WEEKLY BLOG: GIVING MYSELF GRACE, FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON, & CHRISTMAS LIST

This week I decided to set myself some expectations. Each day I wake up and get so into routine and habit that I forget to just be sometimes. Yes, routines and habits are good. However, living and just being is equally important. Also I’m trying to check some gifts off the list that the kids gave us as well as for others. Lastly, still settling in on my new position and not let that take too much of my mental space.

Sunday: I slept in. Late summer I transitioned into a new position and it has tested me to no end. MENTAL NOTE OF THE DAY It was a little rough Friday, but after a pep talk and break I was ready to go. This weekend I realized I needed to give myself some grace and relax. My routine became so solid that I really hadn’t been giving myself a day off. Saturday and Sunday I would work around the house, do errands, and clean. Before I know it, I’ve literally worked 7 days a week. So the goal this weekend was to give myself some days off. It started yesterday when “I let the day come to me.” Thus continuing today. I’m not “working” today. It’s the sabbath. I’ve already went and got me a latte. Now I’m going to sit down and watch football. Later in the evening left overs was on the menu, I worked out, and finished relaxing. After giving myself permission and grace to relax not only my body, but my mind I’m ready for the start of the week.

Monday: I’m going into this work week still giving myself some grace. Instead of trying to hit my 5 milestones I’m going to focus on the one ahead. I’ve made the mistake the last two weeks trying to accomplish every milestone at once. We are given six weeks to accomplish them, however in my mind I have to accomplish them all at once. Because I know I can accomplish them I’m just rushing myself to get there. But anyway, morning routine went well. Temperatures are extremely cold. However, my teenagers don’t believe in winter coats and it pains me. Later on today we are expecting our first couple inches of snow. Of course we’re getting sleet first, then freezing temps, and then full snow flakes. Which makes road conditions terrible. After work, I decided to do a quick tidy round up because I’m trying to preserve weekends off, for that, being off. So in my mind if I do a round up 20-30 minutes after I get off I’m good to go. During that time I had dinner cooking so when I’m done, I could workout and turn in early. My plan for the evening went as planned, however I stayed up a little late watching the snow fall. It was the pretty soft snow flakes. We ended up getting more than expected.

Tuesday: Waking up to the first snow day feels weird. It doesn’t feel like it’s that time of the year but it is. Morning starts off great and heading into work I’m feeling good. I decided to take off after lunch time. It’s something my husband and I do every so often. We’ll either take a full day off together or a half a day. Just to be together. Typically do our coffee run at our favorite cafe. Had a meeting that went pretty well at work today and made some plans for the near future. School wasn’t cancelled even though we received more snow than expected. It’s still cold and the older I get I can’t handle it like I used to. After work I decided to do some errands, cook, couple loads of laundry, workout, and I was able to turn in by 9. Lately I had to give myself a bed time or end time. I chose 9pm. Whatever isn’t done, said, or happened has to wait until the next day. So far that has been working for me. The only thing that has my hands itching, is my desire to put up my Christmas decorations. For some reason Christmas is getting out there early. The commercials, Black Friday ads and sales, and some has started decorating their homes, has me wanting to put mine up. But I’ll let thanksgiving have its time.

Wednesday: So the last couple of days I’ve been have trouble with congestion at night and in the morning. It is the most nerve racking thing. But other than that, my mornings have been great. Each morning I make sure to put myself into a state of doing what I can and not over working myself. The kids have a half day today. We’re finalizing our Thanksgiving plans this week as it quickly snuck up on us. After work I made a quick errand to pick up the rest of my husband birthday gift. The kids were in relax mode and didn’t want to hang out. After he got off work we decided to go make some errands and visit my aunt before it was time for my son to get off work. We have been doing great so far, even started Christmas shopping early. I decided to give my body a break and not work out. Later in the evening after leaving my aunts house and picking up my son, I took me a hot bath, read a couple articles(I’ve been enjoying great inspirational and motivational articles on mahogany.com), and put head to pillow.

burning palo santo beside a buddha figurine

Thursday: I’m giving myself some grace today and taking the second half of the day off. It is my husband birthday. He has a meeting so I’m going to get the kids from school and prepare for dinner. We have dinner plans tonight as well as parent teacher conferences. Work went well. I had a great meeting with my coach today. Making the decision in my mind to change my mindset, has really helped me transition fully into this position. It’s still brutally cold out. But later while waiting for my husband to return from his meeting I folded some loads, did a quick tidy around the house, and prepared for the weekend. Later in the evening we had a great dinner. My husband enjoyed his gifts and a night out. Once back home we had cake before capping the night off to bed. This last couple of weeks I’ve added some tips, tricks, and items to my night routine. The family as a whole fell ill to the seasonal bug. For some reason mine has decided to linger and I needed help to relax and breathe at night. Dr. Teals Aromatherapy Sleep Wellness Candle, Dr Teals Body Wash with Pure Epsom Salt Sleep Bath with Melatonin and Essential Oils, and oil diffuser with Eucalyptus oil. Those combined has helped me relax, get some sleep, and rest. The body wash I usually use as bubble bath. I typically would light the candle about an hour before I plan to lay down right before my skincare night routine and bath/shower. That way the candle has had time to fill the room.

