June 17, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode of the Wedding Atelier podcast, host Alora discusses her strategies for balancing motherhood, self-care, and her business during the summer.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alora (00:00):
Welcome to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
(00:02):
I am so excited to be here withmy full voice now.
I have lost my voice probably onand off since April.
It has been a ride and about twoor three ginger chews a day.
Two, get my voice back to whereI want it.
And yes.
Now we sound all crispy cleartoday.
This episode is gonna be alittle non-traditional, I guess
(00:24):
off the cuff.
I was just thinking about itbecause this summer is here.
My kids are out of school, myson's out of preschool, and I
normally have them go to summerschool so I can work, but for
some reason this year I justfelt the need to let them enjoy
summer.
I've learned that they're somuch older now.
Like my daughter's eight, my sonis four.
(00:45):
but he acts like he's five.
He's always trying to tellpeople what to do.
The point being is that they'rea little bit more
self-sufficient now, where theycan play outside and I can see
them just playing with otherkids.
They're actually outside rightnow because.
It's giving nineties, and I amquite obsessed.
I've always wanted my kids to beoutside kids.
I was an outside kid up until Iwas about a teenager when it
(01:08):
wasn't cold anymore.
And of course it just got toohot and I don't like sweating.
But yeah, it's just really coolto be able to have that
flexibility and.
I just wanna tell you what I'mdoing this year, how I'm going
to stay sane this summer, butalso make simple sales while not
sacrificing everything.
We just did a deep clean of allthe kids' rooms.
(01:29):
Every quarter, it's spring,summer, and fall.
We just throw away all of thenonsense, the broken toys, the
things don't have a match, andwe take out a big garbage bag
and my kids and I just throweverything away that we just do
not feel connected to.
My daughter threw away the mostthings, and yet still has a ton
more.
(01:50):
It's a work in progress.
But my son was able to gothrough all of his things and be
like, I don't play with thatanymore.
I don't want that anymore.
And so that was a great day tostart my summer of being, okay,
we have cleaned, we're gettingdressed, we're gonna go shopping
for this week for groceries, andnow I'm prepping lunch and
dinner because obviously they'regonna be at home.
(02:12):
My son eats four to five mealsper day.
And I'm not exaggerating.
He's got a head on him, but he'snot huge.
Like he's not a big stocky boy,but he eats nonstop and so does
my husband.
So I'm pretty much cooking for afamily of five or six to make
sure we have leftovers to makesure that my son can go outside,
(02:32):
come in and eat, and then it'sdinner time.
I am learning how to meal prepfor lunch and dinner and how to
plan for leftovers and how toplan for this.
Making sure I'm not cooking thesame thing so nobody gets tired
of it and I don't have too muchof one thing.
So that has been fun is comingup with a summer food schedule.
Meal prepping is new for me'cause I'm so used to just being
(02:53):
able to give myself somethingreally simple avocado, toast
with egg.
And that chili oil trend that itis with Trader Joe's garlic
Chili oil.
So good.
Look it up on TikTok if youhaven't already.
It's delicious.
And.
I always put like a garlicbutter on top to just make this
nice, crunchy high in fat,low-ish in calorie breakfast so
(03:14):
that I'm not completely workingmyself to death, and then I'm
starving at two 30, wondering ifthe world's gonna end.
So I'm learning to put myselffirst in terms of taking care of
myself.
Feeding myself good things,moving my body.
I bought a walking pad a coupleyears ago and I just don't
really like to use it'cause Ilove to be outside rather.
But at the speed that I wannawalk and how long I wanna walk
(03:36):
and how many steps I wanna getin, it just makes sense for me
to be on the walking pad andopen the window and pretend that
it's the outside.
'cause there's no way my kidscan walk three to five miles
with me at this age.
So having that has been helpful.
I started off my day doing that.
I was like, all right, let mejust walk for 30 minutes.
Let me look at my emails.
Let me check up on anything thatI wanna get.
Done.
Let me see my students, howthey're doing is there any
(03:57):
announcements I need to make?
So I did all my admin stuff onthe walking pad and I feel like
it really cleared my mindbecause I'm not a morning
person.
I hate getting up in themorning.
I hate speaking to anybodyanytime before nine 30 in the
morning.
Honestly, my preferred time is12:00 PM 12:00 PM I'm ready to
do things, get out there,actually put on a face and speak
(04:19):
to people.
