A Gutsy Girl

Heal your gut. Heal your life.

Mompreneur

Fixing

Filed Under: Inspire, Love, Mompreneur, Wellness

I’ve been feeling it for awhile…..that something needed fixing, but I wasn’t sure what. 

And then on Thursday, May 3, 2018, it all started to surface. The way it surfaced was the least desired way imaginable, but nonetheless it happened. 

My very first step was admitting – in a real and honest way with myself and in discussion with Ryan – that fixing had to happen.

The problem? I still couldn’t fully put my finger on it. 

Part I of this story/process was: Healing vs Wholeness.

Part II is: Fixing. 

Fixing

Click HERE to save this post for later.

Even though I couldn’t put my finger on what was happening, what I could understand is the part that said, “everything has become too much.” 

I wanted to make a change, but wasn’t sure of the right changes, so I just started.

I closed down paleoishmama stating, “I learned some hard lessons this past week, and with them, decided on ACTION vs. TALKING. One small step and then the next. I started Paleoishmama after someone made the comment to me on my personal Instagram that they didn’t care about food or food I was creating, sharing, and eating. When I separated the “lives,” I only created more (pointless) work. And for who? For what? Certainly not for me. And what happens when you create work like that? Right. It takes away from all the other meaningful (MEANT TO) work you should be doing. @sarahkayhoffman is who I am, and if a food pic, two, or a hundred goes up there, then so be it. I have enjoyed getting to know the paleoish community here, and I’d still love to connect via @sarahkayhoffman (personal) + @agutsygirl (all the gut). But for today, I’m signing off here. Xox

After that undesirable conversation on May 3 happened, I felt like I personally needed fixing. But then I stumbled upon this brilliance from Alexander Den Heijer, and I have read it daily ever since.

Fixing www.sarahkayhoffman.com flower grow quote quotes

I don’t need fixing. My environment; both personally and professionally, though, does need fixing.

It’s been a month of me sitting on all of this, and over the weekend I started making decisions and making plans for how fixing would, could, and will happen.

I started by addressing my professional life (because I already know what needs to be done in my personal life, and that post is coming soon). 

I listed out each and every single client, what I do for each, and how many hours per week. Then, I dug deep to realize the pieces of each work that I love doing most. 

And what happened? 

It became very clear to me that I have far too many clients with far too many tasks. My brain runs with 1,000 tabs open a day, essentially leaving me too empty to give the best pieces of me to anyone.

I began subtracting. I took my list of things I loved doing on a daily basis; those that were most in alignment with this season of life and how I want to grow after it, and kept them. And then, even though it was hard, made the decision to let go of other clients.

I returned to this simple idea:

When things aren't adding up, start subtracting. sarahkayhoffman.com

I am going to learn to be perfectly okay with less clients and less projects, at least during this season of life. 

Here’s the thing that’s really interesting about less clients and fewer tabs open in my mind…..when I realized fixing needed to happen, it didn’t start here. 

It was never about work – about there being too much or that I don’t love it a thousand fold. 

Work was just a product of the chaos and not the chaos itself.  

It is completely like healing the gut. Bloating is just a symptom. SIBO is even just a symptom. I have had to (and currently still am) dig super hard and deep to find the root where fixing needs to happen.

Likewise, I think I discovered the root in this area of my life, too.

I’ll share it soon. I can promise it’s not what you think.

p.s. You may have noticed that I skipped the May 2018 Chat Over Bone Broth this month. I’ll be back for it in June.

Xox,
SKH

New Spaces

Filed Under: 101 Days of Blogging, Inspire, Love, Mompreneur, Our Home, Wellness Tagged With: , , ,

It’s been several months of new spaces for us, and yesterday I entered yet another.

Back in January via my delish 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake recipe, I shared that I was looking for an office studio space. I mentioned,

So today, and last week, and every single day until I find it…..I am officially looking for office studio space – a working environment away from the home where I’m able to have a better balance of “work” time then “home” time because it’s something I have not had for years.

