Ever have that feeling of being stuck?

Like the world is spinning around you, but you can’t make sense of it all?

I see you mama. I know you’re stuck. I’m stuck too.

The world’s most recent events with Covid-19 and quarantine have been the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced. I turn off the news and create this little bubble inside our home, but then the constant “Mom! Mom!” I hear reminds me that my kids are at home when they should be in school.

We’re all surviving right now. We’re all just getting by. And if that doesn’t look perfect to you… that’s okay. Life isn’t perfect.

But here are some tips on what has helped me keep my sanity during this time. (Some may contain affiliate links, but I promise, they are all for fun.)

• Coffee. All the Coffee. My personal favorite right now is Dunkin’ Donuts in BULK. Made at home, of course. Just keep the pot going.

• A good book. Seriously. Pick up a book you can get lost in. I’m currently reading The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand and I just finished All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin. I couldn’t put it down. I also recommend reading the actual book and not the kindle version, if you can. Our eyes look at screens enough during the day.

• A good Biblestudy. A friend and I are currently reading through Proverbs together. Every morning, I wake up, and it’s the first thing I do. It’s helped me start my mind in the right place each day. I use the First5 app for this. It’s a great way to connect with others and start your day out right.

• Wine. All the wine. When the coffee runs out, it’s time for wine. Ha. If I’m being completely honest, I’ve probably had TOO much wine lately. I start each day thinking, I’ll go today without having any. Then 5 o’clock rolls around and I’m waiving the white flag to surrender. You do it too. We all do. Be honest. And in case you didn’t know, you can now have it shipped to your house. We’ve been using Vivino and finding great deals on bulk orders of our favorites. You’re welcome.

• Water. Since we are on the topic. Because I’m drinking so much coffee and wine lately, I’ve really tried to up my water game. I mean, I have to physically survive still, right? A bottle with a time marker has been a HUGE help in keeping me on track. I actually made myself a rule… If I don’t finish two of these… then I’m not allowed to pour myself a glass of wine. So at least I’m hydrated?

• Insta-cart. This. is. a. life. saver. Seriously…. even outside of Covid-19… I’d, pretty sure this is saving me SO much time from not going to the grocery store, especially toting two kids with me. They always deliver within a few hours and text back and forth the whole time with any replacements. If you haven’t tried it, you need to.

• An outlet. I’ll admit, I’ve had trouble with this one. As a stay-at-home mom, my immediate attention has been turned towards the kids. All the school work. All the house cleaning. All the meals. All the dishes. SO. Many. Dishes. We need an outlet for ourselves. Something to focus on. That is why I turned back to this blog. Somewhere to get my thoughts out. I love this community and the passion behind it. I am like you. You are like me. We connect in this way. Thinking of creating a blog of your own for the same reason? I highly recommend The Ultimate Branding Blueprint for a step-by-step on how to build one. It was a life saver getting this one started.

There you have it. My tips for sanity. But as you can tell… I still don’t feel completely sane all the time. Do any of us?? If you have any more tips to add… anything that has helped you, I’d love to hear about them below. Lord knows this Mama can use the help too!

We are knocking out our Georgia Bucket List this year and it feels great! The weather hasn’t exactly been agreeing with us, so we needed to head somewhere inside. We decided to take A Day Trip to Fernbank.

The trip itself took just under an hour for us and we decided it was worth the value to purchase a Family Membership. If we go back at least one more time, it’s worth the extra $30.

I hadn’t been to Fernbank since I was a little kid, but I was very impressed with how it is geared toward families.

We decided to catch the iMAX film of Flying Monsters in 3D. It was all about the evolution of flying dinosaurs. Pro Tip for the littles that have a hard time sitting through it: bring dum dums.

Ryder’s favorite part was the interactive play area. It was fun and educational at the same time.

And Sadie’s favorite was the interactive science area. We were able to do all sorts of experiments from large bubbles to sound domes.

There was also a Live animal encounter that Sadie loved and we learned the differences between lizards and snakes.

