Sass and Sippy Cups

Hi, friends! I know it’s been a while since my last post. I’ve decided that maybe it’s best not to make promises regarding content or frequency of posts. The reason why is super personal, but I feel like I need to share. Hopefully my experience will resonate with someone and we can start a conversation. I’ve mentioned before that I suffer from severe anxiety, and have since I was a kid.   More recently, however, I have experienced symptoms that are making me believe there may be more to it.   Mental health issues run in my family, and I have grown up with my dad suffering from severe depression with suicidal tendencies.   People I’ve known that have suffered from depression have all fit the same stereotypical profile: intensely sad over things that may seem insignificant to everyone else; can’t get out of bed to take care of their basic needs; and even having suicidal thoughts, feeling as though their loved ones would be better off without them.   I never thoug...

I am always the first one to say “let your kid do it.”   It’s always been my thought that if you rob a child of that pride of mastering a new skill, you might be damaging their self-esteem. Or even worse you might be raising an entitled little brat who expects that the world will do everything for them for the rest of their lives. Yes, I went there. Now, letting your child be independent is no easy task. It takes patience (and sometimes a strong stomach) to let your child learn new things that could potentially hurt them, and when you have a kid like mine with a mind of her own, you don’t even have a choice.    Take the other day for example. I’m sitting at my kitchen table scarfing down a bowl of oatmeal in the five minutes of quiet while she watches TV. My inner monologue went something like this: “Ah, quiet. I can have my coffee and my oatmeal and…. HOLY CRAP. Quiet? Not good.” So I ran into her room and what do I see? My 19-month old had used the computer...

Self care is being talked about everywhere these days. There is no denying the physical and mental health benefits of putting ourselves first. But there's also no denying we are all busy as hell. Between work, family, housework, and everything else, who has time to take up a hobby or take a class? There are ways to work in self care regardless of how much time we can spare. At the bare minimum, we can multitask. Listen to a podcast or audiobook on your commute or during your workout. Blast the tunes and have a dance party while doing housework. Grab a pretty bouquet of flowers while you're at the grocery store. I know that when the apartment is clean, candles are lit, and I have pretty flowers to look at, I'm immediately in a better mood. I color my hair at home, so while it processes, I soak in a bath. Here are some ideas if you have some more time: go for a walk sit outside with a drink and read/color/write/do a ...

Are you prone to anxiety and worry? I’ve suffered from anxiety since elementary school. Back then it usually stemmed from bullying by my peers and a desire to do well in school.   As I got older, it became much worse with the passing of loved ones, my father’s declining health, and my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. I went through every day with a never ending list of “what-ifs” running through my head.   As every situation passed, I remained vigilant, thinking that if I allowed myself to calm down or even –GASP-- be happy, something bad would come along and ruin it.  I Can’t Control the Weather, Can You? I’ve come to realize that the majority of the things that made me anxious and -sometimes still do- stem from other people and THEIR circumstances.   Things like my husband’s job, my parents’ health, and how my actions might affect others.   While it’s obviously not a bad thing to be considerate, I tend to go a little overboard, many times neglec...