Recently, I shared that I had found my space, but that I wasn’t ready to share it quite yet.

I’m glad I chose to wait because the spot I had picked out ended up not completely working out. Not “completely” because it’s not the spot I wanted, but I’m still working with the same owner, and that was also kind of important to me.

Anyways, my original spot was one large open room. It needed work and a lot of clutter removal. I was totally cool with it, though, because the space itself came with charm.

It didn’t work out, and that’s probably okay because the new office studio space I got is much bigger, perfectly clean and ready to move into (today!), and has everything I’ll need for all pieces to my business (clients, photography, styling, other content creation, designing, copy, and then, of course, this blog + the very limited health coaching I still do, and Beautycounter).

New Spaces

Yesterday I got the keys to the new place. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment, complete with a full kitchen and bathroom, and it even has a dishwasher, which I find to be hilarious because our rental house doesn’t even have that.

I went yesterday just to stand in the apartment and soak up my vision for what I want to do with it, and how I want to fully utilize the full space (if I’m paying for it, might as well use all of it).

It’s hard to imagine if you’re not there, but these pictures give a rough idea of what the place looks empty.

Here is what I’m going to do with it:

  1. The living room: Photography. I love shooting in natural light, and the large window will accommodate that perfectly. That said, because there is just one large window in the room, I can black it out if needed, once I get the appropriate tools to shoot in setups other than natural lighting. A simple table and my shooting gear will live here.  New Spaces www.sarahkayhoffman.com Living Room
  2. The kitchen: Recipe development, cooking, baking, clean up. I don’t know how I ever thought I might be able to do without a kitchen at my fingertips. The ease of making something and walking 15 steps to shoot it will be priceless. Also, all that cupboard storage for the multiple food shipments I receive on a monthly basis. You can never have enough kitchen space. New Spaces www.sarahkayhoffman.com Kitchen
  3. Bedroom 1: Props storage. When looking for a place, this was one of the things I was most concerned about. In California, all my props lived in several bins on a huge rack we had in the garage. Over the years I’ve collected so many props, and I use them constantly. It was a pain in California, though, because I’d have to gather from outside, bring in to our house, and then return outside again at the end of the day (even if I had more to do the following day). Again, my props will live 15 steps away from where I’ll shoot. My goal is to have all props organized for super easy pulling, depending on the shoot needs. Also, now I can buy more, and I have a vision for that, too 🙂  New Spaces www.sarahkayhoffman.com Bedroom 1
  4. Bedroom 2: My office. Yes, my own room and own office. Do you remember seeing this farm table in the kid’s playroom?  My Favorites Issue 4 sarahkayhoffman.com Samarah, Isaiah, Amiya I might try to make this my office desk. I always knew that once we moved from California, I’d take it for myself, but I wasn’t sure how. I’m hoping it works as my desk. My office will have all the things I need for day-to-day business like an office would have. New Spaces www.sarahkayhoffman.com Bedroom 2

There is this little space in the kitchen for a small table. I’m going to get a table of sorts for this space. Why? Because it can be dual-acting: prepared food extras (for when I need to grab ‘n go for styling) and also for when I want to invite someone over for coffee or lunch. Seriously. It’s going to be quiet in there (which is what I’ve needed), but my plan is to make it cute, cozy, and invite-able.  New Spaces www.sarahkayhoffman.com Kitchen table area

I am creative, but when new spaces feel cozy and charming, I’m inspired and the creativity runs wild.

Basic. Like any other 2 bedroom apartment in rural Minnesota. 

