Alot .Of. Tola

top left corner: Mcbride Sisters fb page, top right corner: pattern fb page, bottom left corner: black girl sunscreen fb page, bottom right corner: healthy roots dolls fb page

• McBride Sister’s Wine Collection! This wine company was founded by two half-sisters, their unique story will have you hooked as much as their delicious wines. And I think we all can agree that a good bottle of wine after a day of dealing with the kids is a must-have during these times.
• Pattern Beauty, I already love me some Traci Ellis Ross plus her hair is clear goals! So when she came out with a hairline, it was bound to be good. As moms, we all are looking for products that make our lives a little easier, and honestly, hair care can be such a pain.
• Black Girl Sunscreen; being a woman of color, the struggle of finding a sunscreen that blends evenly on mine and my family skin without leaving residue colors. I love the purpose of this company, also the fact that the ingredients are good for your skin.
• Healthy Roots Dolls, I love what this brand stands for. I love that they created their line of dolls to show diversity in the baby doll space, so young black girls can see themselves represented.

top left source: Lip bar (c/o of pinterest), top righ sourcet: Honey pot (c/of the honey pot website), bottom right source: Partake fb page, bottom left source: Pur Home fb page

• Partake Cookies; I was so excited to learn about this brand. As a mom with a child that has food allergies, it can suck to have to stop your child from enjoying treats with friends. So I love that their cookies were, created to make sure every child doesn’t felt left out.
• The Honey Pot Company, this is the perfect self-care product for any mom. 
• The Lip Bar! as mamas, we all want to feel and look beautiful. I am a big fan of the lip bar lipsticks, it is so pigmented you can never go wrong with any color. 
• Pur home clean, this is a natural Eco-friendly laundry detergent and home cleaning product line. 

• Simple pancakes, I have always been a fan of pancakes; they are the perfect easy hot meal. You can spice it up and add some fruits or even some chocolate chips to get the full stamp of approval from the kids.
• Oatmeal bowls, to be honest, the girls are not big fans of oatmeal. But you add in some fruits to it, the perfect morning pick me up.

Source: Feel Good Foodie

• Scrambled Eggs, the fun thing about scrambled eggs is you can mix them anyway.
• PB&J Sandwich, the girls are big fans of bread just like their mama lol.

• Make Slime! Simi recently got extra obsessed with everything slime, related most importantly the process of making slime. So that is the perfect activity to have everyone involved in it’s fun, but also educational because you are mixing different things to form this reaction (hey come on science lesson lol). There are so many selections of slime making kits everywhere, but we especially love the Elmer kit.
• Water activities and pool time. My girls are huge fans of the water, so for any water activity, they are always game. Depending on if you want to head to the local pool or get a cute little kiddie pool or keep it simple and utilize a slip and slide the options are endless.
• Sidewalk chalk art! The most fun we have these days is taking our daily walks to the mailbox, so why not make it a little more fun by creating sidewalk chalk masterpieces.

• Get out to the outdoors, and enjoy some nature walks/hikes. With social distancing so real right now and trying to keep the family safe, you can still enjoy some fresh air while maintaining a distance by going to local trails and even some national parks that are semi-open.
• Enjoy a late evening picnic dinner, most restaurants are offering more take out than dine-in so why not just order from your favorite restaurant and enjoy some family time outside in your backyard or even in the park far away from everyone.
• Make it a bubble party the girls are obsessed with bubbles; it’s the perfect way to keep them busy for hours at a time. I love taking them outside; they run around trying to pop the bubble also the best way to burn off energy too.

I recently got the chance to read a very enlightening book by Russell Brunson titled, Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers. If you are growing or starting a business, this is a tool you need to have on your bookshelf. After reading Traffic Secrets, there are so many little gems that I am taking away to help me stay focused and increase my productivity not just in my business but also in my everyday life as a young mom to little ones. 

• Tune out the distractions, in reading Russell Brunson talk about focusing on your dream 100, which is the core people you intend to attract. I think the same can be applied when trying to focus and increase productivity. Tune out the noise of social media, television, and instead focus on the task at hand that you are seeking to accomplish. By tuning noise out, you can see what you need to do and tackle that head-on.
• Set realistic goals and have a clear cut to-do/strategy to complete it. In Traffic Secrets, Brunson clearly explains the way for converting your Dream 100 from a dream to money paying customers. It’s one thing to have what you will like to get accomplished, but for you to accomplish it you need a clear cut strategy.

• Take mental breaks; our brains are always on, and when you’re constantly going at a million miles an hour it can become overwhelming. Give your brain space to reset; being able to clear out your thought processor will reset you to be able to focus on what needs to be accomplished.
• Exercise and healthy eating! You would be amazed at what a good meal and exercise will do to clear out your brain and give your fresh perspective. Being aware of what you are putting in your body, picking healthy brain food to keep you alert, and ready to conquer the things you need to.

• Set expectations with the team you work with; help them to understand the reality of you working from home. Understand that the standards while working in the office, will differ while at home because it’s a different environment now.
• Have a designated work area/space: This allows you to have consistency and have a go-to location like when you were heading to the office. This will allow you to stay organized and mentally shift into work mode.
• Create some type of structure/routine for both yourself and the kids: Honestly, when you have kids, it’s hard to plan out your dad and follow through. But having a rough schedule highlighting the important things you want to accomplish is so important. This will help to plan what the day will look like.
• Restructure your routine: Understand that both your morning and nighttime routines will have to change. You might have to get up before everyone to get some alone time to complete some work for the day. Understand that some days might have to drag on a little longer to get work done late at night. I have also learned to accept that I just won’t be able to work at my maximum capacity like I do while at the office.
• Give yourself grace, understand that you are juggling a lot more than you are used to at this time. It isn't as easy as it seems, so take each day at a time, and don't be so hard on yourself.