{Blogged with hot tea, Kleenex and the flu} Life is crazy for me right now, although I imagine this post could be written by any of us. It is not just one part of my life either— its like everything is going bonkers all at once. At home, poor Huddy has pneumonia, which is the most awful thing, but because this boy is an absolute angel, it is a lot easier than it could be. He doesn’t complain (EVER), he takes his medicine every time I ask him to and it looks like its going to be okay. You mamas know that there is nothing worse than having to stand helplessly by, knowing our children are sick, but I am hoping in the next week, he will be back to normal. What won’t be back to normal in a week is my poor hubby. In May 2017, he had spine surgery. This surgery was the culmination of 5 intense weeks of extreme, debilitating pain for him, radiating down his neck and left arm, surgeons trying to schedule his procedure, us looking for any alternative to surgery…and unfortunately, its back. This time, its his lower back. We are hot on the trail for alternate treatments but sometimes, when nerve pain is involved, the choices are limited. On top of this, work is bananas. I talk about this sometimes on Instagram but the past 15 months or so since leaving my old firm to start my own have been crazy. Like, non-stop work and while the opportunities are exhilarating, it is just a lot of dang work! When life gets extra crazy for me (I also have in the mix Addison’s birthday party planning, family from Chicago coming into town later this week, and girl scout cookie sales. AND I have a cold!) here is what I do to keep sane (and I would love to hear your tips):
Try to grab silence whenever I can. I will forgo phone calls in the car on my way into the office for just blessed…silence. Maybe I listen to a podcast, maybe just music but for 25 minutes I am wrapped in a solo cocoon and its nice.
Keep copious lists. I go from old school hand-written lists to Wunderlist (my fave list app) and between them all, I keep everything in mind and it gets done. I think this will depend on your personality, but I tend to fill my plate to overflowing at times, and I don’t say no. I just acknowledge that it will be a rough week/month, whatever, and that realization seems to help. I know the super hard times won’t last forever, and I just put my head down and push through.
Take baths. Before kids, I took a bath every night; me, bubbles and a good book. Now, baths are somewhat of a luxury but when it’s crazy, I find even 10 quick minutes in a hot bath, with or without a book, helps. It’s warm, it’s quiet and it’s a stress reliever in some weird way.
I don’t think there is any magic answer for us when times are crazy but managing the crazy is key. At the end of the day, we will get through it and as long as everyone is healthy and happy, life is just fine, right?! What are some things you do? I would love to hear from you!!
What’s on My Mind: Here are the things I’m currently obsessed with:
This book. I just finished it and I’m on the hunt for something new!
Anything that is true crime related. (Making a Murderer got us hooked!) We just finished this and this and they were SOOO good! We are right in the middle of The Innocent Man.
Home design. We want to move (I’ve been saying this forever- our neighbors and our street are just so wonderful that it makes us lazy house lookers. When THE perfect house comes along, we’ll jump) but until we do, I want to remodel certain parts of our home to make it appealing (to me and the future owner). I am knee deep in house stuff and looking for a wall where I can paste this.
This mask. Its reasonably priced, and it gives me a rosy, fresh look without any makeup. I use a mask every time I shower and I love this one because its has some texture to exfoliate, too.
Blue light rays and standing desks. I read someplace that sitting is the new smoking. Yikes! So, I ordered this for work and while I was at it, a pair of these too. (They are from a women owned company, which is pretty awesome)!
Sunny destinations. We have our annual Maui trip in October and a few Palm Springs trips booked, but I want to add one more kind of close by, 3-day vacay, like maybe here.
I remind myself that in the end, everything is going to be okay and you know why? Because it WILL! Thank you so much for stopping by- Sweetly, Michelle