exciting things to share right now. We are neck deep in all of the behind the scenes. Planning, engineering, and bidding just doesn’t feel as fun to share! BUT today I have a big build update for you so here we go!
: THE TIMING + STRESS LEVEL
First off if you have ever built a custom home, tell me all your stress control remedies! Wow is it a lot! Our current home is custom, but the stress level was nowhere near the same. I think it is because we kind of knew it wasn’t our forever home. There weren’t as many must have boxes to check. We also built from a distance (which did add its own style of stress) but it was just so different. With insane pricing and all the lack of product in the construction industry right now, this has been so wild.
We bought the lot at the beginning of last year. I know that seems so slow moving, but I went into this with a very optimistic outlook. If something is supposed to take 4 weeks, I automatically plan for 8! Haha. That way in my head we are never too far behind schedule!
We are currently on hold while we wait for the results of a soils test. It will tell us how to engineer all the concrete walls required. Once we get that information from the structural engineer, we will make the decision on how to move forward. Yes you read that right. There is still kind of an “if” we move forward with this lot. Let’s just say, prior to the soil test, there was a number thrown out for the cost of all the walls we will need, and it was higher than our land. Cue instant want to throw up moment. Wondering if it is going to be worth it to build on this lot, and invest so much before we even start the house.
So we are just slowly moving forward and really just trying to put our trust in God that we will be where we are supposed to be and know what choices to make.
If all goes according to plan and we can make this work with the retaining walls, our hope is to be through the city and able to break ground by the middle of April or early May.
: THE DESIGN
We started the design process with the incredible Elizabeth, and I cannot tell you how much she has been my saving grace. There is no way I could keep this job going and build this custom home. I don’t know how people do it with out help! She has taken so much stress off of me and just knows my vision and handles all the details. It is definitely a pricey commitment to make, but the services and peace of mind she gives is worth every single penny!
As we go through the designing (my favorite part) I have been sharing some sneak peeks over on Instagram and have loved getting your feedback. My style is very unique so of course I’ve got a lot of shocked messages, but I love sharing! It has also been so nice to rely on you guys for help in searching out good subcontractors as well! Your willingness to help me get a great price/service has been amazing and I’m so glad I have you with me along for this ride!
Right now we are finishing up the design on the craft room, as well as the living + dining room. We have already finished the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, master, and mudroom! It might sound crazy to already be designing rooms when we haven’t even broke ground, but with all the delays and crazy lead times, we want to be on top of what we can control!
: HOW THE KIDS ARE FEELING
As many of you read and saw on Instagram, our kids were less than thrilled about the idea of moving. A couple of them may have even threatened to move in with friends so they didn’t have to. To help with the moving process and feelings, we have decided not to sell our current home until at least after Christmas. With how long the build process takes, it just made more sense to hang on to our roots and keep them comfortable a little longer. Hunter is thrilled to be able to stay with her high school team longer! The other kids are happy to not leave friends so soon. Of course they all still have their good days and bad days about it, but we are hoping this will give them more time to mentally prepare + process it all.
Honestly the moving life has kind of been our norm with medical school, residency, etc. so they have done this before. That probably both helps and hurts because they know what is coming. I think it is good to prepare them for real life and that change is hard.
Is there anything better than escaping the cold winter for sunshine with your family?! It is quickly turning into a requirement for me to survive winter and I’m not mad about it! Earlier this month we took our escape for us in Florida called Bonita Springs and absolutely loved it!! It is the perfect quiet side of typical vacation Florida, with a nice slow pace and plenty of beach + sunshine! I always love to hear people’s must eats, see, and do on their vacations, so I put together a little Bonita Springs travel guide for you here!
Long story short, but our original vacation plans completely fell through at the last minute. In a panic, I reached out to my friend Nicole (of the hilarious Johnson Files) who lived in Florida for a few years, to see if by some miracle she had any way we could book a last minute stay there. She reached out to a friend with an airbnb who just happened to have a last minute cancellation exactly when we needed it! It was basically the luckiest blessing ever and instantly took so much trip stress away!!
The house itself was a little smaller and older than it seemed in pictures, but the location quickly made up for that! It backed up to “the bayou” which was the ultimate paddle boarding spot we quickly fell in love with. And on the flip side, directly across the street from the house was beach access! We felt like we got the best of both worlds, but saved a ton by not being right on the beach side. It was so nice to be able to wake up and let the big kids go out and paddle board before we started our day, or for Joe and I to be able to go out in the evenings together without being far from the kids.
