Traveling with a family of six can be a daunting task. Learn how to manage the stress of long flights and layovers with these helpful tips for packing light, bringing comfort items, and planning for jet lag. Enjoy the adventure, explore the world and make memories with the whole family!

For the last 7 years our family has enjoyed traveling to quite a few countries. We have done a wide rage of different flights. We usually stick to one layover, and our longest stretch has been an eighteen hour flight. Together we have been to 3 continents and 30 states.

“How do you manage to travel with 4 kids?”

I get asked this question all the time. I often witness how nervous people feel when seeing our family of 6 entering a plane. Truth is, we have very rarely been “that” family. Maybe once or twice. 

For the most part we have been able to survive our flights way better than I even imagined thanks to a few super helpful tricks. In fact, we often get compliments for how well our kids behave when traveling. 

A comprehensive guide and tips for surviving long flights with a large family:

With a few tricks, family traveling, rather than being the stumbling block to hold anyone back, can become the reason to make unforgettable memories together. 

Purchase a flight that leaves at the ideal time

When traveling as a family to a long distant location, we choose a flight that departs during the afternoon  time or early evening. I find flights can be extremely long and boring. So if I and baby or child can squeeze in a nap while onboard, we do it. What a perfect way to forget that you are even on a plane. Our kids sleeping in the afternoon and evening time. We try to match that with the time we will be on the plane. 

By leaving later in the day I also find that I have more time to pack a few last minute items, take out the trash at home, eat a healthy meal rather than the over priced airport food, and also be well rested from the night before. 

Pack a few favorite activities  

Every time we travel as a family we let the kids pack one beloved item from home. This can be a favorite toy or stuffed animal, a coloring book, a sticker book, a wooden toy, Anything that is not too bulky that will help kids stay entertained and feel that there is some familiarity amidst all the changes they are going through. 

After all being far away from home can be hard. Now remember, you will be carrying and hauling these toys all across the world. So keep toys to a minimal. Plenty of flights already offer sticker books and free pads for activities. The last thing one wants is to be carrying too much weight on their carry on. Hauling that across airports is tiring. 

Keep in mind that the more items of sentimental value you bring, the higher the chances are that you will lose something. And you will hear more of that from the kids, than if you forget it at home and it’s there safe and sound once you get back. 

Bring sleeping aids

The plane engine acts as white noise and actually puts babies and children to sleep. But whether is a little eye cover or ear plugs or headphones to drown any unwanted noise, both can be a life saver. Especially if the crew likes to make lots of random announcements. 

We love noise cancellation headphones. Make sure you have the ones that plug into both your phone or a screen for entertainment. Most long flights offer entertainment via phone or an inflight screen. Some airlines offer free headphones but that is not a guand even blankets and pillows. but that is not a guarantee so it’s always best to pack something to keep warm and comfortable.

Bring a change of clothes for everyone

Hands down super important for family traveling. Especially when traveling for extended periods of time. Having extra clothes in case of an accident, or just to freshen up between flights is a must. You also never know when your flight will be too cold, or too hot so make sure to bring a sweater and extra warm socks that you can store in your personal item.

I like to pack extra socks because security requires to remove your shoes, and walking barefoot in a public space is very unsanitary. I like to change my socks at some point if I can. Being seated for an extended period of time can also make ones feet feel cramped and cold. 

It’s nice to be able to kick off your shoes and put on an extra pair of socks that way they can protect your regular socks from all the dirt that is on the carpeted floor of a plain. Think of everyone’s shoes that have been stepping in the airport bathrooms with lots of questionable paddles. They then have then been rested right where you will place your feet on the plane Yikes. I bring an extra pair. 

Remember to bring some disinfecting or children’s wipes. You won’t regret it. It’s very common for children to have an upset stomach or to have an accident when traveling. Being far away in an uncomfortable situation can make kids forget where they are. It raises their levels of stress in their bodies. This can cause them to regress and maybe have a little accident. It’s perfectly normal. But it’s nicer to handle when fully prepared. 

It’s always nice to be able to change them, have a wipe to clean their chair and the bathroom stands, and also have a fresh pair of clothes. Remember to also bring an empty plastic bag to store any soiled or dirty clothes in case any accident happens. 

Bring a favorite bed time item

Bedtime routines are extremely  important not only for adults, but especially for kids. Even when far away from home. Having a set routine with a few favorite bed time items can be a life saver. Not only for when on the plane, but also for it’s time to sleep in hotels and “NEW BEDS.”

