A Mom's Guide to "Surviving the Holidays"

If you are like me, you may or may not start having a slight nervous breakdown mid September when you realize....

The holidays are approaching. 

I mean everything about this time of year means that it's just a ton of work, parties, commitments, tons of moments where you feel like an inadequate mom, and like you could down a bottle of wine in one sitting. But its also a somewhat magical time for me as well. I have always enjoyed the holidays, and I love establishing traditions and making memories with my family. One thing I always remember fondly of my childhood were the holidays. My mom went to unbelievable lengths to make them special and memorable. Some of my favorite memories growing up stem from those days. And of course I want to do the same for my children. But with so much to do (also my son's birthday is New Year's Eve so it becomes especially chaotic this time of year not to mention expensive) I often times find myself run down and exhausted. 

So I have been working on making life easier and operating on the whole "work smart not harder" concept. And this is what I now do to survive the holidays

1. I FINALLY got organized

Invest the time and supplies into getting organized. It will save you time, sanity, and money in the long run. Last year, I finally took some time to get all of my holiday decor, supplies etc organized. I made sure that each season was placed in a tub, labeled, and placed on shelving units we purchased and put together. And starting with my fall decor, I simply went downstairs, pulled out the tub I needed and decorated my home. Same for Christmas. I had to decorate early this year because we will be out of town when I normally do it , but I literally walked downstairs, grabbed the boxes I needed and put my decorations out. It made life so much easier. And I also recommend utilizing storage for ornaments, Christmas trees etc because I know exactly where it is and just have to grab it out of its container and I am done. t is important to remember that organization does much more than saving your sanity when it comes to getting it together for the holidays. It is also a money saver. I cannot tell you how many times I found duplicates of things that I thought I did not have or simply couldn't find all because it as a total chaotic mess in my house. Now granted its not great still to this day but as far as getting ready for the holidays its much better. 

2. Online shopping is my best friend this time of year. 

The internet is my best friend. Seriously I mean that. Because without it, I would be lost. I utilize online shopping for nearly everything especially my holiday shopping. My husband and I decided a while back we would invest in Amazon Prime service (and seriously if you don't have it I highly recommend using it). Free quick shipping of everything you could imagine right to your door. Last year, during the height of my daughter not sleeping, I made a list and completed all of my Christmas shopping in a couple of hours online. I did not have to worry about hauling both kids to the store, forgetting half of what I wanted, nor did I have to worry that my kids would have a meltdown while trying to complete said shopping. I also have really begun to rely on Amazon wish lists as well. My husband and I can add things to our lists of things we would like to have as gifts and all I have to do is click and buy! This makes shopping for my husband (who admittedly is not easy to buy for) much easier, and I know it is something that he wants and will enjoy! So no guessing, no wasting money and crossing my fingers that he may like it.  I plan to do the same this year because I cannot tell a lie, I DO NOT LIKE going to the stores this time of year. Added bonus of avoiding the pesky holiday crowds at stores! I also utilize other online shopping. I am a huge fan of Etsy which provides an opportunity to shop small business owners, which I am all for. Other great options include groupon and living social if you are looking to gift other things other than just goods but maybe a date night for new parents without breaking the bank. 

3. Buy yourself a new outfit, and/or go get your hair done.

I am serious. Really. If you are a parent you probably bought your kids lots of cute holiday clothes but once again failed to take into consideration that you yourself deserve a nice top or sweater or necklace to feel nice for the holidays. I broke this year and did it finally. And now I have a couple things I can wear to be in pictures with my family and not wear my jammies again this year. It is nice to have grown up things, and dress like a woman. Your significant other will appreciate it as well. Also if it is in your budget or you have a hairdresser friend...GIRL GET YOUR HAIR DONE! I waited a year! A solid year before getting my hair done after my daughter was born, and you know what I proved? I proved I could go a whole year hating the way I looked. It accomplished nothing. Finally went to get my hair done, and it feels really nice to have a fresh look for the holiday season. 

4.  Order food for your get togethers. Trust me. 

So I have several events I end up hosting during the holiday season, and if there is one thing I have learned it is that life is a whole lot easier when I just order food and display it on my pretty serving dishes that trying to just make it all and seem like a Betty Crocker Rockstar. Many local grocery stores offer catering menus that you can choose from, and honestly its worth the money. I will cook Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Day dinner but aside from that, I am hitting up my local grocer and placing an order.

5. Go have a date with your friends and spouse. 

We spend so much time preparing, planning, and thinking about what we are going to do for others sometimes the relationships that are most important to us can be neglected. Go out of your way to plan a nice date with your spouse or your friends to just let loose and enjoy some time away from the hustle and bustle that is this time of year. 

