I had a reiki session and this is what it was like.

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In efforts to really think about self care this year, I tried a reiki session.

I’ve wanted to try reiki for a few years. The first time I ever heard about them was right after Jensen was born. It was that thing where I wanted to try anything to maybe make me feel better.

Although I didn’t do it then, I still remained interested.

Reiki is about your body’s energy. Your chakras, or energy hubs, can be blocked. There’s seven of them and they each correlate with your physical, emotional, and mental health.

It’s really interesting to read about. If you want more information on the chakras or just some general tidbits, look here.

Anyways, on Instagram I saw that one of my friend Kiersten from Eclectic Serenity offered reiki sessions. I instantly messaged her about it. She also has amazing face products and macrame hangings too!

It felt like I needed to do this for me now, but also to honor my early grief. So we set something up.

I would like to say, I went into reiki completely open to what was going to happen. Instead of going in for a specific reason, I just wanted to see what my body was going through.

The day of, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was actually really excited.

Kiersten’s reiki room was so relaxing. There meditation music, oils going, and it was warm. Perfect for relaxing and really getting out of your head.

Without going crazy into detail, reiki is set up like an energy massage. It’s the same feeling as going into a massage but you lay on your back, clothes are on, and you’re not physically being touched; except for light touches.

I had a weighted eye covering over my eyes and just tried to shut my mind off. For the first ten minutes, I feel like I was trying to relax.

Then, all of the sudden, I was under. I was still conscience and aware, but I was feeling weird things.

There were times it felt like energy was going through me. It kind of felt like how a copier scans a paper. Other times it felt like there was a string being tugged from my core.

It was wild

I will say, everyone has a different experience in what they feel and which of their chakras are closed.

When Kiersten was working on my left side, I had a strange feeling. It almost felt as if I was either under water and couldn’t get back up. Or like there was huge stones on my chest. So, at times it felt hard to breathe. Honestly, I knew I was safe, but it was unlike anything I’ve ever felt.

Then, on my right side, I almost felt like I was floating or really light. Both sides, I was tingly though.

The session was an hour and when she was done, I felt like I was waking up from a deep sleep or getting done with a massage. My body felt heavy and I needed water.

I found out I had two chakras blocked. She gave me the information about it. It correlated a lot to what was going on in my life.

Some instant changes I felt in my body were my thoughts weren’t racing and my head didn’t feel full. My anxiety causes those things to happen, so it being clear made me feel like a new person.

One other thing that happened was the next morning I threw up. TMI and gross warning ahead… it wasn’t like food, but almost like brown stuff. When I asked Kiersten about it, she said it was normal and my body was releasing the toxins in my chakra’s blockage.

Since reiki, I’ve honestly felt a lot better. My head doesn’t feel as full as normally and I haven’t gotten a ton of headaches.

I will 100% go and do it again.

Emotional and spiritual health is just as important and mental and physical health. My first round of reiki made me feel better and I want to keep it up.

So, that’s my reiki experience! Self care is so important and it’s nice to find something else to add to my routine.

If you’re local to me, definitely check out Eclectic Serenity on Facebook and/or Instagram. Non local friends, you should definitely see if there is reiki services near you.

I hope you all can add a little self care in your day today. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever tried reiki before.

Mom Tip of the Week: Dress Up

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I had a lot of things planned for Mila and I to do today. Of course, she had an agenda of her own when we woke up.

She ran straight to her closet and picked out a dress. Not unusual if you know Mila, but…

This is the dress she chose. Today she is Princess Mila.

I brushed her hair all out and put her in a little ‘crown.’ We found the most perfect princess shoes. Then, we put it all together and she wanted to take pictures with her ‘beast.’

So, we did just that.

My biggest tips for moms is things don’t go exactly as planned. Just try to roll with it.

It might not be what you wanted, but these unexpected moments can be just as wonderful. You never know when you’ll have the beauty and a beast in your house. Or a fire fighter, police officer, chef, or dance teacher.

Embrace these moments. They go too quick.

What’s your child been pretending they are lately?

Goodbye Kisses.

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One of the toughest things I face as a single mom is wondering if Mila has enough love.

It’s hard being away from her during the days, but I have to be to give her the life she deserves. When we’re together, we play, read stories, and create. I tell her I love her every chance I get and she does the same.

We’re happy in our own little world.

But, it’s the days I have to go away. I question if she forgets about all our fun. There are some times I wonder if the love I instill in her stays. Or if she’s just made at me when I’m gone.

A few nights ago, I realized I shouldn’t put any thought into those fears.

I picked her up one afternoon after school. She sat in the car as my mom told her goodbye. As usual, she asked for a hundred goodbye hugs and kisses. Then kept saying bye. As my mom walked away, then started the goodbye kisses.

