6 Months Later…

6 Months, almost 7. Half a year of not blogging.

Writing is a stress release for me. Something I do to share, document and get my thoughts out on paper. So why go almost half a year with nothing?

Balance. Sanity. Life.

The last 6 months have been filled with major changes. All exciting changes, but ones that kick you in your butt and leave you with beautiful bags under your eyes from sleepless nights with a newborn, and a new house across the country full of boxes. Because who has time to unpack boxes with three kids, one being brand new to this world.

Grace.

I’ve been giving myself a lot of grace in everything I do. In general, I think moms should give themselves more grace and less guilt. These last few months my dinner plans have been simple, my workouts have been slower, and my level of cleanliness has been tested around the house. Grace.

If I let mom guilt start to creep in I remind myself, Life is still moving along. We are getting things done one thing at a time, slowly, but they are getting done. If that guilt starts to take over, I look into my sweet baby boy’s eyes and remind myself that the laundry/dishes/boxes can wait. Focus on what’s important and everything will eventually get done.

We are planning Sunday Fundays with the family because we all need to laugh and run and play together. In a period of so much change we need to get back to the one constant, family. We have been leaving the to do list at home every weekend and getting outside together which Josh and I both insist has been saving our sanity.

So 6 months later I am finally sitting. Two older kids are in quiet time and one baby is sleeping. You feel like some sort of mom-ninja when you get all three to be in their rooms at the same time so you can have a few moments to have a thought in your head. For one hour I don’t have to answer a question, make a pb&j or deal with some type of bathroom emergency.

So here I am sitting, in my mom-ninja glory and starting to catch you up, catch my blog up, and document where the heck have I been in the last 6 months and how did I get here?

Anderson.

He’s our new dude. He’s pretty chill. As third child, he is being driven from place to place while he sleeps on the go and eats wherever we can find a bench. He’s been completely loved on by all of us and has been pretty much the center of our attention these last few months.

Everyone asks me how I manage to keep my stress down while moving across the country with a newborn and my answer is “how can you be stressed when you have a tiny human sleeping on your chest the majority of the day”.

Stress can be self imposed by unrealistic expectations and I’ve set very real expectations. The expectation that in this moment of time, life will move along one thing at a time and I will let a tiny human sleep on me whenever he wants to.  Personally I think anyone who struggles with stress needs to find a tiny human and let them sleep on their chest. Best stress management I’ve ever had.

California.

We moved there! In case you missed my post 6 months ago, we packed up in May and drove across the country with the littles to spend our next season filled with fresh air and outdoors. Call it a lifestyle change, an adventure, either way it’s a big deal. We definitely have missed having our family and friends near by, and have already started surrounding ourselves with a community of equally high energy toddlers and sleep deprived parents. It’s only been three months, but so far we can say we love our new homebase!

The Beach.

Before, a trip to the beach involved a lot of organization, plane tickets, airbnb rentals, car rentals, carseats and a weeks worth of meal planning. Now we throw some sand toys and umbrellas in the car and are at the beach in 45 minutes. That’s a big deal for us. There is something seriously therapeutic about listening to the ocean, and nothing makes me happier than seeing my littles at a beach, with a shovel, spending all day digging holes and jumping in the waves.

Lottie started a new pre-school, we have palm trees in our backyard, we sleep with our windows open and are soaking in the sunshine. We are still adjusting and discovering and recovering from the newborn stage but as of right now, 6 months out its been good.

What’s next?

We are exploring our hometown, Temecula. With the beach 45 minutes away, Disneyland an hour away (we ended up getting an annual passport!), 40 + wineries less than 5 miles away, and surrounded by mountains we have a lot on our bucket lists! I have some southern california beach reviews planned for you, and have a goal of personally reviewing all of Temecula’s wineries. So stay tuned. We have a lot planned!

My health coach business at OneYear.fit is ramping up again soon,  and we are starting to plan Anderson’s first flight (where should it be!?).

Lots of exciting things are coming, one day at a time…slowly… but no less exciting.