6. Don't go at it alone. 

If you live close to family DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT try to be wonder woman and do it all. You are just asking for trouble and additional stress if you attempt to go overboard and host every holiday party, cook everything, and do it all. First off, let's be real. You can't do it all, and you will not enjoy anything about one of the most magical times of year if you are go into wonder woman mode. Ask for help. I do not live close to family so I am simplifying this year as much as possible. I need to enjoy these times with my kids because they go too fast. 

7. Take care of yourself. 

Seriously I mean this. I honestly don't care how you do it but do it. Make sure you can squeeze in a little extra downtime or rest here and there, eat right, and move your body. It makes you feel like a new woman each day and keeps up your strength for the marathon holiday season ahead of you. 

And last but not least....

Enjoy this time with your family. If you are like me then you spend most of your holidays caring for other people. I am a nurse currently hoping to transition away from the bedside for the sake of my family, but there are many many times when I was spending the holidays away from my family.  So the time I did have needed to be efficient. 

Happy holidays from my family to yours. 

xoxo

Meghan

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I had always wanted to try this and FINALLY I DID! And now I wonder why I waited so long.

I do want to give credit where credit is due so I started with this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/381117187192707312/ basic recipe I found on Pinterest but added my own amount of seasonings. 

Follow the basic instructions for the cauliflower however I also cheated and bought my cauliflower already "riced" from Target in their produce section. Sometimes I do opt for the easier alternative route when it comes to saving time as a busy mom.

So I seasoned my crust with the following: 

1 tsp salt

1tsp pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp sweet basil 

I used 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese also

I do want to emphasize that the drying process is IMPORTANT!! Please take your time as the crust will crumble otherwise. 

Toppings for this pizza included what I had on hand already: I used a 1/4 spaghetti sauce because I did not want it to be dry and spread it all over, and topped with additional cheese, spinach, tomatoes, and red onion. I baked at 450 for 8 minutes until the cheese was bubbling and served. I also used a pizza stone and I do believe that it helped with the crust. 

This was super easy and really tasty. It will definitely become a staple for me from now on. 

Enjoy!

Shakeology Cleanse- Yes or No? Here's the verdict!

So I had fallen off the wagon like...for real. It was bad. It was ugly. And I had to finally admit this when I realized I couldn't  button up a pair of pants. Now I am going to be super honest... I am no where near close to my goals but this cleanse was seriously for real and very difficult. I was not perfect but it was just what I needed to get myself back on track again.

I am not a super big fan of showing pictures of myself but this was necessary for me to get for real about what I needed to do. I cannot even believe I lost that many inches but also realized that my serious lack of consistency in my eating was causing obvious issues for me. 

If you are interested in learning more about this cleanse I am sure I will be doing it again as I actually like it better than the 3 Day refresh. No fiber sweep in this one but it is not for the faint of heart. It ain't easy but its very much worth it. 

It is not a lot of food so light workouts are a must but like I said... Serious results! This will from now my my go to jumpstart to get things going again. 

If you are interested in possibly trying a shakeology cleanse contact me to find out how today!

Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup

Aside from the noodles this is a fairly healthy version of an all time favorite comfort food. Now I did make this on a cold day in the crockpot, and on a day when I also made some homemade bread so this was a sort of cheat/comfort meal but a lot healthier for me than other options or ordering pizza for instance. 

Ingredients:

1lb fresh chicken breast

salt/peper to taste

1 small bag frozen carrots

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 small sweet onion chopped

64 oz chicken broth

3 bay leaves

Noodles ( I will leave it up to you what kind of noodles you like)

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 Tablespoos olive oil

Cooking Directions:

-Precook chicken breasts slightly, does not have to be cooked all the way through but season with salt and pepper and add about a 1/2 cup of water and a dash of olive oil to chicken to flavor it well. Set aside 

- In your crockpot, dump your entire skillet of chicken and contents into the crockpot first, place in the celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves. 

-Dump garlic in 

-Pour chicken broth in and season with light salt and peper. Turn on high and let cook for about 3 hours

-  Pull chicken out (be careful not to burn yourself) and pull it apart or dice it up, and dump back in. 

-In a pot of boiling water, slightly cook your noodles. Do not cook them all the way maybe about 3/4 of the way and then pour them in the crock pot also. 

-Cook for an additional 1-1.5 hours and add additional salt & pepper to taste

-Remove bay leaves and serve warm, maybe even with some fresh bread if its a cheat meal day for you!

Enjoy a healthier spin on a cheat meal!!