While we loved that Bonita Springs was so laid back and slow paced, there was still plenty to see and do both there and nearby. Here are some of the things we did and loved!
: THE BEACH:
Of course being in Florida, we spent a lot of time at the beach!! We loved how empty and low key the beach was compared to Southern Florida. The only beach we really went to was Barefoot Beach because we were right across the street. Some other great highly recommended ones in the area were Bonita Beach, Lowder Milk Beach, Naples Pier, and Lovers Key.
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: PADDLE BOARDING:
Since we were right on the bayou, we had the perfect spot for paddle boarding. We rented board from ebb n flow and it was so perfect. They brought them right to the house, including life jackets. When we were done we just called them and they came right back and picked everything up. It was so nice to not have to find the place and figure out the space to load them up. I highly recommend them!
: CAPTAIN JACKS
We drove down to the everglades for part of the day to Captain Jacks. You get to go on a fun airboat ride looking for gators and other wildlife. We also all got to see and hold baby gators too which the kids mostly loved! Haha!
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: SMALLEST POST OFFICE IN AMERICA
This was just a fun little picture spot and the kids love being able to say they’ve been to the smallest post office now!
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: WHAT WE ATE
Now let’s talk about food!! I think having good new food recommendations is one of the most important parts to planning a vacation! Nicole totally came through with some amazing recommendations. I wish we had another week to try the rest of them!! Below are the ones we got to, and what we thought!
We also ordered Walmart to be delivered right when we got there and it was such a game changer. It was so nice to have snacks and quick breakfast/lunches to just take out on the beach and not have to spend so much going out every meal.
: MISSION BBQ
The kids were very whiny/skeptical about eating here but we went anyway and are SO glad we did. Every single one of us loved it and wished we had time to go back again!
: VAMPIRE PENGUIN
This was one of the absolute best shaved ice places I have ever been to..and that is coming from someone that has tried all the popular spots in Hawaii. It was so different than your average shaved ice, with more of a shaved ice/ice cream mix. We loved it so much we went 5 times!
: BROOKS BURGERS
Such a yummy burger spot the whole family loved as well! A lot of unique ingredients and delicious milkshakes!
: BONITA BRUNCH
We had breakfast here one day and the kids are all still talking about it and wishing we had one here. The Cinnamon Roll French toast was to die for!!
: COCONUT JACKS
Joe and I did a date night while were there and went to Coconut Jacks. They don’t take reservations, but have it down to a science and while it seemed packed, got us back in 10 minutes. I will say this place is definitely more popular for the experience over the food. You sit out on a dock basically in the middle of the water and the sunset views are amazing. The food was just ok for me.
If you live in Utah, then you know the hype that is all things SWIG cookies!! They are the OG of drink + cookie shops and in my opinion, the very best!!! Their cookies are unique and delicious and once you try them, something you will find yourself craving! While this recipe isn’t 100% guaranteed to be identical, it is about as close as you are going to get and JUST as delicious!!
– COOKIE INGREDIENTS –
1 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups flour
– INSTRUCTIONS –
Cream together all of your wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Slowly add those to the wet ingredients.
Once your dough is all mixed together, roll it into 2 inch balls (golf ball size) and place on your cookie sheet.
Put ¼ cup sugar in a flat dish. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the sugar, and then press that firrmly into the center of your dough ball. If you are doing it correctly, the dough should spill out from under the sides of the glass.
BAKE dough balls at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. The cookies should just barely be browning on the bottom. After baking move cookies to a cooling rack + once cool place in the fridge.
– FROSTING INGREDIENTS –
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 2 pound bag powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
food coloring if desired
– INSTRUCTIONS –
Cream together the butter, sour cream, and salt. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and milk. When all ingredients are mixed well, and one drop of food coloring and additional milk if frosting needs to be thinned.
** PRO TIP**
Keep cookies in a sealed container until they are ready to serve + frost them right before serving!
Happy Valentines Day!! Ah I love this holiday! Nothing better than celebrating LOVE! With love on the mind I thought it would be fun to make today’s post about dating your spouse. It seems like every time I post about Joe and I going on a date, I get messages asking how we make it happen when we have 5 kids and crazy schedules to work with. So today I’m going to share 4 tips that helped us make still dating each other a priority, and will hopefully help you out too!
