This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chobani. All opinions are 100% mine. Read on for what I learned while in mommy survival mode.
It’s Fall “back-to-school time”, and after a few chaotic weeks of adjusting to our fall schedule, I was just starting to feel half-way on top of things. I was starting to have a handle on school, homework, sports, activities, chores, preschool and everything else that keeps us busy this time of year. I was just saying to myself “I’ve got this!”
That should have been a big red warning flag for me! Just days after feeling on top of it all, I had a silly (yet very painful) accident that landed me on crutches for two and a half weeks. When I was told to do my best “to just keep off it” I think I half laughed, half cried! “That just is NOT possible with my kids” I thought!
However I quickly learned that I didn’t have much of a choice. My injury was very painful, and (as I found out) trying to just “press through the pain” and keep up with business as usual just set my healing back to day one.
So, after many tears and humbling experiences, I came to the conclusion that I just couldn’t do it all for a few weeks, and placed my family in “mommy survival mode.” It’s not an easy thing for me to admit that I can’t do it all, but it became a good learning experience for me and my family.
Here are a few of the lessons that I learned over the past few weeks:
• My Kids Are Capable People: Over the past weeks I have had to ask my kids to help me out with a lot of the things that I usually just handle on my own. My oldest son, especially did a great job of stepping up and taking on some extra responsibilities. And you know what? He did an amazing job! He was such a big help to me and showed me that he is so much more capable then I give him credit for. Lesson learned: give my kids opportunities to take on extra responsibilities… It will help them stretch and grow!
• Mommy Guilt is toxic: I’m a bit of stickler when it comes to my kids and their screen time (just ask my son). However, during these few weeks, we all got a lot more screen time than usual. I felt really really guilty over this, but I realized, it’s OK! We are back to our normal routine, and my kids are not totally corrupted from our few bad screen-time days. Lesson learned: sometimes things will come up that make me feel like a terrible mom. Life happens! Dwelling on it will only drag me down more. I need to give myself a brake and remember in the big scheme of things, it’s not the end of the world!
• I don’t have to be Pinterest Perfect: during this period of time was my daughter’s 4th birthday. For weeks I had been pinning adorable homemade decorations, creative party games, tasty recipes and gorgeous hand-decorated party favors to make her party special. When I injured my foot, I had to face the fact that I just couldn’t do everything I had planned. Instead I ordered pre-made decorations and games online, kept the food simple and my daughter and I decorated paper lunch bags and filled them with candy as the favors. It was easy and the kids LOVED it! Just because it doesn’t look like Pinterest, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. In many ways it was actually even better, because I was focused on being present for my little girl’s day, rather than making myself crazy over the details. Lesson learned: simplify life and spend that saved time and effort on what really matters.
• Healthy Doesn’t Have to Be Hard– Something that I take a great deal of pleasure in is preparing wholesome, healthy meals for my family. Breakfast especially, is a time that I feel that I can greatly impact my kids’ days by sending them off to school powered up with healthy food. However, preparing meals on crutches proved to be challenging, and mornings proved to extra chaotic then normal. After the first few mornings I realized that I needed a new game plan.
I found that in the form of Chobani Kids® and Chobani Tots® Greek yogurt. First of all, they come in convenient pouches or tubes that are super easy to grab and go on a hectic morning! No need for spoons! Second (and most importantly), they are so healthy! I love that they contain real fruits and vegetables, and nothing artificial. That means only natural ingredients, no preservatives or artificial colors or flavors. Chobani Kids® and Chobani Tots are also packed with 2X the protein compared to the leading kids’ yogurt, so it helps to keep the kiddos full and focused till lunch time. Chobani Kids® also come in fun flavors including Strawberry, Grape, and Vanilla & Chocolate Dust so the kids felt like they where getting a real treat! My kids even popped some of the Chobani Kids® Tubes in the freezer to make a tasty frozen snack for after school (they had no idea that they contain 25% less sugar than the leading yogurt tubes and provide 5g of protein).
Lesson learned: Sometimes a fun, easy meal can be healthy and a lot less work than making something from scratch!
Whether you are in “mommy survival mode” right now, or are just swimming in all of the demands that moms today face, learn from my lessons and find a few ways to simplify your life and let go of some of that mommy guilt today!
Before you head out for your next shopping trip, check out the Chobani Kids Savings.
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