Family

A Working Relationship

marriage mountains outside couple
| Jess G.
Being in relationship with another human being takes work. Being in a marriage with another human being takes even more work. Being in a marriage that also includes kids and working spouses is a whole other level of work! But its worth it and it can be done. Everything for me and my relationship with Aaron usually boils down to communication and expressing love. We are not perfect people and therefore we do not have a perfect relationship. Through the 13 years that we have been in each others lives we’ve gotten to know one another (quite well) and have realized how opposite we are! Our communication styles are 100% opposite, which makes our emotional expression completely different as well. We are both self-aware enough to recognize this which I’m grateful for- I know there are couples out there that are not as aware.

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How to beat Overwhelm

natural mama wellness lifestyle hiking mountains natural birth
| Jess G.
I feel overwhelmed a lot. Yes mostly because I am a #momofthree to kiddos under the age of 5 but there seems to be an undercurrent of overwhelm affecting tons of people these days. We have SO many things vying for our attention. We get beeped, pinged, dinged, buzzed, jingled, called, texted, emailed, etc more often than not. We are so connected to information that our response is often immediate, reactionary and impulsive. Not to mention there are so many options and choices we need to make constantly. This can wreak havoc on our nervous system and our psyche. Then throw in the demands and constant attention needed to govern children.

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Sleep Like a Baby

new mama wellness, fourth trimester, sleep habits, nursing, baby sleep
| Jess G.
Ahhh, the old phrase- “sleep like a baby” is NOT TRUE! My baby will not sleep! it should be “sleep like a husband” because he is the only one getting all the sleep around here these days.
Its awesome swapping war stories with other mamas. I find myself having hilarious conversations with complete strangers on the playground, in line at the grocery store or at a random birthday party. The thread that bonds all of us is motherhood… being a mom is one of those gigs that forces you to get your shit together even when you are not ready at all! But the conversations I have are interesting because its incredible how fast you can connect with another human being on these universal moments in motherhood.

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Get your shit together and run the house!

| Jess G.
Let’s face it, its hard to be the one “On Duty” with little people all day. Its even harder, in my opinion, to do that AND run the house (i.e. groceries, cooking, cleaning, gardening, being a good spouse, planning, organizing, budgeting” .
Up until recently I was barely hanging on by a thread, and only when I had my third little critter was I thrust into the world of having my shit together. Sure, before I could whip a dinner together and made it to our activities on time but I wasn’t consistent and wasn’t always finding joy in it. After having the third baby, I had a mini-meltdown and realized if I was going to ever leave my house and have a life I needed to get my head in the game.

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The BEST job ever (that you can do from home)…

| Jess G.
I have this conversation daily with mamas (and dads too) who want a flexible career so they can be present raising their kids… what is the ideal work from home gig? I’m a hustler at heart and I’ve tried lots of things, you will love reading this post with all the crazy things we tried when we first became parents. When I say “work from home” what I really mean is work in a way that allows flexibility to live the life you want. We all know that working from home while also being a full time parent is impossible. Seriously. I can’t even take a shower when my toddler and 3 year old are around. Its the idea of a flexible career that you can fit in around life. It doesn’t require you to show up somewhere + have to find suitable childcare. It doesn’t demand 40 hours a week, it can be done from anywhere and you also get paid a kick-ass income that can turn to residual income for life.

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Dear Mama, Happy Mother’s Day!

a note to mom, mother's day
| Jess G.
Dear Mama,
I just want to say THANKS for being my mom. I see you now for what you are… a real woman who is trying her best to do it all. Thank god you decided to hang in there and be my mom. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Running around with a 2 month old and a 2 year old… the days are blending together, its night time before I can blink and I’ve never needed coffee in gallons before. I’m sitting down for the first time today (its 3:00pm) and no one is saying “mommy mommy” and no one else is demanding to drain my body of milk like a little vampire.

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Routines Rock! Finding my Mama Groove

| Jess G.
I’m feeling so energized and happy these last few weeks and I will tell you why. I have a routine that is awesome! It’s taken me a few trys to figure out how to rock it as a full time mama and recently I feel like I got a really good groove going! My little one is 18months old and I finally feel like I have a sidekick! She is super interactive, observant and full of life and it is so contagious. We have conversations now. She knows how to make me laugh. She has opinions and makes decisions. It’s really fun. On top of that we are super busy. Alot of my interactions with Mamas consist of swapping advice about our “jobs”. I love hearing about other people’s schedules and routines and in turn love to share mine (especially now that I have it dialed in).
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