This may sound kind of like a duh tip. But hear me out. A lot of us are so guilty of letting dating our spouse take the back burner. In our heads we think of it as an “extra” and not something that is a priority. But is is so so important for a healthy relationship and marriage. You need that one on one time to be able to be your best partnership to support and lead your family. By putting it as a priority in your mind, you are way more likely to make it happen.
Now that you’ve got dating as a priority in your mind and not just an extra, get it on the schedule. When you plan out your week and write down all the doctors appointments and meetings you need to be at on specific days, make date night one of those things you schedule too. And treat it just the same. You wouldn’t just cancel a doctors appointment for something minor, so treat dating the same! I try to remember this when it comes to dating our kids too! Schedule it and make the time for it.
Another thing we all seem to get caught up in, is that dating your spouse has to be some huge grand gesture. KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Every Friday night doesn’t need to be a 5 star dinner and helicopter ride around the city. Date night can be as simple as going out for ice cream together or on a walk around the neighborhood. Anything that gives you time alone together to actually catch up and enjoy each others company. The simplest plans usually end up being our favorites anyway!
:: CONSIDER YOUR SEASON
Last but not least in my tips to dating your spouse is to remember to consider your season. We live in a world where the comparison game is right in front of our face 24/7. It is so easy to hop on Instagram and say “so and so goes on a date every single week”….or “they are going to a fancy dinner and concert”. There is a time and season. If you are in the thick of school or residency, date nights will be more rare, and probably consist more of trips to the grocery store together, or late night netflix binge. If you have a newborn, your date night might include a baby. And that is ok. We all go through different seasons of life with time and budget and it is so important to keep your focus on your lane.
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I hope these little tips help you reassess and make dating your spouse feel more doable. I promise you what you get out of it for your relationship is far and above worth the effort you put in to making it happen. Happy Valentines Day!!
I know I know, it is early February and the temperatures here in Utah are barely making the mid 30’s. So why am I living in fantasy world looking at all things sunshine + swimsuits? Because for a lot of us here in Northern Utah, February is the time to escape the winter and go somewhere with warm sunshine and we are doing just that!! So whether you have a trip planned, or you are getting yourself excited for spring + summer, today I’ve got a fun roundup of my favorite new swimsuits, swimsuits on a budget, and swimsuit accessories for you to check out!
I was actually pleasantly surprised with the good swimsuits I found this time of year!! I am loving all the unique styles, fun patterns, and of course the good bum coverage!! Shop all my favorites in this collage above!
If there is one thing Amazon was a major win on for me last year, it was good swimsuits! I found so many fun new styles in both one pieces and bikinis that I loved, all for under $50! If you are looking to show a few looks that are a little more budget friendly, check out my picks above!
Now that you’ve got the swimsuits picked out, let’s talk accessories! From the best sunscreen and sun hats, to flip flops and sunnies you’ll love, I’ve rounded up all my favorite must have accessories for you here too!
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I hope this roundup gets you prepped for your next getaway or at least as excited for future sunshine as I am!! Where is your favorite place to shop swimsuits?
Every time I do a question box over on Instagram, I get some form of question in regards to how I “do it all”. Usually I have a good laugh when I see them, because it is so far from the truth!! If anything it is a reminder to me that Instagram never shows the full picture. And while I like to think I do a decent job, I am far from perfect!! With that in mind, I did make a major mindset change and really lifestyle change over the last year or two to help simplify, that has made all the difference, and I wanted to share that with you today.
About a year or year and a half ago I basically had a melt down. Picture your blockbuster style mid life crisis or mental breakdown and that was me. I felt like everything was piling up and out of my control. It felt like it was all too much, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was ready to throw in the towel and give up on anything I didn’t absolutely have to do to function and keep my family afloat. Deep down I knew that wasn’t a place I could stay in mentally, so I called my friend Kristin Andrus.
If you know or follow Kristin, you know she is basically wonder woman. She is a mom of 6, owns Traeger Grills with her husband, and volunteers thousands of hours to serve those around her. She has always been a huge example to me, and I knew she had to have some secret to doing it all and so flawlessly! Her first piece of advice was something that has stuck with me since and something I repeat to myself regularly. It was DO WHAT YOU LOVE, HIRE OUT THE REST.
For me that was such a lightbulb moment though it seems so simple. Society and the world tend to tell us we are allowed to ask for help via a babysitter or nanny. But to me, that is taking away the thing I want to do most out of my “tasks”…be with my family. Why can’t I flip flop it and choose that for me and hire out the errands and other things I despise? So I did just that and made some changes to simplify.
