Fall Prep: Tips to Streamline Your Routine

In this bonus episode, Jacqueline shares her personal strategies to make life easier during the chaotic back-to-school season. Covering meal prepping with healthier choices, organizing kids' clothes for smooth mornings, and using services like Hungryroot and Little Spoon for convenient, nutritious meals. She talks about automating daily essentials like toothbrush replacements with Quip and household items through Amazon delivery. Jacqueline also discusses maintaining a realistic and flexible workout schedule. She emphasizes the importance of community support and announces the upcoming fourth season of the podcast!

Quick links below (with discounts!) to help simplify your life!

• Hungryroot ($50 off your first delivery)
• Little Spoon ($20 off)
• Quip (20% off site wide as of August 2024)
• Dailylook (25% off your first styling fee)
• FIT4MOM (first class is free!)
• Beddy's ($50 off your first purchase)
• Peloton ($100 off accessories with order)

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Transcript

Hey, friend, coming at you with a quick bonus episode. So maybe it's my type A personality, but this time of year, the new school year going into fall right before all the holidays hit. For me, it's honestly kind of like the new year. Like I love setting goals, getting reorganized and just like prepping for the season ahead.

We've been really busy with the start of school and a shift in our schedules and navigating a school year with an infant now.  So it's been a little chaotic and leading up to it. I was, I was feeling myself get a little bit of anxiety, not just because I can't believe that my oldest baby is going into first grade.

My younger son is in his last year of preschool. And you know, our daughter is just cruising along and growing in the blink of an eye. So it's all the feels, all the feels as summer comes to a close. But I figured that I would share some of the tips that I have and things that I've been doing to make this season of life a little bit easier.

So whether you are in the midst of navigating infertility treatments, or you have kids that are starting school schedules and sports schedules, or you just have a busy season of work ahead, Hopefully you can take something away from this episode and make your life that much easier.

Of course, there are so many ways to do things and so many options out there. And I'm just going to preface this episode by saying I am not an official affiliate or a partner with anything I'm going to mention today.  I'm pretty sure I have referral links. And if there's any way that I can benefit you, if there's a discount or anything, I will link that in the show notes, But this is literally just what I'm personally doing, it's working for me, and it has got our school year and our fall season off to a good start. Okay, so I'm going to start with the biggest hang up for me, which is usually meals. , whether you're cooking for yourself, you and your partner, or a whole family, Mealtime can get old, . I don't know about you, but, you know, we have gone through different dietary journeys, and we've eaten out, and we've cooked at home, and we've had meal delivery services, and truthfully, I've come to the conclusion, there's no right or wrong way to do it.

It's really dependent on the season. of life that you're in. And the season that I'm in right now is I'm burnt out from this summer of making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a bajillion snacks for my kids every single day for three months straight. I'm, I'm over it.  I have decision fatigue. I am over figuring out the menu, the grocery list, getting the groceries, making the meals. And honestly,  I'm just tired at the end of the day. We all know the end of the day can be a doozy, especially once you add sports into the mix and tired kids from school. So yeah, the first thing I tackled was trying to simplify meals.

So here's what I've been doing.  So when it comes to breakfast, I know my kids staples, you know, they like French toast. They like pancakes and cereal and oatmeal and bagels and all those like things that I've really been trying hard to kind of like switch over to healthier versions, which the first one that just popped in my head is actually It's Kodak and they have, I know they do like waffles and pancakes, I believe they now have, and maybe they've always had it, but I, this is the first time I've seen it, but Kodak  makes  French toast sticks and they're packed with protein.

So that's been like our better option, less sugar, more protein. And that's just one example, so I have the staples on hand, but what I prep on the weekends is I've been making muffins, so, I'm pretty basic and had to do some pumpkin muffins because, you know, tis the season, even though it's like been a hundred degrees out the last couple of days, uh, but my kids like them.