But other than that, I'm prettymuch sitting at the edge of my
bed wondering how I ended uphere.
That fox meme at the edge of thebed with his eyes bulged open.
That is me at seven 30 in themorning, but I have to get up
early because I need to havetime for myself before my kids
get up and my son starts cryingto me that he's starving.
(04:39):
Yeah, starving for pancakes.
That is my life the moment hewakes up.
Mom, I want pancakes.
I'm just like, what?
It's seven 30 in the morning.
How does your stomach even talkto you this early?
I get up a little bit earlierjust so I can have at least an
hour or half an hour to myself.
I journal a little bit.
I do some morning pages,definitely inspired by the
(05:00):
artist's way.
I suggest everybody ever foreverin their life journals.
It is so important to just clearyour mind you just don't want
your brain all fogged and cloudywhen you're starting the day.
Like you don't want anyresiduals from the past day, the
past week.
I don't know.
I just believe in self-carehardcore.
So journaling if I need to doit, Reading my Bible, praying,
(05:21):
all those things, gettingactive, if my kids are gone,
I'll probably walk a couple ofmiles outside while it's still
nice.
And the weather here is reallynice.
In the morning it's 60, 70, sothat's my preferred, but.
If my kids are here, then I willwalk inside.
That is fine.
I just need to be active.
'cause I've noticed that whenI'm not active I get really
lethargic, apathetic.
(05:42):
I get sleepy.
When you have an online businessand you're on the computer all
the time, because you're editingphotos, culling photos,
answering emails, whatever thatlooks like, it just, it's really
draining to your brain, to youreyes.
And your body was meant to move.
I really believe that when wemove, oh, sorry, my neighbor's
dog just ran the street.
Hello.
(06:02):
But when we move our bodies, Ifeel like we're happier, we're
better, and we just feel better.
And it's not even about losingweight necessarily, it's just
about getting your brain going.
I don't know.
There's something to it.
I feel like every time I hitthat 10 K mark, my light bulb
just comes on and the sun startsshining in my brain.
I can't explain it.
There's scientific proof behindit.
(06:23):
10 K steps is the moment ofclarity.
It's happiness, it's dopamine,it's everything, but it's not
always realistic.
Can you walk 10 K steps everysingle day with kids in a summer
and all the other things?
Probably not.
But moving your body in general,20 minutes a day, 30 minutes a
day, I think that's.
That's a good idea.
So something else that I'm doingis planning my work life
(06:45):
balance, the summer and fall.
I usually go pretty hard,quarter one and quarter two so
that I can rest more quarterthree, quarter four.
So I build the plan quarter one,and I'm setting up my goals and
my expectations.
And then quarter two is lettingme know is there anything we
need to tweak?
Is there anything that we needto take up a notch?
What are your sales plans, yourgoals, and then Q3 is all
(07:09):
vacation.
I think it's, yeah, it's allvacation and then my kids get
ready to go back to school.
And then Q4 is one last launchthen holidays.
And then start making a plan forthe next year towards like the
end of December.
So that's pretty much it.
That's how I plan my work and mylife and my balance.
And my biggest thing is alwayssetting aside, at least, it used
(07:30):
to be three vacations a year,but then when I did that so
easily, when I just had thatgoal, I was like, okay, let me
do four.
And then Q1, I already had fourvacations planned, so I was
like, okay, let's do five.
So we're shooting for five.
Hopefully one every month,moving forward, and I think that
will be cool up until theholidays.
(07:51):
I just think it's so importantto have something else to look
forward to, at least for me,other than.
The same old pattern, the sameold schedule.
It's being like, oh, we're gonnago on vacation sooner.
Oh, let's do this.
Let's take a trip versusfocusing on just business goals
and putting a heavy focus onpersonal goals, self-care,
relaxing, rejuvenating.
And every time that I do relax,that's when my creativity flows
(08:14):
so easy and I have all theseideas, and then I come home and
I'm, like, oh, I know how Iwanna do this.
I know how I wanna do that.
I feel like I have the plan inplace.
I can see the strategy cometogether.
And then it feels fun.
Doesn't feel forced so I lovethat journey for me.
And something else I have done,if you haven't noticed, is focus
on myself and self-care This ismy favorite time of motherhood
(08:38):
right now.
I am just soaking it in and I'mtrying not to let the moments
fleet by so quickly becausethey're at such a fun age.