She blew them and for awhile they were reciprocated. Mom had to go back inside, but Mila did something that made me smile.

As the door shut and we backed out of the driveway, I saw her continue blowing goodbye kisses.

Between each kiss, she yelled, “goodbye! I love you!.”

She didn’t stop when we backed out. Or when we went down the street. Or even parked in our driveway. Outside our door, she kept saying goodbye and how much she loved her Gigi.

That’s when I realized, Mila has all the love in the world. She knows what love feels like and how to feel it towards others.

All those worries about if I’m doing good enough ease.

The next morning, when it’s hard to go away again. I see her goodbye kisses in action. It made leaving a little easier.

Because, I know those goodbye kisses never end and that love travels where ever we go.

Toddler Activity: DIY Nail Salon

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Mila can be such a girly girl.

One thing that she absolutely loves is painting nails. No matter if it’s her nails or someone else’s, she always asking.

I saw this activity last year and figured now was the perfect time.

All you need is:

  • Cardboard
  • Marker
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes

I had everything had home and used old cereal boxes to draw the hands. To hold the paint, I used the caps of milk containers.

Next, I traced my hand and then drew finger nails.

To get her used to seeing her name, words, and numbers, I wrote them on the cardboard too. Before she painted, we counted all the fingers, told her which one was right and left, and spelled her name. She tells me her name is ‘la,’ which always makes me smile.

Then, I let her paint these nails.

She enjoyed mixing the colors and practicing painting nearly, at first. It switched from near to a little wild soon after.

This is a quick activity to put together, but it gave me enough time to do some work on the computer. Sometimes you just need five minutes of peace and this did the trick.

I will continue doing this activity with Mila. To help her with her pre-writing, I’ll make dotted lines that she has to trace for bracelet and rings. It would also be fun to do color recognition or teach the order of the rainbow here too.

Either way, this is DIY nail salon is fun and toddler approved.

Weird Things My Toddler Does: Part Eight

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I think every kid takes a few toys in the bath, but the amount my toddler brings… might be a little weird.

Last night during Mila’s bath, I counted: ten ponies, seven Barbies, a Barbie boat, six empty bottles, two bath books, a play broom, countless numbers, countless blocks, and all the bubbles that could fit.

To top it off, she asked me to get in the bath with her. Unless we took half of them out, there was no room for me to fit. She ended up chooses all her toys instead.

The amount she brings in is strange, but at least she has fun… right?

Toddlers are just weird.

Mom Fail: Fall Edition

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My literal top of the world for this story.

Sometimes you feel like you’re close to the top of the world. Just when you’re right at the top, you come tumbling down.

That was metaphoric, but yesterday that’s sort of what literally happened.

With a day off and a long to do list, I was running all over the place. I worked, planned a lot of things, and wanted to take pictures for my plant page. The latter is what got me.

There was something missing for my picture, but it was on the shelf over my bed. I had just grabbed a few things off of there and didn’t even think twice about doing it again. So, off I went.

When I stepped up, I put my foot between the bed frame and the mattress. Then, I lifted my other foot up…

Obviously my footing wasn’t as good as I thought.

I fell, heard a crack, and then felt pain and numbness all throughout my ankle and foot.

Mila witnessed it all and I felt so awful. I got my phone and told her to call Gigi (my mom) because I I needed help. She did so amazing.

After evaluating it and not being sure if it was broken, I went to the ER.

Four hours and a few X-rays later, I found out there was, thankfully, nothing broken. I did tear some ligaments though.

It hurts so bad to walk. I’m stuck on the couch today with ice and two amazing nurses. They’re not professionally trained, but they know where the snacks are and love to help.

My mom fail this week was literally the fall, but also thinking everything needed done in twenty-four hours. It was a painfully, humble reminder not to overwork myself.

To every mom who feels like she’s failing, you’re doing the best you can.

Toddler Activity – M&M’s and Diversity.

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

To honor that, I wanted to have another diversity talk with Mila. I figured to keep her full attention, I’d use her biggest motivation: m&ms. The girl loves them and always sneaks them. I guess I can’t blame her for that.

Anyways, m&m’s are a perfect way to showcase different skin colors, but we’re all human on the inside.

I lined her m&m’s up and asked her what colors they were. She told me all of the colors and I mentioned how all of them were all different. I talked about how people all have different skin colors too.

Then, I asked her if she would be sad if I told her she couldn’t have certain colors of m&ms. Of course she was. She told me she liked them all.

With that, I told her in the past, boys and girls who were black weren’t allowed to play with boys and girls with white skin. She seemed upset by this. Yet, i explained that some people judge others by their skin color.