Friday: It’s a great morning as we round off a good week. The kids are excited because they have an entire week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, my oldest son isn’t feeling the best. But he wants to tough it out because he has a couple of tests today. He still thinks he can go out in single digits every morning with just a hoodie on. So far my work day is great, my meeting with my coach is great, and I’m settling into my position. The plan is to clean this weekend to pull out the Christmas tree. I like to have the tree out for about a week before decorating to let it naturally fall. Later in the evening we decided to get some dinner and relax. The kids wanted to relax and it’s still brutally cold out.

Saturday: Again I’m giving myself some grace. I aloud myself to slowly wake up and get out of bed. I usually get up, get dressed, and get to working on my weekend routine. WEEKEND SELF CARE TO DO LIST I always like to use the weekend to do little projects like clean a closet, clean the fridge, clean out cabinets, or shred mail. Along with doing the usual cleaning around the home. But today I said I was going to give myself some time to let the day come and do what I can. That’s exactly what I did. It felt good and I was able to proceed with the day as it came. However I was able to accomplish getting 2 more Christmas gifts. I have this goal to be done shopping kinda early. Because my kids are older the list is smaller and all they want to do is hang out. One of the biggest things I’m learning in my new position is to set expectations. We set expectations with clients, with supervisors, coaches, and in meetings. My expectations I set for myself this week was to give myself some grace. Get a couple gifts checked off the list and stick to my cut off time at night. I’m glad I was able to accomplish that without guilt. If you’re wanting to make some adjustments or change some habits set yourself some expectations. I’m ready to head into next week with some expectations.

Have a great week!!!!!!!

P.S. Weekly blog is designed to show the realistic day in the life of a mom, wife, and working professional balancing life, the kids, work, marriage, and herself.

RosalynLynn

Be you so you can be free.

WEEKLY BLOG: TYPICAL WORK WEEK, HOMECOMING PARADE AND GAME

This week is all about balancing work, home, and all the kids activities. Not too much going on until the end of the week. Either way my goal is to be as productive as much as I practice self care and rest.

Sunday: Slept in of course. Have to have a day to get a little extra sleep. After brunch I kinda let the day guide me. I didn’t have too much housework to catch up on since I did that all yesterday. Also I wanted this to be a chill day because we went to a football game yesterday afternoon, and after sitting in the sun we’re all drained. Later in the afternoon I decided my plants needed some maintenance. You know, cutting dead leaves, watering, and turning. Finally I capped the evening off with watching football and going for a walk. I achieved my goal in turning in early.

Monday: Off to a great start of the week with drop off. This week is a slow one until the end. I’m getting quite adjusted to this work from home full time. I actually enjoy my day and have plenty of interaction with coworkers. It’s moving and coming along better than expected. I also have been doing a pretty good job at balancing work and home life. After drop off and before heading to work, I had to package up some Poshmark packages. This was a typical Monday for us. School, work, meetings, and an uneventful night cap. Just the way I like it sometimes. Can’t have everyday of the week booked to capacity.

Tuesday: So today started off a little different. The morning drop off went great. However, I had a little moment at work. Nothing happened in particular, but I had a moment of doubt that I can’t do this. After about 15 minutes of second guessing myself and literally thinking of a way to go backwards, I had to give myself a pep talk. I stepped away from my computer went to the window prayed, talk to myself, and got back to work. I posted some affirmations on my computer as daily reminders. I’ve been good and ready to go since. After that, I had to schedule some midterm conferences for my daughter. Her school likes to an 8 week conference update with parents just to check in. Which I think is a good idea. Later in the evening I had to head out for a walk and clear my head.

Wednesday: It’s an early release day. The kids get out of school 2hours early. Now there is a shift in the schedule. But as always, we’ll adapt. The kids doesn’t have anything planned, they actually said they want to come home and relax. Before picking up, I spent my lunch preparing an early dinner for them since I had to go back to work. My goal is to clean and tidy up when I get off since tomorrow and Friday evening we have plans.

