Hey everyone! How are you doing with your 2020 goals? In this post I mentioned I was struggling for years to accomplish a lot of my goals because I lacked consistency. Consistency in exercise, reading, writing for the blog/instagram, even to the smallest task of eating my daily vitamins! In December I committed to focus on consistency with my goals and tasks by incorporating these five tips. These five tips to achieving consistency have helped me get back to a workout routine, pray/meditate regularly, and overall live a happier lifestyle.
Five Tips to Consistency
1.) Start your morning off early: The morning sets the tone for the day. On the day I wake up early I am more productive and I have more time in my day. Granted its hard some days because toddlers are exhausting! And I need to get better at going to bed earlier.
2.) Set a routine: By creating a pattern in my day I begin to create a habit of certain things I need to accomplish. If its something I really want to accomplish be it praying, meditating, working out I give it the same importance I would as brushing my teeth in the morning.
3.) Set smaller goals: Setting realistic manageable goals sets me up for success. If I attain success then I naturally get motivated! I couldn’t find myself to start praying five times a day. This genius lady suggested to commit to two prayers a day but make them a habit like brushing your teeth. It’s worked I’ve been praying 2-5 prayers a day since December. Praying has turned into a form of mediation for me. Helps me unwind, relax, and focus better.
4.) Reward yourself: Treating myself for accomplishing my goals motivates me to get the job done because my eyes on the prize! A shopping spree always makes me happy so I treat myself!
5.) Give yourself grace: This girl over here I learned a lot from! She told me it’s okay to fall what’s more important is to pick right back up. People make mistakes, shit happens, and life is random. Missing a prayer, missing my morning workout, even missing a daily vitamin are all things that would bother me and I would let that take over my brain I’d fall into the rabbit hole of failure. But one mistake or mishap shouldn’t control or judge me. I pick right back up where I left off because each day is a new day in which you should #beatyesterday
Use these tips and tricks through the year and see yourself achieve those goals! I hope we all make 2020 our best year yet! What are some of your goals you are working towards this year?
I hope your 2020 is off to a great start! 2019 was the year in which for the first time in two years I actually felt like I had this whole parenting thing somewhat in control. Honestly, I have no recollection of 2017 it was all diaper changes, feedings, and my head in the clouds. 2017 was the year I had two kids under two! 2018 seemed to be all tantrums, sleepless nights, more diaper changes, and chasing the boys! Needless to say in 2019 we still had sleepless nights, sick kids, meltdowns as we started our kids in preschool, but it felt like I could actually breathe and we were in kind of a cruise control since my older one officially got potty trained, his asthma got under control, and he got over his separation anxiety. Enrolling him in preschool even for a few hours did wonders for that boy! This gave me all the more confidence to enroll my younger one too for a few days. I learned as a parent it was okay to get a couple hours to myself. Granted I have yet to learn how to be more productive with that time because for a while it was just overwhelming to realize I was kid free for a few hours.
Through this new found freedom of time I gained the confidence to finally take a girls trip with my sisters and step away from mommin’ for a 48 hour trip to New York City which was such a nice and refreshing breath of fresh air. Ali and I also took a couple 24 hour trips sporadically through the year with the help of nieces, nephews, and my in-laws who stepped in to watch the kids. Yes, it takes a village to raise my kids!
I signed up to be a substitute teacher in the boys’ school which was a rewarding and exhausting experience. Some days I felt like I was dropping my own kids to their classes only to take on the responsibility of eighteen more toddlers. But most days it was so much fun and rewarding especially when the kids showered me with more hugs and love than my own. As a substitute teacher I gained more patience as a parent and learned ways to engage my own kids at home more creatively not to mention my boys were over the moon the days I substituted in their classrooms I have to admit that was a nice feeling. As a mom of boys I want to take in all those moments and feelings because when they become teenagers I know it wont be the same, perks of having nieces and nephews at a young age I guess, I know how those cute kids turnout when they grow up! (And if my nieces/nephews are reading this, I still love you all, haha!)
