503. Intentional Planning and Preparation Can Help You Go Far

On this episode, Nellie reflects on their post-Disney trip experience, emphasizing the importance of alone time and a professional massage. She discuss their shift from Target to Walmart for cost-effective home upgrades, including a $520 spend on a Ninja oven, coffee maker, and kids' clothes. Nellie plans to be a stay-at-home mom, focusing on home improvements and quality time with their children. She highlights the intentionality behind their decisions, aiming to create a peaceful home environment and enjoy the newfound freedom from stress. Nellie is motivated to complete projects and tasks before their child starts full-time daycare in three months.

We will touch on:

• Post-Disney Trip Reflections
• Home Upgrades and Financial Decisions
• Intentional Planning and Preparation
• Walmart Shopping and Kids' Clothes Preparation
• Home Improvements and Minimalist Aspirations
• Enjoying Home Life and Reducing Stress
• Emerging New Self and Future Plans

Transcript

Unknown: 1:23

So this is post Disney trip. I have been alone for a couple hours now, and my nervous system very much needed alone time. I am thanking my past self because I had enough foresight to book a long massage. I love my massage chair, but it's not a true massage. It's a good it's a good happy medium for day to day aches and pains and relaxation. But nothing beats a licensed professional rubbing you down. So I have a gift card, which is even better, because it's like mom math, it's free. So I went to the ATM to get cash for a tip, and went to Walmart to get a bunch of things that I will show you when I get home. But I was enjoying going to Walmart. I have taken a break from target because, as much as I love Target, like, the prices are significantly higher, and I've been pleasantly surprised with Walmart's quality for the price, like, it's a both and, um, so I've just like, ventured to Walmart a little bit more and stay true to not going into Target, because I feel like target gets me in trouble for I don't know things that I don't necessarily need. Like, I spent$520 this morning, and it's like upgrades for our home, because that's really what, what I've been focusing on recently is clearing the way, putting systems in place for my business, for my home, and like, just getting The like the double oven, like the ninja oven and the ninja coffee maker, like I could smell the coffee being brewed this morning because it was a automatic I like set it to an automatic timer for this morning. It's such a high quality coffee maker, and I feel like I've always gone cheap with a coffee maker. I don't love Keurigs, like the one cups, like nothing against Keurig, but I love a pot of coffee, and now that I will be a stay at home mom, like I'm still running my businesses, but they're so passive and they're so automated that we're pulling them from daycare because, one, emotionally, it doesn't make sense, and financially, it doesn't make sense, and I'm really excited about it. And even dropping him off this morning, he was, like, clinging on to me, and it's like, I think especially knowing he's most likely our last, like, I never want to say he's our last, because you just never know with life. But I'm 99.9% sure he's our last and I'm okay with that. I'm very at peace with that. I have my one boy, my one girl. I love them. They're happy, healthy. Sometimes shit heads, but you'll have that sometimes I'm a shithead, so it's all good, but, like, it just reaffirmed when I dropped him off, like, Yep, we're making the right decision. So I'm maximizing the last few months that I have. So I have essentially, like, three months and some change before he comes home full time until he goes to school. So I'm really maximizing that time. One we're paying for it, and I've already given our notice, and then Emma will be out for the summer. So it's all like happening for me, and it feels so aligned, like it's not, it wasn't really a hard decision, like we took like, 48 hours to talk about it and think about it, and then, like, it was like, boom, let's go. And once I once I decide, like, I move quickly, like I move very, very quickly. So, and it feels like I love that I have the three months and some change, because it's not like, boom, decide now he's home, and I didn't have time to, like, plan and prepare. So everything is like, it's been so intentional. And sometimes I know from, like, the outside looking in, it can feel like someone like myself is moving so so fast. But like, I think it's important in these behind the scenes to know that, like, Yes, I'm moving fast, but I also have three months to plan and prepare. So yes, I made the decision, but now I have this gap of time, and that feels really, really good. So it wasn't impulsive, it wasn't stressed or forced, or any of those