First I hired cleaners. If you know me, you know I function 100 times better in a clean and organized space. So this one was huge for me. We hired cleaners that come just twice a month to help me stay on top of things. Do I still clean all the time? Yes, but this was a way for me to simplify the task. Joe also hired landscape maintenance as well. His time off is so limited, and it felt like we were spending every day off doing yard work. His time was most important.
: PERSONAL ASSISTANT
One thing I completely despise is returns, grocery shopping, and just the run around of errands. I’ve done Walmart delivery for years to help avoid most of that, but there are always those last minute items. Instead of hiring someone to watch the babies while I did all of that, I chose what I love (my kids) and hired out the rest. I hired a senior in high school that comes and runs errands for us AND helps run kids to different practices. My kids all love her so much and she feels like part of the family. This was another way to simplify the process.
: WORK TEAM
When I first started out online, I tried to go it all alone. I put all of the weight on myself and started to dislike it pretty quick. I knew things had to change. Just like anything in life there are parts of this job I love and parts I don’t. So again I chose to delegate. I have a “manager/assistant” that is the other half of my brain. She has been with me for 5 years now and keeps me sane. Her primary role is handling all of our contracts, campaigns, brand relationships, scheduling, and basically to simplify what I see and do to keep me on task. Ha! We also have a newsletter + course specialist, my amazing photographer, and a LTK manager. They keep the motor running on everything so that I can make the connections and enjoy the relationships this community brings.
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I’ll say it again and a million times, I am not perfect at this. My goal is to help you simplify motherhood and avoid the overwhelm that creeps in. But you also need to consider your stage of life too. Never in a million years could I have done all of this when we were in school. But know that it is ok to say no to adding more if you feel full. Or taking one of these things and giving yourself grace.
in partnership with JCPenney + ShopStyle Collective
If you read the post I did a couple of weeks ago highlighting my 2022 goals, you saw a big one for me this year is to get better quality sleep!! If you are anything like me, good quality sleep kind of tends to take a back seat. With 5 busy kids, we have jam packed schedules. I often times find myself staying up extra late and waking up early to tackle my to do list. Which results in no sleep. I know that getting good quality sleep makes such a huge difference in my focus, efficiency, and over all attitude, so it has been one of my major goals this year.
I cheated a little on my goals this year and started this one a little prematurely by ordering a few items friends had recommended that make all the difference to them getting in that good quality sleep, and trying out some new habits. I have already noticed such a difference, so of course I had to share them with you too!
: PLAN ON GOING TO BED AN HOUR EARLIER THAN YOU REALLY WANT
As humans, especially women, we tend to overload our schedules and are always adding “just one more thing” to our to do list. One thing that has really worked great for me is to plan on going to bed an hour earlier than my goal. So, if my goal is in bed lights out at 10, I try to plan on having everything done by 9 instead. By doing this, all the extras that come up aren’t pushing me back later than I want to be going to bed, and I am again enforcing that consistency of a bedtime for myself.
: HAVE A SLEEP ROUTINE
Yes, I want you to treat yourself just like you would one of your kids. Give yourself a bedtime routine. Our bodies thrive off of routine and structure. The same goes for bedtime, which is why it works so well for kids. Knowing what to expect and having that same routine trains our brains to slow down and kind of prep themselves for sleep. For me that almost always includes a bath. It helps me relax, slow down, and take time to process the day without interruption.
If you know me, you know I am always freezing from about October-April! And trying to get a good sleep when you are cold + uncomfortable is nearly impossible. So, I set out to solve this problem and got myself a heating pad to sleep with!! It heats up fast and has a 2 hour auto shut off, so you don’t have to worry. You can grab it here from JCPenney!
: USE A SOUND MACHINE
The first up is a sound machine. I always used a sound machine for my kids when they were little. It made transitioning to nana’s house or traveling a breeze because their sleeping conditions didn’t change much. It was one of those things we would never leave the house without. So WHY didn’t I think of this for myself years ago? This one from JCPenney has great sound quality and is super relaxing. I love that it is really minimal too so you can store it in a drawer or pack it easily. It has been such a dream for getting in that zen, relaxed state, and not having sound interruptions!
: DON’T FORGET THE EYE MASK
I have to admit, I have always thought these eye masks were so gimmicky. But I stand corrected. They are incredible! Once I put this on, I know I am guaranteed to have no distractions. It kind of tells my brain, ok I’m ready, time to slow down and relax. I have loved it!