This year I also got to spend a lot of time with my sister-in-law who was visiting from Pakistan. That was probably the highlight of our summer the boys got to meet and play with their cousins they had met when they were newborns. I got to travel and connect with my sister-in-law for the first time since I’ve been married. She’s a dermatologist in Pakistan so she gave me some of the best skincare advice. She has three boys and a girl, her heart is just as full as her hands if you ask me. The kids were such a pleasure to have here because Rayyan was basically entertained all day by his cousins and gained this sudden desire to be just like his “older” cousins.
Towards the end of the year my faith grew stronger I began to pray more and my prayers turned into a form of meditation for me. Trying to pray five times a day helped structure my day better. I felt there was more productivity in my day. I learned the importance of gratitude and giving myself grace on the hard days. I began to realize that even though certain things didn’t go my way there was a greater plan out there no matter how difficult it was to believe that on some occasions. And there are still some days I go off track and question the random happenings that may upset me but I just have to keep building on that faith and make each day better.
I realized that my biggest struggle in many aspects of my life was consistency whether it be this blog, exercise, reading, or even with goals I set. If I fell off the beaten path I’d suddenly label myself as having failed and that immediately demotivated me. But then I met a lady on this platform who told me it was okay to loose direction but what was more important was to lift myself back up, set small goals, and reward myself. I’m nowhere near perfection but so long as I keep getting back up and finding my way to my very own definition of success I’ll keep getting better.
Setting smaller goals has helped with consistency and my productivity. With that being said here are a few small goals I’ve set out for myself for this year. And you all are welcome to hold me accountable on these goals since I’m sharing them so publicly.
Be more consistent with content on the blog/instagram
Be more consistent with exercise (Signing up for a race and actually doing it!)
Learn to swim, yes this is something I never learned, I can do some form of swimming but if I had to survive in an ocean or the “deep end” of the pool—NOPE!
Read at least one book a month (This month I’m reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Everisto)
Read/Understand the Quran by reading at least an Ayah a day with translation
Keeping it short and simple for this year! Here’s to a prosperous, healthy, and adventurous 2020!
What are some goals you have set for 2020?
Have any of you trained for a half marathon? Did you train with an app? If so, which app?
I’m finally getting a chance to upload my gift guide for HIM! This is for all the dad’s, father-in-laws, brother-in-laws, and brothers in your life! I’ve curated these picks very carefully going through each item with my husband! Almost all these items have been bought and are being used by someone in my family! So everything is tried and true!
I hope this list is of use to you and helps to make your holiday shopping a lot easier! Happy Shopping!
Hey Everyone, It’s the first week of November and I’ve been itching to get my Christmas décor out sometime this week. Halloween was a doozy we went to my brother-in-laws office event where they had the entire bank all decked out in Halloween spirit with candies and a haunted house. We ditched the door-to-door trick or treating due to super cold weather. But the boys really enjoyed passing out candy to other kids. I wanted to come on here today and share some of my favorite boots for the winter. So many options and so much out there…rain boots, snow boots, OTK boots, boots with the fur, and if you’re from Idaho even cowboy boots! I want to make sure you get the most of your money’s worth as you shop this holiday season.
The Sorel boots are warm as ever! A bit of a splurge but so worth it! The ones I’m wearing in this picture are kids size linked here! I have very small feet, I wear a size 5 and sometimes 5.5 so I managed to get these in the kids size and they cost almost $100 less than the women’s size 5. (just a fun tip I learned from another mommy blogger over the years for shoes, if you have small feet check some kids sizes, works like a gem!)
These are dupes to the Sorel boots! Super light, I wear them as my everyday winter boots. I’ve had them for over a year now and they are still good as new. I found them at Tjmaxx, talk about budget friendly buys. I could not link the exact pair but another pair of boots almost identical that I spotted at target I’ve linked here.