For example, our kids all have a favorite small blanket and a stuffed animal they like to take everywhere. We prioritize those more than toys. Because we know that if we are in a new environment, as long as they have something that is close to home, they will be able to sleep a lot more comfortably. They will still feel that their home sweet home is not as far away as they think. 

Some airlines offer pillows and blankets. We still don’t gamble since our kids love to have their own from home. 

Bring a favorite snack

Especially when traveling with children, choose a powder formula. Water will have to be bought at the airport. 

We have carried liquid formula, and while we had to do an extra test for it while going through security, we have always been able to keep our precious liquid gold. If I I can I prefer powder to avoid risking it. 

Children feel more comfortable when they have snacks and little sweet pleasures that keep their taste buds entertained for a while. 

Plus airfare food is just flat out terrible. Having a plan B in case the kids don’t like anything is a life saver. As long as you are not bringing fresh fruits and meats or dairy, most packaged dry snacks always make it through security in a parent’s baby travel bag. 

Pack any medicine you might need

Children’s histamine levels tend to rise when traveling. Being in a different environment can often make one’s body more susceptible to getting sick or having an allergic reaction. 

For that reason we always do our family traveling with any medicine that we know our kids have needed at some point or another at home. 

It’s harder to find a doctor and get medicine that requires prescription when abroad. I bring anything from pink eye drops, upset stomach medicine, allergy syrups, baby Tylenol, inhalers, anti diarrhea, anti vomit, infection medicine, even UTI medicine for myself. The most common unexpected things can happen when exposed to a new environment and food. I bring it all because I never know if one of us will get sick in the middle of the night when everything is closed and my insurance doesn’t work abroad. I rather be prepared.  

If needed, something that has also helped us fight jet lag and insomnia on the plane has been children’s melatonin. We very rarely have needed it. But it has helped us on very long flights. When we knew we were landing at a strange time and had to catch other connecting flights.

When we wanted our children to sleep sooner than their regular home schedule we would use melatonin. So if for example we would leave at 5 pm and knew that when we landed it was going to be midnight for us, but the following day at 10 am at our landing destination… We would try and start making them fall asleep sooner than our usual time at home. In order to be able to sleep enough before we landed. Melatonin would help them sleep sooner. Otherwise we would basically skip a whole night because of the local time at our destination. 

Fight airplane ear aches

For us it means a lolly pop, a piece of candy or chewing gum. Plus, treats are the perfect motivational tools when needing kids to do something on a plain. They are a good way to prevent a kid from throwing a giant tantrum while surrounded by another 200 people. 

We often tell them before getting on the plane that if they will achieve certain goals, we will reward them with their favorite treat. 

At some point or another one of our kids has also had their ears plugged or ear ache from the change of pressure while in the air. Ear pain is very common among children especially during take off and landing. 

When I was a little, flight attendants would always go around and pass out a hard piece of candy for passengers to chew on to reduce ear sensitivity. That is something that no longer exists, but ear pain still does. 

I still have kept with this tradition just in case the kids start having an ear ache. It’s the reason why so many children seem to cry always during take off and landing and scream the whole way through.

Plus when I warn our children that if they will sit really still and buckle they will get a piece of candy, they make every possible effort to comply. 

They will blissfully look outside the window while joyfully having an explosion of flavor in their mouth. 

Nursing a baby or feeding a toddler a bottle is also a great alternative. When our kids were under one, I would plan on nursing them always during take off and landing. Since they would swallow while sucking and eating, this would always help them to stay calm, not have ear pain, and even fall asleep. 

Make sure to get plenty of rest the night before traveling with a family

Ok, I’m going to contradict myself on this one. I have done it both ways. When traveling with the family I have left with zero sleep so I can sleep on the plane. I have also slept well the night before. It all depends on which stage of life we are at with our children.

If they can fend for themselves on the plane and I just want to fall asleep, I make sure to be plenty tired by the time the plane is leaving. But if I  want to be alert and ready for the ride, I  will need my sleep. 

The last thing you want to happen is that you spend an hour or two rocking your child in the back of the plane and you are so sleep deprived that you start having hallucinations. 

Whenever I have travelled with children under 3, we have always slept before the plane ride. Some flights have gone super fast, and not because we were having fun. I was always busy either changing a diaper, or feeding someone baby.  

We have spent many hours doing some walking time with babies, or rocking them to sleep. So remember to fly for a very long stretch, when you know that you are ready to take on this venture with a healthy and sound positive attitude. 

It may not always be possible, but unless you want to be the parent that starts screaming and losing its cool because they are so mentally exhausted.  Who is to blame parents for having such a moment of weakness, though.