Overall, we had the best time on a Day Trip to Fernbank. We can’t wait to head back as it warms up to explore their 75 acres of outdoor adventures!

Who’s watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo? I see you raising your hand. Don’t worry. I caught the bug too. It’s kind of like watching Hoarders, only better, because she gives simple tips and a process to follow. So you bet your bottom, I got on board. And I knew just where to start…. Tidying up a little boys room.

Not just any little boy. Mine of course. Since he just turned THREE.. and basically made the switch from 2T to 3T what felt like overnight. I’m not crying. You’re crying.

So I got to work. And guess what? It only took me about two hours TOPS. That was with a snack break. I followed her tips exactly. Pulled out EVERY single item in his closet and drawers. Went through one by one deciding… not only if it fit… but if it brought me joy. Since I still dress him, I wasn’t keeping any clothes that didn’t bring me joy to see on him.

Here’s a little bit of what BEFORE Tidying up a Little Boys Room looked like:

And then.. two hours later… Here’s the AFTER:

And here are a few of my favorite items:

I still have a lot way to go in decorating his room. But for now, he loves it. I’d love to know, what have you used for tidying up a little boys room?

We did it! We marked our first item off our Georgia Bucket List. We took a trip to Toccoa Falls with kids. Here’s why you should too.

New Years day I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise. Well, let’s be honest… I woke up WAY to early to my kids yelling for me… but then I got to experience the most beautiful sunrise. #worthit

It was a gorgeous day and surprisingly warm for Georgia, so we knew we wanted to get outside. We decided to kick off one of our 2019 goals right now… which is to travel around Georgia with our kids more. So we picked a place we had been wanting to check out for a while that is kid friendly… we took a trip to Toccoa Falls with kids.

Toccoa Falls is about 30 minutes away from where we live. It’s actually located on the Toccoa Falls College Campus, but is easily accessible by public during daylight hours.

I’ll be completely honest, I was expecting a small hike. I knew, from research, that it was okay for kids to walk, but I was still expecting a small hike. Not at all. As we drove up to the Welcome Center (which was closed at the time) you can actually see the waterfall from the road.

So we all piled out of the car, not even worrying about the stroller for our 3-year-old and headed up the short path along the river. Perfect falls to check out with young kids.

While we’re being honest here. I also totally thought it was going to be smaller than it was. I knew it would be pretty, but my expectations were low for some reason. This may have been one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen. Honestly. It was just such a beautiful and simple sight.

The kids loved climbing the rocks, skipping rocks in the river, and we got a few photo ops when possible. So if you’re in the North Georgia area, make sure you take a trip to Toccoa Falls with your kids. It’s an easy stop and you won’t regret it.

One of our goals for this year is to travel more. And while we would love to get out and see the whole world… let’s be honest, that’s not so easy with two small kids(ages 6 and 3). The price of travel for a family of four ain’t cheap! And even though I grew up in Georgia, I had no clue all that was within a drive. So I set off to find where to travel around Georgia with young kids.T

So we’ve made a Family Bucket List of all the places to Travel around Georgia with Young Kids.

I challenge you to do the same! Wherever you live, create a bucket list for your area. And challenge yourself or your family to get out and explore your backyard. Create your Bucket List wherever it may be… and link it below!

So here it is… our list of Where to Travel Around Georgia with Young Kids. 

• Toccoa Falls, Georgia 
• Brasstown Bald, Georgia (Bell Mountain)
• Cloud Land Canyon
• Chattanooga, TN
• Callaway Gardens
• Dahlonega, Georgia
• Helen, Georgia (Tubing)
• Amicolola Falls
• Elachee Nature Center (Oakwood, GA)
• Rock city gardens 
• Savannah, Georgia
• Raven Cliffs
• Providence canyon state park 
• The Bellwood quarry
• Cumberland island
• Fernbank Museum
• Georgia Aquarium 
• Atlanta Zoo
• Tallulah – Suspension bridge and Hurricane Falls
• Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park
• Six Flags over Georgia

If you were to make a list of Where to Travel around Georgia with Young Kids, where would you go?