My husband and I met about three months after I started my career. We got married a couple years later and our family life began! As a mother of five very active boys, we have an incredibly challenging lifestyle. I am now what I like to think is a recovering professional. The thing is – I love having a career and a purpose outside of my family. But if you feel the same way – you know what I mean when I say that finding balance seems impossible. And to some extent – it is. Many of us will ever achieve perfect balance all the time. Unless we were born into wealth, we don’t have round-the-clock housekeepers and nannies to cover as our back-up. So being a working mom means we have to juggle sports practices & games with eating healthy, working and finding time for fun things that keep us sane. The key isn’t to having perfect balance, but rather in finding enough balance to enjoy each day. Am I right?
As I struggled to find balance, with each beautiful addition to our family, I discovered that the career path I had chosen was a huge problem for me. Although a part of me loved my job, it was too hard to separate work from home. And it was too hard to find enough hours in the day. For a long time, I started to resent my chosen path. I felt trapped and frankly – I was miserable.
In the course of trying to find some tools to help me cope, I literally stumbled upon an amazing opportunity. As I was buying products from a wellness company that I truly loved, I found solutions for our family that extended far beyond any one fad. I discovered that the world of essential oils and naturally-derived, plant-based products helped our family.
In some capacities, they just took some of the stress off of life. We were sick less, happier, sleeping better, and feeling better. The company I found is about so much more than essential oils. If you know anything about the industry, you may know exactly what company I’m talking about. This company offers personal care products, supplements, natural cleaning options, and so much more. It literally began to positively change every part of our life and our home.
As I began to brag up my love for all of these changes and how we benefited from them, others around me joined in the wellness movement. Soon, I had a blossoming side hustle. And a side hustle turned into a part-time business for me. Maybe someday it will be more. But in the end, it’s a place where I’ve found passion about helping others find solutions, where I’ve built beautiful friendships & where I’ve found an outlet for a little piece of my heart.
How does that tie into balance? You’re probably wondering how finding another “job” would bring me balance – right? That’s the crazy part, doing this never feels like a job. For one thing, I can fit it into the spare time I have. And you can’t imagine how much feeling healthier increases your energy & capacity to be your best self. That alone opened up an amazing space for me.
But a huge part was in finding a second source of income. Remember that career I had started to despise? Well it turned out that cutting way back in my hours and finding a tweaked niche of that career allowed me to keep that part of my life, without compromising on our family’s budget. Instead of cutting back (which I had seriously contemplated), we were able to start taking meaningful vacations.
Looking back – it honestly seems too good to be true. I never knew I could find so much JOY in my daily life.
Out of all of that transformation for me as a person – this blog was born. Raising 5 Boys may seem like a little bit of a hodge-podge of content. But that’s life – if we’re honest! Life is a little bit of food, a little bit of finding the joy, finding our best self, and finding community!
The more people that I helped through my side hustle, the more I realized that my story was worth sharing because if it helps just ONE person, then creating this blog was well-worth the effort! And so Raising 5 Boys was born. My goal is to empower you to take charge of your life. To find JOY. And to LIVE your life to the fullest! Whatever that may mean for you & your family.
Maybe it’s a recipe that warms your family’s belly.
Maybe it’s an article that helps you take control of your emotional balance and find more joy.
Maybe it’s laughing over the struggles of raising a larger family.
Maybe it’s relating to me as a boy-mom.
Regardless of why and how we connect, I am glad you’re here. And I hope you enjoy the journey!!!