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Autism

Play Therapy Techniques for Autism | Play therapy interventions offer a non-threatening way to help a child work through anxiety and trauma, but did you know it’s also a great form of autism therapy? We’re sharing 4 play therapy strategies plus 19 toys, activities, and games to improve pretend play, language and communication skills, emotional self-regulation, and self-control. #playtherapy #therapygames #therapyactivities #selfregulation #autism #autismtherapy #autismactivities #autismtoys

4 Play Therapy Techniques for Autism [And Why They Work]

How to Calm an Autistic Child | Perfect for kids with autism and sensory processing disorder, this collection of 31 strategies to help calm an autistic meltdown at home and in the classroom will teach you prevention techniques, tips for shortening the length and intensity of sensory meltdowns, as well as our favorite self-regulation and calming activities to bring kids (and parents!) back to a state of zen. #autism #sensoryprocessing #autisticmeltdowns #specialneedsparenting #specialeducation

How to Calm an Autistic Child: 31 Tips for Managing Autistic Meltdowns

79 Meaningful Autism Tattoos to Raise Autism Awareness | Perfect for parents and family members looking for autism tattoo designs to symbolize the love they feel their son, daughter, brother, sister, etc., these ideas will inspire you. From basic puzzle piece and autism ribbon tattoos, to watercolor autism tattoos for men and women, to unique and small autism tattoos that aren’t a puzzle piece, you'll love these designs! #autism #autismawareness #autismtattoo #tattoodesigns #tattooideasforwomen

Autism Awareness: 79 Meaningful Autism Tattoos You’ll Want to Get

Autism and Noise Sensitivity | Whether your child suffers from noise anxiety due to autism, sensory processing disorder, or as an anxiety disorder, this collection of tips and products is designed to help children with misophonia. From noise cancelling headphones to white noise machines to music streaming options, these ideas will help with exposure therapy and ensure your child is prepared in emergency situations. #autism #sensoryprocessingdisorder #misophenia #specialneedsparenting #ASD #SPD

Autism and Noise Sensitivity: 7 Tips for Kids with Sensory Anxiety

Good Behavior Charts for Kids | Looking for the best reward system for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, kids in first grade, and beyond? From our best tips for creating sticker charts, to our fave free printable behavior charts, to reward chart ideas you can use for just about anything, these DIY ideas will inspire you to replace punishments and consequences with positive reinforcement! #behaviorcharts #rewardsystem #behaviormanagement #chorechart #positiveparenting #positivediscipline

Good Behavior Charts: 28 Reward System Tips and Templates for Kids

26 Reading and Autism Ideas | Autism and reading comprehension can be difficult for parents and teachers to teach to children. Whether your child or student is a struggling reader, has difficulty with WH questions, needs help with sight words and decoding strategies, or has nonverbal autism, these special education teaching strategies and literacy activities are a good place to start! #autism #ASD #specialneeds #specialeducation #literacy #sightwords #strugglingreader #decodingstrategies

Reading and Autism: 26 Teaching Tips and Literacy Activities for Kids with Autism

Dealing with Oppositional Defiant Disorder | Parenting and teaching a child with ODD is hard, but there are many different treatment and therapy options, and this post contains all the signs and symptoms as well as 18 strategies to help parents and teachers discipline a child with ODD (and ADHD) at home and in the classroom. From behavior charts to logical consequences to anger management, these ideas are practical and effective! #ODD #oppositionaldefiantdisoder #ADHD #positiveparenting

Dealing with Oppositional Defiant Disorder? 18 Tips for Parents and Teachers

Sensory Processing Disorder and Sleep | Attention parents! If you’re looking for sleep tips and sleep products for kids with special needs like autism, SPD, and ADHD, we’ve got 19 sleep strategies and sensory products for children that work. From weighted blankets and melatonin, to essential oils and bed tents, these ideas are equal parts practical and effective! #sleep #kidssleep #sensoryprocessingdisorder #SPD #autism #ADHD #specialneeds #sensorytips