So I prepped pumpkin muffins on the weekend, along with pumpkin pancakes. I put some in the fridge. Some in the freezer. And again, the mix I used has whole grains. It's like a healthier version. Had those prepped. I made a quiche on Sundays. I hard boil eggs. So anything that will like last in the fridge for like five days, or I can put in the freezer. I'm going to try and make that over the weekend.

As for lunches, I kind of do the same thing on Sundays. I prep sandwiches for my kids school lunches. My oldest son Hunter really likes, salami sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, but on like the Hawaiian rolls. So I used to just do like the little buns and make little sandwiches and give them to, but they actually sell, at least the King's brand does, they sell like mini sub Hawaiian rolls that are like perfect for his lunchbox.

So I'll make say three of those for the week. And then he really likes he's allergic to peanuts. So. He does almond butter and jelly sandwiches, so I'll prep a couple of those sandwiches and put those in baggies in the fridge as well. And then my picky eater, my younger son, Noah, doesn't eat many sandwiches.

The only sandwiches I can get him to eat is Nutella. So I usually buy the Uncrustables for him, or I will just go ahead and make my own Uncrustables and put them in the fridge. So Nutella on bread. I've got this little, like, cutout that makes the Uncrustable, freeze them, and then you just pull them out this has made things super easy with putting together their lunchboxes. The other thing I prep ahead of time is I make five baggies of snacks with cut up fruit in it. So at least at the elementary school where we're at, they have a snack every day, and it has to be fresh fruit or veggies. Well, As much as I would really, really love my son to chomp on some carrots or celery or any veggie, really, um, not going to happen.

So to make sure that he is fed and has a snack, we usually do fruit. So I cut that up and have it all prepped, ready to go in baggies. And let me tell you, this gives me the option to quickly fill their lunch boxes in the morning or the night before the staples are handled. Everything else is just putting it in the box. Ready to go 

  Okay, as for dinner, oh, dinner,  I actually used to love making dinner, but that was prior to having kids. I remember when my husband and I were dating and we were engaged and we were living in the city. His work schedule was always a little bit later than mine. I'd get home around 530, he'd get home around seven.

So it would give me just enough time to enjoy a glass of wine and cook a new recipe. Now obviously we're talking back in like 2012, 2013, so I was like going to Pinterest, printing off some recipes at work, you know, at my, my desk job. And I would just have so much fun learning how to cook and trying new things.

And then he would get home and we would eat and relax and it was just amazing. It was so fun. Now?  Oh lord. If you are a mom, I know you can relate to this and if you are not a mom yet, just take note and brace yourself.  Of course, I'm assuming I speak for most moms when I say this, but dinner time?  Oh lord.

I used to just think that like, As my children got older, it would get easier. I'm like, uh, when, you know, when they're babies, they're learning how to eat for the first time. You're like making sure they try all the foods and all of the allergens and then they become toddlers and you're just like cutting everything up and making it small.

And it's just one big mess. And then, and of course you're feeding them like multiple times throughout the day. So by the time you get to dinner, you're just like exhausted. I used to just think, I'm like, okay, you know what? When everyone is a little bit older, I will just make one dinner. And it'll be great.

I'll go back to cooking recipes and then everyone will just love it. And it'll be so fun.  Well, spoiler alert, if you're not here at this point in life yet, but it's not, it's not, it's not fun. At least for me, it's not, I am exhausted by the end of the day. And for a while I was, I was trying different recipes and I was trying new things only to put it on the table for my kids to be like, Oh, I'm not eating that. 

Back to chicken nuggets. We go. We've come a long way from chicken nuggets for sure, but they definitely have like their staple like list of meals that they enjoy and they don't branch out from. And I like to try new things. I like to make good meals, but I also like to keep it super simple because like I said, I'm tired.

And especially in this season of life, you know, two days a week, we've got soccer practices, we've got different times for picking up school and, and all the things I just, I just want the simplest way to feed my family at the end of the day. But also I want to be healthy because I'm excited to be past the toddler years because in those years I found myself Eating whatever leftovers, you know, the kids had for lunch or breakfast for dinner.