But I finally have a space that’s all mine to separate work and home (and produce, produce, produce!), and I could not be more excited about new spaces. Once it’s all set up (at least structurally, I’m guessing it will constantly be a work in progress), I’ll share what it looks like.

p.s. via a private Studio Spaces Pinterest board, I’ve been saving some ideas, but I’d love yours, too! Do you have your own office space? Where did you find the stuff for it? I’m craving a big, beautiful color wheel, for starters.

p.s.s. Speaking of new spaces, moving into our “new” house is getting closer and closer. I can’t wait to share it with you! In the meantime, I keep adding new ideas to two Pinterest boards you might enjoy: Our New House (I started this one a long time ago, but the recent pins are most relevant) + Kid Rooms (Why do I have only one board for all 3 of our kids? Because I’m not doing any woo-woo “themed” rooms i.e. princesses. I want all their rooms to be a classic, classy, mostly neutral and clean look.)

Xox,
SKH

If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.

These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.

Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts

  1. Beginnings are Scary
  2. Change Pain Point
  3. Making Sense of Change
  4. Gratitude Journal
  5. Love Your Baby Girl
  6. Little Things Add Up
  7. House and Home
  8. Sunday Reflections
  9. Two
  10. Chocolate Shake
  11. 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
  12. Chaos is a Temporary State
  13. Thirsty Thursday
  14. Month One
  15. The Nudge to Connect
  16. 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
  17. One Box at a Time
  18. Good Enough is Enough
  19. There is No Dishwasher
  20. WWDW Number 8
  21. Move Initiated
  22. Sharing My Journey
  23. Back with the Tribe
  24. Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
  25. January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
  26. Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
  27. Let There Be Light
  28. Forgot About Rae
  29. Smiles
  30. Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
  31. 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
  32. Escaping People
  33. Coming Home
  34. 105 in 1,095
  35. 40 Before 40
  36. When Change Was Coming
  37. Behavior Correction
  38. Embracing Motherhood
  39. Two Things for Lent
  40. Gluten Free Recipe Roundup Six
  41. Breakdown to Breakthrough
  42. 18 Things About Me
  43. Still Hope
  44. Month Two
  45. Pain is Not Weakness Leaving the Body
  46. Too Much Stuff
  47. Small Changes
  48. Can Wait
  49. Seven
  50. Halfway Mark
  51. Squad Goals
  52. Do We Really Change?
  53. February Catch Up Over Bone Broth
  54. Unplanned
  55. 2018 Natural Products Expo West

2018 Natural Products Expo West

Filed Under: 101 Days of Blogging, Inspire, Love, Mompreneur, Special Diets, Wellness Tagged With: , ,

The 2018 Natural Products Expo West show is my 5th consecutive one. It’s also the 5th year I’ve been on the Official Expo West Blogging Team.

As part of the official blogging team, I have one main task.  That task is to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts and come back with my Top 3 overall picks from the show. It’s not easy. There are over 3,000 exhibitors.

If you click HERE, it will take you to five years of thoughts on the show and products I’ve found.

Natural Products Expo West is my favorite event I attend all year because it hits every single side of my business. In a matter of just a few days I’m able to network with current and potential ‘Content Creation + Digital Storytelling‘ clients, find new products to recommend and brands to work with for YOU – right here on my own blog, meet with amazing and talented individuals who I’ll then hopefully hire for client work, network with anyone and everyone in the industry, and simply just see all my industry friends and acquaintances. 

All the things I love wrapped up in a crazy-busy few days.

Here are some pre-show things for this year, and some tips for both attendees and brands that I’ve gathered over the years.

2018 Natural Products Expo West

Click HERE to save this post for later.

2018 Natural Products Expo West www.sarahkayhoffman.com brands to check out New Hope blogging team

Products and People I’m Looking for This Year

  1. Connecting with both people and brands – on behalf of several clients for both paid and co-marketing opportunities during 2018
  2. Connecting with both people and brands for my own business(es)
  3. AIP products
  4. Low-FODMAP products
  5. Low-to-no sugar
  6. more Travel Guide items
  7. The best bars
  8. Booch – always booch
  9. Toddler snacks – obviously since we almost have 3 Toddlers in this house (in May they will be 2, 3, and 4 – eek)
  10. Flexitarian-ish (ahhhhh…..this is a new term for my blog) I haven’t used it much because my gut was always such a disaster that I was mostly AIP/GAPS/SCD, but now that I’m able to do all the things, I’m looking for more than just meat, meat, meat