My daughter is eight and she'sstill fun and she still likes to
do.
Crazy things plus gymnastics orrisk her life, who knows?
And my son is moreself-sufficient.
And he's a little chatty boy forsure.
(08:59):
He likes to tell people what todo, but their personalities and
they're still fun, they're stillkids, before they become
teenagers.
While I enjoy that moment forthem, I'm realizing that I can't
get myself too lost inmotherhood to where I forget
about myself because my moodswill shift, my energy levels
will crash, and then I'll thinkto myself, when's the last time
(09:19):
that I did something for me?
When's the last time you knowthat I actually.
Spent money on something Iwanted versus something that my
kids needed half the time.
They don't even need all theclothes that I buy them.
I'm just gonna say that rightthere.
I just feel like they do, andI'm just like, okay.
I always find myself at thestore buying them something they
don't need and then being like,huh.
But yet I am still wearing twoyears ago clothing.
(09:40):
Whoops.
So this year I'm making a veryconscious shift of focusing on
myself.
Of course not, forgetting myfamily, but just shifting it a
little bit and being like all.
They seem to be good with theirwardrobe.
Let's look at yours.
Is there anything in here thatyou have had since you were
pregnant?
Can we get rid of that?
(10:00):
Can we do a closet cleanse soyeah, focus on self.
I think it's been going well sofar.
I had two new hobby goals forthis year, and I already
completed them in quarter one,which is what I'm telling you.
Like I think my goals are tooeasy.
I thought they were hard, butthey're not.
So the adult coloring is superfun.
I haven't done it in a minutebecause I'm starting to get like
decision fatigue.
I bought the 158 markercollection and I can't decide.
(10:25):
Which color to choose and it'sso stressful'cause there's so
many colors.
But when I do get the hang ofit, it is relaxing to be able to
just color and have some lo-fimusic in the background.
While my husband yaps about hisday and I'm just like, this is
great.
This is fine.
This is good for me.
And I have taken journaling to awhole nother level.
I actually bought a working deskfor my office just for
(10:49):
journaling.
There are so many a Modistickers.
I have three different journals.
I have my HP Sprocket that Ibought years and years ago.
I wanna say more than five yearsago, but it was trending at some
time.
Maybe it was on TikTok where youmaybe, no, it was before that
actually.
It was probably, it was beforeTikTok.
(11:11):
It was a long time ago, butthere was a deal and they were
so cheap back then.
I think now they're like ahundred bucks, But when I got
it, I think it was$50 and itcame with six packets of sticker
paper.
So you pretty much can Bluetoothany photo from anywhere, whether
it's your computer, whether it'syour phone, and it'll print it
and it's ink endless and it's asticker and it's really cute.
So I've been printing moments ofmy children photos that I love,
(11:34):
memories that we've made andputting that in my journal and
that has been fun.
So yeah, journaling is now.
My right hand at this point, itwas a hobby that has completely
taken over me, but it hasprovided the biggest benefits
ever.
I will always have a hobby goalbecause what on earth, when you
write down what's in your brainand you don't filter it, you
(11:55):
just write it down.
Like even if you're saying Thesun is shining through my
window, I'm looking at this,which makes me think of that,
and then everything startsflowing out.
I am telling you things willcome out on paper that you
didn't even know was in yourbrain.
Which is so weird that thoughtscan just be spiraling
subconsciously in your mind andyou're not even aware of it.
(12:15):
And it could be making youdrained, it could be making you
anxious, but if you ride it allout and get it out, whether it's
you talking to a therapist, butwriting it out, it's like you're
just telling your journal andyou don't have to wait to make
an appointment.
You can just write and see whathappens.
Highly recommend if you get ajournal and you start journaling
and you get the biggest ahas andideas.
DM me because I can talk aboutjournaling all day, every day on
(12:39):
the clock forever.
So the next thing that I've doneto achieve work life balance I
hired a new team member and Ihave decided to finally stop
doing every single thing in mybusiness.
And to be fair, I wasn't likethis with my photography
business.
It was very rinse and repeat.
But on my business is completelydifferent.
(13:01):
My new team member is helping memanage my inbox finally, once
and for all.
I just, I don't know.
I just didn't know where tostart and I don't mind checking
emails.
But do I have to check emails?
No.
So I'm letting that go.
