May Check In
daily non-negotiables, the perfect denim short, and summer chores.
Good morning and happy May (insert your *NSYNC reference here).
I don’t know about you but my kids’ May schedules rival any December busyness I’ve seen recently. Between field days, field trips, awards ceremonies, piano recitals, art shows, and the like, I’m leaning firmly into the daily non-negotiables that help me feel anchored and stay emotionally above the chaos. What’s that look like? So glad you asked.
Movement: I’m going to move every day. The rain has cancelled so many tennis lessons, ortho appts have interfered with the gym, but nothing prevents me from putting on my weighted vest while I’m vacuuming. It feels like a positive “to do” I can check off my list and even a five minute walk helps clear the mental fog and manage overwhelm. Here’s the vest I swear by ( I wear 12 lbs).
Making the bed. I find the expression “the state of your bed is the state of your head” to ring incredibly true. The busyness of the month might not be conducive to the house being in the state I normally like it to be, but I prioritize our bedroom staying picked up and calm. It’s our retreat at the end of the day and keeping that one space in tact helps a lot with feeling mentally chill.
side note, our bed is on sale which rarely happens!
A load of laundry first thing. I wake up, toss in a load, and THEN get my coffee. I hate feeling behind on laundry and we all know it only takes one day of the laundry schedule being off for that to happen. If I can get one load done per day, I feel like it’s at least managed. The load washes while I do my morning routine, I throw it in the dryer before the girls and I leave for school, and then fold it when I get home. It’s a small but powerful part of my household schedule.
Protein water. This is a new addition, but wow, I’m a big fan. When we’re so busy, it’s easy to make food choices that don’t always align with our health goals (no judgement, a bag of burgers from Braum’s has saved me many times). I’ve been making a protein water (this protein powder plus a Bubly coconut pineapple seltzer) daily and it’s helping me get hydrated plus an additional 20 g of protein, regardless of how the rest of the day goes. It’s all about racking up the small wins throughout the day!
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Getting dressed has been pretty straight forward these days. If I’m not in athleisure of some sort, I’m pulling on these denim shorts.
They’re from Aritzia and are super soft, just the right rise, and perfectly distressed.
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In my insta Q&A on Monday, we chatted a lot about summer chores for kiddos. This is the customizable chore chart I created for the girls last summer and it worked really well.
My tact with chores is to introduce 2-3 each summer and hit them with consistency (hard to do during the busy school year), and keep them in place for the year, gradually building their responsibility year by year. The girls are adding vacuuming, laundry help, and dog cleanup to their chores among other things this summer.
Hope you’re all doing well and that some of these little tips and tricks will help you survive the month!
xx,
MB