Without giving her much more thought, I cut an m&m in half.

She seemed a little shocked, but I asked her if she thought the other m&ms looked the same on the inside. With a quick nod of her head, she pointed to another one and I sliced it in half too. It may be aggressive, but she liked it.

I told her that even thought people look different on the outside, we’re all humans on the inside. We have differences, but we still have the same emotions too.

Of course, as she gets older, these conversations will get more complex.

I’ll never claim to know what racism is like to experience. The only thinks i can do is teach my daughter to see people’s differences, but love them for their character.

Kids will change the world, but it starts with teaching them about diversity, even with m&ms.

Here’s some videos about Martin Luther King Jr. that Mila enjoyed this morning:

Cheesy Beef Quesadilla Recipe

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As you all know, Mila and I love Mexican food. It helps that it’s quick and easy to make too.

One of the things I have issues with in making Mexican is folding the tortillas. I either stuff it too much or mess it up in ways I don’t even know how.

Recently though, I found a new way to fold it!

All it took was one cut and three folds. It’s simple enough for everyone. I knew I had to try it out ASAP.

What you’ll need:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • Taco seasoning
  • Beef broth – 2 tablespoons
  • Tomato paste – 1 tablespoon
  • Shredded cheese (I used taco)
  • Flour tortillas

First, add ground beef and spices into a hot pan. Cook through and then stir in tomato paste and beef broth. Then cook one or two minutes more.

After the ground beef is cooked, drained excess oil and put beef in a bowl.

Next, prep your tortillas. To do this, follow the steps in the pictures below.

Simply, make a cut, spread sour cream, add cheese and meat, then fold. It’s pretty simple. I added extra cheese to the non-meat portions.

After it’s folded, heat up on a pan until the outside is cooked.

This recipe is seriously tasty. I love all the cheese and Mila ate a full quesadilla.

You could add any toppings with this such as guacamole or salsa. Or feel free to add them on the inside too.

Follow this folding technique for optimal, cheesy bites every time!

If you try this recipe or fold technique out, let me know in the comments.

Self Care Sunday: Plants and Masks

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No matter if you’re stuck watching football, having a lazy day, or are needing a minute to yourself, self care is essential. Moms, especially, need a minute to themselves.

Finding out what calms your soul and clears your head is the self care for you. If you can nourish your body too, then it’s even better.

During the first few months after COVID hit, I got really into plants and helping our environment. They sort of go together, so that makes sense.

I found that taking care of plants and learning about them eased my anxiety so much.

Somehow a few plants has turned into a mini, indoor jungle, but I love it. They’ve also helped me want to take care of myself better too.

Hello self care.

Today, I want to share a little face mask recipe and give a plant recommendation and tip. This way, you can see one part of my self care journey. Maybe you’ll even want to try this self care moment.

Two things Mila and I are constantly running out of is avocados and honey. She will sit and just eat both.

They’re also pretty awesome for your skin too!

To make a mask, mash up half an avocado and 1 1/2 teaspoons of honey. Mix them up and apply. Use the other half for avocado toast the next morning.

Make sure to save the avocado seed too! I’ll make a post about what you can do with those.

Apply the mask to your face and keep it on for 15 minutes. After, wash off and do your normal skincare routine.

During the 15 minutes is a perfect time to do planty tasks.

If you don’t have any plants, snake plants are perfect beginner plants. You can get them at Lowe’s or the one pictured is from Lively Root.

They’re such easy plants. Snake plants tolerate low light, are drought resistant (which means you don’t have to water them constantly), and do well in household humidity.

Plus, snake plants were one of the plants that NASA found as top air-filtering plants. Pretty cool right?

Anyways, while waiting for my mask to do work it’s magic, I dusted my snake’s leaves. Dusting helps make sure your plant gets as much sun as it can. Even though this is a low light plant, it still needs to get as much as it can.

Self care is something everyone should make time to do. Mila put our DIY mask on too and helped me with our ‘planties.’ She just refused to take a picture.

Find something you love. Maybe it’s plants and masks or maybe not. Either way, you deserve self care on Sundays or any day.

Single Mom Probs: Part One

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Single mom problems…

When a quick trip to run some errands turn into making sure all their favorite toys have to go with us. Then then insisting said toys cannot stay in the car by themselves.

Oh, the horror of that possibility.

Once you’re inside of said errand spot, holding the toys becomes quite boring. They start to play on the floor.

As it’s time to leave, they forget one on the ground. But there’s no man left behind here.

You’re five minute trip, easily becomes thirty minutes. They only want to take one toy inside, so you’re arms are fuller than before.

But nothing beats that smile.