Just I'm like, okay, you know what? I'll just finish your plate. That's easier. I'll just, I'll just eat that. So I'm not trying to do that. I'm not trying to load up on chicken nuggets. I would like a good meal to look forward to at the end of the day. Now I've done all the things I've done, meal prepping, meal planning, finding recipes on Pinterest, saving things on Instagrams and reels and TikToks and all the things.

, but I was pretty burnt out from just, you know, making decisions and finding the different things to make that may or may not be enjoyed by my family.  So this time around, and we've actually used this service before, but right now in this season, we are using Hungry Route. So if you haven't heard of it, you can click the link in the show notes, but Hungry Route is, it's a really great meal delivery service.

It's one of those that's like, again, a nice, happy medium. It's not just like something that you heat up, but they send you the ingredients with the recipe. It's a weekly delivery. You can change it every week. I will say I've had to put in my calendar to remember to modify like whatever they come up with for you so I can choose my own menu or skip a week if I know we, you know, my husband's going to be out of town or we got a lot going on, we're probably going to be eating out more.

Okay. I do have to set a reminder because I've made that mistake where like a box of food shows up and I'm like, that's fun. I'm not even going to be around to cook this. But overall, I have really been enjoying it. The best part about Hungry Root, in my opinion, is that you can set it to like any kind of preferences you'd like.

Whether it's dietary preferences. I tried to put in like for less than a meal. inflammatory recipes. We don't really follow any specific diet right now, but just trying to keep an eye on sugar and anything that's like an inflammatory. And then you can put in what kind of cuisines you like, don't not like, you fill out this whole profile.

Right now with school starting and I was getting nervous about like just doing our new schedule with Lorelei added into the mix. I have it set for like quick and easy meals. And let me tell you, every meal is like 15 minutes or less. And if it is like a 30 minute meal, it's really just because it has to bake or something for like 20, 25 minutes.

It's super easy prep. And I love it because if I need to podcast or get some work done when my husband's done with his workday, I can take an hour and he can watch the kids after work and prep dinner because the instructions are simple. It's quick and easy. And then dinner's on the table. So, naively, I started off this, and it's been about a month of us doing this, HungryRue.

And we have tried it in the past. I forget why I stopped. Probably just our life changed at the moment. But, um, this time around we've been doing it for about a month now. And, um, The very first delivery, I had four servings delivered. I was like, okay, a serving for my husband and I, a serving will split between the kids and then, you know, we'll have leftovers or whatever.

Well, truthfully, that was a waste of money because my kids were not a fan of the meals and that was just driving me insane because I'm like, okay, I don't want to be eating the same thing for like three meals. That's, I know people do that. I've never been one of those people that can like meal prep.

Chicken for lunch, like five days in a row. Like, that's just not who I am. I don't, I enjoy a variety. So after that first delivery, I went down to just the two servings. And another reason I love it is because portion control, my husband and I know that we make the meal. It is split in half. We are having one serving of this meal.

We know exactly how many calories it is, all the nutritional information. And we're not going to like overeat because we're stressed or tired or lazy or whatever it is. We eat our healthy meal and then that's done and there's no leftovers, which is nice because it actually works out. My husband usually travels one to two nights a week for work.

So I order three meals a week. from Hungry Root and then usually like a couple snacks because I'll eat those like for as lunches or you can also get grocery items through Hungry Root. So if I know that our week is a little up in the air or maybe my husband is going to be traveling, I might order up some like pasta and sauce or something simple that I know I can make for me and the kids or something that I can just quickly heat up for myself.

So I've really, really been enjoying it.  It's perfect for being flexible you Not wasting ingredients, sticking to whatever diet you're trying to stick to, and you know what? Don't, don't base your decisions off of me specifically because maybe your kids would love it. I mean, I, I was shocked that half the meals my kids wouldn't eat because there are so, such a variety and everything I've tasted is delicious.