In addition to my childrenhaving a summer, I would like to
have a summer with them, and Idon't know, something just tells
me this is gonna be a reallygood year.
(13:23):
For me enjoying motherhood andmy kids enjoying summer with me.
My daughter got straight A's.
My son is in preschool, I wantthem to think of summer as like
their reward for working so hardand then also enjoying all this
nonstop family time.
And if I ever decide tohomeschool, so help me Then I
can know whether or not that issomething I could do.
(13:45):
So hiring a team member tomanage my inbox to help me with
all the things that I put off.
I could just delegate that.
It'll be nice and they alreadyhave a tiny team.
I have somebody who helps mewith the podcast.
I have co-coach in my program,but I don't think I necessarily
had a team member.
That manage my entire businessin terms of admin.
I'm excited about that.
(14:05):
So those are the ways this yearthat I'm handling work, self,
and motherhood in a way thatfeels.
Really doable and very balanced.
And like I said, it really helpsthat my kids are a little bit
older and they can play outsideand I can keep an eye on them
and take them on trips.
We're not changing diapersanymore.
We're not waking up every hourin the middle of the night.
(14:25):
It just is so fun to me, thiswas the self-sufficient kid age,
and I know it's gonna pass soquickly.
And I'm just trying to enjoy itas much as possible.
Before they get too old and theydon't think I'm cool anymore.
So right now they think I'mcool.
Soon they won't think I'm cooland I wanna enjoy that.
And I always wanna live lifewithout regrets.
So in order for me to do that, Ihave to make plans and I have to
(14:49):
have goals.
And people are probably thinkingI'm.
So goal oriented, and you arecorrect because when I don't, I
feel like my life is so chaotic.
If you don't make a plan, youplan to fail.
That's what they say.
And it's really true.
Before I started meal planningand meal prepping, I feel like
it would come a certain time andbe like, oh, I had to buy
groceries.
(15:09):
Oh, am I making dinner?
What am I gonna make?
And I just don't like feelingout of control and constantly in
a state of panic and anxiety.
I want to feel like things havea plan, things are moving along,
and there's not necessarily agoal here.
I'm just like, okay, let's makesure.
That I take the kids to thelibrary.
They love the library, right?
Let's get some books.
(15:30):
Let's read to the kids.
Let's stay up all night.
Their favorite thing right nowis movie night.
They like to pop popcorn andmake a palette on the floor.
So simple.
I remember somebody saying aboutchildhood that.
Your every day is gonna be acore memory and you don't get to
decide what that core memory is.
And if I think back when I wasyounger, the things that I
remember the most was just anordinary day with my parents.
(15:54):
An ordinary day where my dad wasplaying dinosaur and we would
jump on his back, an ordinaryday where mom was making mac and
cheese and hot dogs.
Would I make that today?
But it's my, actually myhusband's favorite nonetheless,
I am trying to really soak itin.
I feel like I'm in such a goodhead space right now with all
the work that I've been doingand prepping I have been doing
(16:16):
for Q1 and Q2, and now I'm readyto walk.
In the beginning, all the workthat I've been pretty much
working towards since thisrebrand, since the spring, and
now we're getting into summerwe're in summer.
I don't know, it's been a weirdsummer here.
It's been 60 degrees and thenit's been 80 degrees, and now
that it's summer, I kind ofwanna reap a little bit of what
(16:36):
I've sewed.
All the hard work I've put inthe year, and I think it's time
for me to enjoy it.
And actually live the life thatI wanted to live.
Why I built this business in thefirst place was yes, one, to
change the lives of femalewedding photographers and help
them build this beautifulsix-figure photography empire
while enjoying life with theirkids.
(16:56):
I wanna do the exact same thingas I'm teaching them.
I've done it before withphotography, but now I wanna do
it online and.
While it's taken me a little bitof time to figure out all of the
things,'cause it's a veryconvoluted, multidimensional,
layered business.
I'm at the place now where I'vegotten the hang of it.
And I'm ready to reap thebenefits, enjoy it, and show my
(17:19):
daughter that you can be anentrepreneur, you can be a
mother, and you can also spendtime with your children.
So that's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna hop off right now andactually make their lunch I will
see you guys in the nextepisode.
We're having lots of guestexperts this summer, so
definitely tune in.
You're gonna learn so much frommy friends, and I will probably
pop in here pretty soon, but younever know.
