Life

Keeping Your Move Less Stressful

I am poor at managing my stress. I have been working on it for almost two years since I had been getting tension headaches after having Sophie. I thought my headaches were from the posture I held while carrying a baby. Although that was a portion of the problem, the real problem was stress. I would catch myself tensing my jaw even while doing something that was supposed to be relaxing (like coloring or doing my nails). I am still constantly reminding myself to put my shoulders down because they’re almost always up by my ears. I have a great life, being a stay at home mom, having time to be creative and explore new places with my family, but I still get tension headaches.

This move has brought on a whole new level of stress and I’ve had to work overtime on managing my pain. To some, it may seem like I’m pushing aside moving tasks because I’m lazy or procrastinating. In reality, I know my limits and am trying to be proactive about my stress rather than waiting until I’m snapping at my family because of the pain.
Moving Toddler

Here are my top 5 tips to keeping your move less stressful:

1. Schedule mini-trips to explore your new (or current) town. This is my number one tip, especially if you have children. You should schedule in several days of fun, starting with the packing period all the way through the unpacking period. At least twice per week I took Sophie somewhere fun for an afternoon. We had water park and park fun when we were at the IL house and we’ve now visited the zoo, several museums and the fair here in our IN house. You don’t have to do expensive trips, like museums even. Try going to a splash pad at a park or take a bike ride on a new trail. Visit your library for an activity day or friends and family. We brought our own snacks to a baseball game one evening for family fun.

Once you move into your new home, you’ll feel even more busy and rushed than before. It’s the perfect time to do a day trip to a lake or amusement park so you have no way of working on the house. I was not looking forward to the trip we’d scheduled this past weekend knowing that we’ll be gone for several weekends coming up. The trip to the lake was exactly what each of us needed.
15.8.17 334

2. Set a bedtime alarm. I heard this tip on Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier and have been loving the concept. Although a morning alarm is very important, so is a night alarm. If you’re working hard at unpacking/organizing/painting or any of the other active jobs associated with moving to a new home, your brain can forget to notice the time. You’ll have a much easier time winding down, having a restful sleep and having an easier morning if you set a bedtime alarm. This doesn’t have to mean going to sleep, but at least getting into bed and turning off devices. Let your brain and body slow down before hitting the pillow.
garden

3. Do yoga or meditation every day. I can honestly say that I am the worst at practicing yoga and meditation. Either I completely forget or have some kind of excuse as to why I can’t take 5-20 minutes practicing these tasks that help me so much. When I stayed at my sister’s we did yoga a few nights one week before bed to unwind. It was amazing. It helped to clear my mind of the 1300 things running through my head and gave attention to my poor body that I’d ran ragged. You may not choose to spend 30-60 minutes working out during your move but you should, at very minimum, get an app to help you do yoga or meditation. I use the free Take a Break app at the beginning of Sophie’s nap for 5-15 minutes to release the pent up stress from the morning’s activities and get my head straight for the power-work I’ll do during her nap. If you don’t have little ones that nap, as soon as you wake up or before bed are great times to use this app.IMG_0772

4. Cook one meal per day. This is one thing we didn’t do and I have regretted. I was in the mindset that I had so much other work in planning/packing that I didn’t want to spend time meal planning, cooking and cleaning dishes, so we ate out a lot. 1. This was not good for our bank account. 2. (Most importantly) this was not good for our bodies. When you’re mind and body are stressed from moving, you need to fuel it with healthy foods so it may perform well. Our bodies were not performing well because of the food we ate which resulted in both of us getting sick. We also gained weight because eating unhealthy and not making exercise our priority caught up with us. Taking time to show your family and your body love by cooking a healthy meal will go a long way during your move.
pamper

5. Pamper yourself. This is my favorite stress-reducing tip. Take time to pamper yourself, whether that’s getting a massage or facial at a salon or just doing your own nails and taking a bubble bath at home. Perhaps just taking time for yourself to run outside or see a movie alone is your definition of pampering. There’s no doubt, that if you’re reading this article, you’ve been working really hard during this stressful time. You need to take care of yourself before you’re able to successfully take care of others. Sometimes you just need to put blinders on to the boxes towering around you and do something for yourself. Once you do, you’ll be happier and more energized to knock out your to-do list.

I’ve also made this cute infographic if you’re interested in pinning for your next move!

Less Stress During Your MoveWhat have you learned with your previous moves? Has anything in particular worked for helping you to not cry for a week straight or yell at your dog to stop licking you? I can admit that I am less than pleasant when I’m stressed, which is why I must pay a lot of attention to these 5 tips above.