Sensory Processing Disorder and Sleep: 19 Tips and Products that Help

WH Questions Speech Therapy | If you’re looking for WH question exercises, activities, and worksheets to help with language development and reading comprehension in kids with autism and speech delays, we’ve got 15 ideas you’ll love. Perfect for kids in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school, these speech therapy activities teach children how to go about asking and answering questions in a fun way. #WHquestions #speechtherapy #speechtherapyactivities #SLP #autism #ASD

WH Question Exercises: 15 Speech Therapy Activities and Games for Kids

ADHD In the Classroom | Teaching kids with ADHD can be extremely challenging. From poor behavior management and an inability to pay attention, to speaking of out turn and struggling with hyperactivity and poor self-control, teachers can find it difficult to find ways to help young children with ADHD. Check out 18 of our best teaching tips and ADHD strategies for a successful school year! #ADHD #teacher #classroommanagement #teaching

ADHD In the Classroom: 18 Teaching Tips to Maintain Focus and Motivation

Sensory Room Equipment Ideas | If you’re looking for sensory room ideas to help kids with sensory processing disorder and/or autism, this post will teach you how to make a sensory room on a budget. With 55 sensory toys and sensory products to help develop the proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile, auditory, oral, and visual systems and great calming strategies, these sensory activities won’t disappoint! #autism #sensoryprocessingdisoder #sensoryroom #sensoryactivities #sensory #spd #sensoryplay

55 Sensory Room Equipment Essentials for Kids with Autism and SPD

Social Skills Activities for Kids with Autism | Perfect for kids in preschool, kindergarten, middle school, and even teens, this collection of parenting tips and games will making teaching problem solving, self-control, self-regulation, and social emotional skills easier. #autism #selfcontrol #selfregulation #socialskills #socialemotional

18 Social Skills Activities for Kids with Autism and Sensory Issues

19 ADHD Parenting Tips that Work | If you’re the mom (or dad) of a child with ADHD or other learning disabilities that cause problems with attention, hyperactivity, and/or self-control, we’ve got 19 simple yet effective ideas and strategies for families you can start implementing with your children TODAY to help improve focus, concentration, and behavior management at home and in the classroom. #ADHD #ADD #parenting #specialneeds #positivediscipline #positiveparenting

How to Discipline a Child with ADHD: 19 ADHD Parenting Tips that Work

If your kids are prone to after school temper tantrums, this post explains why they occur, how to identify triggers, and the best coping strategies to prevent an after school emotional meltdown. Perfect for kids of all ages and abilities, included special needs kids with autism, sensory processing disorder, and ADHD, these parenting tips will also help your children with self-control and self-regulation! #tantrums #meltdowns #backtoschool #autism #SPD #ADHD #specialneeds #parenting #parenting101

The After School Emotional Meltdown: 15 Preventative Tips for Parents

17 Tools to Include in a Calm Down Kit for Kids | Does your child suffer from anxiety that makes self-regulation difficult? Perfect for children in preschool, kindergarten, middle school, and beyond (even for teens!), we’re sharing 6 coping skills and 17 calming tools to help your child with anger management and explosive feelings at home, in the classroom, and while on the go. #anxiety #mentalhealth #selfregulation #selfregulationactivities #zonesofregulation #selfcontrol #autism #calmdownkit

23 Tips for Creating an Effective Calm Down Kit for Your Anxious Child

Therapy Toys for Special Needs Kids | 19 easy and fun occupational therapist approved toys for kids with developmental delays like autism, sensory processing disorder, and cerebral palsy. Perfect for use in speech therapy, play therapy, occupational therapy, and at home, these products and activities help kids develop their gross motor and fine motor skills, aid in language development, and help improve cognitive skills.

19 Therapist-Approved Therapy Toys and Games for Special Needs Kids

Visual Schedules for Children with Autism | Looking for daily routine charts to use in the classroom? Need free printables to use at home? Looking for DIY daily and weekly visual schedules for autistic children? From simple charts that teach life skills, to behavior support ideas, to portable PECS pictures, learn how to make your own visual routines and where to buy ready made communication boards that last.

Visual Schedules for Children with Autism: How and Why They Work!