Family traveling requires not only physical energy between going through security and carrying heavy suitcases, but it also takes energy to stay patient during a long flight. 

The more rested I am,  the faster and smoother things will be with children. After all, what matters most is that the parents are in full control of their own emotions if they want to be able to handle the kids when they aren’t at their best behavior. 

BONUS TIP FOR FAMILY TRAVELING:

Before traveling as a family, I try to  make sure that I have picked up somewhat of a routine already at home with the  children . Once we have a schedule, we  are now ready to do the same, but away from home. 

Our family thrives on routines and we implement them no matter where we go. They allow our children to know there is something that is a constant in their life. They can easily adapt that way no matter where we find ourselves in the world. 

Pack light when traveling as a family

This is to help yo use you are not burdened by carryon all the heavy bags and items. I remember during some of my first flights back and forth between Europe and the US. Before I even got married.  I used to want to carry everything with me on the plane. In my  carry on. 

This proved to be always to my demise. I didn’t use half my staff. I also would be so burdened by the heavy bag. Especially when I had more than one lay over, carrying my heavy bag would literally send me into tears. 

Now that we have kids I have appleid that same rule. Our first flights as a traveling family, we allowed each child to bring a carry on.  That proved to be only to our detriment. Because once our children were tired they not only wanted to be held, now we also had to carry their own luggages. 

Very rarely have they used the items in their backpacks. So for us, an adult carry on only is plenty, if we are checking in bags. We prefer to walk around freely around the airport and do some window shopping. We also like to be able to easily get on and off the plane. It’s so much easier to make it through security with less items. 

This part will come with experience. You will know more and more over time what you absolutely need and what you don’t.

Remember that upon arriving at your destination you will be tired. You will want to be comfortable and light enough that you can walk for a long distance with your children and luggage. 

Test what you have at home that you are traveling with. The less loose items the better. The more you can check in at the airport and not haul around with you, the more strength you will have to run after your little kids and freedom to move around. The more smooth the overall flight will be. 

There is nothing worse than to check in at the airport and having 10 gazillion items with you. Right as you are about to walk over a mile between the entrance and your final gate. 

Landing in a new country often requires going through extra security check points. Waiting in line for everyone else to go through. Any heavy bag can turn into the equivalent of carrying a boulder when tired and standing with nothing else to do.

Family traveling is amazing because you get to explore the world than with the people that love you most. We love to show the kids the world. As parents we trust our influence and we feel safer knowing we are there to protect them. If you have any questions feel free to find me on social media. Linked below. For more info on this topic, don’t forget to check out my next article coming up next week on how we pack for trips.

The post The Complete Guide to Traveling with a Family of 6 appeared first on Life At Casa.

 

  5 Things to help you achieve and love your New Year Resolutions.

Every year by this time no one talks about New Year Resolutions. It’s a hot topic by the end of December and early January. But quickly the topic fizzles out by February. Keeping New Year Resolutions is an essential part of keeping our word to ourselves. It’s also essential if we want to continue growing at a personal level. 

I recently revised my New Year Resolutions. I wrote in early December things that I thought would be so fun and completely out of this world if they ever happened. The thing is, it’s easy to write resolutions down. But keeping New Year’s Resolutions is another thing.  As the weeks in January went by, I realized that some of the things I had set out to do, weren’t going to be necessarily useful. They also weren’t motivating me enough.

I went on a lunch date with my husband recently to go over our goals. During our lunch I was able to revise our New Year Resolutions. One evening I also spent some time polishing down the last few details and writing down how I could make everything work in a realistic way. 

 

Then it dawned on me. I was terrified of the year ahead. How was I going to do it and what if I failed? 

I stared at my cute little handwritten chart with numbers and all and had to calm myself down. 

I did the math to make sure everything would fit with the budget and I knew we could do it all, but I also felt extremely tired just looking at it. My goals were going to require me to stretch myself and make sacrifices. To give up some things and say no to other things as well. Some of my goals were the type of grown up things that would help our family in the future and not necessarily make us happy in the present moment.

That night I went to bed with a prayer for help and I spent some time reading articles for answers on how to approach the year with joy rather than looking at another year wishing for all the hard things ahead to be over. 

It took me a few days to find the answers to what I was feeling, but here is what helped me get back to feeling motivated rather than anxious about the work I had set out for myself in the future.

1. You may not always achieve everything you set out to do, but what matters is that you are trying and working towards your goals. 

Some goals may need to be postponed, other goals we may realize at times aren’t as important as we thought they would be.