(17:42):
I'll see you in the nextepisode.
Welcome to the Wedding Atelier podcast.
(00:02):
I am so excited to be here withmy full voice now.
I have lost my voice probably onand off since April.
It has been a ride and about twoor three ginger chews a day.
Two, get my voice back to whereI want it.
And yes.
Now we sound all crispy cleartoday.
This episode is gonna be alittle non-traditional, I guess
(00:24):
off the cuff.
I was just thinking about itbecause this summer is here.
My kids are out of school, myson's out of preschool, and I
normally have them go to summerschool so I can work, but for
some reason this year I justfelt the need to let them enjoy
summer.
I've learned that they're somuch older now.
Like my daughter's eight, my sonis four.
(00:45):
but he acts like he's five.
He's always trying to tellpeople what to do.
The point being is that they'rea little bit more
self-sufficient now, where theycan play outside and I can see
them just playing with otherkids.
They're actually outside rightnow because.
It's giving nineties, and I amquite obsessed.
I've always wanted my kids to beoutside kids.
I was an outside kid up until Iwas about a teenager when it
(01:08):
wasn't cold anymore.
And of course it just got toohot and I don't like sweating.
But yeah, it's just really coolto be able to have that
flexibility and.
I just wanna tell you what I'mdoing this year, how I'm going
to stay sane this summer, butalso make simple sales while not
sacrificing everything.
We just did a deep clean of allthe kids' rooms.
(01:29):
Every quarter, it's spring,summer, and fall.
We just throw away all of thenonsense, the broken toys, the
things don't have a match, andwe take out a big garbage bag
and my kids and I just throweverything away that we just do
not feel connected to.
My daughter threw away the mostthings, and yet still has a ton
more.
(01:50):
It's a work in progress.
But my son was able to gothrough all of his things and be
like, I don't play with thatanymore.
I don't want that anymore.
And so that was a great day tostart my summer of being, okay,
we have cleaned, we're gettingdressed, we're gonna go shopping
for this week for groceries, andnow I'm prepping lunch and
dinner because obviously they'regonna be at home.
(02:12):
My son eats four to five mealsper day.
And I'm not exaggerating.
He's got a head on him, but he'snot huge.
Like he's not a big stocky boy,but he eats nonstop and so does
my husband.
So I'm pretty much cooking for afamily of five or six to make
sure we have leftovers to makesure that my son can go outside,
(02:32):
come in and eat, and then it'sdinner time.
I am learning how to meal prepfor lunch and dinner and how to
plan for leftovers and how toplan for this.
Making sure I'm not cooking thesame thing so nobody gets tired
of it and I don't have too muchof one thing.
So that has been fun is comingup with a summer food schedule.
Meal prepping is new for me'cause I'm so used to just being
(02:53):
able to give myself somethingreally simple avocado, toast
with egg.
And that chili oil trend that itis with Trader Joe's garlic
Chili oil.
So good.
Look it up on TikTok if youhaven't already.
It's delicious.
And.
I always put like a garlicbutter on top to just make this
nice, crunchy high in fat,low-ish in calorie breakfast so
(03:14):
that I'm not completely workingmyself to death, and then I'm
starving at two 30, wondering ifthe world's gonna end.
So I'm learning to put myselffirst in terms of taking care of
myself.
Feeding myself good things,moving my body.
I bought a walking pad a coupleyears ago and I just don't
really like to use it'cause Ilove to be outside rather.
But at the speed that I wannawalk and how long I wanna walk
(03:36):
and how many steps I wanna getin, it just makes sense for me
to be on the walking pad andopen the window and pretend that
it's the outside.
'cause there's no way my kidscan walk three to five miles
with me at this age.
So having that has been helpful.
I started off my day doing that.
I was like, all right, let mejust walk for 30 minutes.
Let me look at my emails.
Let me check up on anything thatI wanna get.
Done.
Let me see my students, howthey're doing is there any
(03:57):
announcements I need to make?
So I did all my admin stuff onthe walking pad and I feel like
it really cleared my mindbecause I'm not a morning
person.
I hate getting up in themorning.
I hate speaking to anybodyanytime before nine 30 in the
morning.
Honestly, my preferred time is12:00 PM 12:00 PM I'm ready to
do things, get out there,actually put on a face and speak
(04:19):
to people.
