I do take a lot of pride in keeping a clean home now more than ever, despite also being a working mom. I created a guide to cleaning my whole house so that I can keep track of what I’ve cleaned each month and to also hold myself accountable to remember the commonly forgotten places in the home. I mean, when was the last time you cleaned your baseboards?

These five card ideas are handmade to give thanks to some special people! Although I have focused on thank you cards, I have added other occasions that each idea would work well for. Handmade is not only less expensive, but also turns the process into a fun activity and a good way to keep little ones entertained even on a rainy day!

In the UK, we are back in different stages of lockdown so we will be unable to do a lot of the usual Halloween activities. No trick-or-treating, no costume parties, and definitely no apple bobbing. However, a good craft session at home is enough to keep any age entertained (just try not the worry about the mess)! The best part? Most of these activities will be made from things you’ll be able to find in or around your own house.

We had planned to go away a few months ago, but then lockdown happened, and we had to think again. We rearranged our trip to last week and, as the rules had eased, we decided it would be just what we needed and that we should go for it. The last time we went away was well before Christmas and I knew my son wasn’t going to remember it, so this felt completely new all over again. However, when we last went away the journey was awful.

Being grateful every day is one way that helps me get through the days while being a full time stay at home mom. Other ways that help me get through my day include praying, writing, mom support tribe, and exercise/fresh air. I myself would like to express how important these little things mean to me in addition to helping me stay sane while enjoying these days mostly at home.

Can I just start off by saying that I am not in the best shape of my life? Ok, whew – We squashed that awkward elephant in the room.

However, at 30 years old & 3 children later, I can say that getting into the best shape of my life is really important to me now more than ever. I’m not having more children & I’m ready to focus on my health & life goals. Whether you’re still in “family-building phase” or your ovaries have “clocked out” for life, getting your body into a healthy routine is important…

I’m supposed to work my 45+ hour/week career, serving hundreds of small business clients nationwide, while home-schooling a handful of pre-teens AND attempting to keep my 2-year-old’s half-naked body out of my Zoom conference-call windows?!? Oh – Okay. I got this. It’s, like, for a month, right?

We’ve had weeks of lock-down in the UK as I write this and although things are starting to ease a little, there’s still a long way to go and we are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. I’m pretty sure we’re all feeling the strain in one way or another. My little boy has just had his first birthday and while it wasn’t exactly what we had planned, it still turned out to be quite iso-lovely.