Some things can be achieved at a later date, year, or time in life. What matters is that we are working towards something.  The reason sometimes we are not getting where we want to go is not stemming from our lack of discipline and from a lack of effort. Sometimes we need to just press pause on some items that have been thinking about doing. 

2. Don’t get so caught up into what you don’t have and are trying to achieve that you forget to look at how far you have come.

A few days after the evening I spent sad about all my super hard new year goals, I listened to my husband as he mentioned what we had accomplished in a year.

I listened quietly as he joyfully went down memory lane when I remembered how scared I felt right around the time we were about to start our past goals. Then it hit me, I couldn’t wait at the time to be done with all the stress of not knowing how things would work out. All I could wish for, was for the day that things would be exactly the way they were… well right about now. And where was I when that moment came? Too worried about what the future had to hold for me. Yet my past future was happening now. 

I realized I was not going to let the future stress me out . Now was the time to rejoice and be happy about the work we did in the past and just take the time to savor it a little bit so no time to stress. 

3. Remember how capable you are.

Sometimes it’s others that need to remind us what we have accomplished. Sometimes we need to find those reasons ourselves. We all had to learn how to walk, talk, read, survive at some point. Things that are now ordinary to us used to be a huge achievement when we were little. Whether we have had to achieve an education, survive a traumatic event, work on a difficult problem, everyone has achieved hard things. Other times because in the midst of us trying to be humble, we can undermine what we are capable of and forget that we have done hard things before. 

We need to remember that just like we have done it before, we can do it again. We can stretch farther and accomplish more. We are capable of growing and being better. After all God created us and we have truly unlimited potential. I often quote to myself when life gets tough, “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We can do a lot. 

4. Have Courage to Act

Be brave, believe in yourself. Have faith to act. 

I love these two quotes below. I keep them written next to my daily to do lists because they remind me how to keep having strength to work towards my goals on the days that I feel the most discouraged. 

“Be of good cheer and fear not, I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” President Russell M. Nelson.

5. Stop planning, just do it.

Sometimes we can plan things until we are blue in the face. We can ask others who did it how they did it. We can even have a perfect manual of instruction and stats that show us the plan and path of how others achieved exactly what we want to achieve. 

There is an element in our brains where we tend to almost struggle to believe something until we have lived it and done it and felt it on our own skin. But sometimes that requires us to just jump and go. 

We may not have a perfect plan or script. We just need to trust and persevere and go. It’s the only element missing in our formula. Hence the saying, don’t overthink, you are thinking too much about it. 

We will probably mess up a long the way, and be awkward, and things will be different unnatural to us, and scary. We can think about walking or we can try and walk. The first time we will doit it won’t be pretty looking. Rather awkward actually. But through practice and perseverance we will get there. 

There is a story in the Book Of Mormon where Nephi was asked by His father Lehi to go retrieve the Brass Plates in Jerusalem. It took his brothers many failed attempts, and Nephi two attempts to finally find a way to get them. Until they finally did it. 

So try and do it, have courage, plan for set backs, believe in yourself, and remember you have done many hard things before, you can do hard things now too. 

The post 5 WAYS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS appeared first on Life At Casa.

Feeling the pressure to rush? Learn how to slow down, be strategic about your goals, and reap more joy and peace in your life. Break the cycle of unrealistic expectations. Be realistic and enjoy life at your own pace.

Learning and teaching myself and the kids to slow down lately rather than rushing and doing things quickly. When inexperienced this will turn out to look real sloppy. Other times we set that parameter in our lives through rushed and unrealistic goals or expectations. Or we start pursuing goals at the wrong time in life. SLOW DOWN. Breaking  both of these patterns can lead to last more peace and joy.

GOOD GOALS TAKE TIME:

I recently listened to a beautiful podcast by Jody Moore titled What’s the Rush. Her podcast totally got me thinking and reminded me of how much as moms we often feel pressured to do everything. Society has us all thinking that we need to have it all and be successful by our mid twenties basically. 

We are told that the peak of our career should be at that age. That our travels and adventures need to happen during that time. Basically it’s become a live while you are young because it won’t be worth it later mentality.

Often sold on the idea of the overnight success type person. We see people who seem to have achieved success so fast. But little do we know that it’s similar to a person who went viral once and deleted all of her previous posts for us to see. Life doesn’t happen that way. A lot of successes and triumphs are a result of many years living in silence being noticed by no one.

CONSISTENCY that is sustainable long term, is what we need to be on the look out for. Being realistic as to what can be consistent for us will become an achievable goal.