How to Stay Calm When Your Child is Yelling | Want to know how to stay calm as a parent, even when your children are out of control? We’re sharing 9 tips for moms and dads who want to know how to be more patient, calm, and present with their kids. Whether your child is just misbehaving, or struggles with developmental delays like ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, and/or ODD, these behavior management tips will help!

Special Needs Parenting: How to Stay Calm When Your Child is Yelling

Autism and School Anxiety | 13 tips and coping skills to help kids with Asperger syndrome, autism, and sensory processing disorder handle feelings of anxiety and overwhelm in the classroom (and beyond). We’ve included tips for teaching students with autism as well as our favorite products and ideas to help parents empower their anxious kids and teach appropriate self-regulation at school and at home.

Autism and School Anxiety: 13 Tips to Help ASD Kids Cope in the Classroom

Anxiety in Children | Everything you need to know about the signs and symptoms of childhood anxiety (stomachaches, lack of sleep, school anxiety, etc.), the best parenting tips for mom and dad, and 7 coping skills and activities for kids with big worries. #anxiety #mentalhealth #kidstherapy #playtherapy

Anxiety in Children: 15 Tips and Coping Strategies to Teach Self-Regulation

Executive Functioning Activities for Kids | If you’re looking for tips, activities, and games to help develop your child’s working memory, impulse control, problem solving, time management, organization, social, and self-control skills, we’re sharing 17 tips and activities to help support your child at home. Perfect for kids with learning disabilities like ADHD, these ideas will help your child be successful at school and beyond!

