Christmas

Hang In There Mamas… Christmas Is Almost Here

We are so close to Christmas mamas! 

Just a little reminder… if your kids are all hyped up and having extra meltdowns and are fighting with each other more than usual, that’s totally normal leading up to Christmas (and Halloween and birthdays).

It took me a few years of parenting to see this pattern, but once I did and realized most kids get like this leading up to an exciting holiday or event I totally relaxed.. and popped in my AirPods and poured myself a glass of wine. 

We’ve got this, hang in there! 

Are you doing anything for you?

Over the holidays you are going to be giving a lot of yourself! You don’t have to burn out. Remember to carve out time for you, and in turn everyone around you will get a better version of you!

Have you been following along on my CrossFit journey on Instagram? I have been sharing my new life-changing fitness journey and how much it has impacted all aspects of my life.

I encourage you to make time to do something for yourself in 2020, because you will never just find time.

You deserve it!

You can follow my journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest!

Self care after Christmas, think of it as your New Years preview

mother and four kids on beach

Today is December 26th. Every December 26th I feel excited. I know a lot of people who feel low after Christmas, but although I love Christmas, there is something, a feeling like relief that I feel the day after Christmas.

December 26th is like my preview of New Years day, my fresh beginning. My family and I are currently in Florida, enjoying a much-needed family vacation, but we haven’t escaped the hosting, the visiting or the busyness of the holiday season.

My family is here too. Everyone. So instead of spending time with Mike’s family, we have been spending time with mine. We hosted Christmas eve and Christmas brunch and then went to my parents place for Christmas dinner. It was all wonderful and long overdue… 8 years to be exact.

But by the time we finished dinner last night, I hit a wall. The exhaustion took over. Our twins were unravelling too. Although we hadn’t played games yet, I know the three of us were done. So, I thanked my parents for dinner and told Mike to stay with the big kids as long as they would like, and then snuck out the door for the short walk back to our place.

Self care for the remainder of my trip means reading my book when I get a minute (loving A Stranger Next Door right now) and writing. I am also picking up my exercise starting today. I went for a run/walk this morning, and we are renting bikes for our family tomorrow.

What are you doing for yourself during the holidays? How do you feel after Christmas?

In today’s video I am sharing some practical tips that anyone can do.

I’m actually enjoying Christmas vacation… well, so far

toddler playing with doll

I am a routine freak. I don’t try to hide it. I need my routine. When pulled out of it, even for a weekend, I unravel.

But here I am, Thursday December 28th, and I am intact, mentally sound, and have not crumbled. Not even during the three straight days of family events, (some with two events per day). Nope, I’m as cool as a cucumber over here.

At least for now.

Maybe this is the sign of the times. I have emerged from the baby haze and can actually cope with life. Okay, okay, our twins went back to full-time daycare yesterday, so maybe I am cheating just a little. But hey, I have learned what works for our family, and I am taking full advantage of childcare so that Mike and I can spend some rare one-on-one time with our big kids.

Christmas morning

Despite the plethora of toys our kids were given for Christmas, I have still heard, “I’m bored,” already at least ten times. My response… saying you’re bored buys you a ticket to play in the mounds of snow in our backyard. This redirects them pretty quickly, especially since it is -23° C outside here in Canada.

So, I survived Christmas. It was pretty great actually, despite some kids getting over colds, and Beau having a bad fall on Christmas morning. It was mostly magical. I’ve added our last couple vlogs below in case you want to catch up on our Christmas vacation.

Fingers crossed I keep going with the flow, and can survive the next week. But for now I am going to enjoy the all-day pj rule, the midday movie outings (we saw Wonder today, it was incredible), and Mike and my evening movie dates enjoying our new basement home theatre.

kids playing

I hope you are surviving the holidays too, and are finding the unstructured days manageable. Fingers crossed!

Happy holidays and recapping this past week

Can you believe it? Christmas is finally here! Well in a few days at least. But our kids are officially off for the holidays and Mike and I raced around all morning to get enough groceries to host twice and last us until Wednesday. We also got our last few gifts which means I get to hibernate in our home until heading out to our church’s Christmas eve service on Sunday. This is a good thing because we just got a dumping of snow here in southern Ontario.

Christmas

Above: present opening from Christmas-part 1, last weekend

I had a lot of plans for the past couple months and the lead-up to Christmas but then life happened. My November was full of unexpected stresses like a colonoscopy (which was clear… phew), and December has brought one illness after another into our home, keeping kids home almost daily.

I have three half-written seasonal blog posts that never made it to the finish line, and finally this past week I just had to throw in the towel. It took me until yesterday to get excited for Christmas, but as I raced around, (after sending our mostly healthy kids to school and daycare), and finding some absolutely perfect gifts for Mike and the kids, the excitement finally set in.

But as excited as I am for Christmas, I always love January, because not only does it bring my thirty-fifth birthday, but a fresh new beginning. I have big plans for Nesting Story and our family, including possibly adding another member to our family. No, I’m not pregnant. Any guesses?

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and that you are able to let go of perfection, carve out some time for yourself, and cherish the small joys in between the inevitable chaos. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Oh and if you are behind on what’s been going on here, here are this past week’s YouTube videos for you to catch up on…

Don’t forget to subscribe to Nesting Story on YouTube so that you don’t miss a video!

Happy Holidays From Our Family To Yours – A Flashback And Q & A

I cannot believe another year has passed! I truly feel like we are hitting a new stage around here. Despite the terrible-twos occasionally popping up here and there, we have seemed to hit a sweet spot.

Our kids are getting more independent and I am finding it easier and easier to get out with all four. Mia and Everly are talking in full sentences, which is very exciting.

I am very thankful that we are ending 2016 healthy and happy. Here is a little look back at our previous Christmases, as well as a full Q & A our family did…

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!