GOALS NEED TO BE ACHIEVABLE:

When setting goals we often can be unrealistic. As women we juggle many things. And sometimes we want to juggle too much. We also can set out unrealistic goals that are not sustainable long term. That is what can cause us to quit.

We all have dreams and aspirations. Often times what we desire is something that will require more of a long term climb rather than a more rigorous schedule.

Too many times if we take all of the other elements above we don’t realize that we are setting goals for ourselves that will make our lives fall off  balance. Even though we have dreams and aspirations that we know can bring us happiness. We need to realize that we need to slow down.

GOALS CAN BE TABLED TO A LATER TIME:

To slow down sometimes may mean tabling something until a later time.

To slow down other times may mean to acknowledge that we only have a short amount of time each day to dedicate to a specific dream or aspiration. There is nothing wrong with staggering and spreading out our own dreams and ambitions.

To slow down may also mean to accept that we can be successful at something even if we start when we are older. That we have a long life ahead of us. It’s ok to wait and keep some dreams in the closet for a little later.

For example. I have some desires and dreams of things I want t o do in the fashion world. I have many fashion ideas. I also want to teach and go back to school for additional degrees. I have often contemplated starting right now. I see other women younger than me who started even before they had their own kids. If anything I from the outside am sometimes tempted to believe that because they stand before having a family they are ahead and now they have all the systems going and have it easy. Maybe they do. Or maybe they stay up at night time wishing they could quit. It really doesn’t matter though. Everyone’s joinery is unique. And we can only start from where we are at.

As women sometime we forget that we have lots of life ahead of ourselves.

Our kids are only here for a season.

It’s hard because moms get very little acknowledgments. But the regret on not being there for our kids far will outweigh anything else we will ever do. Even if it’s after.

This is some advice I have gotten many times from women older than myself. It’s what often pushes me to remember that even though I have many lofty goals. If I start something I need to be able to do it slowly. And I need to pace myself so that I can be here with the kids.

GOALS NEED TO BE SUSTAINABLE:

These are some truths that we can apply to our daily life:

1. Our daily life needs to be sustainable

2.  We need to leave room on our busy schedules to do something fun daily if possible.

3.  When committing to anything we need to consider if our life quality will truly improve.

4.  We also need to leave room in our lives to grow and improve. Grow in the way we learn and educate ourselves.

When committing to a goal, a financial obligation or a career responsibility, or even when considering adding something else on our plate, we need to consider if we will still have time to sleep adequately, eat properly, have a little bit of a break throughout the day, and if we will still have room in our budgets and schedules for periodic time off and vacations.

To live a balanced life we need to take into account that we need to be able to have a sustainable schedule. And I understand that there are seasons where some things need to be set aside. For example when I had a new born I had to focus only on making sure I exercised, cooked good meals for our family and that we stayed upfloat. during that time never could I have had time to take on a course or even go on a vacation with a newborn baby. I couldn’t even thin of packing for our family. And we were starting a business so for a year we barely even had date night between my husband and I.

Finances were tight and life was busier than usual. But we gave each other a year before we made the adjustments necessity to have other things that we wanted added back into our schedules.

GOALS DON’T NEED TO BE RUSHED:

What I learned from Jody Moore is to ask ourselves this question:

What is there rush?

Why do we feel like we need to do this right now?

Why do need to do it by this set date and what is pressuring me to do it right away?

I found that when I dig deep before taking on something new I am better able to make decisions as to what I bring into my life with peace.

BE STRATEGIC ABOUT YOUR GOALS:

We often get pressured by being told that life is short. We jump into things out of fear of missing out or never doing it. But sometimes we also need to keep in mind to be strategic.

Some things will only be received by the world when the world is ready for it. Some things are truly a matter of setting them up and building them slowly. so slowly that the are crawling and the world or even google sometimes, will only perceive them after they have seasoned for weeks, months, or years. Learning to give ourselves times, years sometimes, will allow us to approach our goals with more love and patience.

Another example I have is of my son this time. He has been practicing basketball. He takes 50 shots every day. One day he came in the car super frustrated because he barely made any baskets during his practice. I reminded him that muscle memory is built slowly.

He could have probably stayed that day and would have kept being bad at shooting. But sometimes when you go to sleep, and your brain takes the time to cement information, your muscles recover. Then you come back another day. Refreshed. ready to start again.

With a new mindset. sure enough a few days later he came after taking his shots super excited that his personal stats of how many baskets he was making had nearly doubled. But he had to go through the process of making barely any baskets at first.

He had to also set that goal aside, put blinders and go do something and give his body and mind time.

Life is often like that. Some goals can’t be rushed.

