05.06.24 Weekly Message

Hi mama!

When I started my joyful motherhood journey, I quickly discovered that optimization is crucial. With over ten years of experience as a digital strategist, I became obsessed with aligning various aspects of our lives to create harmony and efficiency, ultimately increasing my ability to experience joy and fulfillment as a mother.

Here are some key areas that help me optimize for a smooth week:

• Routines: Establishing consistent routines is vital for both me and Emi. We follow the same routine every single day. She knows what to expect, and I know how much time I actually have to do chores, work, and even take a shower, believe it or not.

• Meal prep: Mama's gotta eat! Every week, I heavily prep for the whole family, ensuring each dinner will have enough leftovers for lunch the next day. I also batch-cook a few things for breakfast and snacks, like banana bread and baked oats. Having leftovers handy for lunches helps me save time and cuts back on decision fatigue.

• Quality Sleep: Establishing a healthy sleep schedule for Emi has been a priority since day one. It hasn't all been rainbows and butterflies – we faced a rough stretch where we were waking up every 60-90 minutes – thankfully, Papa stepped in and got us through it. If your little one is not sleeping well, don't give up! There are resources available to help them establish healthy sleeping patterns.

• Exercise: With limited time to go to the gym, I realized it is important to find “low-effort” forms of exercise. Sometimes we get caught up thinking exercise needs to be extreme, but even a 30-minute online yoga session counts. And walking? Walking counts too. I’m not super big on working out but exercise boosts my energy and motivation, making daily tasks easier to handle.

These are the areas I’ve found make the most impact on my routine, but it might look different for you. If you feel overwhelmed, identify the area causing you the most pain and find hacks to help you run it more smoothly.

EAT: Easy dump and bake recipe? Sign me up! I love this Butternut Squash Chipotle casserole, often I make mine with sweet potato and make a separate batch for Emi without the chipotle.

PLANT CARE: Speaking of optimizing different areas of my life, I manage to keep my 30 plants alive using this water meter. If you are a serial plant killer, you need one too.

READ: Every month I read a parenting book, this month I’ll be diving into The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, a recommendation from my husband.

Sometimes you just need a good cry, and that’s ok.

I know I just said in the morning.
But when is the best time to exercise, really?

If you need to up your chancleta game for the summer, here are some trendy sandal picks.

MOVEMENT: If you haven’t noticed, I LOVE scavenger hunts. Here are five types of scavenger hunts to enjoy with your little one, complete with FREE PRINTABLES.

SENSORY: When I set up a sensory activity, I'm not so focused on having a theme as I am on making sure I'm providing opportunities for Emi to develop different fine motor skills such as stacking, pouring, transferring, tearing, etc. I try to observe which skill she is currently interested in and offer activities that allow her to practice that skill. If you don’t know where to start, here are some basic tools to set up sensory activities focused on skills.

MUSIC: Everyone loves a classic, but it’s always fun to do a remix. 

LANGUAGE: Everyone seemed to love the travel postcards from last week, so here are some art postcards. Like her Nanny, Emi loves Monet.

MINDFULNESS: Not sure if these affirmations are more for Mama than anyone else, but Emi is somewhat amused when I say them out loud. Click here to get my free affirmation cards.

NATURE: In an attempt to get Emi acquainted with our houseplants and avoid leaf pulling and other “accidents,” we do an activity called “Meet a plant” every week. As I said, I have 30 plants, so I have endless material for this. Emi is a little young now, but I made this fun plant observation printable for later.