This Week 11.9

It's been a while since I've shared an update. I had my breast reduction and lift one month ago, spent a lot of time in bed wearing this. I worked on 18 gift guides during recovery, managed to plan a few fun things for the kids, and…I kept this jacket, but sized down to an XS.

And before I dive in, Annie Selke is having a sale! Get 25% off with the code VIPSOCIAL. I get questions about our sisal rug (featured in the photo above) every time I post it, so now is the time to buy it. This rug is the very best - so soft for a sisal and does not shed!

Let’s start with surgery recovery

I’m actually planning on a reel talking about surgery and recovery, so if you have any specific questions, just leave a comment here. The short version is that it was better than expected and so worth it. The first day was by far the hardest since the pain meds did not feel strong enough, but once we got that squared away, I was ok, and it really wasn’t that bad. By day 2 I was feeling pretty good. I spent a lot of time working in bed. Not being able to lift the kids was by far the hardest part. At 4 weeks out, I’m cleared to lift and hold Jack, so that feels really good.

Getting my health on track

In an effort to figure my body out, I met with a doctor who did some pretty extensive labs. It all sparked from hitting a wall and not being able to lose the last 15 lbs. after having Jack. Yes, I understand I’m older and our bodies change but by this point, I had lost all the weight with both girls. It felt like something was off, and it was. I am insulin resistant (most people are), my hormones are a mess, and I am extremely iron deficient. While I don’t feel horrible, I am tired and my head feels foggy. I am now on 6 supplements and hope to see things level out. Will report back after my follow-up labs.

Work

As you know by now, my gift guides are live. I may do 1-2 more, so let me know if I missed a category that might help you. I updated my post on holiday outfits for kids and some sizes are selling out, so I’d order sooner than later. I wrapped a bunch of partnerships before surgery, and have one more with one of my favorite brands coming up.

I attended a work event with Meta / IG, and a full-day board meeting for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand’s Advisory board. We have raised over 300k for ALSF and I recently joined the advisory board. I wasn’t able to make it to Philadelphia for the meeting, but attended virtually.

I’m trying to get back into a groove and would really like to come up with more of a schedule and strategy. This might be a better fit for a blog post, but there’s IG, brand partnerships, LTK (affiliate), my blog, Pinterest, Tik Tok (which I very rarely use), and my newsletter/substack. I spend most of my time on my blog and IG but would like more structure and consistency. I am the least-consistent on IG.

My holiday shop is live, too.

Family

We have been laying pretty low. Lots of time at home, and we’ve had friends over to keep things feeling normal and to prevent everyone going stir crazy at home.

Margot is on week 4 of survival swim and finishes the program today! Kate has another 2 weeks or so, which makes sense for their ages. By the time Margot got to the point where she needed to jump in in snow pants and a jacket, she was excited, and it wasn’t hard for her at all. The experience has been amazing! There were some tears, but it was all gentle and they almost always ended each lesson happy, proud, and excited.

Home

We ordered new shutters for the house (finally), had the exterior windows cleaned, and now that I’m feeling better, I am working on decluttering our home. Again. I’m going to tackle one project every single day and document it on social media. Let’s hope I don’t lose momentum! If there’s anything specific you’re struggling with in your home, I’d love to hear more about that. My biggest issue is everything having a home in our kitchen, and better systems for paperwork and the things that pile up on our countertops.

We’re wrapping up house projects for a while. The last one for now will be replacing doorknobs in the kitchen and our bedroom.