Rushing also often brings sloppy results. There are times when we will have our back against the wall. To slow down won’t be possible. Those are the times I have seen that miraculous results happen. Other times, other processes will truly require time and patience.

It’s like a workout. you can take supplements to recover slowly. But you still can’t make it recover. You can’t physically move your body cells where you need them to be and create new skin to heal a wound or repair a muscle on your own. You just need to trust the process.

Read my other article on pursuing your passions here.

The post Slow Down: Reap More Joy and Peace with Sustainable Goals appeared first on Life At Casa.

Grandparents connect us to our family history and ancestry. Nowadays, not all parents will grow older and wiser. Aged truth can soften a person or harden one.

Looking back at our families, we can learn form their examples or  mistakes. 

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to live by both my grandparents.

If you’d ask someone else in my family, they would want to take out the word fortunate. But I felt like I could understand them in a way no one else could. 

During the first part of my life, I was born and raised in our family’s home which had been owned for multiple generations. It was, in fact, the same home where my dad was born. My grandfather had built a small villa next door. He would visit us almost daily, and would prolong his stay by talking to me. My grandfather would often tell stories about his life. I remember my sister often asking me if I could just sit in and listen to him, because his stories were so long she needed to go finish her homework. So I would sit and listen. Perhaps It’s the fact that he repeated those stories so often, or maybe it’s because I didn’t mind him talking at all. But I treasured those stories and I liked imagining them in my head and trying to envision what my grandfather would have looked like going through them as a child.

Once we moved to the Canary Islands when I was 13, we were fortunate enough once again to live a short 5 minute walk away from my mom’s parents instead. 

When we first moved there, I was a young teenager. I was mad at my mom for uprooting me, so I decided to stay and sleep at my grandparents for a whole month. They gladly took me in.

I must have had a way with the elderly because I am one of the only children who had such a good relationship with them. 

My grandfather would help me learn Spanish and do my homework almost everyday. I remember it was really painful to watch him search for his glasses and wait for him to read passages himself until he understood them with his 70 year old brain at the time. And yet, I appreciated his patience because it must have been really hard to do that for someone else.

Being close to my grandparents allowed me to learn about where they came from, and how they lived in their time in history. 

There are some things, from my time there, that have stuck with me the most. And those have been my grandmother’s teachings. I have shared them before with friends and I have often noticed that I wasn’t the only one whose grandparents shared the same sentiments. Hence why I wanted to write about them here on this blog since they are especially helpful for our day and age.

So as my grandmother always says here are my top favorite.

6 lessons best learned from grandparents:

1. Don’t run faster than you have strength to.

My grandmother often reminds me of a time in their life where they were extremely busy with work, raising the children, and serving at their Church. She would go into great details about all of the driving, the work experiences for my grandfather, and especially how much he dedicated helping others in within their church.

One of her least favorite memories was of a time when their youngest child had to go to the hospital to have an appendix taken out. Grandfather was busy at a meeting and didn’t step out to go to the hospital. So he finished his meeting and headed out right after. 

She would remind me of how foolish that was of them and how she wishes they would have not allowed the pressures from the world win over family. 

She learned other the years to say no when something is too much, and how important it is to say yes to everyone and everything. 

2. Live and love exactly where you are at

Whenever I tell my grandmother that I want to travel and visit the world her answer is always: 

“But why? You got everything you need right here in your community.” 

Our world has changed drastically. Visiting places is absolutely wonderful. I love to learn from different people and cultures. I find it rejuvenating and inspiring.

Yet I still appreciate my grandmother’s perspective. Because in an era where we are all being pushed by social media especially to travel and visit everywhere. Sometimes we forget to consider whether traveling is something that is truly for everyone. And it is not. I know some people who are perfectly happy to stay at home, because they appreciate where they are. And that’s fine.

Traveling can also be dangerous and exhausting if one doesn’t know what they are doing. Not everyone is meant to visit every place on the planet. There is beauty in knowing how to live in a stable place and absolutely love it and blossoming where planted. 

That has not been my case, but it is something that I admire. I appreciate the chances I get to visit the places where I roamed as a child, as well as places where my extended family has been.

3. If you have done it once you can always do it again

Every time I tell my grandmother that I am afraid of the future, and how to make money, she reminds me that money can come and go, but our skills sets remain. What we have done once can be done again over and over again. Businesses can be rebuilt. Someone can take our idea once, but they won’t be able to take it again going forward. That our talents cannot ever be replaced. So, do not fear because we can always start from scratch and rebuild what we had built before. 

