Issue #10 - Shifting out of a bad mental state, weekly meal plan, and reinventing motherhood.

I was in a bad, but familiar, mental state at the end of last week and wanted to share the three things that helped me shift quickly.

Towards the end of this week, I was in a bad mental state for the first time in a while.

It was a mix of things. But when boiled down it’s loss of freedom that brings me to this place. And right now, the current state of my body at 29 weeks pregnant has major limitations. I didn’t feel these physical limitations as much with my first two pregnancies but having two children to take care of while pregnant, you don’t really have the option to rest even when your body is screaming at you to sit down.

And then there’s the fact I decided to take my 2.5-year-old out of childcare since I haven’t been working and won’t work until the end of year, and that’s me being optimistic. Taking care of her during the day part is pretty easy, thankfully.

What gets me most, mentally, with looking after tiny humans is that I don’t really enjoy doing tiny human things. Honestly, I find most of it pretty boring and I also really don’t love being bored. This means I start spending way too much time on my phone while my kids play independently. No bueno for the mental state.

If you’re new here, or maybe haven’t read the newsletter in a while, I had postpartum depression for nearly a year and a half after my second daughter was born, you can read more about that experience in the post below.

10 Things That Helped my Postpartum Depression

But Friday I caught myself slipping under the depression fog and did these three things that helped me shift pretty quickly to feeling good again.

1. Tell someone how you’re feeling and ask for help.

Easily the hardest step for me but always the most beneficial. I talked to my husband and I asked for some things that I needed to try and feel better. One of which was for him to clean the house which is super difficult for me to do right now because I’m seven months pregnant and bending down to pick up toys just isn’t in the cards for me any longer. I also let him know that I was going to wake up Saturday morning and go out to run errands alone. So while I was out, he cleaned the house with our girls and bribed them with playground time after they helped him clean.

2. Word vomit all the bad thoughts, feelings, and worries into my journal.

I don’t know what the science is here but I swear, the thoughts and worries in my head lose so much power when I write them down or speak them out loud to someone. It’s almost like putting them on paper removes them from my head so I can move on. Saturday morning I also wrote the things I’d like to be saying to myself and thinking about instead after getting everything negative out and that’s helped too.

One thing I like to say to myself in these times too is, “I’m open to seeing things differently.” This is something I learned from Amanda Frances. But it helps shift from negativity to curiosity.

3. Find something to look forward to.

The thing that was bumming me out most was how much I was reaching for my phone this week. So while I was out Saturday morning I went to Michaels and got myself some art supplies that will keep my hands busy doing something while she is independently playing, watching a movie, or on the playground. Anything to get my phone time down. I got an embroidery loop kit, some oil pastels, and a paint-by-numbers kit! They all seemed low-key enough and portable-ish to bring outside or from room to room. I’ll be sure to report back, probably mostly over on my Instagram stories!

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Here’s what I’m making for dinner this week:

Monday

Herbed Salmon with potatoes and asparagus (we make this one almost every Monday)

Tuesday

Coconut Curry Chicken in the Crockpot (a favorite recipe on repeat!)

Wednesday

Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin with potatoes and broccoli

Thursday

Leftovers (making extra coconut curry chicken!)

Friday

Crockpot Pork Shoulder Carnitas Tacos

Back in December of last year we implemented this one simple strategy for dinner and it’s quite literally changed our lives. I wrote an entire post about it, you can read the whole thing below!

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Happy Easter! 🐰🐣

It’s Easter today! And while our family does not celebrate religiously I love any excuse to do something out of the ordinary for the kids. And while historically, the thought of making Easter baskets and Valentine’s basket and even Christmas used to overwhelm me and stress me the EFF out - now it’s something that brings me so much joy it shocks me,

I loved putting these baskets together for my girls and it really made me think about how at any moment we are fully allowed to reinvent ourselves. This time last year, I rolled my eyes and scoffed at the idea of having to make baskets for the kids. This year, it made me so happy. What’s true for us at one time, doesn’t mean we have to stay that way, or think that way forever. And also, if you are a mom who feels so much stress and anxiety over things like Easter baskets, don’t do them! Let yourself off the hook. Maybe, like me, next year will feel different. Maybe it won’t. In our currently digital, Instagram-able world, it’s so easy to get swept up in the comparison game as moms and one major thing I did as I came out of my postpartum depression was lean super hard into my own intuition when it comes to parenting. When things feel exciting and joyful, I do them.

P.S. Thinking about making three baskets next year had me weepy several times today. My girls had the best time finding eggs all over our backyard this morning.

Shameless Plug Time!

Did you know I have an Amazon storefront? Shop my faves here.

Also, if you missed it above, I’m doing 50% off yearly paid subscriptions this weekend!

See you next week, same place, same time!

Casey