Jacquie Ellis

I know life is busy but you need to take care of yourself. Coffee for breakfast is not enough. Here’s a super simple weekday breakfast sandwich that is easy to prepare for any busy mom on the go. I’m guilty of not eating breakfast for years. I would use the excuse that I didn’t have time to eat. Then I started taking the pre-packaged oatmeal to work so I’d have something as I sat at my desk. Oatmeal helped kickstart my metabolism in the morning, but the sugar content in even the reduced sugar oatmeal packets didn’t help my health journey. I started making my own oatmeal and preparing the…

There are lots of things you can do to take care of yourself, but when do you find time for self-care? Whether you’re a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or a work-at-home mom like me, we’re all busy. Life seems busier than ever. I often wonder how my grandmother managed, without an electric washing machine and cloth diapers. She seemed to manage just fine, but I can’t seem to find the time to shower without staying up past midnight. So how do you find time for yourself when you don’t have time to breathe? As a single, work-at-home mom of 6, here’s what I’ve learned. How To Find Time For…

Do you struggle with goals? Our thoughts impact our success more than we may think. Staying motivated as you work towards your goals can feel like a rollercoaster at times. You are either up, down, or feeling twisted around in loops as you learn a new skill. It isn’t always fun and is hard work most days. Sometimes you set a goal that seems appropriate only to fail miserably and are left wondering why you failed yet again! The good news is you can learn how to create the life you want by changing the way you are thinking about your goals. Thoughts Impact Our Success Dr. Emily Falk, a…

It’s that time of year where parents are trying to sort out finances, schedules, and that “what to get the kids for Christmas” list. There is so much pressure to make Christmas perfect for everyone. One of the reasons why Santa never brings the big gift in our home is to simplify Christmas gift-giving, but there was so much more to this decision. Why Santa Never Brings The Big Gift I could go into how financially our life was difficult at times because it was but in reality, this isn’t the only reason for our decision to simplify Christmas gift-giving. Christmas to us was about the family connection. We wanted that…

Focusing on the negative is easy, but then life sucks all the time. There’s a movement in the works where women are taking a few moments to write down a happy list. Why take the time? Keep reading to find out why you need a happy list and 50 things that make me happy. Then I’d love for you to write your happy list and share it with me. Deal? In another article about needing positive influences in your life, I talked about how negative influences are 4 times more powerful than a single positive influence. Why You Need A Happy List It is easy to complain about work, other…

Have you made the decision to start your health journey with great intentions? You buy the ingredients to make the smoothies and then life gets chaotic and they slowly rot in the fridge while you work through life’s challenges. That was me until I found a simple hack to create a simple zero waste smoothie. Now my morning routine is simple. I save time having everything ready to go. I don’t waste money throwing food out and I get to stick to my health journey plans. Bonus! I love finding simple solutions to help simplify my life. Each one sorts through the chaos bit by bit and I gain more…

When you are feeling like life is going nowhere, it can be hard to figure out how to get out of a rut. I heard this analogy the other night and it struck a chord with me. There are two definitions for “rut”: a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive a long deep track made by the repeated passage of objects over time When we think about being in a rut we think about the first definition and how we often feel unproductive or bored with life. Feeling this way often brings on thoughts of failure and we become discouraged. The second definition has a…

Do you consider yourself high functioning? Are you generally able to put events and sources of stress in compartments so that you can continue to function? Until one day you can’t. The compartments are overflowing and you are having problems focusing on tasks. How do you give yourself permission to process mental anguish? That’s me today. The last few weeks have been hard and I needed to give myself permission to have some mom time. There seem to have been endless weeks filled with news that should have shaken my world each time. Somehow I was able to find it in me to put each one in its own compartment…

Parenting perfection is over-rated. Why do we pretend to be right all of the time, or never admit we need help? Are you the perfect “supermom” that does it all and only breaks down behind your bedroom door quietly? I admit this was me and it was exhausting. Striving to be the perfect mom to my kids. Expecting perfection from myself and chastising myself when I ultimately failed. Then one day I snapped. The stress of work, and trying to be the perfect mom was too much. I had worn myself out and life at home was horrible. The kids were on edge all of the time and didn’t want to make…

As much as we want to be supermoms, we can’t do it all. We all need help, but asking kids to help around the house can be difficult. It doesn’t have to be a constant fight when you use this method. Seriously! This method is life-changing! The topic of delegating chores and asking kids to help around the house makes most parents cringe and hold their heads. They start to feel the stress and anxiety over arguments with the kids, and the constant struggle between the kids and themselves. I’m not saying that there won’t be some struggle in this journey but there will be less over time. I can…