Must-See Booths and Teams

  1. Elmhurst (Booth #5550) – best non-dairy/plant-based/Vegan (whatever you want to call it) milk, hands down
  2. Lotus Foods (Booth #2117) – launching new line of Ramen Noodle Soup Cups and Moringa Pad Thai
  3. Nutiva (Booth #1745) – launching USA-Grown Hempseed, and debuting other new products
  4. Made in Nature (Booth #1724) – more on their single-serve snacks which I love, love, love for my kids because they are perfect for on-the-go, travel, and all the 24 hours of the day when they “just need a snack” (also, I never have to worry about what’s in them and if there are any unnatural sugars because I already know the answer, “Nope.” Most of their Dried Fruit has nothing added, it’s just the fruit, and their other snacks use natural sweeteners like maple syrup, coconut, etc.)
  5. Delighted By Dessert Hummus (Booth #8914) – After their Shark Tank deal, why would you not go visit them? A little birdie told me they will be debuting a new flavor. I’m dying over this one!

Top Tips: Brands

2018 Natural Products Expo West www.sarahkayhoffman.com official expo blogging team

  1. Pre-show emails. Stop making them so impersonal and generic. I’ve already received like 1,001 emails, and I’m skipping right over the ones that say, “Will you be attending Expo West this year?” Um, duh. If you’ve taken even 5 seconds out of your time to pre-qualify Expo leads, you’d know that answer and the email tone would have come across vastly different. 
  2. Be transparent without acting rude. Over the last 5 years, I can’t even count the number of times I have asked to see the ingredient label of a product being sampled and gotten so. much. ‘tude. We don’t ask to see ingredients to be a pain in the a#$. We ask it because we need to, for our health of anyone we may choose to recommend the product to. 
  3. Collect business card. The show is nuts, so your best bet is to collect business cards and follow up.
  4. Follow up fast! I’ve had brands reach out a couple months after the fact. Don’t wait that long. 
  5. How to Pitch Bloggers
  6. Show a little enthusiasm. Oh, trust me, I know what’s it like to be on your side of the booth. For the past 4 years I worked at the Nutiva booth, and after sitting in for so long, you get tired and cranky. But also trust me that that carries through to how your product and brand is perceived. I only want to work with products and brands that are excited about their products. If you aren’t, why should I be?

Top Tips: Attendees (namely, bloggers)

2018 Natural Products Expo West www.sarahkayhoffman.com blogger brands natural products

  1. Wear comfortable clothes. If you come dressed in a 3-piece suit, you may regret it.
  2. Wear comfortable shoes. The show floor is huge, and it spans across multiple levels and buildings. Now would not be the time to test those new heels.
  3. Security. We have been told that security is going to be tighter this year. If you don’t absolutely need to bring it into the show, don’t. You will always need an ID. 
  4. Plan your schedule. From Thursday to Sunday, I put my schedule in 15-minute increments. I’ve learned my lesson over the years that if you don’t plan, you just won’t do and see all the things and people you intended to (the show is so big that you could get caught up forever).
  5. Eat from the food trucks. OMG. They are so good. My favorite makes these big old rice bowls, and if you like Sweet Potato tater tots, you’ll find them outside, too. 
  6. Eat your way through the show. I eat a light lunch (usually food-truck style) and then I have dinner with a client every single night. The other meals and snacks are straight show stuff because there is so much. You’ll never leave hungry.
  7. 6 Things Brands Want Bloggers to Know
  8. Leave space in your suitcase. You’ll likely have a ton of samples and other things to bring home from the show, so leave plenty of room.