We really haven't had one meal where we're like, you know, that wasn't for us.  So that's our dinner. Now you might be wondering, okay, I just blabbed on about how my kids won't eat this, so what are you making for the kids? Okay, I am in a desperate state of trying to provide healthier options. For the boys, because we did get in a rut as Lorelei was born, you know, she's four and a half months old now leading up to her delivery.

And like the last four months has just been like really stressful. So we did get in a summer rut of like their staples, which, you know, none of them are great. It's like chicken nuggets and pizza and corn dogs and grilled cheese. And like, you know, whatever Mac and cheese. Basically, cheese and carbs is their go to, and fruit.

Fruit's always in there, but I really wanted to break out of this rut and get them, again, to get back to serving them a variety. So as your phone does, it listens to you. And of course, I was probably complaining about this. Out loud, or Googling something about meals for our kids, and an ad for Little Spoon popped up.

Now, I've seen this before, but I've never actually ordered from them. So, Little Spoon is, they have a variety of stuff for, like, I'll say, toddlers to big kids. And it's so, so simple. They have everything from like plates, so like dinners, I would say. You just heat them up in the microwave. They are healthy.

They're veggie packed. They're protein packed. They're all the best ingredients. And a lot of things are just like the better version of what I was normally serving my kids. So maybe there's chicken nuggets in there, but they are packed with veggies and whole grains. Or for breakfast, they have these like delicious oat balls with like baked apples and you know, a variety of things.

So I think I have one more week left where we have now officially tried like every meal that they offer through Little Spoon.  But what I've been doing is I've been trying to, I started off the first week with getting two of each meal, thinking like, okay, this is what the boys will have on this day and then on this day. 

Well, if they didn't like it, then we just kept ending up with like some leftovers that no one was going to eat except for, I guess, my husband and I would be forced to like eat it as a lunch or something. So just to like taste it and like get an idea of their menu, I started ordering one of each and I would kind of like split it.

And  Split the veggies split the meals and then like pair it with one of their staple items to kind of like make sure that they Were going to eat something but trying new things And I'm happy to report that they loved many of the meals. There's definitely some that they did not like, but for the most part, they're really enjoying the meals.

Other than the plates that are more like for dinner, obviously you can eat them at any meal, but other than the plates, Little Spoon offers these like lunch packs, and it's kind of like an upscale lunchable, I'll say. Like one of them is a chicken nugget one, so it has the chicken nuggets, these like seasoned pretzels, and like this muffin, this, I think it's a zucchini muffin or something.

I don't know. And then the another one is like pizza dippers, which has pita bread, sauce, cheese, and then some sort of like granola thing. Whatever it is, it's like these balanced lunches in a little pack. And I'm not ordering those as much now. I think I'm only getting like one a week for Noah when he's not in preschool.

But in the summer, the kids really enjoyed those. And it was super easy. You know, they'd get out of the pool. They'd just. Open one up and there'd be lunch. And the last thing that we've been ordering from Little Spoon that they offer is snacks. Now I was super excited about the snack portion because they're all healthy, better for you options without all those junky ingredients.

So you feel really good giving these to your kids. I've ordered everything from like these oat bake bars to, um, they look like they're called like crunchers and they come in all different flavors but they're like made with like chickpeas and then instead of fruit snacks they have these like string fruit rope things that are made with better for you ingredients and the kids are really liking that so. 

And they last a while. I might have just got a bunch of snacks from the jump because we wanted to try them all, but I've since cut down and this last week I even skipped snacks because, like, we're good on that. Oh, and along with snacks, they also have, like, on the go yogurt, like the pouches and fruit pouches, but they're, like, not your typical just, like, applesauce, go go squeeze. 

or yogurt. It is like really, it is like really healthy and really inventive combination. Like there was like apple pecan pie, but of course it has like carrots and zucchini and whatever in it. And those, I will say, were hit or miss with my kids. But again, we're talking about picky eaters, especially my youngest.

My little guy was not a fan of them. He just likes his straight applesauce or like the go go squeeze. Combo fruit pouches. But my older son was, he loved those pouches and they have so many great things in them, chia seeds and oatmeal and just. I love the variety. If they didn't like it, I tried it and it was really good.