Practice That Feels Like Play: 9 Executive Functioning Activities for Kids

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‘HOW YOU DO ANYTHING IS HOW YOU DO EVERYTHING.’ —Jess Sims
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While some people love reading self-help books or listening to inspiring podcasts, quotes, mantras, and song lyrics are my jam. I spend hours upon hours scrolling through my social media feeds each week searching for motivational quotes and sayings, and I copy the ones I love most to the notes app on my phone so I never forget them. 
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I have a quote and lyric for pretty much every feeling and occasion, and if you follow me on stories, you know that I try to share something motivating and inspiring every morning. 
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I’ve recently been using short quotes/mantras to help me stay focused. Mantras are typically used in meditation, but they are also a fabulous tool to help you stay grounded. The idea is to pick a word or phrase with meaning to you, and each time your mind starts to wander, you repeat the mantra over and over to bring yourself back to the present moment.
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I use mantras to help me stay productive with work, to keep me motivated when I want to push myself during my workouts, to stay present when I’m overwhelmed and trying to do too many things at once, and to stop me from ruminating about the things that make me stressed and anxious. 
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If you’re looking for inspiring quotes and mantras to help you stay focused, present, and calm, here are some of my favorites!
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‘Be present where your feet are.’
—Unknown
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You don’t have to. You get to.
—Jess Sims
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Easy is bullshit.
—Christine D’Ercole
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Feel the burn, step closer to the fire.
—Emma Lovewell
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A setback is an avenue for a comeback.
—Alex Toussaint 
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Hold the vision, trust the process.
—Unknown
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No challenge, no change.
—Robin Arzon
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Acknowledge the fear and do it anyway.
—Emma Lovewell
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Impossible is just an opinion.
—Paulo Coelho
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Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love. 
—Hannah Marie Corbin
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Fix your ponytail and try again.
—Unknown
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👇🏻 What quotes and mantras keep you focused and present when you’re overwhelmed or anxious?
‘ALL GREAT CHANGES ARE PRECEDED BY CHAOS.’ — ‘ALL GREAT CHANGES ARE PRECEDED BY CHAOS.’ —Unknown
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f you’ve been following me on stories, you know we moved to a new house a couple of weeks ago. I was going to document the whole thing, but moving during a global pandemic in a city that is completely locked down with a child in virtual school is… 🤪
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This was the biggest move I’ve ever undertaken, and my Type A personality really struggled with how little control I had over everything. Lists and schedules are my jam, but it seemed the harder I tried to keep things on track, the quicker they fell apart.
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I eventually decided to just embrace the chaos. I allowed myself to let go and just enjoy the excitement of it all and it ended up being the smoothest, most enjoyable move I’ve ever experienced. We’re still waiting on furniture deliveries and have lots of painting to do, but since no one will be visiting us for months (years?!) on end given the state of the world right now, there is absolutely no pressure.
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And that feels great.
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If you’re struggling, here are 4 things that helped me find order in the chaos that has been our lives for the last several weeks:
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✔️ EXERCISE. I start every single day with a hard workout to get those feel-good endorphins flowing. It makes me feel accomplished, helps me work through whatever is on my mind, and sets the tone for the rest of my day.
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✔️ ENERGY MANAGEMENT. I do all of my most pressing tasks when my energy is high and my mind is clear, and save all of the monotonous, mindless stuff (think: responding to emails, meal prep, folding laundry) for the evening.
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✔️ NEVER TOUCH SOMETHING TWICE. Once I ‘touch’ a task, I deal with it then and there so it’s taken off of my plate, rather than ’touching’ it multiple times and allowing it to take up extra energy and mental space. This is one of the best productivity tips I’ve ever read and it’s been a life-saver for me lately! 
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✔️ DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT. I struggle the most with this, but the last few weeks have been a great exercise in challenging a lot of my Type A tendencies.
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👇🏻 How do YOU stay on track when you feel overwhelmed?
‘SELF-CARE ISN’T SELFISH.’ . If you met me I ‘SELF-CARE ISN’T SELFISH.’
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If you met me IRL, you’d probably [hopefully?] never know I suffer from anxiety, and would likely assume I’m just a high maintenance, high strung, Type A personality. All of those things are in fact true, LOL, but what you may not realize is that each of those traits of mine are the result of years of feeling anxious and worried and stressed.
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I grew up at a time when we were taught to keep our struggles to ourselves, and when I think back to grades 3 and 4 when my anxiety was at it’s absolute worst, it pains me to remember how much I suffered in silence. I feel proud that I was able to overcome some pretty tough stuff on my own, but I refuse to let history repeat itself.
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I will not raise my daughter in a world that stigmatizes mental illness.
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According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 38% of Canadians say their mental health has declined since the start of the pandemic, and people already struggling with their mental health were 2 times more likely to say their mental health has declined further. 
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One of the biggest hurdles for anyone suffering from mental illness is overcoming the stigma. It is the number one reason why people living with mental illness do not seek help.
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Today is #BellLetsTalk day and Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for every applicable text, local or long distance call, tweet or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk - all at no cost to participants beyond what they would normally pay their service provider for online or phone access. 
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
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Let’s end the stigma.