Other Pre-Show Posts to Check Out

  1. 10 Ways to Improve Your Blogger Outreach at Expo West
  2. Preview of Natural Products Expo West
  3. 5 Ways to Make the Most of Expo West 2018
  4. 10 Natural Products Trends You’ll See on the Expo West 2018 Floor 
  5. On the Hunt for Low-FODMAP at Expo West 2018
  6. State of the Natural Industry Twitter Party March 8 (I’m a panelist, my Twitter handle is @sarahkayhoffman)
  7. Expo West 2018 and What You Should Know

2018 Natural Products Expo West www.sarahkayhoffman.com products and brands

Make sure to follow along during the show. I will be posting on Instagram (@paleoishmama + @agutsygirl), Facebook, and then right here on my blog/e-newsletter after the show.

I have several meetings, meet-ups, and events planned during the show. The schedule is filling fast, but I’m always happy to consider additions. If you are a brand or have a special event you’d love for me to consider, please contact me HERE (to use your own email client, you can reach me at sarah at sarahkayhoffman.com)

Your turn! —> Is there any brand or company from that you’d love me to check out for you or will you be at the show, too? Comment below or contact me!

p.s. Now that I’m no longer a West coast mama, I am so excited to travel out West for a few days (and then come home, of course)! 🙂

Xox,
SKH

If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.

These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.

Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts

  1. Beginnings are Scary
  2. Change Pain Point
  3. Making Sense of Change
  4. Gratitude Journal
  5. Love Your Baby Girl
  6. Little Things Add Up
  7. House and Home
  8. Sunday Reflections
  9. Two
  10. Chocolate Shake
  11. 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
  12. Chaos is a Temporary State
  13. Thirsty Thursday
  14. Month One
  15. The Nudge to Connect
  16. 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
  17. One Box at a Time
  18. Good Enough is Enough
  19. There is No Dishwasher
  20. WWDW Number 8
  21. Move Initiated
  22. Sharing My Journey
  23. Back with the Tribe
  24. Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
  25. January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
  26. Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
  27. Let There Be Light
  28. Forgot About Rae
  29. Smiles
  30. Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
  31. 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
  32. Escaping People
  33. Coming Home
  34. 105 in 1,095
  35. 40 Before 40
  36. When Change Was Coming
  37. Behavior Correction
  38. Embracing Motherhood
  39. Two Things for Lent
  40. Gluten Free Recipe Roundup Six
  41. Breakdown to Breakthrough
  42. 18 Things About Me
  43. Still Hope
  44. Month Two
  45. Pain is Not Weakness Leaving the Body
  46. Too Much Stuff
  47. Small Changes
  48. Can Wait
  49. Seven
  50. Halfway Mark
  51. Squad Goals
  52. Do We Really Change?
  53. February Catch Up Over Bone Broth
  54. Unplanned

40 Before 40

Filed Under: 101 Days of Blogging, Inspire, Love, Mompreneur, Wellness Tagged With: , , , , ,

I made a 40 before 40 list today for my 35th birthday.

When I turned 32, I created a list of 105 things I wanted to do in 1,095 days. Yesterday I shared the review of those 105 things.

I didn’t complete 105 things in 3 years, but I would love to see the completion of 40 things in the next 5 years.

[Read more…] about 40 Before 40

January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth

Filed Under: 101 Days of Blogging, Fitness, Inspire, Love, Mompreneur, Raising Baby, Wellness Tagged With: , , , ,

Month one in the new year is coming to an end today, which means that it’s time for the January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth.

Can you believe the first month of 2018 is through already? Even when time seems to creep slowly, it passes so quickly.

January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth

Health

Usually, when I give my month recaps on health, it’s primarily gut and hormones related. And that’s because I rarely ever get sick. Until of course this past month. I have been sick – from normal illness – more days this past month than in the past several years combined.

I got a touch of the weird flu bug the kids got (bad stomach ache, but throwing up just once) early in January and then last week I got the sore throat and cold leftovers from the kids’ strep, touch of pneumonia, and general cold. Not fun, at all. I’m on the other side of it, though, and so thankful. 