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While I know these tips + tricks won’t work for everyone, they are worth a shot if you are struggling to get in that good quality sleep. And if you are interested in trying out the items I mentioned, you can shop all 3 of them at JCPenney now with quick shipping and pick up options!
What is your favorite gift you’ve ever received for Valentine’s Day? I’m all about the experiences over actual things. BUT it is still fun to get a little something from your hubby right?! Sometimes they need a few hints. So I went ahead and made them a little gift guide you can just drop right in their inbox! Haha! Plus I’ve rounded up some ideas I’ve done for Joe in the past or I’m thinking about for this year! Shop them all below and tell me what your favorites to get and receive are too!!
I hope these Valentine’s gift ideas help spark some ideas for your man, and maybe what you should be hinting at for yourself too! What is your favorite thing you’ve ever received for Valentines Day?!
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I am so excited! It has always been one of my favorite holidays. What is better than celebrating love with the people you love?!
When you were growing up, was Valentines Day a big deal in your house? Or was it more of a holiday you just kind of had at school but that is it? Was it something that was just for adults? What about in your current home? For me, when I was growing up, my mom made holidays so special for us. Valentine’s was no exception! I think that plays a big part in why I still love it so much today!
We had the best Valentine’s tradition! So today I thought it would be fun to share one of our traditions + some simple Valentine’s Day gift ideas for the whole family! Every year we would make yummy treats + Valentine’s Cards so we could package them up for the neighbors. Instead of delivering them like a normal gift, we would doorbell ditch them with the little surprise. We LOVED it and thought it was the best thing ever as kids. Fast forward to my time as a parent bringing this tradition to my little family. I had NO IDEA this was not the norm. My naive self literally thought it was something everyone did for Valentines Day! I couldn’t figure out why nobody ever did it to us in return!
My little people love it so much, that I had to keep the Valentines tradition alive, and I even do something similar for them. I package up a little gift, and some yummy treats. Then I doorbell ditch them with their own Valentine’s Day surprises too! It has been so fun!
Now let’s talk ideas! Since my kids cover every stage from just out of toddler (cue the tears) to teen, I have rounded up gift guides for both boys AND girls in every age group! So be sure to check them all out below and let me know your favorites!
We hope these little ideas help you out and you enjoy your Valentine’s Day with your crew! Sending extra love from our team to you for your support and being part of this community too!
Let’s talk family planning! Whether you are single, married, or a family of 7, planning out your week can make all the difference in not only your productivity, but your attitude too! Knowing what you have coming up as well as making time for the things you want in your week can make all the difference between a happy week or a bummer week! I mentioned we have a family meeting every Sunday and got bombarded with questions on all the logistics of how it is done. So today I’m giving you all the details and hopefully setting you up with some tips to apply this in your own household!
: START WITH FAMILY HOME EVENING
We usually start our family meeting off with what we call family home evening. It is something we are encouraged to do through our faith, but easily customized to coincide with your own family values. We try to start off with a prayer and a song. From then on, it is basically a time where we focus on being together, talking about a subject we need to work on or want to focus on that week. Sometimes it will just be Joe or I kind of leading a discussion and other times we watch a spiritual video or talk on it as well.
Once we have done this portion of the family meeting, we let the babies go play. They don’t need to know the ins and outs of the schedule and sometimes it helps with distractions. Our babies are old enough now that a lot of times they like to stay to be included.
: GO OVER THE SCHEDULE
Once we wrap up the family home evening portion, we move on to the schedule. The schedule portion of the family meeting is definitely the main focus and what takes the most time.
This is where we go over everything like sports practices and games, joe’s work days, and any meetings or appointments I have that will affect family schedules. This is also when the kids let us know if they have special things with friends like birthday parties or school events.
We also schedule in our kids dates for the week. These don’t always have to be something huge. Lately I have been picking up whoever’s turn it is and taking them to lunch, a lot of the time with the babies in tow. They don’t really mind that it isn’t always just one on one.
In addition to the individual kids dates, we also try and schedule in some kind of family activity or family date for the week. This could be something as big as skiing for Harper’s birthday, or as simple as everyone going to Hunter’s soccer game to support her.
The last part of scheduling is us letting them know if Joe and I have a date night planned for the week and who is going to tend.
: PLAN OUR MEALS
One of my biggest pet peeves is spending time and/or money to make a meal that nobody wants to eat! So when it comes to meal planning for the week I want all the opinions and requests! To make this happen, I added meal planning for the week to our weekly family meeting. We are able to plan out what days we will be out, what days Joe will be home for dinner, and work in any meal requests the kids have. I usually order our Walmart delivery right then as well to get it all taken care of!
