The Struggling Workin Mama
After a month long unexpected hiatus, I’m back! I didn’t plan on taking a break it just kind of happened. I could blame the increased activity of summer or some unexpected YOLO excursions but if I’m being honest, I just didn’t feel the urge to write. Rather than post a few filler posts, I decided to take some time away.
This past weekend my husband and I drove to Milwaukee for their annual Summerfest. The fest is right off of Lake Michigan and a huge outdoor area with food, music and great views of the city and lake. They have a range of music, from free shows to huge headliners like Florida Georgia Line, who we were lucky enough to see. While Milwaukee is about an hour and a half away from us and we were only going for the afternoon/night coordinating the weekend was a huge ordeal. Time away from our kids doesn’t happen often but it’s definitely important for our marriage. I really believe in family time but it’s easy to lose sight of marriage time with busy working lives and two young children.
Today I realized it’s almost mid-June and I feel the summer months are already getting away from me! My girls are in daycare year round and I work full time so we are not on a traditional summer break, but we only get so many warm months in Chicago I want to make the most of it! I feel if I write down my top ten items it will not only inspire you but hold me accountable! Plus, I’ve heard so much about putting what you want to do out in the universe to make it happen, so here goes!
I remember the first time I received a note home from daycare about “summer camp.” At first I thought it was a cute idea, to change the schedule up a bit in the summer and have camp activities, then I saw the extra cost on top of tuition and got a bit weak. In addition to cost, it means extra clothes at daycare for your child to participate fully. After scrambling to find what I needed that first year, I’ve rounded up five essential items to purchase so you’re child can enjoy the activities and you can feel comfortable they are safe and protected outside!
Above photo taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Whether you live in the area or are just visiting, with the amount of things to do in the Windy City, choosing can be overwhelming. Factor in children and it gets even more complicated. As someone who has lived in the city for over 5 years and the surrounding suburbs the rest of my life, here are some of my favorite outdoor activities with kids.
Like most Moms I run on coffee, hot, cold or lukewarm it doesn’t matter the kind or the time, give it to me. A few months ago I started to notice how much money I was spending on this habit. It seemed like I was always having to reload money on my app. I sat down and calculated  that I was spending close to $10 per day on coffee, which meant about $300 per month! Yikes! I decided that I would still treat myself to my afternoon coffee at my brewer of choice, however I was going to start bring my coffee to work in the morning. Baby steps, this is an addiction! 🙂 All was well until the weather started to get warmer and I wanted an iced coffee in the morning, thus began my quest for the perfect at home recipe!
If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know my family and I were in Florida this past week. My husband and I are not ready for a full blown Disney trip, however my oldest has been talking about “the castle” aka Magic Kingdom a LOT lately (thank you Disney channel!) With Disney World being an hour and twenty minute drive away from where we were staying, we decided to spend one day at the Magic Kingdom. This seemed like a great compromise for all.
Happy Monday! Mother’s Day is less than three weeks away so I rounded up my top picks – it’s never too early to start dropping hints! 😉
Imagination. We all have it right? Me? I’m not so sure. For as long as I can remember I have never understood “playing pretend” or “make believe.” As a child I had friends who wanted to play house or pretend to be princesses in far away lands and I can recall struggling through it. Being imaginative takes a lot of confidence as you are doing something that is not who you normally are. For me it left me uncomfortable.
Sometimes not even the floppiest of hats and the best pair of sunglasses can protect you from the shade being thrown on social media. We all have that friend or family member or person from high school who feels the need to post a picture with a snarky caption or ruin a picture with a selfish comment. While social media can be a great way to connect with many people both near and far, it also can bring a lot of negativity.