things. So, like, very, very intentional, and that's really been the theme of. Of everything for me recently, more than ever, intentional, intentional, intentional, so I'm kind of squirrel talking, but yes, so I'm going to go back to Walmart. Because one, I didn't have a ton of time, just because I sat in my car before I went into Walmart and and my cart was too full. So I was like, I have time after my massage, I'm going to go back. I've been on a mission to prep 30 days of kids clothes and pajamas so that way for a whole month. Like, everything's set and ready. Um, there's still choice involved. Like, it's not like you must wear this on this date, so I'll show you once they're done. But like, I have like, little foldable shelves where all the outfits are already pre done. So I took an inventory of what I already had. So I'm going to go back to Walmart after the massage to get the remaining clothes for the kids. They have, like, super affordable, cute clothes for the kids. Um, like, Target's good, but these prices are even better, and so I've just been challenging myself to, like, you don't you don't have to always compromise quality for the price. Like, I'm not one to just spend, spend something because it's cheap, like, I do want, like, quality things. And also, for kids, they're growing so fast that it doesn't need to be like, Louis Vuitton shirts or like anything like that. Like, they're going to get messy, they're going to get dirty, they're going to outgrow it. So it's like, it doesn't need to be this, like, super, super high quality for, like, that type of stuff. But like, I was even pleasantly surprised. Like, I got new dishes, a knife set for our home, and, like, the quality was amazing for the price. Like, I got new blankets. So, like, I'm a I'm an aspiring minimalist, but I'm also being very intentional with, like, buying nice, valuable things that I know we're going we're going to use, and they, like, bring peace, and there's organization and systems in place. Like, right now we have dishes that are chipped, and they're not all the same color, and they drive the bonkers. And, like, that's what I've been working on, is like getting out of that I have specific blankets for the downstairs, and they're gonna stay down there. Like, they'll they'll get washed, but, like, they're a certain collar. And I got three of them. I probably should have gotten four, so no one has to share. But Boone's still little right now, but we can always go get him another one. Um, but, yeah, so very, very intentional, so I'll go back. I wasn't anticipating having to go back, but I'll have the time, and I want to, I want to knock this out, like I'm so motivated. I feel like I've got this really good, emotional deadline ahead of me over these next three months, and so I'm just finishing up projects and tasks and loose ends systems, like getting systems in place, organization, upgrading things in our home, like enjoying our home, like, especially now that I'm going to be home more, it made perfect sense to buy the high quality coffee maker, like, that way I can just have a pot of coffee and be like, enjoying playing with Boone. Like we're not going to do like we're not going to go out a ton, like we'll do like one or two, like field trips a week, is kind of what I'm thinking. Like, even in the summer, like, I want our home to be so enjoyable that we don't feel like we have to constantly go out, because that can be draining. And like, even when I was at Walmart this morning, going to Walmart during a weekday, during the day, versus a Saturday or Sunday, holy cannoli. Like, I just was, like, walking through the aisles, like enjoying myself. And I was like, This is so much better. Like, it is mad house, like madness on the weekends there, like Emma and I went there before Disney, and it was exhausting, like there was just so many people, um, and so, like, even going during the weekday, I was just, like, so grateful that I have this opportunity that I created. Like I will take responsibility like I created this opportunity for myself, like this was not handed to me, like I have worked for this, and just being able to drop my kids off, walk around Walmart, go get a massage, go back to Walmart, upgrade things in our home, like just having the time. Like, more than anything, it's the time. I've had lots of stress success in the past, and I've really been, like, working on undoing that, and subconsciously, it's not as easy as I thought. Like, logically, I know, why would you want stress success? Like, and there was just, there was a lot of unraveling that I needed to do, that I wanted to do in my brain. And and I've been working through that, and I just feel this like whole new me that's been emerging. And it feels really, really good, like so good. So I'm going to go get my massage, and I'll show you all the things once I can I'm.