I finally figured out why I get so pumped up about new ideas then lose interest in them over time- it’s because I’m an Enneagram 7! However, I’m not going to use that as an excuse. This year I want to write a monthly “tea talk” post to just chat about what’s going on in life with you and if this is something you enjoy, I’ll stick with it for all 12 months. I do this weekly in my newsletter (if you aren’t subscribed, click here and subscribe; I’ve gotten the best feedback on it and love connecting with you each Monday). As for on the blog, a once a month tea talk feels like a good frequency, so weigh in and let me know what you think.

So, January- let’s go!

We Launched!

The most exciting thing for us this month was the reboot and launch of The State of the Family! We worked our tails off on expanding the scope of the project this year so it now includes three Excel sheets, email content, an interview our financial advisor, and inclusion in a private Facebook group for SOTF purchasers to discuss financial matters. I’ve been thrilled at the feedback and excited about the Facebook community growing out of it. You can join us here!

On the work front, I’ve also brought on a new team member to help me organize and run some of the behind the scenes aspects to blogging. There are a lot of moving parts and I was struggling to keep it all up while also homeschooling the kids, playing mommy chauffeur, cooking dinner, and all the other invisible workload that comes along with being a mom. Though we are just getting the ball rolling, I’m incredibly excited to have some help in putting together what is to come for AHS in 2020.

Germ Season in Full Swing

Switching to the personal side of things, the new decade started off with colds for us all. None of us minded the low key start to 2020 though. Being at home New Years Eve, watching football, playing games, and letting the girls stay up a little later was a ton of fun. Hailey said to me “Mom, I just love nights like this” which always warms my mama heart because I just love nights like that, too.

Still, we’ve pretty much passed colds around all January (though I’m grateful it hasn’t been any germs worse than that) and I pulled my back which has been a pain (literally) for the past week-ish, so I’ve started making us daily wellness shots (juiced ginger, turmeric, lemon, cucumber, garlic and pepper- it’s bite is as bad as it sounds but I kind of love the burn) and am looking forward to a healthier February. Don’t have a juicer? Here’s my favorite blender-based health tonic!

Ice Skating

I am so glad that the US National White Water Center extended their seasonal ice skating rink through January because we weren’t able to make it there during our busy December. We spent a full January Sunday afternoon there doing the ropes course, ice skating (which the girls LOVED), walking through the wooded trail of lights, and even grabbing dinner on the patio. It was such a day of family fun!

Visiting the Chiropractor

In January I also took the kids to a chiropractor. Hailey started doing this little neck roll/shrug thing about a month ago. She never said it hurt, but just that it cracked a lot and she didn’t like it. She got to doing it quite often, so I started asking around about chiropractors. My friend Courtney highly recommended Adjusting the World. I took both girls and I’ll be honest, I was very nervous. I believe in chiropractic care, as I had a chiropractor once fix my popping hip in a single session, but having someone adjust the spine of my babies totally freaked me out. Luckily our experience has been impeccable. From the first visit, the entire staff catered to the kids, making them (and me!) feel comfortable. They taught them about their bodies, made the evaluation fun, and answered every question I had (and I had a lot) along the way.

After the first adjustment Hailey had improvement in one side of her neck. According to her it wasn’t “crackling” anymore. We are now going regularly as part of a treatment plan to help address some unevenness of the shoulders and hips, as well as some areas that showed up inflamed on the thermoscan. This is new to me and we are all still getting comfortable with it, but I have been impressed. 

Happy Birthday David!

David’s birthday was this month as well, though it didn’t get the spotlight it deserved because we had just arrived home from Austin! Still, we opened cards, decorated the kitchen (in a Caribbean theme because Hailey said Daddy loves the islands), and I picked up some Tres Leches cake for us to split. Hailey won the gift-giving prize, as she spend over an hour creating a board game called Down in the Islands (because she loves playing board games with the family). We all played it and it was really well done! Her creativity astounds me.

Working Out

David and I joined a new gym because the small one we belonged to and loved shut down. We found a good new spot though and have really enjoyed working out together. We laugh that we are in the stage of life where we enjoy toasting with our pre-workout and hitting the gym as much as we enjoy toasting with a Fridya night cocktail. We mostly use workouts from the Madeline Moves App, which I highly recommend. I’ve been doing her workouts for a few months now and they are always challenging and thorough. 

Personal Health

I’ve made some big strides in my estrogen dominance journey. In fact, according to blood work my estrogen levels are back down to a normal level! I’m debating writing a whole post about this, but since it’s an ongoing journey, and just my personal experience, I’m debating it. It’s taken addressing gut health, adjusting my diet according to my personal sensitivities, taking a lot of supplements, and now adding in Progessence Plus oil from Young Living (because apparantly my body doesn’t create progesterone), which I’m becoming a believer in quite quickly. It’s a long process (over a year now, I think?) and it’s been frustrating at times, but also really empowering to feel like I understand my body better.

New Blog Posts This Month

• December Highlights and Our Favorite Christmas Moments
• The Lettuce-Less Greek Salad My Family Is Obsessed With
• Lymphatic Health: Why It Matters and How to Improve It
• The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum for Struggling Students
• Our Family Trip to Austin, TX

Our Favorite Meals of the Month: January

• Greek burgers with sweet potato fries and Greek salad (David’s birthday meal request)
• Coconut curry soup – I subbed Palmini noodles for the zoodles and added shredded chicken. Delish!
• Easy chicken tortilla soup. I made it in the crockpot and served it with a big dollop of sour cream, plus chips and guac.
• Panini night – I almost forgot we owned a panini press, but on a particularly cold night I came across it, so we had tomato soup and a panini sandwich station. The girls stuck with cheese and tomato, but David’s was fully loaded with cheese, tomato, onion, spinach, avocado and a spicy mayo.

Fun Fact of the Month

Did you know I have a Healthy Slice of Life Amazon store? It’s been a great way to keep my favorite things in one spot to share with you. You’ll see that some categories only have a few items but that’s because these are truly only our favorite things- things we own, have used for a long time, and would buy for friend. 

Question of the Month

What new product/food/book/recipe have you tried lately that you absolutely love? Share it with me in the comments! I read The Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah which I enjoyed (I love Kristin Hannah) and am currently super sucked into Winter Garden (also by Kristin Hannah). If you are new to her books, I highly recommend The Nightingale and The Great Alone (I still wonder how those characters are doing…).