And that's another thing that I will say about the plates, like the dinner meals. I have even eaten them, if there's something that they don't like or we don't get through them all, you know, plans change, we, I don't know, meet up for dinner with someone or something, I will eat them as like lunch or dinner when my husband is out of town.

Like they are really good. Really portioned, really balanced, and all you do is pop them in the microwave for like a minute and a half. Pretty amazing. If you're interested in simplifying meals, definitely give Hungry Root or Little Spoon a try. Again, I am not, like, an affiliate of any kind. It's just been working for my family right now.

We really enjoy it. It's made life really simple and we're enjoying delicious meals, so wanted to inform all of you in case you're looking to switch things up a bit.

  okay, so the next thing I tried to simplify for this season is clothes.  We tried to work on this over the summer, but honestly, it was a crapshoot with my six and four year old. Um, during the school year, they're usually pretty good about, they have to do their, we call it, you got to do your stuff before you go downstairs.

They always wake up wanting to, to play or play a game on their tablet before school, or like jump on the trampoline that we have in our basement and all good stuff. But like, They're not good at stopping that, obviously, to leave enough time so we can all get ready and get out the door. So, the rule is, in our house, they have to do their stuff before they go downstairs.

And their stuff is get dressed, brush their teeth, and make their bed.  I guess this isn't a clothing thing, but I have to mention their bedding. For their beds, I got beddies. Betty comforters. If you haven't heard of them, look it up. I'll link it in the show notes as well, but it is the simplest way for your child to make their bed.

They have so many cute patterns and it's honestly, it's just a zip. You just zip up the bedding. It's like the comforter and the top part is attached. Kind of think of like, um, a sleeping bag, but there's a blanket that kind of like goes over the side. So you're not like tucked in. in. I don't know. Hard to explain.

Click the link. But all they have to do is zip up their beds and put the pillows on. Of course, they insist on having like 87 stuffed animals in their bedroom at all times. So that makes things a little hard when making their bed. But,  for the most part, it's quick and easy. So those are the three things they have to do to make getting dressed easier for everybody.

On Sundays, I pick out their clothes for the entire school week.  I ended up finding  I'm sure I got it from somebody else when I was scrolling Instagram and bought it off at Amazon. But,  they're like these hanging organizers and they're labeled Monday through Friday and they have a big pocket and a little pocket, the little pocket I put like their socks and underwear, and then their outfits, in the bigger pockets and they're all labeled and I hang them on their closet door now, I will say for the younger kids, my four year old definitely can't reach Monday and Tuesday on the top, so for my sake, I'll like plan them all out, and just the night before, I'll just pull down the outfits that they have. We also have little stools with their names on them that they could just reach and grab their clothes, as well.

But, pick them out for the week, so they can easily just grab their clothes, get dressed, make their bed, zip it on up. And then as far as brushing your teeth goes, the only, only thing I have that's been working, which I'll share with you guys is,  we have this little timer that I got again, also on Amazon that sticks to the mirror.

And there's a green light and a red light, a go for brushing teeth. There's also one for washing hands. That way they know how long to brush.  If anyone listening has a hack for, um, not having toothpaste, Explode all over,  or water all over the, the mirrors or just a kid's bathroom in general, how to keep it more tidy.

Please reach out to me because I avoid that bathroom at all costs, unless it genuinely has to be cleaned all around because it kills me. It kills me. It's always a mess. And the toothpaste just, I don't even know how it gets where it gets. Sometimes.  But anyway, so that's, that's the kids. That simplifies our mornings for the school week.

Now for myself, and I'm sure many of you listening, if you are a busy woman I often find myself putting my needs on the backburner. And this includes my clothes. I've gotten pretty good at going through my closet and getting rid of things in the last few seasons. I'm like, okay, haven't worn that.

It's got to go. That's not in style. It's got to go. I used to hang on to everything because I was always afraid that, you know, in the last handful of years, my body just fluctuates so much, you know, through having kids and fertility treatments and just, I don't know,  being in your thirties, my weight is just up and down all the time.

So I would keep things and I'm like, I don't know, like this could fit me or I would just keep things. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm going to wear that. But what if I need it? That was my downfall. And I know half of you listening are like, yeah, obviously I know this ever heard of a capsule wardrobe.

Come on.  And I have, I just, I don't know. I'm a slight hoarder for some reason, but I've gotten good at that. So that's not the problem. I've gotten rid of stuff, but now I find myself with less stuff,  but not so many things that I'm like a huge fan of. And for the, in this season in life, I don't want to be wearing yoga pants every single day.

I want to do my workout, where my workout clouds and then put on regular clothes. I don't care if I'm just going to pick up the kids from school, grabbing a coffee or doing a soccer drop off. I want to feel good in what I'm wearing. And so what I have done, and I will update you more on this because I just got my first box, but I signed up for daily look. It's an app. You can Google it. Basically you fill out a whole profile of your look choices and your body and your lifestyle. And then you're partnered with a stylist. So They will pick out like 10 to 12 items for you, which is more than any other box that I've ever done or signed up before.

10 to 12 items. You have five days to try it on and then you just pay for whatever you decide to keep. The more you keep, the more money you save. And these are all from quality brands, quality brands that I truthfully don't have the time to go shop. Like, sure, I can find an outfit on Amazon and order it up and have it within hours, but.

Honestly, I do a lot of returning and I'd really like to take the Amazon returns off my plate as well. So, they have brands like J. Crew, Good American, Nordstrom, the list goes on, but like, quality. pieces that I should be wearing at 36. I want nice quality clothes and this has taken it off my plate.

I will say I was super pumped about my first box. I kept half of it and I can't wait for the next box. And the best part is you can literally schedule it as often as you'd like. You can have a box delivered every month. You can have a box delivered every few months right now, I just have it quarterly because I really just want a little refresh for every season to kind of slowly build my closet with some staple items that are on trend because I'm, I'm tired of trying to figure out the trends.

I know if you're a millennial and if you're a millennial mom, you are confused about what to wear right now, because I know I am like cargo pants. They're back. I remember these. Don't you remember? I remember from Abercrombie in high school, I had like camouflage style cargo pants and they had this like silky tie.

And then of course  you'd wear like a little tank top with it or three tank tops, layering them, lace and like,  so funny. But all these things are coming back. Does that mean as a 36 year old mom, I should be wearing all these trendy styles? Probably not. But I also do want to be fashionable.

So I love having a stylist at my fingertips so I can feel good about myself, wear what I'm comfortable in, wear what's appropriate for my season of life. And I'm here for it. I will link that for you in the show notes as well if that's something that you're interested in. My last tip for the clothing department is that I try to get things that my kids grow out of quickly second hand.

Because if my kids are growing out of it quickly, likely so are other kids. And they're usually in good shape. Condition. Some of these things I've gotten have been soccer cleats, because again, my kids will wear them for a season and then they're on to the next size. Coats. I mean, here in Chicagoland, we go through seasons like every day is a different season, so it's not like you're wearing a winter coat for months and months and months.

 It really varies on the month and the year. So coats are another good thing. I get secondhand, which for me is usually I'm on Facebook marketplace. I don't have time to be going all over the place. So I literally look right in my neighborhood with like a five mile radius. And,  I find some really great things.

Like the expensive baby stuff that I really enjoy, but like don't necessarily want to sell. Spend the money on because -----again, babies grow fast. One of the best things I've done is get the kite sleep sacks on marketplace and the kite, like jammies, the onesies.  I love those so much, but again, my baby is four months old and she's already,  gone through like three different sizes.

Definitely love. paying a fraction of the price. So check marketplace for things that,  you know, your kids will grow out of and could use, um, or even things like backpacks or anything. That's like quality. I look for name brand stuff, and higher price ticket items secondhand all the time.

 Okay, another thing, and I've mentioned this a long time ago on a podcast episode of my, I think it was a life hacks episode. But another silly thing that I do is I automate my dental hygiene with quip. So it seems silly, but it's only like 6  every three months. And they send me a new toothbrush head and a new battery.

And it's one less thing off my plate. And honestly, it reminds me to change up my toothbrush and get new toothbrushes for the kids.  I really enjoy quip. I've honestly never been a huge fan of electric toothbrushes, but I know that they're better for you. They clean better, but quip, in my opinion, is kind of like a happy medium.

It's electric, but it doesn't like spin. It just vibrates. So it's not as aggressive. And I still like the act of actually like brushing my teeth, not just like holding a toothbrush on my teeth that's spinning around. So for me, it's a happy medium. If you've never heard of it, check out quip. You'll never have to think about toothbrushes and any of that again.

You can also automate things like, they can send you floss picks or toothpaste. It's really personal preference. I think the price goes up a little bit. Those things. I just buy in bulk basically for my family, but my toothbrush is easy enough to simplify.

Some other things that I automate  amazon delivery staple items  that I know that we're going to go through regularly. As you all know, and I'm sure you've seen this, but if you've set it for a subscription, not only do you save a little bit of money, but you can set the frequency for as often as you go through it.

And you can always change it. Like there's been plenty of times where I've ordered something on Amazon, subscribe to it. And then it like showed up at my door and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I haven't gone through this. Remotely yet, so then you can either push it back or cancel it. But some of the things that I like to automate for delivery through Amazon are things like toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, vitamins, facial cleansing pads, laundry detergent, diapers, wipes.

You get the idea. It's so nice knowing that they show up when they should on my doorstep, so I never have to worry about adding it to the grocery list. Or buying it. I was buying things like this in bulk at Costco for a while, but I don't know. Lately going to Costco gives me hives,  , it's just, I don't know how to walk out of there without spending a bajillion dollars and.

Yeah, some things, some things you just, you don't need in bulk. And unless we're doing like a whole family day long outing at Costco, I would never choose to go shopping with my children at Costco because it's overwhelming. The carts are huge, putting everything into the car. Is this a workout in itself? No thanks. I will Amazon deliver as much as I can.

All right. So the very last thing I'm going to share with you is kind of how I simplify my workout routines.  I am going to preface this by saying this changes based on my kids, their schedules, our season of life, what I have going on with work, my health, yada, yada. But right now this is what I'm doing and it's working really well for me and I'm really enjoying getting back to consistently working out.

It makes me feel good about myself. It gives me energy for the day. And it's so nice to check off something that I know was just for me and my physical and mental health. So what I'll do is I'll make sure to set my workout clothes the night before and have a plan to exercise.

I used to be very black and white with this thinking that I had to do it in a certain way, meaning like I have to be a morning person. I have to wake up before the kids. I have to go to this workout class or I have to do night classes because I'm not like I just, I, I got rid of that narrative and I decided to give myself some grace. 

For =one, it is better to move your body than to not. So it doesn't have to be an hour long workout. It can be 10 minutes and minutes is better than zero minutes. And so that's what I try to remind myself. I also try to give myself grace by allowing myself to just work out when it makes the most sense for me.

When I genuinely feel like. I want to do it because making yourself do something that you don't want to do at a time that you don't want to do it over and over again is not sustainable. And I've learned that the hard way I'll go through waves where I'm like, you know, 5 a. m. morning person. I'm going to go for a walk before everybody wakes up or, you know, going to that workout class at night when the kids are in bed, like, whatever it is.

but that's never been sustainable for me. And so I try to be loose with my workout schedule, but I do make a plan ahead of time and set out my clothes, my exercise clothes the night before, even if I'm not going to work out first thing in the morning, I have my workout clothes out that way. I know it's right there.

