Hey Mamas!
Welcome to the February edition of Shark Bites- the monthly summary where I tell you about my latest ideas for streamlining mom life, plus what's coming up in the world of me and my blogging friends to help streamline your mom life!
In this Newsletter
- A review (in case you missed it last time): Why I've changed up my Mama Shark email strategy completely.
- How I streamlined my mom life in February
- February Mom Hacks
- Coming Your Way in February
- Behind the Scenes at Mama Shark
New Email Options (a review)...
If you've been on this list for a while, you probably notice this one is laid out a little different. See, I took a big long look at 2023 for Mama Shark to see what worked, what didn't, and what needed to be done about it. Which, by the way, is a great idea to do for all parts of life periodically. Highly recommend.
One of the things I concluded was that I didn't like how "salesy" a lot of my emails have gotten. I really do love letting you all know about things I think will help streamline your mom life (I mean, that's what Mama Shark is all about after all) but it was sort of taking over my emails and leaving little room for other stuff.
In fact, when I first created my Welcome Email Sequence (which most of you will have gotten when you first signed up) I had the goal of emailing short emails once a week with helpful content- and that's what I said I'd do in that sequence. And quite frankly, I don't think I've lived up to that promise. So it's time to realign my goals and my emails!
So what does this mean for subscribers to this list?
I've got a few things you can do or not do to get only the emails you want! Streamline that inbox, girl.
1) There will be one main monthly email- like this one.
2) If you don't want to get any emails other than this one, you can click here and I'll opt you out of basically ALL email broadcasts from me other than the main monthly email.
If you do opt out, that means no more emails about sales (both from Mama Shark and not from Mama Shark) unless you opt back into that specific sale (I'll give you that chance in these monthly emails).
3) I've added options for you to be able to Manage Your Profile to choose emails on just the topics you're interested in! The button for that lives at the bottom of every email so you can adjust those at any time.
I hope you all enjoy this new email format and theory. I'd truly love to hear your thoughts about this, so please feel free to reply and let me know what you think at any time! I'm hoping this email format will be a more enjoyable read that you look forward to each month.
How I Streamlined My Mom Life in February
- Valentine's on doors- this is one of my kids' favorite Valentine's Day traditions. In fact, you'll see more Valentine's than I made in the picture below because my daughter has kept hers on her door from the past years (as best as she could with little brother's "help").
All I do is take construction paper, cut out some hearts, and write love notes on them and tape them to their doors. Easy, cheap, and the kids love reading them all year round! And it can be done quickly the night before without me having to remember to buy anything extra (as long as we have construction paper around).
- Split Soup- Last week me and the kids visited my parents in another state while hubby had to work all weekend. While we were there, I got the flu. And can I say I was *so thankful* to have it there at my parents house where I was brought anything I needed and my kids were taken care of. One of the things I was brought while sick reminded me of a little trick we do when someone is sick and needs to eat in bed: split soup.
Rather than trying to eat a bowl of soup in bed, we pour the liquid (or most of it) into a mug and put a straw in that. Then the rest of the soup goes in another mug to be eaten with a spoon. So much easier and less chance of a mess!
- Fuzzy Yoga Pants- I love my fleece lined yoga pants! I'm autistic and have some sensory sensitivities, and I recently decided that it was silly of me to try and wear itchy clothes that make me miserable unless I have to. But I also need my legs to be warm- so insert fleece lined yoga pants. And also- POCKETS.
February Mom Hacks
Here's where I put three hacks, tips, or tricks for you!
- Build Dopamine into Your Day. Dopamine is a happy chemical in your brain. When you do something you like, you get a little shot of happy chemicals and it's your body's way of encouraging you to do that more often. But sometimes we need to make a change that takes away some dopamine- eating less sugar, for example. But then our brain screams at us and we feel uber unhappy because it's missing it's happy feels. So it's important, especially if you're trying to make a new habit, to build in some dopamine into your routine! It doesn't have to be complicated or big- a candle you like, a quick step outside for a deep breath, a favorite blanket...whatever gives you a little pick me up!
- Catch All Bins- Do you have a room that gets messy the most? Or maybe if your kids are young, it's every room as they follow you around and bring their toys with them. To help with quick clean ups, consider putting a small (or large if needed) catch all bin in a corner of the room. Then a quick grab clears the clutter- and periodically when you have a bit more time available, you can sort things into their actual homes.
