Just like that 12 months has come and gone.

When I came home with my fourth baby last Spring, the thought of running a business and this busy household simultaneously was completely crippling. I could barely time manage when to take a shower and find clean yoga pants let alone book an entire 2019 Bridal Season. I was pulled at constantly by teenagers needing help with homework, rides to practice, trips to the mall and toddlers wanting to be held like the baby and have tea parties all while I’m trying to nurse, and get a newborn on a sleep schedule in order to maintain some form of sanity.

My husband and I existed merely as life lines for one another, swapping kids back and forth, ordering a lot of take out, figuring out how to do laundry for a family of six. Lets not forget the postpartum that I tried desperately to avoid as if taking emergen-c or drinking an extra kambucha might fight it off. Dang! It got me, I had patience for my baby and he’s about the only one on the planet I had the strength to be kind, and loving to. My recovery was more challenging then with the other three, I had unforeseen complications, and life didn’t stop the way I desperately needed it to.

After six months I finally started recognizing my old self again , no it’s not an exaggeration it really took me a full six months and a fabulous therapist to come out of my fog. Things like opening mail, grocery shopping, and school drop offs no longer seemed overwhelming. That’s about the same time client inquiries started pouring in for 2019.

How did I make it all happen? Well, I accepted help that was offered. I stopped pretending I could do all the things on my own, I confessed to my husband that kids, meals, business, laundry was not going to be accomplished by me all at once so he hired some help. I have two built in “Mothers Helpers” ( You want to eat dinner? Great come build Legos with your little sister and keep her out of kitchen). I also take time for myself, sometimes its only ten minutes of quiet, enough time to put on a favorite mask and listen to three of my favorite songs. Other times its forcing myself out of the house to meet my girlfriends for some good food and good laughs.

We’ve made it through Bridal trials, baseball season, a sweet boy who just learned how to walk, and our first year of high school! We have not mastered a perfect system, there were plenty of bumps along the way but I’ve learned some key tools that will make for an even smoother 2020 season. Cheers to all the moms out there balancing family, career, marriage, and self. This is a dance I hope to master, until then practice, practice, practice.