But other than that, I'm prettymuch sitting at the edge of my
bed wondering how I ended uphere.
That fox meme at the edge of thebed with his eyes bulged open.
That is me at seven 30 in themorning, but I have to get up
early because I need to havetime for myself before my kids
get up and my son starts cryingto me that he's starving.
(04:39):
Yeah, starving for pancakes.
That is my life the moment hewakes up.
Mom, I want pancakes.
I'm just like, what?
It's seven 30 in the morning.
How does your stomach even talkto you this early?
I get up a little bit earlierjust so I can have at least an
hour or half an hour to myself.
I journal a little bit.
I do some morning pages,definitely inspired by the
(05:00):
artist's way.
I suggest everybody ever foreverin their life journals.
It is so important to just clearyour mind you just don't want
your brain all fogged and cloudywhen you're starting the day.
Like you don't want anyresiduals from the past day, the
past week.
I don't know.
I just believe in self-carehardcore.
So journaling if I need to doit, Reading my Bible, praying,
(05:21):
all those things, gettingactive, if my kids are gone,
I'll probably walk a couple ofmiles outside while it's still
nice.
And the weather here is reallynice.
In the morning it's 60, 70, sothat's my preferred, but.
If my kids are here, then I willwalk inside.
That is fine.
I just need to be active.
'cause I've noticed that whenI'm not active I get really
lethargic, apathetic.
(05:42):
I get sleepy.
When you have an online businessand you're on the computer all
the time, because you're editingphotos, culling photos,
answering emails, whatever thatlooks like, it just, it's really
draining to your brain, to youreyes.
And your body was meant to move.
I really believe that when wemove, oh, sorry, my neighbor's
dog just ran the street.
Hello.
(06:02):
But when we move our bodies, Ifeel like we're happier, we're
better, and we just feel better.
And it's not even about losingweight necessarily, it's just
about getting your brain going.
I don't know.
There's something to it.
I feel like every time I hitthat 10 K mark, my light bulb
just comes on and the sun startsshining in my brain.
I can't explain it.
There's scientific proof behindit.
(06:23):
10 K steps is the moment ofclarity.
It's happiness, it's dopamine,it's everything, but it's not
always realistic.
Can you walk 10 K steps everysingle day with kids in a summer
and all the other things?
Probably not.
But moving your body in general,20 minutes a day, 30 minutes a
day, I think that's.
That's a good idea.
So something else that I'm doingis planning my work life
(06:45):
balance, the summer and fall.
I usually go pretty hard,quarter one and quarter two so
that I can rest more quarterthree, quarter four.
So I build the plan quarter one,and I'm setting up my goals and
my expectations.
And then quarter two is lettingme know is there anything we
need to tweak?
Is there anything that we needto take up a notch?
What are your sales plans, yourgoals, and then Q3 is all
(07:09):
vacation.
I think it's, yeah, it's allvacation and then my kids get
ready to go back to school.
And then Q4 is one last launchthen holidays.
And then start making a plan forthe next year towards like the
end of December.
So that's pretty much it.
That's how I plan my work and mylife and my balance.
And my biggest thing is alwayssetting aside, at least, it used
(07:30):
to be three vacations a year,but then when I did that so
easily, when I just had thatgoal, I was like, okay, let me
do four.
And then Q1, I already had fourvacations planned, so I was
like, okay, let's do five.
So we're shooting for five.
Hopefully one every month,moving forward, and I think that
will be cool up until theholidays.
(07:51):
I just think it's so importantto have something else to look
forward to, at least for me,other than.
The same old pattern, the sameold schedule.
It's being like, oh, we're gonnago on vacation sooner.
Oh, let's do this.
Let's take a trip versusfocusing on just business goals
and putting a heavy focus onpersonal goals, self-care,
relaxing, rejuvenating.
And every time that I do relax,that's when my creativity flows
(08:14):
so easy and I have all theseideas, and then I come home and
I'm, like, oh, I know how Iwanna do this.
I know how I wanna do that.
I feel like I have the plan inplace.
I can see the strategy cometogether.
And then it feels fun.
Doesn't feel forced so I lovethat journey for me.
And something else I have done,if you haven't noticed, is focus
on myself and self-care This ismy favorite time of motherhood
(08:38):
right now.
I am just soaking it in and I'mtrying not to let the moments
fleet by so quickly becausethey're at such a fun age.