- Wear School Clothes to Bed- do you have a kid who moves like molasses in the morning? Or maybe a neurodivergent kid who struggles with the executive functioning required to get dressed? Skip the pajamas and wear school clothes to bed! Makes less laundry, too!
Coming Your Way
Here's the section where I'll let you know what sales and such I have coming up! I'll also include a little note if it's something you can opt in to learn more about.
- The Living on Less Collection is coming up April 17th-23rd! The Living on Less Collection is here to give you the tools to live a richer life on less- less money, less stress, less exhaustion! Join the Early Bird List for bonus content leading up to the Collection!
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If, like me, you're in the middle of teaching a child to read, check out my friend Sarah's upcoming Reading Garden challenge! She’ll be sharing exactly how she taught her kids how to read AND to love books at the same time. 📚❤️
Sarah is an Orton Gillingham trained reading teacher with a degree in education and over a decade of experience teaching kids from preschool through high school.
Now she will be sharing everything she’s learned to help you to raise a confident reader who loves books.
She has so much insight and so many amazing resources waiting for you!
Here’s what you’ll get for FREE during the challenge 🤗
- ✅ Print-and-go Letter Sound Practice Activity
- ✅ Print-and-go Word Reading Practice Activity
- ✅ Print-and-go Side by Side Reading Book
- ✅ Reading Readiness Checklist
- ✅ Talk Like a Reading Teacher Cheat Sheet
- ✅ 10 Minute Reading Lesson Template
- ✅ Roadmap to Reading Step by Step Guide
- ✅ Perfect Reading Lesson Planner
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✅ Read Aloud Strategy Bookmarks
Are you ready to uncover all her secrets?
Click here and join the FREE challenge now.
🚨 The challenge starts on March 5th - make sure you sign up today so you don’t miss out! 🚨
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The Kids Eat Real Food Picky Eating Challenge is coming up February 21st-28th and tickets are available now! This has been a really popular event that you all have said you liked a lot. Here's what to expect:
You’ll never feel like saying, “I hate dinnertime,” again, and if you stick with us for 5 days and commit to making tiny changes, you’ll never say (or feel!) like you JUST want your kids to EAT what you make!
- Go from frustrated to empowered in just 5 days
- Invest 30 minutes a day to attend live (or catch the replay) and make ONE TINY CHANGE every day
- Watch in amazement as power struggles at the table dissipate
- Expect that your children -- even highly selective eaters -- will make at least one measurable improvement during the week, one step (or 17!) closer to expanding the number of foods they’re open to
- Feel confident in HOW you serve foods and the words to use to create more safety feelings in your kids’ brains
- Dial in snack time so it serves everyone in the family, no complaining
- Feel like your family is uniting around food at the dinner table, instead of fighting
- The magic of setting the right HABITS around eating and food that make ALL the difference
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Many of you have told me how you wish you could get a more organized, tidier home- well don't miss this, then!
It’s called the Get Organized Toolkit and it’s like having a team of organizational experts by your side as you tidy up every room in your house!
Here’s how it works: My friends at Ultimate Bundles reached out to dozens of bloggers and authors who specialize in decluttering and organization, and got permission to offer some of their best resources at a 98% discount (psst, my Organize Your Mom Life with Trello course is in there!).
When you buy the Get Organized Toolkit you’ll get access to:
- 12 eBooks
- 23 eCourses
- 1 Guide
- 18 Printables
- 3 Templates
- 4 Workbooks
- 1 Workshop
And best of all, you can get the entire package starting at just $67 - but only for a few days, during a short flash sale!
Check out the Get Organized Toolkit right here! But get it quick- it's only available February 27th and 28th!!
Behind the Scenes at Mama Shark
- I'm working hard on getting the Living on Less Collection up for April!
- I've got a NEW COURSE coming out soon that'll walk you through creating a no-stress email inbox- stay tuned for more soon!
- I've got a new series of blog posts up with Mom Hacks- check them out!
I hope you all have enjoyed this new email format. Let me know what you think- do you like it? Should it be shorter? More often? Take out a section? I want to hear!
P.S. Did you know that you can make money with Mama Shark? Become an affiliate for Collections by Mama Shark today and get paid to share!