From a gut and hormone standpoint, I had another amazing month, though I will admit that last night I had a stomach ache that I haven’t had a long time. This past week I took a lot of Advid and ibuprofen and even NyQuil one night, and I’m guessing my system is just cleaning through it all.

I still remain bloat-free, and I’m still waking up around 4 am every single day with energy for workouts and to power through the entire day. 

I was supposed to complete the QuickSilver (heavy metal and mercury testing) and the Genova test (for more in-depth thyroid information) in January, but they have not been done yet. February hopefully.  January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth sarahkayhoffman.com Smoothie bowl Elmhurst1925 and Made in Nature Coconut Chips blueberries

Fitness

I worked out even less in January than I did in December due to illness. I do push through sometimes when I’m not feeling 100%, but I definitely know the difference between should and should not push it.

I barely did any Burpee sessions, but I am almost done with the second round of Jess’ program. I can’t say it enough – the program rocks, and even though I have a gym membership now, many days I choose to just workout in our garage with nothing but treadmill and dumbbells because many of the workouts in her program only require those two things (if that). 

One of my fears about moving to Minnesota in the dead of winter was losing all motivation for working out because…..cold. I’m happy to report, though, that the cold has not impacted my motivation levels at all. If you follow my Instagram Stories, I share a lot of these early morning garage workout moments – yesterday it was 2 degrees (yes, TWO) when I was working out, but I put a hat on, a couple shirts, my sneaks, and got to work. And I didn’t die.

I’m enjoying the gym on the days I go as well, and when I feel 100% again, I’ll get back to the squats and deadlifts and pull-ups there – three of the main reasons I wanted a gym membership while our home gym is out of use.

I did not get into the Superior 25 KM that I so desperately wanted to, and after sulking for awhile about it, moved on. I will lock down my racing schedule this month hopefully, and am considering one of them to be a Brazen in California 🙂

Professional

Work is busier than ever, but with all the January chaos, change, transition, and illness, I’ve had to know when and how to separate good enough and above and beyond.

I spent the month creating recipes, doing photo shoots, running a large campaign, playing match-maker, writing copy, and planning future copy. At the end of this month, I started planning all things Expo West, and those tasks will explode in February. It’s the biggest consumer show in the Natural Food Industry, and my favorite work event I attend all year. More on it soon….  January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth sarahkayhoffman.com Lotus Foods Do the Rice Thing Campaign content

My Beautycounter business grew again, and I am considering attending the May Leadership Summit which happens to be in Minneapolis this year. I’ll never stop growing this business, and as always, if you want to learn more about it or join our mission contact me HERE. Because listen, I also certainly didn’t set out to sell shampoo (though the conditioner is fantastic)!

 

Truth.

A post shared by Lindsay Dahl (@beautycounter.hill.nerd) on

I continue to get contacted daily for professional opportunities and new contract work, but right now, in this moment, it’s not feasible. I am still working to find my studio space (I have another new possibility that I am excited about) and once my VA and I get The Gutsy Girl’s Bible: an approach to healing the gut 3.0 finished and released, I’ll need to consider upping her weekly hours to allow for personal breathing space and then more professional growth.

Personal and Family

You want a lovely, little story here about cherishing all the moments and soaking up every last detail about our cross-country move?

Nope. Not happening.

January was a hard, hard, hard month. Most of it is trivial and temporary hard, but that doesn’t mean we have to shove it under the covers, put on a happy face, and act like all is well and good. 

There was a day in January (January 4th to be exact, I know this because of my Gratitude Journal when I wrote, “Pain meds for dad.”) that was painful on my heart. I witness pain in my dad like I had never, not in almost 35 years of my life, seen. It was a physical and emotional pain, and the combination is horrible. I worried about him for quite some time after, but then he got better and stronger, and for him and us on this journey, January was overall a fairly good month. Yesterday he started the IV part of chemo. He is now at 100% IV chemo treatment and still 60% pills. Now that IV chemo has started the real test begins. 

