I have been a dreamer from as early as I can remember. I never really envisioned myself following in my moms footsteps as a traditional housewife and SAHM. I also very much wanted to be like my dad. Always out socializing, closing deals, traveling, and making money. However, I still desired a family complete with two parents and a couple little people. I was determined to have the best of both worlds which I feel has become my reality. My family consists of my wonderful partner who I plan to marry very soon, two adorable 4-year-olds who are not twins but two months apart and scarily similar in appearance. My daughter and my partner’s son are both from previous relationships. As a blended family, we share a home in Atlanta along with a newly adopted Frenchie we call Euro. My partner is 31 and I am 29. We are both entrepreneur’s who have kissed Corporate America goodbye and love every minute of our lifestyles as millennial, blended, stay at home parents.
Chad and I like to think of ourselves as cool parents and work very hard to maintain our brand image and social life’s. This is no easy task! It’s no wonder so many moms sacrifice their dreams and goals to commit solely to the wellbeing of their families. Don’t get me wrong, this is also rewarding. Through my ever growing experience I have found a multitude of skills and hacks that will put you on track to living out your dreams and raising happy/healthy children. After all, if mama isn’t totally happy, no one in the family will be totally happy. These areas I focus the most energy to have produced the best results for achieving success. I look forward to sharing these in this blog periodically. I would like to kick it off with two of my favorite..
Time Management:
Cooking, cleaning, homework, time for spouse, work…the list is already exhausting and I haven’t even begun to highlight all the hats we wear as women. It seems far fetched and even at times selfish to think about adding in personal desires, we may have. Time Management has been my secret weapon to getting it all done. Every month I create a calendar and go week by week outlining everything from date night, school outings, travel, exercise, and anything else that will consume my time. Seeing your weeks at the beginning of the month can help prevent you from repeating unproductive behavior and see where you may be wasting valuable free time. Go over your calendar with everyone in house allowing them to add their needs for your time each month. Also letting them know the times you will be unavailable and focusing on you. Keeping a calendar will help you create a new sense of accountability and allow you to insert productive activity.
Personal Development:
What you put into your mind will always show up in your life. Personal development saved me from getting lost in a very basic unfulfilling routine and allows me to continue to evolve. As I approach 30 and become more aware of aging, long term thinking, and raising members of the next generation, this area may be one of the most important in my life. As the woman in a family we usually navigate the success or downfall of our household. Investing in personal development we can battle the negative emotions that can come along with our jobs such as feeling unappreciated, not valued, or losing our edge with age. Personal development comes in many different forms such as: reading a book, watching a motivational video, listening to audio of someone that inspires us (Abraham Hicks is my favorite), meditation, working out, and whatever else is fulfilling to your soul. Commit to spending at least 30 minutes on personal development every day for 30 days and watch the positive effect you see not only on yourself but everyone in your family.
This week I challenge you to hold a family meeting letting everyone know you plan on making some changes so you can focus more on accomplishing your goals. Talk about time management and personal development encouraging everyone to focus more energy on achieving specific goals this year. Buy a large desk calendar before this meeting and write out your schedule for the remainder of the month. Cheers, and remember everything you desire is waiting for you to claim it! You CAN have it all!
