Life lately...

Holy moly, it has been quite some time since I wrote on here. Want the Cliff Notes on what’s been happening around the Holmstrom Household the past 6 years? Well.. here it goes. 

We bought a house! 

We got married! 

I graduated nursing school (wawhooo) 

Started working in the Emergency Room 

We had our baby girl, Amelia Reese 

We opened a business, Reef Design, where my husband can finally put his fish enthusiast hobby to good work! (@reefdesignsales ) 

We were in a horrible car accident that left us laid up for a bit, but by the grace of God we all made it out alive 

Then Covid hit.. and left us remote learning and me working from home after not being able to return to the ED due to injuries from the accident 

Last year we took the time to heal, physically and mentally. We devoted ourselves to growing our business and I started pursuing my dream to become a nurse practitioner and thereby started graduate school. Quarantine life led us to embracing diet changes and embracing a low-carb lifestyle. I have gained so much knowledge of how to substitute carb-loaded ingredients for healthier options (I mean, did you know that you can make bread primarily just from cheese? Well. yes, you can.). We completed a handful of home improvement projects that have been on the back burner and I am loving them. Although, we still have quite a few to go. I have learned that crafting with (two) kids requires me to let go of my inner perfectionist and embrace the creativity that these little minds have to give this world. 

This year, we are living in the world of two school-bound children! Cooper started a new school and is back to in-person learning and is LOVING it although we are struggling with some set-backs from remote learning. Amelia started 3-year-old preschool. She is in speech therapy, which is a whole new ball game for us, as we did not have to deal with anything of this nature with Coop. She has made leaps and bounds since starting therapy with a private therapist and has now transitioned to school speech therapy. We are still amazed at how fast they grow and learn new things and have faith that both kids are going to thrive being in the school environment this year. Cooper started playing organized sports this summer, joining basketball and baseball and Amelia began gymnastics and will soon be starting ballet! It makes my heart so happy watching these kiddos explore their interests (even if it requires some serious calendar scheduling)

Working from home has been such a blessing but has had its challenges for sure. Working from home with two bonkers kids during Covid really tested my sanity, no lie. Time management, self-discipline and a lot of "suck it up buttercup" moments have been key to keeping myself on track with work, school and home life. However, I somedays I feel like these walls are caving in around me. AJ works long hours at the business, leaving me with little adult interaction and often lost in my own thoughts. By the time he comes home I am running at about 5% battery life and have little left to give, despite wanting nothing more than to do all the fun things. Perhaps getting back into writing and sharing my life, recipes, crafts, activities with the kids, family fun and more will give me an outlet to connect more with the outside world, haha.  

So my friends, here we go again!