4. It’s OK to cry when things are hard 

.This is a bit of a tender subject. As adults we tend to feel guilty for showing any other emotion than joy. And life can be hard. As kids we are often expected to outgrow crying eventually. It’s not necessarily something we talk about all the time, but we tend to assume that if we are grownups we must not cry. I used to feel like a baby all the time as a young mom and a new wife for crying. 

I never said this to my grandmother, but one day I mentioned to her I was having a hard time with life. I loved when she reminded me that it’s OK to cry and let it all out. It’s therapeutic and when life is hard. For me, it has been a great way to release a lot of pain from the hardships of life, and has absolutely helped me feel better. 

5. You can’t have it all

I’m afraid to type these words. Our society has ingrained in us so much that dreams are made of going after everything. Our modern culture often pushes the ideas that if you work hard for it, you can have it all. But even the richest men on earth are limited in some ways. 

Reminding myself that life comes with compromises keeps me grounded and reminds me that in life you are not going to have everything. And even if you did, you’d be probably sacrificing something along the way even if one would refuse to admit it. 

It’s a reminder that many store deals can be left on the shelves. And that the word NO SOMETIMES it’s for our own good and it’s absolutely perfect, to accept it, hear it, and recognize it’s a part of life. 

6. Your kids are your best friends

As a young mom I was living in a new country, with a different culture and in a new neighborhood around new people. I often struggled to make friends. I felt different and I didn’t quite fit in. 

I remember mentioning to my grandmother that I felt lonely. She asked me why, and reminded me I was never alone. Because my children were my best friends. My little children that were home with me all day long while my husband was busy with work to make ends meet.

 She made me realize with that advice that I had often viewed my kids as little human beings that needed their mom all the time and that’s it. Never did I tap into the potential that they could also be my little best friends. 

Once I started viewing them as my friends rather than just little kids that needed me all time, even though of course that is partially true… I realized that they made wonderful little companions. They were the perfect friends to have a dance party with, or to play with, or to take naps with. 

I started seeing how many things we could do together. So I was not just a parent to them all the time, but they could also laugh with me, come with me to the store…

She had also remained me that there is a stage of life for everything. The stage of parenthood was different. She reminded that this wasn’t a stage to worry about friends and popularity, This was a stage to focus 100% percent on my family. 

As the years have passed by, I have also needed my personal time and time with friends that I treasure more than ever. But I remember now that the relationship I have with my kids doesn’t have to be one sided. Not one where they take it all and never contribute.

These are the teachings from an older and wiser woman I will forever take with me. I hope from your own ancestors, or maybe just from mine that you’ll be able to take something good with you all the time. 

The post WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS.  appeared first on Life At Casa.

One of my first memories as to why I like fashion, was of me as a kid walking around my hometown of Torino in Italy during a winter afternoon and noticing an older lady that was probably in her sixties with a beautiful long winter peacoat, pointed flats, and a Louis Vuitton bag. What I didn’t know then was that I thought that having that life was so impossible that I kept walking and told myself that life just didn’t exist for me.

Little did I know that as a kid I had a secret talent and passion that was a gift. I just didn’t think it was something I could tap into and use in life to make a career out of it. 

I believe God gave us all innate gifts that are unique to us. Too many times we shy away from our talents because we don’t understand how to channel and use them.

As a kid I was very artistic. The problem with loving the arts is that I didn’t know anyone who had pursued them and had success at it. I only knew my professors only pursued academics. I spent my childhood with people telling me that what I loved was a great thing, but it would never pay the bills. 

My problem was that I was hanging out around the wrong people. People who didn’t know how to teach others how to pursue their passion and be successful. For example I believe the majority of musicians, me included being one as a kid, are taught in school to either become broke school teachers, or broke orchestra players. And that maybe 1 or 2 of them can have a shot at becoming famous. As if there wasn’t any other option in between. There are many fulfilling careers that don’t revolve around become famous that are just in between and are still very fulfilling.

Also, almost any type of career has its stigmas and is frowned upon for something. 

The trick is that it is up to us as individuals to figure out what we love, and find the best way to break into that industry, and not wait for outward validation to do what we like.

I have learned lately that if I love something bad enough, doubtful voices can only weigh me down if I am not convinced of what I am doing. Nothing can destroy my foundation if I love what I do and I am at peace with where I am at. 

If I am unsure, have some doubt, or still question whether I love what I do, people criticizing my choice will only hurt me because they are bringing back to the surface doubts that were already boiling just under the surface. If they are gone, their voice will enter from one ear and go out the other. 

