Friday Five: Our Holiday Plan + Work Woes

The secret I use to turn Monday into a MOM-day instead

Welcome to The Mom Flow’s Friday Five - where I (hi! Erin here!) pour my heart out on what this mom-life really is like. I say it the way it is and remind you that you are enough, because the world tells us we are not and we aren’t down with that. A quick reminder that The Mom Flow is completely free (which is not the norm on Substack!) and I’d love your likes, comments and shares with your friends to keep me creating!

Let’s goooo!

🤩 Mom-day is the vibe

It’s official: I’m renaming Monday to Mom-day. Something I was doing for a very long time is taking the first half of my Monday to do all the things that would set up my Mom Flow for success - the meal planning, list making, grocery run. I feel so so much more solid in all areas, including work, when I have that all set up for the week! I fell off that routine for a few months and got back on it this week. WOW. The difference in my peace of mind knowing that’s all set to go… I make healthier decisions, spend way less on take out, am so much more grounded.

It also allows me to ease into my week mindfully instead of pure chaos followed by questionable choices. I know not everyone has the flexibility to do this on a Monday, but maybe you can shift things or choose a different day… the week can start on any day, really! I think getting into a Mom Flow moment means more support, and luckily our schedule allows me to do this because Roberto is at home with Lola and I have a WFH flex schedule.

🍎 How I meal plan for the week

A bit more background on meal planning, because I found a system that really works for me and my family. My vibe is really not to make ANYTHING a make work project. I want things to work well but not to be overly onerous. Here’s how I get it done:

Step 1 - check out the recipes hubs has DM’d me and veto them all
Step 2 - ask hubs if he has any requests, to which he respnds, did you see the recipes I’ve sent to your DM’s
Step 3 - scroll my fave food accounts to get inspired like Half Baked Harvest, Pinch of Yum, and maybe leaf through my cookbooks, considering what is kind of easy and will make good leftovers
Step 4 - decide on 3 meals and make a grocery list
Step 5 - write it on our fridge calendar
Step 6 - shop and spend $8349 dollars
Step 7 - feel really self-satisfied but know Lola will still want mac + cheese or quesadillas ONLY

THE END 🤣

If you’re curious, this week I made Lasagna Soup, Beef Tacos and Salad Niçoise with leftovers to make it through 5 days… and on Saturday night it’s take out, Sunday night it’s family dinner at the in-laws.

🎄 What we are doing for the holidays

OK, so we spoke last week about the holiday overwhelm… I’ve been working at tuning out the wants, coulds, shoulds etc. It’s sooo easy to be swept away in the chaos and stress of the season, but my goal is to make amazing memories for Lola, being the magic, but also allowing myself to enjoy the season! Here is what we are doing in December to enjoy as a fam (and Moms, IYKYK, the amount of forethought and planning that makes this all happen… I SEE YOU!):

Family decorating
Advent calendar
Elf on the Shelf (keeping this so simple and just moving her around each day)
Santa bfst at community center
Santa lunch at Portuguese center
Stanley Park Christmas Train (x2)
Santa party at friends house (she is hiring a Santa and I’m bringing one of Lola’s gifts for him to give her OMG)
Christmas movie on the couch
Baking together and wrapping up baking for gifts (please tell me when I will find time for this part lol) P.S: my fave recipes are in this post.

We are heading to my hometown for Christmas, and I’m actually flying alone with Lola before Roberto bc he has to work up until Christmas Eve. I’m already nervous to fly alone with her, but booked business class with points to hopefully make it a bit easier? Here’s hoping!

🤦🏽‍♀️ The work hustle (and stress) is real

I’ve been feeling a bit down in the dumps with work lately. A few super frustrating things happened to me in the last few weeks and it left me feeling shaken and stressed, and actually, disillusioned. This is NOT the place you want to be when you are a solopreneur bc it can be very hard to keep things running smoothly, being inspired, and all the things. I’ve been running my marketing business for 10 years and sooo much has changed in the game over that time. I’ve been able to work with brands to turn them into multi-million dollar companies and do work that I am so, so passionate about. I’ve been able to support my family with this career. I’ve always been a big believer in diversifying income and not putting all of your eggs in one basket, and acting as a Marketing Director for brands on retainer is one of the things I do, and being an “influencer” is another. In 2022, I started MILA which is a marketing education brand that’s in flux right now. I enjoy them all! That said, it’s a freaking hard market right now. The economy is not in a great place. After feeling down and stressed for a few days, I made a mind shift to putting my thoughts and time into things that made me feel good (like shooting with an amazing client, above), allowing myself to brainstorm on creative ideas, new avenues and freshening things up... along with something I’m quietly working on that I can’t divulge yet, but it may be the biggest thing I’ve ever done. That said, I’m accepting new marketing clients for January 2024 and I can’t wait to see what the new year brings! Oh, and a reminder, life is full of ups and downs… if you’re in a ‘down’ the only way is up and you got this xo

😍 What’s new around here

The only BFCM purchase I made was this infrared sauna blanket - a splurge but I’m in my health and wellness girlie era (ummm it’s still 20% off with code HDBFCM)

We watched the Twin Flame documentary on Netflix and all I can say is… just wtf

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and I really appreciate your likes and comments to help me feel like these unpaid few hours a pour into The Mom Flow actually matters!

xx, Erin