‘STOP TRYING TO CALM THE STORM. CALM YOURSELF, T ‘STOP TRYING TO CALM THE STORM. CALM YOURSELF, THE STORM WILL PASS.’ —Unknown
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My daughter went back to school virtually today, and while the Type A in me is excited we’re back in some kind of routine, I had forgotten just how chaotic and impractical distance learning is. A province-wide internet outage took down her teacher within 2 hours, shattering any hopes I had of grabbing a little time to myself to get caught up on all of the work stuff I’ve been putting off for the last 3 weeks. I’ve dried tears, prepared snacks, provided new Zoom logins, helped with grade 4 math, and I even made paper plates out of construction paper for a last minute craft.
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Wash, rinse, repeat.
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All is good in our world again, and soon we’ll dive back into those math problems and whatever else is on tap for homework before I retreat to my office to print off tomorrow’s agenda and worksheets. We’ll all play Roblox before dinner to help us unwind after a crazy day, and I’ll stay up later than I want to tonight trying to get caught up because I know tomorrow will bring more unforeseen challenges, and I hate starting my day feeling behind schedule.
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Parenting in a pandemic is extra messy, and if this sh*t storm has taught me anything, it’s that we need to give ourselves a hell of a lot of grace right now. There will be days where we’re super productive and get through everything on our never-ending ‘to do’ lists, but there will be many more days where we feel like we’ve accomplished absolute nothing.
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It’s on these difficult days that we need to remind ourselves that our most important job right now is making sure our kids are healthy and happy, and that they feel safe and loved. When they look back on this time, they won’t remember if the house was clean and the laundry was folded, how often we ordered takeout, or if we gained weight. All they will remember is how we showed up for them - even on the days we were struggling to show up for ourselves.
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If the return to reality has you feeling overwhelmed today, stop trying to calm the storm. Take a deep breath, get present in this moment, remind yourself what’s important, and focus on that instead.
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We’ve got this. 💙
BACK TO REALITY… . Are you ready to get back at BACK TO REALITY…
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Are you ready to get back at it?
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While we’ve certainly been busy organizing, packing, and getting our new home ready and didn’t really relax as much as we’d hoped to over the holidays, I’ve enjoyed operating at a slower pace the last couple of weeks. We’ve stayed up late, slept in a little bit each morning, had too much to eat and drink, and enjoyed a break from routines and schedules. 
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Toronto is currently under lockdown, so my daughter is going back to school virtually tomorrow while my husband and I continue to work from home. It’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work and I’m excited to get back into a routine. The time away from my computer helped me reset and recharge, and I feel like I’m starting 2021 with more realistic expectations of myself. And that feels good.
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2020 was definitely not my favorite year, but when I look back at the last 12 months, a lot of really great things came from it. It gave me more time with my husband and daughter and brought us much closer than our busy, pre-2020 lives would’ve ever allowed. It helped me reconnect with friends I had lost contact with due to the craziness that is being a working mom. And it helped me form amazing new friendships that I will cherish forever.
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I know 2021 is likely going to be just as challenging - if not more so - as 2020 was, but for the first time since becoming a mom, I finally feel like I have a tribe of people around me. I feel less lonely than I’ve ever felt in my life, which is hilarious since we have been holed up in our house for ~10 months, but it feels pretty amazing.
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I’m not sure where I was going with this post, but suffice it to say I’m ready to caffeine and conquer! ☕️
‘ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE. KNOW THAT ‘ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE. KNOW THAT IT IS YOU WHO WILL GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, NO ONE ELSE.’ —Les Brown
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I think we can all agree that 2020 was the absolute shits, and I know we’re all looking forward to a chance to start fresh in hopes that the universe will be a little kinder to us in 2021. 
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Of course, our lives aren’t going to magically go back to the way they were at 12:01 am. It’s not easy to be positive right now, but instead of getting stuck in the suck, remember that the only thing you have control over is your attitude.  You can continue to feel sorry for yourself and mourn all the ways your life has changed, or you can straighten your crown and focus on all of the good things happening in your life.
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If you dig deep enough, you’ll see that there is so much to be grateful right now.
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And if you can’t think of anything that you feel proud of or that brings you joy, then it’s up to you to create it. Accept responsibility for your life. Stop making excuses and be the change you want to see. 
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Instead of thinking of 2021 as another year of lockdowns and restrictions while we wait for vaccinations to take place and herd immunity to take hold, look at it as an open book. 
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12 new chapters. 365 new chances. 🥂
‘BE PRESENT WHERE YOUR FEET ARE.’ —Unknown . ‘BE PRESENT WHERE YOUR FEET ARE.’ —Unknown
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What do you do when you have downtime?
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I haven’t had time off since last Christmas. We hit the ground running in January as we were planning a 2-week family vacay in March and wanted to do ALL THE THINGS beforehand so we could unplug and enjoy the trip. Our vacation obviously got cancelled, and we’ve been on autopilot ever since. I feel like the pandemic has either made people really busy, or extremely bored. There’s no in-between!
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My team and I have been busy working ahead over the past couple of months as I really wanted to unplug and unwind for a few weeks over the holidays and now that the craziness of Christmas is over, I don’t know what to do with myself!
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I’m caught up on This Is Us, we finally watched The Undoing, I’m almost done Open Book, I’ve done a lot of drawing on my iPad, I’ve had a lot of wine, I’ve eaten a ton of chocolate, we’ve played games, I’ve done my nails…and I’m bored, lol. But unless I find something else to do, I have to face packing up this house (we’re moving, ya’ll!) and I can’t face that just yet.
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👇🏻how do you unwind?
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