August Goals

Happy August to you all! As you know, I’ve announced our Super Secret Surprise of moving to Indiana. This past month has been all over the board and I’ve learned a lot about patience and trying to not be so anxious without a routine. We started the month with a vacation of camping in my parent’s yard, filled in the middle with buying/selling houses and finished up the month with temporarily living with my sister in Indiana. We’ve had a lot of fun august

Before jumping into July’s goals, let’s see how I did for August. Although I still haven’t completed Soph’s friends/family board book, I did have two dates with Jeffrey and took Soph to the water park four times! I failed miserably with my written life goals. Reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower for Page Turners got pushed aside since I’ve read it in the past. Not only did I not do three arm workouts per week, I also stopped running. My workout regime is laughable. Completing this move with minimal headaches is negotiable. There have definitely been tears and tension headaches but I’ve been proud of how we’ve handled the move in general.

sky

Surprisingly I’ve done well on my blog goals this past July. I completed my first Pin70 but haven’t seen any improvement in my traffic regarding my Pinterest account or blog. I’ve not worked on finishing the re-design but am ok with not making that a priority. Posting once/week has been fairly easy and I’ve surpassed that goal. I was also able to go to a Social Fabric University On the Road conference in Chicago where I learned a ton.

bridge

August Goals:

Family

  • Have a date night with Jeffrey
  • Take Sophie to another Indy attraction
  • Complete Sophie’s room

Life

  • Unpack
  • Switch over all accounts (Dr, credit cards, mail etc.)
  • Paint two rooms

Blog

  • Be accepted for a shopportunity
  • Read The Princess Bride
  • Post at least once/week (it will be a stretch)

I feel like this month’s goals are so simple yet will be so tough to accomplish! Knowing how tough it was to pack while Sophie was home during the days helps me realize how long unpacking, cleaning and painting will take. What are your goals for this month?

Top 5 Reasons to Attend SoFabUOTR Chicago

This grant was  provided to me by Collective Bias, Inc. All opinions are mine alone. #SoFabUOTR #CollectiveBias
I have got to say ‘thank you’ to the stars or heavens or my ancestors watching over me because I have been extremely lucky lately. We bought our new home in Indy and sold our home in Champaign within a week. This past weekend I had the privilege of attending #SoFabUOTR (SoFab University On the Road) in Chicago. I’d only budgeted to attend one conference this year but had entered to win a ticket to the one day Chicago conference at The Wyndham Grand Riverfront Hotel, and won!

Chicago SkylineI am so grateful to have gone to #SoFabUOTR for so many reasons, but I want to share just five with you:

1. First and foremost, the people. I was the first one to register in the morning and was greeted with smiling faces and an easy check in. I sighed with relief when I walked into the conference room and saw only six tables with ten seats. I knew it would be a great number of attendees for a one day conference. The hotel provided a delicious spread and plenty of coffee for everyone to enjoy as they mingled. The first person I met was Beth Rosen of Chicagonista. Meeting Beth as my first conference buddy was awesome because she was so friendly, welcoming and genuine, little did I know that she was one of the speakers that day. I then met Sarah of Clever Pink Pirate (and SoFab), Jen of Me, Myself and Jen, Michelle of Honest and Truly and the list of inspiring women continued to grow throughout the day.

SoFabUOTR Chicago River2. The speaker’s presentations. Beth and MJ of Chicagonista had a presentation on why videos are integral in blogging. They shared tips on making a great video and when to use them in your posts. I was inspired to make another vlog to see how you as readers respond to it. Jen of Me, Myself and Jen spoke  about making the shift from blogging as a hobby to monetizing and making it your small business.

SoFabUOTR networking at lunch on the patio3. Networking with fellow bloggers and brands. I wasn’t able to meet everyone at the conference but hit it off well with everyone I met. Most of the bloggers were parenting, lifestyle or DIY bloggers which made us automatically have something in common. We also had the commonality of wanting to be better at blogging. I met Diana of Diana Rambles, and found out that her son works for the same company my as my husband. I also met fellow Hoosier Britteny of The Pretty Plus who’s starting an Indy tribe that I’ll be joining. I’m so pleased with the camaraderie I shared with the many women I met throughout the day.The sponsors that made SoFabU happen were also represented at the conference. Josh from Mitsubishi brought selfie sticks for everyone and was fun to chat about cars with and their #drivemitsubishi program.

Chicago Metra4. New experiences. This is my second blogging conference and I was extremely pleased with what I learned, the people I met and the length of the session. My day started out by picking up an apple pastry from the farmers market and catching a train to Chicago. I’d never been on a train alone and was nervous about missing the train or being late to the conference. Everything worked out perfectly on the way to and from Chicago though and now I feel confident in doing it more often!

Chicago Trolley Tour

Chicago Marina

selfie5. Photography trolley tour. I have to admit, the tour by Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Co. was my favorite part of the day. It was raining and cold but that did not stop me from being in complete awe of the architecture and fun facts our guide shared. Whenever I visit downtown, I’m riding in a car stuck in traffic or walking on the sidewalks on my way to a show or shopping. I’ve never stopped to really look at the magnificent buildings Chicago has and the top deck of a double decker bus is the perfect view.