Thursday: This was a gloomy day. My husband has been having some back pains. The allergy flare ups have been hitting everyone in the house and we’re happy it’s Friday eve. Had a pretty good day at work today. Everything is clicking, I’m getting into a groove, and having a great time interacting via Teams. My plan is to have dinner ready by the time the kids get home and tidy while I’m on lunch. Due to us having to leave quite early for the homecoming parade downtown. One of the local high schools here is kicking off homecoming season. After the parade, there is a pep rally at the capitol stairs.

Friday: Friyayyyy!!!!! T.G.I.F. TGIF: SELF CARE IS ALL AROUND YOU I’m ready for today and get done with work to start the weekend. The kids are in rare form because of tonight’s homecoming game. During my break and lunch hour, I decided to cook and clean to ensure the house was ready before we left. Also I just like to make sure when we come back, all we have to do is run to the shower. Great start to the day. Everyone had a great day at work and school. Thankfully it isn’t too humid tonight for the game. Off to the game we go!!!!!!

Saturday: We all slept in except for my husband. He had to go open the store and my son is heading to work this afternoon. The game was amazing, everyone had a great time, and we’re ready for next weeks game with the rival high school. After brunch I did a good clean and put up some more fall decor that I found at Hobby Lobby. After cleaning all day, I did a good deep condition on my hair, worked out, and waited for the fellas to get off work. It was a perfect chill Saturday afternoon.

Have a great week!!!!!!

P.S. Weekly blog is designed to show the realistic day in the life of a working mom balancing family, work, life, and herself.

RosalynLynn

Be you so you can be free.

WEEKLY BLOG: WORK FROM HOME TRANSITION, ALLERGY FLARE UP, AND CATCHING UP

This is my first week working from home full time. I’m ready to get the administrative part out of the way and begin actual work. I know there is a process and I’m going to let it play out. Also we don’t have much on the calendar this week as far as events and activities. Therefore, we’re going to use this week to catch up and relax.

Sunday: Finishing up the weekend and the first week of school has been great. I didn’t get to do my daughters hair yesterday so we’re doing it today. After sleeping in and doing my weekend check list. WEEKEND SELF CARE TO DO LIST I decided to head out and run a couple of errands with my daughter. As she gets older I’m being more intentional about spending quality time with her, even though she doesn’t want to. After 2 places she’s ready to head back home. Later in the evening I did some cleaning, laundry, and decided to relax. We ended up watching a program with my daughter before winding down for the night.

Monday: First day of my new schedule. I’m not nervous, or anxious. Just ready to get back to doing my normal work. Morning drop off went ok and I was able to head back and get logged in. I did however, still prepare and get dressed as if I was physically going into the office. It was important for me not to “get out of work mode”. Furthermore, if I need to turn on my camera, I’m ready. In addition to that, on lunch hour, I went for a quick 20 minute walk. Just as if I was still working downtown. After getting off I was able to finish dinner, and then of course go back outside for a good walk. The kids are still getting used to waking up early so they are ready for bed earlier than usual.

Tuesday: Still feeling good about this transition. However, my son’s allergies are flaring up and he just can’t take it. Trying to remedy him and help him breathe is always a challenge. So far another great day of working from home. Continued to go out for lunch and get fresh air. The evening has been pretty calm so far. With my oldest son off to work, youngest son allergies flaring up, and my daughter dealing with cramps everyone has retreated to bed. Although my youngest son is having trouble breathing no matter what we do. I have a feeling as to how this night is going to go.

Wednesday: My son didn’t have a good night and he ended up staying home. My husband also took off today since he’s helping me with the drop off and pick up until I get this work from home transition done. So far it’s going good and I haven’t had any technical issues. I’ve been taking advantage of being at home and getting house work done on breaks. Also at lunch I’ll go out and walk to get some fresh air and get away from my desk. The kids are settling into school and getting back into routine pretty good so far. Keeping up with the many activities, emails, and calendar is the priority right now. After work I finished up some house work, dinner, and went back out for a walk. It’s hump day and we all are ready to retire to bed early.

Thursday: Typical work day and school day. The mornings have been going great. So far none of the kids are fighting me not to get up. I’m getting caught up on some procedural things at work so the next 2 days are going to pretty light. This weekend we aren’t planning on attending any activities. We’re going to use the long weekend to catch up on rest and relaxation. I of course have been transitioning the house to fall. I have plans to do some window cleaning, move furniture around, and clean out closets. After work is a quick grocery run, walk outside, and heading to bed.