These are by far the warmest winter boots. As far as styling them they are a bit more on the casual side but if you’re looking for boots to keep your toes warm in temperatures below zero these are it! I’ve had mine for a while now and I’ll wear them to do errands around town or playing in the snow with the kids. The plush lining inside is the best part because it keeps my feet warm. If your headed to Park City or Sun Valley this winter or any ski trips these are perfect for walking too, very comfortable and best of all warm!! I had a pair I wore in college that ultimately had to be retired after several years of use. These are perfect for college students! Walking between classes to different buildings in the winter can be a nightmare! But these keep your feet so toasty! A great holiday gift for a college student too!
Rain, sunshine, or snow these work great! You can use them in the spring rain, during fall at the muddy pumpkin patches, and you can use them in the winter snow! However, I would definitely purchase hunter socks with the boots if you decide to use them in the winter because those worn without the socks are meant for rainy days.
That was my round-up of winter boots! The price range varies so if you’re up for splurging then definitely go for the Sorel, they are by far my favorite during the winter!
I’m sorry I have managed to disappear again! I’ve been sick, yes it caught up to me! My younger one got an ear infection over the weekend and somewhere in between I got sick too! But I’m feeling much better I got to nap yesterday for a couple hours.
But my short nap lead to chaos I woke up and found our bathroom drain closed, with water filled in the sink, towels flushed down the toilet, and after that a very exhausted toddler who decided to nap right next to me in a dirty diaper, he napped from 4-6pm! Ahhh!!! Any toddler mom’s worst nightmare is basically a toddler napping after 4pm! He ended up being up until 11pm last night. So much for a nap, who was I kidding, mom’s clearly can’t be sick or nap!
I used my time until JJ fell asleep to get some much needed laundry done, some instagram posts planned out and I got to catch up on emails last night and good thing I did because I was reminded of the Jcrew Factory 60% off everything sale!
Talk about being fashionably late! Better late than never right?! I just wanted to pop on here and share some of my favorites from the sale! SO many great staple items you will need to complete that fall capsule closet!
So here goes it…If you like anything please purchase from the links I’ve provided it’s the only way I receive a small credit from your purchase and it makes this new venture of mine possible! #EntrepreneurLife #Influencerinthemaking #InfluencerLife
Hope this little sale selection of mine helped! Happy Shopping!
Hey Friends! You know how just last week I was so happily welcoming fall, well that lasted for about two minutes because the weekend was freezing we had our first snowfall for the season. The boys were so excited to see the flurries coming down and wondering why they couldn’t just yet make a snowman, little do they know the long winter ahead, yikes!
I didn’t get a chance to pop on here last week very much we had a house of sick toddlers that lead to days off of school and no soccer practice! I basically had to keep Rayyan’s asthma under control which meant trying to keep a three year old from running around we resorted to reading books, playing cards, doing workbooks, practicing our letters/numbers basically A LOT of mommy and me time and best of all snuggles! But all good now, we had a relaxing weekend sipping on hot drinks and cozying up by the fireplace. I finally see a sight of recovery!
Even though the weather may be going crazy on us I still am going to keep these fall vibes going because I love this season! Today I wanted to style a closet essential for every mom, sneakers!! Sneakers are my go-to shoes for pretty much all the day-to-day run around. There are so many fun ways to dress up sneakers from wide leg pants to even dresses!
Jumpsuit, Bodysuit, Sneakers I love this mustard colored jumpsuit its so perfect for the fall and here I’ve paired it with my all time favorite mommy sneakers!
Denim Jacket, Black Dress, Adidas I love this outfit!! A day spent out and about! Even a cute midi dress can be styled with sneakers for a casual day! Who said Football Sundays have to be in shorts and sweats! Style up your game with this midi dress paired with kicks!
What are some ways you like to style your sneakers? Are you an adidas or nike fan? What’s your go-to comfy shoe? I hope some of these looks have inspired you to dress up your kicks!
