helping

How I Lost My Meta Socials….

Abby H.Leave a comment

On May 6th at about 2pm Pacific time, my Meta socials (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) got hacked, and Meta suspended them.

I was at my day job, working, so I didn’t know about it until about 3pm.

I did a quick Google search, followed all the steps, but alas, I was unable to recover them.

I had those accounts for about 15+ years. My Facebook account included the page that supported my blog, as well as several groups I was a moderator/owner of. My Meta Accounts were what drove people to my blog, which is how I make most of my money on social media- which, to be honest, isn’t a lot.

So now I’m starting over from scratch. How can you help? It’s pretty simple:

  1. Like my Facebook Page.
  2. Follow me on Instagram.
  3. Follow me on Threads. 
  4. Follow me on Bluesky.
  5. Check out my Link Tree.
  6. Check out my Amazon Storefront. 

Got A Teacher in Your Life? 7 Ways to Lend Support

Abby H.Leave a comment

May is upon us, which means it’s the downward slide into the end of the school year. It’s also that time of year when your teacher friends are a little more stressed than usual. For some states, standardized testing starts after spring break. For most classrooms, the supplies that were purchased in August have run out completely.

Here are seven ways that you can lend your support to an educator in your life without buying $30 wrapping paper at their next fundraiser.

If you’ve got the time, cash, or inclination, here are a few ways you can help the teacher in your life:

  1. Check with them to see if they need supplies.  Between Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Amazon, there are a lot of places you can find inexpensive number 2 pencils, markers, and lined paper.
  2. Headphones/in-ear headphones. Mid-year is about the time when they stop working. And most schools can’t afford to replace them. A lot of classrooms use programs that read to kids, especially in the lower grades and special education classrooms. Standardized testing frequently has sections that are read to students or require them to speak. A handful of the plug-in in-ear headphones from Dollar Tree or Five Below can help. School iPads use USB-C headphones.
  3. Do they have a Donors Choose Page? Are they trying to raise funds for a special project? Throw $10-$20 their way, and share their donor’s choice link on your socials.
  4. Ask if they have an Amazon wish list. Buy something, share it on your socials.
  5. If you eat out frequently, check to see if your teacher friends’ PTSA/PTA utilizes restaurant fundraisers. The school my children go to has a restaurant fundraiser once a month with local restaurants in our community. 20% of the bill goes towards funds for the school. We don’t eat out very often, but it’s a good way to support my kids’ school without having to buy a $30 roll of wrapping paper.
  6. If you have flexibility in your schedule, offer to volunteer. Either in class or after school. Teachers need help after teaching hours with grading, resetting the classroom, prepping projects, and changing out bulletin boards.
  7. Be supportive. Teaching is more than the three hours, and it can take a lot out of teachers. Teachers are not only educators, but they are also the social and emotional support for kids for six hours a day, 180 days a year.

Sunday Care Tasks: Setting Up Your Week For Success!

Abby H.

One thing I’ve been doing is reframing chores and tasks around the home as Care Tasks. This makes them morally neutral. There is no shame, no guilt. These are tasks we do to take care of our home and our family. Thanks to KC Davis (You may know her as Domestic Blisters on TikTok, her website is Struggle Care).

Sometimes I do these tasks on Saturday, but usually, I do it Sunday morning all the kids are watching cartoons or playing video games. It takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours, but I find that carving out a little bit of time could really help frame the start of the week in a positive light.

  • Go through the kitchen inventory (pantry/fridge/freezer) to meal plan. Chop vegetables, make a salad, make food for adult lunches. Our produce comes on Mondays, but usually by late Saturday or early Sunday I still have stuff that needs to be used up. In that case, I roast a tray of veggies or make up a quick salad, or if I don’t think we’re gonna be able to eat right away, I will prep them for the freezer. I try to meal plan around the food that will expire or go bad first. Meaning that we tend to have green salads first, then followed by other foods.
  • I repack the snack box for the week.  I buy larger snack/lunch food for the kids and fill the snack box. I have a “secret” (at least to the kids) location where I store large boxes of snacks. This is the kids from devouring all of the snacks quickly. 
  • I update the family calendar as needed. We have a wall calendar in the kitchen that I update weekly/as needed when there are things the kids need to know are happening. I also update the calendar in my bathroom on the vanity, and both kids have wall calendars in their bedrooms with events/holidays they need to know about.
  • I make sure all the laundry is put away: I hate doing laundry, it’s my least favorite chore. So usually Saturday night after the kids are in bed or on Sunday I will make sure that all of the laundry that has been washed over the past few days is dried, folded, and put away on Monday morning, I don’t have to hear the screams of, “I don’t have anything to wear! “
  • Take out the trash. Also not a favorite task (it’s heavy and I have tendonitis in my right elbow so carrying is tough), but getting it done helps the week feel a little easier to get started.
  • Clean out/repack the kid’s backpacks. This includes plugging iPads to charge, checking folders for anything that needs signatures, refilling water bottles, and checking lunch bags for any mystery food left from the last week. 
  • Update my care task list for the upcoming week. It is in the notes section of my phone, and it’s a checklist that I can easily check off completed items.

If I don’t get everything done at one time, I break down them into what needs to be done. Kids need clothes for school, charged iPads, and food/snacks. Everything else can wait until I have more energy or some help.

There is no shame in asking for or hiring help (if that is available to you). If you find yourself in need of some care or gentle coaching on how to organize and clean while you are feeling stressed, I recommend KC Davis’ Book, How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing.