This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Achieving goals and working on self development is good for our self-esteem and mental health. But as a young mom in the trenches of raising babies, sometimes it feels like there's no time left for me personally to devote to the things I'm interested in (let's be honest, some days it's a struggle just to shower). Luckily, self care doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. In fact there’s plenty I can do right from home, in the midst of my busy day!

1. Wake up early

Most days, my kids are my alarm--and it's rare for them to sleep in past 7am. That means I wake up and immediately have to jump into "mom mode." There’s no time for me to relax and have some peace and quiet by myself. No starting my morning with a shower, reading my Bible, or sipping coffee without little hands grabbing for it. Recently, I heard that waking up early is something that most successful people have in common. Waking early puts you in a positive frame of mind to start the day. You essentially get a headstart on everyone else--you’re up, awake and ready while most people are still snoozing in bed. So I've been thinking about getting up an hour before my kids usually do to give myself a little precious "me time" that lets me ease into my morning calmly, and maybe even get some stuff done before the chaos begins!

2. Keep self-educating

Education is more accessible than ever. You don’t need to physically go to a university or college and pay a high-priced tuition...you can learn all kinds of things right from the comfort of your home. Education is a great way to improve your skills, sharpen your brain, and increase your employability. Whether your goal is to get a neonatal nursing degree through online courses, learn about real estate investing through podcasts, or figure out how to tile your own backsplash with the help of YouTube tutorials, learning from home is flexible and in many cases free.

3. Clear your mind

Your frame of mind is everything. If you’re constantly stressed and anxious, it takes a toll. Raising young kids leads to many moments during the day when emotions run high. It's important to find some ways to help you clear your mind and let go of stress, so you can feel at peace in the midst of those everyday struggles. Praying helps me personally. Listening to relaxing music, meditating and journalling are also good ways to do this. You might also find a hobby you enjoy that you can lose yourself in: perhaps writing, drawing, cooking, baking, or knitting. These activities can build your skills while helping you to relax, unwind, and clear your mind.

People - all of us - can all too easily find ourselves swamped by the rush of the everyday and will end up struggling to deal with the relentless nature of 21st-century life. It’s well worth devoting time and mindspace to relaxation, finding exercises that help you wind down and even checking out vetted reviews of top CBD products for help in the process. You deserve to feel at ease, though it isn’t always easy to remember that in this day and age.

4. Work out from home

A healthy body is just as important as a healthy mind, and we all know working out should a part of our normal routine...but for young parents in this busy season of life, it can be hard to get to the gym, or even find time for a run or a walk. But you don’t necessarily have to leave the house to get exercise. There are plenty of home workouts you can find on YouTube, and activities like yoga don't require much in terms of equipment. You can even let your kids join in (guaranteed to be pretty cute)!

5. Get organized

Getting organized helps to keep stress levels down and makes you feel on top of your life. Declutter your home, find the right storage solutions for the things you need and discard the rest. Use to-do lists, either on paper or on your phone. Get your bills organized, and write grocery lists so you go shopping with a plan. These small things can make a big difference to the way you feel, and your life in general.

What are little things you do to take care of your well-being?

This post is written in collaboration with Homeaway/VRBO.

About a month ago, we met up with some friends for a long weekend in Leavenworth, WA. It's a charming Bavarian-style village nestled in the Cascade Mountains, right in the middle of Washington state, and it's especially beautiful in the winter. The plan was to meet up with two couples from Seattle that we really miss, for a weekend of catching up and relaxing. We booked ourselves a great Homeaway/VRBO right on the river, with mountain views, a hot tub, and a giant table for games. The place was truly gorgeous. But weellll, everything else didn't exactly go accordingly to plan. I told Ben this weekend was like that game "fortunately, unfortunately." You'll see...the story just keeps going on and on (and I'm going to tell you the simplified version).

Fortunately, Ben took a couple days off work and we were going to meet up with friends we haven't seen in awhile! Unfortunately, the week before, Emmett got sick with a high fever and flu symptoms. Fortunately, he got better just in time for our trip and his temperature was back to normal. Unfortunately, one of our friends (who is in grad school) had to stay home over the weekend to catch up on an overwhelming load of schoolwork. Also, our other friends' dog started having seizures the day before so they weren't sure if they'd make it. We were feeling really disappointed...but we figured that even if no one else showed up, we'd still get to have a family vacation. And fortunately, our vacation rental was really gorgeous and in a great location.

Unfortunately, the first night there Ian got sick. Throwing up, diarrhea, the works. :( Fortunately, by morning he seemed to be fine and happy. Our friends' dog was also better so they decided to come. We went into town and explored a little. Things were looking up!

this cute little walk-up counter had great coffee.

Our friends arrived, and we all hung out, chatted, and played some games. Unfortunately, that night I started to feel a little queasy. I went to bed early, hoping that would help, buuuut I threw up in the middle of night. Fortunately, I felt much better after that so I thought maybe I just had a quick bug.

Unfortunately, I threw up again in the morning. We decided to go home. Fortunately, the kids were being total troopers in the car and Ben and I were having some good conversation (we always have good talks on road trips). Unfortunately, we got stuck in standstill traffic due to a semi that had rolled over and caught on fire earlier that day, Turns out, traffic had already been stopped for two hours by the time we got there and the road still wasn't cleared up. Fortunately, we were near an exit and Ben was able to get off the freeway and find an alternate route. Unfortunately, by that time the kids were breaking down crying and I was feeling nauseous again. By the time we got home, everyone was exhausted. Fortunately, we made it safe...but unfortunately I was sick for the next two days.

the view from our Homeaway

And THAT is the long story of the most dramatic and ill-fated vacation I've ever taken!!! We tried so hard to stay positive, but it just wasn't meant to be. I have a few photos from the first day we arrived to show you how lovely this area is. I will say, if you're going to get sick on vacation, at LEAST have it be in a beautiful vacation rental with a view!!!

And multiple bathrooms, lol. I can only imagine if we had been stuck in a tiny hotel room...it would have been SO MUCH worse!

Even though things didn't go quite as I planned, I still enjoyed parts of our vacation. Our Homeaway/VRBO was awesome, with tall ceilings, a gorgeous view of the river, a fully stocked kitchen, a hot tub (that I never got to enjoy, but at least Ben did!), and plenty of space for our whole group. It was pretty affordable too, especially once we split it three ways. We love staying in vacation rentals instead of hotels if we're meeting up with friends, because we can put the kids to bed and have a common area for the adults to all hang out in. Having a kitchen always saves us money too!

big helper in the kitchen ;)

What's the craziest vacation you've ever taken? Does my story take the cake, or do you have one that'll make me feel better??? Ben and I usually have good luck on vacations; we tend to get sunny weather even if the forecast called for rain, and our kids overall behave pretty well on trips. But man, this one was a doozy, if I'm being honest!!!

Thanks to the Novogratz for sending me these products to review. All opinions are my own.

I'm always on the lookout for affordable shops with good design...and one of my recent faves is the Novogratz shop. We bought Ian's bed and rug from them because they're fun, stylish, and truly budget-friendly (see Ian's bedroom here). Husband-wife design duo Cortney and Robert Novogratz are known for their bold, colorful, artsy interiors, and the pieces in their Novogratz line align perfectly with that. I will admit that I'm personally not a big risk-taker when it comes to color, but when they reached out to me about styling their new Kelly storage bed, I immediately LOVED the emerald green color. The fact that this is a storage bed makes it even better, especially for a kids room where hidden storage is so necessary (you can see how the drawers pull out on their website).

I paired the bed with the Novogratz Addison nightstand and their Edgar desk lamp. I grabbed a mint green pillow to go with the emerald green...I really like the tone-on-tone look. I used neutrals throughout the rest of the room to keep the vibe soft and calm. The chunky knit blanket came from our bedroom just for the photos.

So who's sleeping in this bed right now? No one yet, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with the Novogratz! I also knew that eventually, we'd need another bed. Especially since we're getting our house ready to be a short term vacation rental, we thought it would be smart to put a twin bed in the nursery along with Emmett's crib. It helps us maximize the bed count, and it actually makes his room more cozy! We already have two Airbnb bookings coming up, so I'll report back and let you know how everything goes.

Have you bought anything from the Novogratz shop yet? I'd definitely recommend giving them a look, especially if you're looking for affordable furniture for kids rooms, setting up an Airbnb, etc. We've been very happy with both the beds we've ordered! Great style for a super attainable price.

Things are arriving for our kids bathroom remodel, and we are about to get started on the demo! This is happening...yay!!! But first, I wanted to share a couple before pictures of what this room looks like as of today. I didn't want to rent a wide angle lens for the before pictures, so we're working with some grainy phone pics here, sorry. But you get the gist: standard oak vanity, speckled brown countertop, tan walls, and builder grade tiles. It's functional, but has pretty much zero personality and style. I cannot wait to make it prettyyyy!

I'm STILL trying to decide on a mirror! I don't actually hate the simple frameless mirror that's here. But I don't like the plastic clips that it's mounted with. What do you think, is there hope for a basic mirror if I find a more appealing way to hang it? Or if I buy a new mirror, what would you go with? This is my top contender right now...it's a simple rectangle with a thin metal frame. I also love this mirror from Rejuvenation, but it's quite a bit more expensive, and I keep reminding myself...this is a kid's bathroom.

Want a hint of what the after bathroom will look like? Here are a few of the elements that have arrived so far.

Patterned tiles, chrome faucet, marble top for the vanity (this is the sidesplash), and wood ledges for above the toilet. I think we're going to paint the walls a very light grey, and there will also be a good dose of blue in this room with the painted vanity!

For those of you wondering which style we ended up with, THIS is the vanity we decided on. Navy seemed like a good compromise between using color and keeping it classic. I knew we wouldn't get sick of it over the years, and we could make it feel younger or more sophisticated with the surrounding accessories. I really debated between this vanity and the other navy option (Robertson). I liked the modern aesthetics of that one, but we chose the Keller vanity because it had more storage space. We knew that storage would be essential for a kids bathroom, especially as they get older. After seeing it in person, I think we made the right choice! It's beautiful and really high quality. I think it will be a great centerpiece for this bathroom. I can't waaiiiit to see the whole room come together. It's going to be quite the transformation!

P.S. If you missed my first post about our bathroom plans (and all the vanities we considered), you can catch up here.