Friday: OMG the rain and storm this morning is too much. I don’t like driving in the rain when it’s like this. Thankfully I was able to get drop off done and head home for work. This will be another smooth day before heading into next week with meetings and jam packed schedule. Later… The kids are home and don’t want to do anything but relax and that is perfectly ok with us. After work I took the day off and turned in early.

Saturday: Great morning to sleep in. I got some house work done before heading out to do some errands. After dropping my son off at work we took the younger 2 to the new Starbucks here and sat outside on the patio. It was good to get the kids out and see where their minds are and have some conversation with them. The weather was perfect and breezy sitting under the umbrella table out there. Later in the evening I worked out and did some calendar planning. Did some finishing touches on my work desk and turned in when my son got home.

Have a great week everyone!!!!!!

P.S. Weekly blog is designed to show the realistic daily life of a mom balancing life, career, family, and her wellness.

RosalynLynn

Be you so you can be free.

WEEKLY BLOG: TRIPLE DIGIT TEMPS, BACK TO SCHOOL MEMOS, AND NORMAL WORK WEEK

This week is a typical mid summer July week. With schedules, activities, and memos coming in for back to school making appointments and setting calendar reminders are my goal. Outside of that we don’t have much going on except staying cool in this triple digit weather.

Sunday: All I wanted to do today was relax and just be. My son had to go to work and that left the younger two with me and the hubs. I got laundry done and a little tidying done. After words I spent time bing watching ”See No Evil” on ID Discovery. Lastly, after an early dinner, I decided to go out and walk in nature. It was refreshing, cleansing, and sticky all at the same time. I obtained my goal in primarily staying off my phone this weekend. I intentionally left it on the counter and didn’t have the urge to pick it up.

Monday: Oh the work week has started. I’m feeling good this morning and ready to be productive. My hope is when I get to the office I’m able to have emails and voicemails to take care of. Well….my hope for a little business today went out the window really quickly. But I ended up having a great day at work with it just being the 2 of us (another agent). The importance of having adult woman conversations can’t be valued enough. After work I plan to wash my hair, again. Do a little housework and then relax.

Tuesday: I had a good morning and afternoon to start the day. Left the office early to get my younger 2 so my oldest can head off to work. After running some errands, I got into a mood and cleaned house, changed linen, and did some laundry. Before working out, I made some plans for back to school since we’re beginning to get notifications and emails regarding sports physicals, supply list, and fundraisers. Later in the evening I had time to manage some Poshmark listings, go over some edits, and finally went outside for a walk. Stayed up pretty late since my son didn’t get off until 11p.m.

Wednesday: Starting the morning early with breakfast and coffee with the hubs. Was able to listen, read, and watch content to help me get through some emotional healing with my mother. However, the information rec’d was very informative, helpful, and gave me the motivation needed to move forward. (I haven’t spoken on the relationship with my mother and I much, however when I find the right words I’m sure it will come out. It’s very difficult for some to understand because it’s mostly emotional trauma.) Later in the evening I decided to do a midweek clean, laundry, and take some notes.

close up shot of scrabble tiles on a white surface

Thursday: It’s hot and humid out. Spent the day working on calendar stuff and schedule as I begin to get in school schedules, activites, and calendar memos. With the 3 kids, keeping up is a task in itself. Along with my son being ”safety kid” this year. My son had to work this evening so we baked cookies and relaxed until the evening. Had a really good workout today. I’m proud of myself for the last couple weeks been sticking to no sugar, carbs, or alcohol. I’ve noticed a difference in my energy, skin, and body.

Friday: Good start to the morning. Made a couple of errands before heading off to work. It was a little eventful at office. But I was able to get the kids sports physical scheduled. I’ve been coming in all week cleaning and doing laundry. So tonight I think I’m going to find something to binge watch and relax. However, before I do, I did have a chance to publish MY NATURAL HAIR LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP. I will probably still decided to go out for a walk and get a good release in mentally and emotionally.

Saturday: A typical sleep in morning for me. Had an amazing conversation with my brother and nephew this morning. Off to a great non eventful Saturday. Spent time daydreaming, enjoying my coffee, and then eventually binging on Netflix. Later in the evening we’re headed out to do some errands and grab a couple of items. Finally, the hubs and I had a great conversation outlining how we’re going to proceed with back to school, upcoming fall season, and goals for the second half of the year.

Have a great week everyone!!!!!!!

P.S. Weekly blog is designed to show the realistic life of a working mom, balancing life, family, career, and herself.

RosalynLynn

Be you so you can be free.