For a long time I wanted to pursue my motherhood lifestyle blog. The one thing that kept me from pursuing it full time were my own doubting voices. I was afraid people would view me as shallow, or make fun of me for liking clothes. What if people thought I just cared about my appearance and clothes? I had so many concerns in my head as to what people might view me as. Most of those came from my own stigmas and negative views about this industry. Something which held me back a lot.

I have also learned over the years that the right combination of passion and talent is what one needs to build what they love. For example, the reason why I chose to pursue a mom lifestyle blog is because I have really enjoyed being a stay at home mom. I have made a game out of it and called my self and traditional old fashioned housewife. I have taken pride in what I was doing and was often asked how I was able to do what I did. I wanted to share with others my systems and routines, and that’s where I had the desire to start this blog. 

There are many unique new ways to pursue ones passion nowadays that with the right amount of wits and persistence, many barriers that used to make things  impossible, can now be broken. 

Something else I have noticed, is that  many people try and compete with others within their industry. They become obsessed with their competitors and try so hard to copy every one of their moves, never satisfied that they can’t quite seem to catch up. But here is the problem. What they don’t understand is that it’s not a competition. When you challenge someone who is passionate with what they do, you will never stop them. Because the love for what they do is what drives them to wake up everyday and show up. 

There are many lifestyle blogs for moms, but if I get caught up on studying my competition, I will only copy what others are doing and not focus on sharing what I know.

Too many times I notice people focus on an outward result instead of being their own best version,  and pursuing their own individual passion. 

I’ll share an example. My husband is a Real Estate Broker. I also have had my license active and have worked behind the scenes with him for many years while the children were little so that I could help him out and understand what he was doing while being a stay at home mom. We loved what we did so much, that we honestly never questioned whether David my husband should be in a different industry. 

I have watched many people ask my husband who absolutely loves Real Estate how he has the life that he has. Followed by them asking what he does and how to do it themselves.

 I often remind my husband to remind everyone to ask themselves this one thing. 

Are they truly passionate about real-estate? Or do they just want a lifestyle? Because the lifestyle is only the byproduct of a well lived and pursued career. 

Do they see themselves going to house after house. Do they love it so much that they will talk about it while on vacation and research articles late at night?

 So much as to go visit vacant homes just for fun on evenings, and study every grid in the whole county during their spare time. Do they want to naturally learn every single nick and cram about a transaction?

Do they love it enough that if they donated their whole proceeds to help someone else, or split half of it with another agent they will still close the transaction and fall asleep happy knowing they did some good and move on to the next thing because they know they are doing it for the love of helping others with the knowledge they have gained?

Do they love it enough that year after year and client after client, every time a new call comes, they can’t wait to go help that person solve not just a transactional problem, but understand why they are making that life decision and knowing they have been entrusted with a person with a very complex important life who will need guidance, a listening ear, and the most knowledgable person on their side to give them the best advice for them, and not just for their own personal Real Estate bottom line as a Realtor?

That is passion. I have loved watching and learning from my husband how loving others and finding purpose each day in within ones career is very much possible and can become a whole thing. Money is often sacrificed in the process and other times is just a byproduct of everything else. The journey was the joy. 

I decided to keep pursuing my blog because  after speeding over a decade in homes, I keep going back to my childhood dreams. When I first got married to David, I remember he gave me a budget of 200$ dollars and said: “ Honey I know you love clothes, go get something nice form the mall.” We went together and found some cute things. But also felt extremely underwhelmed by the meager non fashionable stores that were available to us in our small college town. I came from
Italy, the capital world of fashion. I knew I couldn’t find here what they had there.

We were walking around, when David said to me, “Don’t worry, some day together we will do a fashion brand.” He already knew me more than I knew myself. He knew I loved clothes and that I wanted to do that. I just didn’t think it was possible at that time in my life. 

I love healthy food, motherhood, an organized home. I love to dress, care, love, teach, and raise my children. I have tamed the inner fashion monster in me so that I am not a shopaholic, and have learned to shop with purpose and pick things that I absolutely love and I want to share all of this with others. 

I have learned this because we grew up with little money and I have been a stay at home mom my whole marriage. But compromising style was never an option for me so now I want to share what I do on my journey. 

“FIND YOUR WHY TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO  PURSUE WHAT YOU LOVE”`

Next week I am going to share more about why it took me so long to start pursuing my passion and what life curve balls made it seem impossible for over a decade.

To keep reading and find out more about future posts don’t forget to subscribe at the bottom of my page.

The post WHY YOU SHOULD  PURSUE YOUR PASSION appeared first on Life At Casa.