: TALK ABOUT OUR GOALS
New to our family meeting this year is adding in family goals. Our kids are old enough to be making their own goals as well as work towards goals with us toward family ones too. We talked about them last week and we each listed them out on these monthly sheets. Our plan is to go over them every week at the family meeting as kind of a check in. Not only does that help us stay focused on the goals, but also lets us see if we can be helping them out that week in their goals.
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I think that covers everything involved in our weekly family meeting. As you can the bones of it are really pretty simple and customizable to your families needs!
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I’ve really been putting a major focus on my health and taking care of myself, both mentally and physically. But prior to the last 4 years or so, it was pretty low on my list of priorities! I’ve had a lot of questions on how I made such a drastic change, what helped and what didn’t, and alll the things in between! I am definitely no expert on this and still learning what works and what doesn’t, but today I wanted to share 8 tips that have really helped me to build a healthy routine.
: FIND A PARTNER
When it comes to accomplishing a goal, or motivating yourself to stick to something, having a partner is such a game changer. Just knowing that someone is counting on you can be the push you need. It will push you to wake up and do your workout, to push yourself a little harder, and most importantly to not quit, because you aren’t just letting yourself down, you are letting them down too!! Having a partner in your healthy routine also gives you someone to vent to that is working through the same challenges as you.
: START SMALL
While getting into a healthy routine is so great for your body both physically and mentally, pushing yourself too hard isn’t. Start small and progress as you go. Not only will it be easier on your body, but you are much less likely to get frustrated with yourself and give up. You can’t go from couch potato to marathon runner overnight. Start with a simple goal you know you can accomplish, and push yourself from there.
: SET GOALS
If you are a parent, you know that you can change how your people see the simplest of tasks by setting up a system to track their progress. Reading charts, potty training sticker sheets, chore charts, they all work the same way. Set a goal for yourself, track your progress, and don’t forget the reward!! The same goes for getting in to a healthy routine. Have goals. Maybe yours is to be able to run a race a few months away or do a certain amount of pull ups. Whatever it is, right it down and set up a plan. Having something in your mind to reach for is HUGE motivation to get into that routine.
: TAKE PROGRESS PICTURES
While your reason for getting in to a healthy routine may not be for weight loss, taking progress pictures is a huge motivator. I didn’t go in to this dying to lose a bunch of weight, my goal was to tone up and feel like I had better muscle and endurance. But a friend told me to take “before” pics anyway. I am so happy I did. Because on those days where I feel like this is all pointless and doing nothing for me, those picture comparisons are something I can physically SEE a change and it is so motivating.
One of the questions I get asked most is where I find ideas for my workouts. I love finding and following accounts that offer SIMPLE EASY TO FOLLOW workout ideas so I can take their ideas and mix them up. Some of my very favorites right now are Lauren Gleisberg and Madeline Custer. Their workouts are a mix of weights + cardio. I love that they are easy to follow along to, and great at answering any questions you have. They both have workout programs you can buy (that I love), but they also have tons of free content in their feed so you can try it out first and see if their style matches what you are looking for.
: START WITH ONE HEALTHIER MEAL A DAY
For me, getting in to a healthier routine wasn’t just about working out, but about eating healthier too. If you are anything like me, the thought of meal planning seems TOTALLY overwhelming. So I had to do what worked. I started with focusing on just one meal a day. Once I did that I could feel the change in energy and how I felt. And that encouraged me to bring it into all of my eating. If you need tips to start out, I shared my beginners guide to meal prep here.
: DRINK MORE WATER
Water is KEY to any healthy routine and such a simple step. But sometimes those simple steps are the accomplishments we need to make us feel like a rock star and work harder towards our other goals. For me getting my water in means making sure I fill up my water bottle and take it with me every where I go. It follows me from room to room and in the car so I am constantly hydrating. If water isn’t your jam, try adding some fresh fruit or yummy true lemon to flavor it a little and get you past the boring flavor.
: THINK PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION
Last but maybe most important, is to always think progress over perfection. I am here to tell you that you are not going to see or feel changes over night. Getting into the habits of a healthy routine takes a lot of time, hard work, and patience. Be proud of your progress and yourself for making the choice to work on it, and celebrate the little successes.
Like I said, I am still a work in progress in finding the balance in my own healthy routine. But I hope these tips that have helped me, will help you as well! Just remember, you are killing it just by doing your best to take care of you!
