One of the things I miss most about pre-kid, single life is the ability to spend a few hours window shopping at the mall and choosing just the right outfits that fit my personality and lifestyle.

I used to love wandering through and noticing all the seasonal themes and decorations, grabbing a snack at a kiosk and trying on fun new clothes.

The reality is to make time for this now means giving up precious morning alone time while all three kids are in school or calling in a favor to my husband and have him watch all three kids while I spend our money. Ha!

When the kids were really small, I decided to try a subscription box where they pick items out for me and send them to me based on a style profile questionnaire I fill out. While this doesn’t give me the satisfaction of physically going to the mall, spending time catching up on fashion in magazines or online and trying on outfits, it saves me a good three to four hours of time at least!

I’ve...

Flu season has been really tough this year, especially in our neighborhood. All three of the kids have been sick on and off for the past six weeks. My husband has been traveling and has stayed healthy using a few of the tricks I’m about to share with you. I stayed well for the past year, but it finally got me this season! Isn’t it hard not to get sick when the kids are cuddling up next to you and at the same time sniffling, sneezing and coughing all over us?!

When I feel a little less than 100% I go into attack mode to prevent the spread of germs.

SANITIZE

First, I clean and sanitize the main community areas of the house.

I change out all the towels and give all family members their own hand towel in each bathroom. I wash our throw blankets in our living room. I’ll wash bedding if I have time, but definitely all pillowcases. I wipe down light switches, door knobs, faucet handles and remotes.

NOSE IRRIGATION

This sounds so gross, but in reality, it’s not that...

Have you ever felt like you just want to lie down on the sofa when your kids want to run around and play with you? Do you make it through the morning but then as soon as early afternoon hits you want to curl up and relax?

I didn’t get enough sleep for over seven years when my kids were young. I wasn’t blessed with good sleepers or I didn’t train them well enough! I suffered through many, many long days of being overly tired.

Most moms use coffee or sugar to make it through and so did I. But! I started learning more and more about energy and nutrition when I started researching how successful people handle things.

I had no idea there are other ways to get energy!

There are five ways to get more energy. Sleep, water, food, movement and self care.

1. SLEEP. I'm guessing if you have young children, you are not getting a good night's rest. Interrupted sleep is one of the worst kinds. If you can get to bed early, do that - or take a 20 minute nap if at all...

I didn’t sleep through the night for 7 years.

That isn’t something you expect when you decide to try for a family!

I don’t want to sugar coat it, parents, sleep is something you take for granted until it’s gone. You are super fortunate if you get a baby that sleeps and you are a good sleep trainer. Unfortunately, whether it’s me or my three babies, they wake me at night often. Even now. I used to get woken up by the kids multiple times a night every night.

I would never suggest taking advice from me on how to get your baby or child to sleep through the night, but I have learned a lot about how to function on interrupted, not great sleep.

Here are my seven best strategies:

1. Work with your sleep cycles as best you can. Our brains’ sleep cycle works in 90 minutes, and the goal is to get 7.5 or 9 hours of sleep each night. The next best thing isn’t 7 hours, or 6.5, it’s actually 6 of sleep. Not lying in bed, but sleep. So...