Confession: Making the transition to being a mom of two kids is way harder than I anticipated it to be.
I just sort of thought that I was going to totally keep going at our usual pace while an adding another little person to the mix. This is not even what has happened. What has happened is that I added a little person who likes to be attached to my chest all day long and now have limited use of my hands. I’m trying to make dinner with him strapped to my body and flailing around the baby-wearing wrap with my tiny little T-rex arms over here.
This is, ironically, the only problem with being an optimist – the tendency to totally overestimate my capability to handle things like making dinner and nursing at the same time. Like how when I got married I totally thought that I was going to be an excellent homemaker. Never mind that I was a terrible housekeeper and cook, I just assumed that would magically change once I put a ring on it. Turns out, it’s actually hard work and stuff.
This current season is even harder, although I’ve gotten much better at it all over the years, because it involves writing my next book in addition to getting Scarlette ready for kindergarten and adding a new baby to our household. My next book is going to come with a disclaimer that says “Written on zero sleep, read at your own risk.” So it will basically be like the Christian Women’s version of R.L. Stine. Right now is just a season, but I am always working towards being a better, more efficient homemaker (efficient really being the key word for me.)
If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you have moments where you wish your home felt more put together (I just want ONE ROOM to be finished!) or that you kept up with housework better (Dog hair is my nemesis) or that you were more consistent about serving healthy meals (my bread machine is currently collecting dust.)
The best piece of homemaking advice I ever got was to set just one manageable goal per day in the busy seasons of life. I just choose one single thing as my focus. Today it’s laundry. I’m going to get one entire load washed, folded and put away. Just one so that I don’t get overwhelmed by piles of unfinished laundry and that way I’ll feel as though I fully accomplished something, even if that’s the only thing that gets all the way completed today.
My favorite go-to resource collection for moms is The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle 2016. I got early access to today’s flash sale because I’ve been an affiliate with them for a few years and have been reading through it during my middle of the night nursing sections. The meal planning resources in particular have been hugely, HUGELY helpful right now but I’m also really enjoying several of the ebooks. I buy one or two of the Ultimate Bundle collections every single year (they include new books/courses each time) and am never disappointed.
The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle includes 93 hand-picked eBooks, eCourses, and printables, on topics that matter to moms such as:
- organization, budgeting, routines & creating a cozy home
- recipes, grocery shopping and meal planning
- motherhood (no matter what age your kids are)
- faith (for you & your kids)
- self-care (like printable planning sheets & coloring books!)
- and much more…
You have a full year to download the eBooks and printables and take the online eCourses, and everything you’ve downloaded becomes part of your permanent library, so you can go back to it whenever you need it. This way you won’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of material and can pick and choose what you want as well as go through it at your own pace. Like when you’re nursing at midnight. And 2am. And 4am. (Last night the baby slept 4 hours! Hallelujah!)
Plus, it comes with these FREE bonus offers from some of my favorite companies. Some are 100% free; others are yours for the cost of shipping only. You’ll get:
- FREE Mrs. Meyer’s Dish Soap, Mrs. Meyer’s Multi Surface Spray, Grove Collaborative Spray Bottle, Grove Collaborative Scrubber Sponges and FREE 60-day VIP trial with FREE shipping from Grove Collaborative ($30 value) – This is definitely my favorite bonus because I ADORE Grove Collaborative and order our household supplies from them monthly.
- FREE Online Class from Craftsy ($29.99-$69.99 value)
- $15 Credit to Hope Ink Shop PLUS Two FREE 8×10 Art Prints with Any Purchase ($71)
- FREE SPOT Treatment for Acne & Eczema OR a $15 Gift Certificate from Bloom Naturals ($15 value)
- FREE 90-Day Pro Membership to ListPlanIt.com ($30)
- FREE 1-Year MollyGreen.com Membership ($29 value)
The whole bundle is available for just 2 days – from now until Thursday, June 2nd, 2016 at 11:59pm EST.
(This is why the Ultimate Bundles team is able to offer so much, because they only have permission to sell the items for such a short period of time as a flash sale.)
It’s a crazy good deal with the total value of being $1000+ (plus over $300 in bonuses), but you can get it for just $29.97 in the bundle flash sale. That’s 97% off what it would cost to buy everything individually! And they have a 30 day money-back guarantee so I figured it was worth the risk (and I was right.)
Like I said, I bought it for myself because I love their bundles and think getting all that for under $30 is a steal, so make sure to go HERE to see exactly what it includes and grab yours before this deal ends!
{DISCLOSURE: I purchased this bundle myself and love it, affiliate links included}