My daughter is eight and she'sstill fun and she still likes to
do.
Crazy things plus gymnastics orrisk her life, who knows?
And my son is moreself-sufficient.
And he's a little chatty boy forsure.
(08:59):
He likes to tell people what todo, but their personalities and
they're still fun, they're stillkids, before they become
teenagers.
While I enjoy that moment forthem, I'm realizing that I can't
get myself too lost inmotherhood to where I forget
about myself because my moodswill shift, my energy levels
will crash, and then I'll thinkto myself, when's the last time
(09:19):
that I did something for me?
When's the last time you knowthat I actually.
Spent money on something Iwanted versus something that my
kids needed half the time.
They don't even need all theclothes that I buy them.
I'm just gonna say that rightthere.
I just feel like they do, andI'm just like, okay.
I always find myself at thestore buying them something they
don't need and then being like,huh.
But yet I am still wearing twoyears ago clothing.
(09:40):
Whoops.
So this year I'm making a veryconscious shift of focusing on
myself.
Of course not, forgetting myfamily, but just shifting it a
little bit and being like all.
They seem to be good with theirwardrobe.
Let's look at yours.
Is there anything in here thatyou have had since you were
pregnant?
Can we get rid of that?
(10:00):
Can we do a closet cleanse soyeah, focus on self.
I think it's been going well sofar.
I had two new hobby goals forthis year, and I already
completed them in quarter one,which is what I'm telling you.
Like I think my goals are tooeasy.
I thought they were hard, butthey're not.
So the adult coloring is superfun.
I haven't done it in a minutebecause I'm starting to get like
decision fatigue.
I bought the 158 markercollection and I can't decide.
(10:25):
Which color to choose and it'sso stressful'cause there's so
many colors.
But when I do get the hang ofit, it is relaxing to be able to
just color and have some lo-fimusic in the background.
While my husband yaps about hisday and I'm just like, this is
great.
This is fine.
This is good for me.
And I have taken journaling to awhole nother level.
I actually bought a working deskfor my office just for
(10:49):
journaling.
There are so many a Modistickers.
I have three different journals.
I have my HP Sprocket that Ibought years and years ago.
I wanna say more than five yearsago, but it was trending at some
time.
Maybe it was on TikTok where youmaybe, no, it was before that
actually.
It was probably, it was beforeTikTok.
(11:11):
It was a long time ago, butthere was a deal and they were
so cheap back then.
I think now they're like ahundred bucks, But when I got
it, I think it was$50 and itcame with six packets of sticker
paper.
So you pretty much can Bluetoothany photo from anywhere, whether
it's your computer, whether it'syour phone, and it'll print it
and it's ink endless and it's asticker and it's really cute.
So I've been printing moments ofmy children photos that I love,
(11:34):
memories that we've made andputting that in my journal and
that has been fun.
So yeah, journaling is now.
My right hand at this point, itwas a hobby that has completely
taken over me, but it hasprovided the biggest benefits
ever.
I will always have a hobby goalbecause what on earth, when you
write down what's in your brainand you don't filter it, you
(11:55):
just write it down.
Like even if you're saying Thesun is shining through my
window, I'm looking at this,which makes me think of that,
and then everything startsflowing out.
I am telling you things willcome out on paper that you
didn't even know was in yourbrain.
Which is so weird that thoughtscan just be spiraling
subconsciously in your mind andyou're not even aware of it.
(12:15):
And it could be making youdrained, it could be making you
anxious, but if you ride it allout and get it out, whether it's
you talking to a therapist, butwriting it out, it's like you're
just telling your journal andyou don't have to wait to make
an appointment.
You can just write and see whathappens.
Highly recommend if you get ajournal and you start journaling
and you get the biggest ahas andideas.
DM me because I can talk aboutjournaling all day, every day on
(12:39):
the clock forever.
So the next thing that I've doneto achieve work life balance I
hired a new team member and Ihave decided to finally stop
doing every single thing in mybusiness.
And to be fair, I wasn't likethis with my photography
business.
It was very rinse and repeat.
But on my business is completelydifferent.
(13:01):
My new team member is helping memanage my inbox finally, once
and for all.
I just, I don't know.
I just didn't know where tostart and I don't mind checking
emails.
But do I have to check emails?
No.
So I'm letting that go.
In addition to my childrenhaving a summer, I would like to
have a summer with them, and Idon't know, something just tells
me this is gonna be a reallygood year.
