Ivyscloset

May is mental health awareness month and I think it is so important to talk about these issues. There has always been a stigma around mental health issues.  I think seeing a therapist is a healthy choice for anyone who needs help for whatever reason. No matter how much or how little you struggle, it is always nice to have an outside perspective and someone to talk to about anything without being judged.  Therapy isn’t for everyone, but it can be for anyone.  I always try to not judge others.  Everyone thinks differently, or handles things differently and has different problems and issues.  Some people are better equipped to deal with problems or unprecedented changes in their life. Others might need someone to lean on, talk to or just someone to hear them out.

Also, some people have a huge support system and others do not.  We have a very small family and I have lost most of my immediate family.  I was lucky to find an amazing therapist (Sandy.)  She listens, she gives me suggestions and she doesn’t sugarcoat things for me. She has helped me understand, I do not have to validate my feelings to others even though not all people will care about your them, the people close to you should and they should respect your feelings. Everyone deserves a “Sandy”….. if they need one.  If you are struggling and need some help, reach out, either to someone you are close with and trust or maybe go see a therapist. You might not connect with the first one you see, but when you do find the “one”…. it can be life changing.   Don’t worry about people judging you.  Your life is more important that someone’s opinion of you. Take care of yourself, physically and mentally!

When you find the perfect tee you buy it in every color…. Or I guess I buy it in every color. These tees are excellent quality and a very reasonable price tag. I am normally a small but, I ordered a medium in these because they are slightly cropped and I wanted a looser fit. Gap is having their friends and family sale right now for 40% off. Links above.

Like a lot of women I always have a million things on my mind. Mine is a little worse because I am ADD. (Bless my poor son, he won wonderful genetic deficiency from me.) But that being said, I am trying to start working more on my blog, but it seems like every time I decide to post something, I cannot stay focused on one subject to write about. So I figured I would start off with my incapability to finish a complete thought without 17 more things popping into my head. I have a friend who is very much like me and I know when people hear us talk they probably thing we are crazy. We start from one subject/ matter… like maybe something with our children, and literally 2 minutes later we have moved on to work, High School, eating out and some article I saw online. We hardly ever finish one conversation without moving into 20 more. So basically we tell each other half of everything. LOL Sometimes I am really quiet around people because I just have so many things streaming through my mind I can’t even stay focused on one to bring into a conversation with others. I probably should take something for this, but after many many years of managing it without any, I find it hard to start now. In general as women and especially mothers we have so many errands, tasks and responsibilities at home to complete in day and also trying to keep up with all the things needed to be done throughout the week at the same time. It is hard to keep up. I am constantly making mental lists of other things that need to be done while completing something in real time. In conclusion, I will be posting more to this blog. But, please be patient with my wondering mind because is constantly making backflips and summersaults and my thoughts stay scattered. 🤪

Sincerely, 

Your scattered minded friend

Fits TTS and love the color! 👆 Wearing a small.

Wearing an XS, runs large

Also fits true to size (wearing a small), would be perfect with black jeans!

Love this color obviously 🤣 also the sleeves, wearing a small

Only $12 from Target! More colors too! Wearing a medium, runs small.

Love this color! Fits TTS, but sized up to a medium

Sweatshirt is super soft and warm, wearing a medium. Love these sneakers too!

Today is International Women’s Day and I had the pleasure of doing a colab video with several amazing ladies! I am very proud to be a woman and so grateful how far women have come and all they have accomplished! We can do anything and really do everything lol! I kid…. the men do a little. 🤣 But really, we couldn’t do it without the support and friendship of other ladies! Happy Celebrating!

We have really enjoyed getting a taste of the northern winter snow…. but at current…. it has lost its luster. 🤪 Thankful for my Kelvin heated jacket to combat the cold outfit and also just in case we lost electricity! Our cities water pipes have frozen and busted, most of the city hasn’t had water in 4-5 days and now school has been closed for the next week due to water outages and contamination. 😬 Also grocery stores are bare since our roads have been frozen over. We have been blessed with electricity during all of this. But I have to say after one full week of being frozen in, working from home, with both boys… finding out we are homeschooling for the next week while working from home has got me feeling edgy! Praying for everyone who is without power and water. Needless to say…I prefer warmer weather and am sooo ready for Spring and Summer!

I know this is not a new concept. But, sometimes we forget when life gets crazy to stop and take a second to connect with our spouse. We have the most adorable, funny, sweet boys. But, they are very strong willed, wild, and basically keep us very busy. And sometimes very stressed. Our relationship definitely takes a back burner between work, school, sports, etc. So, all of this to say, we are trying to make date night a recurring event. For us just to have some time to actually have a conversation when we aren’t trying to do stuff around the house, work, or spending time with the boys. This pic is from our second date night in January and so far we are sticking with our goal to keep this a regular thing. Hoping this will help us to start to connect more and have a stronger marriage. Marriage isn’t all rainbows and sunshine’s, sometimes it is a lot of work. A lot of times it is a lot of work. But definitely worth the time and effort!

Yesterday was my first anniversary from starting my IG and blog. Now I have not been blogging like I would like to, but my goal is to become more invested in this platform this year. It has been an amazing experience through this journey, I have learned so much, made so many new friends and just had fun sharing things I love. I am incredibly grateful for all the support from my IG family and hope this is just the beginning of what is to come. My husband is my photographer and he has been such a Rockstar helping me with creating new content, I definitely could not do this without him. He took these pictures celebrating this anniversary. And it was probably our most problematic photo shoot, but in the end turned out to be hilarious. I had no idea these balloons would be such a hassle, the wind was blowing like crazy and there was no way they were staying in order for one millisecond. After all of the struggle, one balloon decided it was tired of our antics and flew away. Of course my husband was capturing all of this on camera, which at first I wasn’t very thrilled about, but in the end they were really funny. Sometimes the real life struggles, funnies, etc are the best moments.

We rarely get snow here so when we do we make sure to make the most of it.  It started snowing at night so the kids got to play that evening and early the next morning before it all melted away. The funniest part was my 5 year old refused to put on long pants that evening and even took his jacket off while making huge snow balls to build a snowman. An hour in he started staring off to the side at nothing and just starting moaning loudly, I ran to him and he started yelling I am turning into a snowman! I am freezing like a popsicle. I grabbed him up and took him inside and immediately undressed him and got him in towels and blankets by the fire. Then hot chocolate to warm that sweet baby up!

Also getting to enjoy this day with my kids reminded me not to focus on the negativity in the world, in our life, and all of the things that are out of our control. I am blessed with so much. A little background, I grew with very little. And, I worked really hard for everything we have. I am choosing to stop worrying about what happens next and more about what my present and just enjoy how far I have come and my precious family. Every day is a gift and I pray I teach my children to be kind and empathetic human beings who love Jesus and treat everyone equally, even those they do not agree with.

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As always sending love and positive vibes to whomever reads this!

We had the most wonderful trip to Broken Bow. We stayed in a cabin with my sister and her kids. We went on several hikes, the boys fished and ended our nights by the fire roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. It was such a wonderful experience with the kids being able to play in the country and just explore new areas. There is actually a lot to do there outside of just outdoor exploring. My sister took her kids to the petting zoo, they had mini golf and a gold mining company where the kids can pan for gold and other rocks. It definitely is a wonderful place to “staycation” and would recommend to any family or single couple or even a girls/boy trip. My favorite part of the trip was when we were on a hike, the water damn siren started going off and Finn (my youngest) looked back and was like I am sorry for them behind us, not sure if they are going to make it. And he was hustling out of there. Thanks buddy, I don’t think you will end up a first responder or war hero. LOL. Every man for yourself in his eyes!