SoFab may have paid for my ticket to join their conference this year, but it is already in my budget for next year. I’m so thankful SoFab now has an OnTheRoad conference along with all of their amazing free blogging courses on SoFabUniversity. SoFabUOTR still has three conferences this year at Minneapolis, Atlanta and Bentonville. This week I’ll be packing our house but next week I have knocking out a few of their courses in my planner. What blogging conferences have you been to this year? Have you been on a bus tour of your city yet? You should check it out!

July Goals

Happy July to you all! Last month I talked about how incredibly fast May was, June was faster, but July will be a complete blur. This July we start out with three trips and round it out with a super secret surprise that we’ll share with you later on. July goals

Before jumping into July’s goals, let’s see how I did for June. We completed Soph’s kitchen tower helper (a post I’ll share later) but I haven’t received all the photos for her board book. Jeffrey and I didn’t have a date night but were intentional about making sure we hung out a few evenings together to just slow down. Swim lessons were awesome! Soph loves swimming and I’m excited to get her in the next level. I really sucked at life this past month according to my goals. I wasn’t able to reach 10,000 every day nor did I do arm exercises 3x/week. I did get a new routine and I’ve started a ‘Don’t Break the Chain’ app on my phone. I finished Ready Player One, of which I LOVED but didn’t make the time to read The Fringe Hours this month.

IMG_9614

I rocked my blog goals this past month! I attended BlogU where I met several awesome people (even joined a tribe!) I’ve implemented one task (focusing on Pinterest). I’ve done 1/2 of the redesign adjustments to get closer to how I want this blog to look.

IMG_6308July Goals:

Family

  • Complete Sophie’s board book
  • Have June date night with Jeffrey
  • Visit the waterpark

Life

Blog

  • Complete first Pin70
  • Finish re-design
  • Post at least once/week (it will be a stretch)

The key to goal planning is to make sure they’re achievable. I know that this month’s goals needed to be slightly easier because of all we have planned. I’ll be away from home the next two weekends and will be going on vacation the first of the month. The week days in between are speckled with appointments, lessons and play dates. I’m looking forward to all of the fun ahead but also really excited about the scheduled reading time for mandatory relaxation. What do you have planned this month? I’d love to know your goals!

Disney Park Tips

Disney Park Tips by a former cast member

Being a former cast member and current Disney obsessed fan, I know a lot about Disney. I’m most knowledgeable on Disney World but am a huge fan of the history of Walt and the imagineering of the Disney parks. Sharing my experiences and knowledge comes very easy to me, which is why people often seek me out when planning their Disney vacation. Today, I’m planning our September Disney trip and have realized it will be a very different experience than our past vacations because we’ll have a toddler in tow.

Disney Park Tips by a former cast member

Here are my top five Disney park tips:

 

  • Stay on property. This is the biggest question I get asked and there’s no denying that the perks with Extra Magic Hours, Magical Express, park merchandise sent to your room and the convenience of transportation can not be beat. Throw in the awesome pools, night time movies, wide range of food choices and perfect Disney theming and it’s the best decision you’ll make.
  • Utilize your MagicBands if you have specific attractions you can’t miss. This will be our first time in the parks since MagicBands have been active so I’ve been researching it like there’s no tomorrow. If you’re the type that likes to plan, making reservations for meals (180 days out) and attractions (60 days out) ahead of time will put your mind at ease.
  • Celebrating something on your vacation? Milk it for all it’s worth. Get a button and wear it proudly! We have been in the parks after just being engaged and on our anniversary and, as always, the cast members are so sweet, but so are the other guests! I loved telling people about our engagement story at Wishes. If only I could wear it around now and get the same perks.
  • Take a break. This is a tip that I suggest to guests of every age. Bring breakfast bars with you on your way out the door an hour before the park gates open (unless you’re staying at a resort that is close to the park). Hit your favorite ride right away and as the park starts filling, stop for a late breakfast/early lunch. Take a break during the middle of the day when the parks are the hottest. Even if you don’t take a nap at your room, go to a pool to relax or even play a round of put-put. Do something with less stimulation and give your legs a break. Head back to the parks late afternoon and you’ll be able to stay up easily through the Extra Magic Hours.
  • Talk to the Cast Members. The Cast Members will be your biggest resource of knowledge. They know the best place to stand for the parades and fireworks, best snack vendors, where Mulan might show up and where the hidden Mickey’s are. They also have great pins for pin trading. Asking a cast member to see his pins led us to the behind the scenes tour of Enchanted Tales with Belle before it was open and countless line cuts to rides.

Disney Park Tips by a former cast member

Do you agree on these tips? What did I miss? I may have a whole new set of tips once we experience the parks with a toddler! I have a feeling my new number one tip may be ‘bring Advil’.

If you’re planning a trip to Disney World, feel free to ask me any questions you may have. The same goes for those of you considering the Disney College Program. Disney is my second biggest passion and I wish for everyone to experience the magic as I do.

Follow Shelly @ DIY Mama’s board Disney on Pinterest.

Google+