(13:23):
For me enjoying motherhood andmy kids enjoying summer with me.
My daughter got straight A's.
My son is in preschool, I wantthem to think of summer as like
their reward for working so hardand then also enjoying all this
nonstop family time.
And if I ever decide tohomeschool, so help me Then I
can know whether or not that issomething I could do.
(13:45):
So hiring a team member tomanage my inbox to help me with
all the things that I put off.
I could just delegate that.
It'll be nice and they alreadyhave a tiny team.
I have somebody who helps mewith the podcast.
I have co-coach in my program,but I don't think I necessarily
had a team member.
That manage my entire businessin terms of admin.
I'm excited about that.
(14:05):
So those are the ways this yearthat I'm handling work, self,
and motherhood in a way thatfeels.
Really doable and very balanced.
And like I said, it really helpsthat my kids are a little bit
older and they can play outsideand I can keep an eye on them
and take them on trips.
We're not changing diapersanymore.
We're not waking up every hourin the middle of the night.
(14:25):
It just is so fun to me, thiswas the self-sufficient kid age,
and I know it's gonna pass soquickly.
And I'm just trying to enjoy itas much as possible.
Before they get too old and theydon't think I'm cool anymore.
So right now they think I'mcool.
Soon they won't think I'm cooland I wanna enjoy that.
And I always wanna live lifewithout regrets.
So in order for me to do that, Ihave to make plans and I have to
(14:49):
have goals.
And people are probably thinkingI'm.
So goal oriented, and you arecorrect because when I don't, I
feel like my life is so chaotic.
If you don't make a plan, youplan to fail.
That's what they say.
And it's really true.
Before I started meal planningand meal prepping, I feel like
it would come a certain time andbe like, oh, I had to buy
groceries.
(15:09):
Oh, am I making dinner?
What am I gonna make?
And I just don't like feelingout of control and constantly in
a state of panic and anxiety.
I want to feel like things havea plan, things are moving along,
and there's not necessarily agoal here.
I'm just like, okay, let's makesure.
That I take the kids to thelibrary.
They love the library, right?
Let's get some books.
(15:30):
Let's read to the kids.
Let's stay up all night.
Their favorite thing right nowis movie night.
They like to pop popcorn andmake a palette on the floor.
So simple.
I remember somebody saying aboutchildhood that.
Your every day is gonna be acore memory and you don't get to
decide what that core memory is.
And if I think back when I wasyounger, the things that I
remember the most was just anordinary day with my parents.
(15:54):
An ordinary day where my dad wasplaying dinosaur and we would
jump on his back, an ordinaryday where mom was making mac and
cheese and hot dogs.
Would I make that today?
But it's my, actually myhusband's favorite nonetheless,
I am trying to really soak itin.
I feel like I'm in such a goodhead space right now with all
the work that I've been doingand prepping I have been doing
(16:16):
for Q1 and Q2, and now I'm readyto walk.
In the beginning, all the workthat I've been pretty much
working towards since thisrebrand, since the spring, and
now we're getting into summerwe're in summer.
I don't know, it's been a weirdsummer here.
It's been 60 degrees and thenit's been 80 degrees, and now
that it's summer, I kind ofwanna reap a little bit of what
(16:36):
I've sewed.
All the hard work I've put inthe year, and I think it's time
for me to enjoy it.
And actually live the life thatI wanted to live.
Why I built this business in thefirst place was yes, one, to
change the lives of femalewedding photographers and help
them build this beautifulsix-figure photography empire
while enjoying life with theirkids.
(16:56):
I wanna do the exact same thingas I'm teaching them.
I've done it before withphotography, but now I wanna do
it online and.
While it's taken me a little bitof time to figure out all of the
things,'cause it's a veryconvoluted, multidimensional,
layered business.
I'm at the place now where I'vegotten the hang of it.
And I'm ready to reap thebenefits, enjoy it, and show my
(17:19):
daughter that you can be anentrepreneur, you can be a
mother, and you can also spendtime with your children.
So that's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna hop off right now andactually make their lunch I will
see you guys in the nextepisode.
We're having lots of guestexperts this summer, so
definitely tune in.
You're gonna learn so much frommy friends, and I will probably
pop in here pretty soon, but younever know.
(17:42):
I'll see you in the nextepisode.
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