The pressure of the holiday season is upon us. As Lola is getting older, I do feel pressure to make memories and traditions happen for her. My mom did so many things that completely warm my heart thinking back and I always wonder how did she do it? A single mom with two kids, working full time with serious health issues. Is it that these days, the internet overwhelms us with not only all the things our peers are doing? I would pretty much say this is the case. I almost feel like as moms, we aren’t allowed to enjoy the holiday season because we are so busy doing for others. Me, personally, I love giving gifts. I love thinking about the perfect thing to get someone, having a wrapping theme, shipping out the gifts in advance, sending out our Christmas cards. And you know what’s weird? I actually feel a little guilty for getting joy out of the season! Like because I’m a mom, I’m not allowed to actually enjoy. I think the only way that we can reap the rewards is to do less (this also means activities and events for the kiddos!) and remember that it’s not all the things our kids will remember, it’s the warm and cozy feeling of love and being together. This is my little pep talk from me to you – because I think we all need it going into the holiday season.
I Have A Toxic Trait
This is going to sound strange and maybe a little niche, but I’ve been putting off getting more storage, thinking we could make due and just have/buy less. And if you’ve been reading here, I’ve spoken about my storage woes a lot. Such is life living in 1000 square feet with a kiddo. Well, this is a call to arms. Get the storage if you need it! We just got new storage lockers and it’s freed up clutter around the house, meaning I am sooo much happier and am feeling so much lighter. I tend to put these projects off which is such a flaw of mine but I also give myself grace because it’s hard having to be the do-it-all person when it comes to prepping and organizing all the things (figuratively – Roberto does a lot of the heavy lifting). And sometimes, mama doesn’t have the capacity to figure everything out!!! So, I put it off and torture myself for the longest amount of time possible instead HA. I’m a huge believer in less clutter and organized closets/cupboards to feel that mental peace. Whatever makes more more present and productive, I’m all for.
What Happened To Diversity?
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve been feeling very disillusioned with the lack of diversity I’ve been seeing in the content/marketing/media I’ve been consuming. There was such a huge push and awareness around how important diversity is in 2020, but it’s totally fallen off. Locally, so many brands, content creators, founders putting out content are really only elevating the same look or type of voice. The majority of collaboration opportunities go to those fit into this mold. What the heck happened?! Seeing who gets selected for influencer campaigns, who podcasts are interviewing, who influencer mgmt companies are working with… it’s so same same and it’s not right. We can’t elevate diverse voices if we don’t see their content as part of our content consumption regularly. It’s a cycle. Time and time again I see the same type of creator/founder/influencer selected for opportunities. I’ve done my fair share of messaging these people and brands etc. about this and sometimes it feels like I’m alone in this. We really need to see different viewpoints and this starts with being more vocal about what we want to see.
The Best Christmas Recipes
Safe to say I’m in the Christmas spirit and have all things Christmas on the brain. I’m known for my baking around the holidays. The moment I touch down back home for the hols, my sis knows she better have the copious amounts of butter and brown sugar ready for me! I make 5-6 things that we nibble on all season long. I’m talking for breakfast, lunch and dinner! It’s a bit of a problem. If you want to try some very tried tested and true Christmas baking recipes, here are the ones I make!
- Cinnamon Swirl Loaf – this is our most prized family recipe that I always swore I would never share, and then I did. This one instantly reminds me of my mom.
- Butter Tart Squares – probably my second fave recipe for the hols and the only time I will eat raisins. Doubling the recipe is the only way here.
- Twix Bars – for the caramel, shortbread and choco lovers (I suggest some sea salt on top!)
- Pecan Snowballs – so festive, buttery and the easiest recipe ever.
- Sugar Cookies – an ode to my grandma, I love cutting them into cute shapes and have started decorating them with icing. So fun to do with the kiddos!
There’s more! Keep reading this week’s edition of The Mom Flow by Erin Sousa; subscribe for free to receive new posts and support her work, here!
share:
Be the first to comment