I spent most of the month alone with the kids in Minnesota while Ryan was back-and-forth from California to Minnesota. He came back “for good” on Monday night, and all felt right in the world again. 

Because the kids were sick all month and I was mostly alone, it seemed like the bricks were falling one after another and then another. I caught barely any break all month, and so by the time I wrote Good Enough is Enough, I was about ready to crumble.

Samarah is still trying to adjust to her new school. I can’t fully figure out why she’s not totally loving it, but I’m giving her the space to feel it all and accept that it’s not Miss Marsha (her California preschool teacher) and that her best friends are no longer with her each week. She talks about Colbie, B, Colton, Grace, Hannah, and Hazel every single day it seems. It breaks my heart because I wasn’t expecting that. Marsha told me it will pass for her and that she has such a tender sweet soul. I know she’s right. In the meantime, it’s not easy.  Little Things Add Up sarahkayhoffman.com Samarah winter minnesota 2018

Isaiah has had some weird quirks with the adjustment, and I know it’s not easy for him either. In January, I spent a whole day with him because he has been craving undivided attention. His communication has greatly improved, and Ryan said he can tell how much he’s grown every time he’s gone and comes home again. I’d agree. His stomach issues are still not resolved, and I’m still searching for the right doctor for him.  Two sarahkayhoffman.com Isaiah Hy Vee grocery cart Owatonna MN

Amiya had the worst month of all of them. I think a small illness lead to something bigger for her little body, which left her screaming ferociously all day long for about a week straight. If you’ve never heard Maya’s scream, it’s hard to understand, but it’s shrill. She is loud and strong, and she has lungs. (It’s hard to believe because she’s so tiny – still in the highest height percentiles, but super low in weight.) Last night – finally – on almost the last day of the month, we had the best night with her in the longest time. I wrote, “Big risks. Huge challenge. ???? reward. She’s feisty, strong, and a child I barely know how to handle. But then we have a night like tonight, and it all makes sense. ????✨” I have zero clue how it happens, but last night I forgot about so much of the stress all month long. She was my little mama-bug princess. I didn’t want it to end.

And even when the babies have hard days and challenging moments with all the change, they have been loving all the family surrounding us and Katie. They never ask for their old nannies (even though they loved them). Katie has been perfect for them and for us during this transition.  Back with the Tribe sarahkayhoffman.com Maddy, Samarah, Malia, Sophie Super Bowl NFL Experience Minneapolis

January was just filled with all the change challenges, but Ryan asked me yesterday if I was still glad we moved. Without hesitation, I said, “Yes.”

Later, I thought about it. 

I never realized, until moving back, how lonely beautiful California felt to me. Lonely – that’s my word for it….real and raw and totally accurate. 

On July 19, 2016, I wrote, “If you go anywhere, even paradise, you will miss your home.”

And that’s what happened to me, I guess. I went to my version of (what I thought was – or maybe truly was) paradise. But I so desperately missed home.

Top 15 Things I Learned While in Minnesota sarahkayhoffman.com Home

With that, I’m so ready to take on February and to continue embracing change.

Blog Posts I Wrote

I’m not listing them out this month or at all during the 101-days of blogging because you can always find them below on each and every single post.

Tell me something new and good about YOUR January!

Xox,
SKH

If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.

These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.

Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts

  1. Beginnings are Scary
  2. Change Pain Point
  3. Making Sense of Change
  4. Gratitude Journal
  5. Love Your Baby Girl
  6. Little Things Add Up
  7. House and Home
  8. Sunday Reflections
  9. Two
  10. Chocolate Shake
  11. 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
  12. Chaos is a Temporary State
  13. Thirsty Thursday
  14. Month One
  15. The Nudge to Connect
  16. 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
  17. One Box at a Time
  18. Good Enough is Enough
  19. There is No Dishwasher
  20. WWDW Number 8
  21. Move Initiated
  22. Sharing My Journey
  23. Back with the Tribe
  24. Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One