All I had to do is grab them, put them on at any point, to get my workout in. So lately I have been doing a Peloton workout. For half the week, I'll wake up before the kids get up. Or if I can't get up that early, you know, I'll wake up as they're getting ready and do a quick 20, 30 minute workout. And then give them breakfast, you know, whatever the morning calls for.

But I try to keep it quick and do all the things. So I've been doing like 15 minute cardio ride on the bike and then like 10 minute. Strengths, arms or legs, whatever I'm doing that day. And then like a five minute ab workout, whatever it is, like 30 minute workout and on some days I truly just need or want the extra sleep in the morning and I'm not going to be up before the kids to get that in.

So I might put on my workout clothes, drop the kids off at school, and then I'll do my workout during Laura's morning nap after I drop everybody off. Because let's be honest, sometimes you just need extra sleep in the morning. I don't always sleep well. Sometimes we have late nights. Sometimes I'm being so productive at night that like that's more important to me The peace and quiet of the night than it is to get up in the morning So i'm trying to be better at this knowing that like that's okay.

So I hope you remember that too. And on other days, I do like to get out of the house and do a workout class So that will consist of me taking Lorelei to a fit for mom stroller strides class near me but I make sure to sign up and plan those out ahead of time for accountability. So at the beginning of the week, I sign up online for those classes and then I'll put them on my calendar like it's an appointment and I will show up.

I try to be realistic when I schedule these.  For now, these classes are outside. So I look at the weather. I think about what Lorelei's, nap schedule and feeding schedule looks like that week for that month, whatever she's doing that month.

And then I will sign up for like two to three classes because Again, I used to think like, all right, I'm like an all in kind of person in pretty much everything I do, but that's not always the best idea. So instead of just being like, all right, I'm going to go to workout class every single day, I've learned that this mix of a couple of workouts outside of the house and the rest at home, some outside and on the go, you know, the mix is good for me.

So I challenge you to really work through that and take a look at your week, see what's going to fit for you. And it might be some trial and error. You might do some early morning workouts and be like, wow, that was the absolute worst. I'm never doing that again. Or you might really love it and you'll just like conquer your day and feel so good.  So that's what I do. Take it for what it's worth. Hopefully it'll make working out on this coming season simpler for you.

 All right, sorry if that was all a ramble. I hope you found some value in it.  It's been on my mind lately and truthfully I've been, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back because I was a little nervous starting a new school year with three kids now. But I'm actually pretty proud of myself for how we have handled the last couple of weeks.

And I'm excited to see how this first part of the school year is going to go. If you're like me, you're going to Happy almost fall. I am so over summer. I'm over the weather. I'm over the, the chaos of it all. And I say chaos in the most loving way because summer was so much fun. I loved having some flexibility and I loved the extra time with my family, but I am just not, not someone who can function, with  a lack of a schedule and order.

That's, that's just not who I am. So I love the season. I love fall. I will be drinking pumpkin spice lattes. I don't care if it's 90 degrees out. That's where you can find me. And if you're a Starbucks lover like me, be sure you're in the Motherhood Intended community group because one of my favorite things to give out is coffee and gift cards, whether it's Amazon or Starbucks.  I love rewarding our community because you guys, you listeners and community members are so supportive of Motherhood Intended and we've come such a long way.

I cannot believe that next week. premieres season four of this show. I feel like I just started it yesterday and it's been such a fun ride. I've gotten to interview so many awesome women and hear so many stories and I only hope that they will continue to bring peace and comfort and community your way.

I'm always learning. I'm still learning so much from the guests we have on the show so I hope you are too. I have so many awesome people lined up for this season. So be sure to hit the follow button of the podcast. So every new episode pops right up in your queue. And if you haven't yet, please, please, please leave a review for the show.

If you're listening on Spotify, you just tap the fifth star. If you're listening on the Apple podcast app, it also lets you write a review, give me some feedback, share some kind words. This is so helpful in the podcasting community, not only to get feedback for the show, but to get new eyes on the podcast.

So other women do not feel alone on their journeys to motherhood and beyond. That's all I have for you today. Super excited for the start of season four, and I will talk to you again next week.