Hello , hello everybody , and welcome back to Conquering Chaos a mom's guide to self-care and sanity . I'm your host , sydney Crowe , and today we are gonna get real about the holiday aftermath the glittering lights , the festive music and the whirlwind of celebrations . It's a magical time for many , but for families with extra needs , especially children , it can be an overwhelming experience . So as we transition from the holiday season and into the new year , it's essential to acknowledge that the holidays can be very overstimulating for kids with extra needs . The hustle and bustle , the sensory overload from the lights and the sounds , the irregular routines during the festivities can just create a really challenging environment . But here's the beautiful part we as moms have an incredible ability to adapt and find ways to support our children in the best possible way . So for our family , we've started recognizing the potential stressors during the holidays . That has resulted in us just doing less . As the years have gone by , we've just started to say no to things , and that has allowed us some boundaries and just created a little bit more stability , especially for our oldest . So we used to run around like crazy . I was often found joking that our holidays were like the movie for Christmases . You know the one with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon , and they're running around to all of their families Only for us . No one actually fell off the roof before Pinkiness . But now you might be wondering why I'm sharing this with you . Well , it's because I believe that every mom out there , whether your child has extra needs or not , can benefit from more intentional and a mindful approach to the new year .
Speaker 1So you might be expecting me to start talking about resolutions here , but I am not a fan of resolutions . I find that people sit down , they set them either at the end of December , early January , and typically by March they've either lost track of them or they've already realized that they're not following through . So for the last four years , my husband and I have gone out for dinner . We used to go over the previous year and then we set our own goals and our intentions for the following year . And I just feel like when you sit down and you set goals and intentions , you're writing them down , you're keeping track of them . There's just a lot more accountability . And when you can do it with your partner , your spouse , maybe it's just your best friend you have that accountability , that accountability buddy , as I like to call it .
Speaker 1So my husband and I this year , because our girls are getting old enough we decided to sit down and really have a fun experience to include them in our process . We sat down at our kitchen table . We had a real heart to heart . We discussed what worked well for us in 2023 , what our goals were gonna be for 2024 . And it was really cool to have this chance to go over everything we did in 2023 and hear what the girls thought their highlights were for the year , also share what ours were .
Speaker 1I mean , when I set out in 2023 , I never intended to start a podcast . That was something that was really special that I was able to achieve . I became an author . There were things that like , when I actually sat down and went over things with them , it was really fun experience to share that with them . It wasn't just kind of talking it out with my husband like I had in my years best , and I think it's really great to do that at such a young age , because now they're like they were already asking me . They're like do we get to do this next year ? And I was like yeah , absolutely . So . It's just a really beautiful , beautiful experience , especially to hear what their highlights were for the year .
Speaker 1And now the four of us . We know what all of us want to focus on for 2024 . And we can help each other work on that . So when there are things coming up for work , I can say , hey , remember like I sat down and this is a big goal for me to work towards in 2024 . And they understand that a little bit more than just like , oh , mom's on a work trip or mom's hold up in her office recording a podcast episode right , they can , they just have a little bit more . It's almost like they've got skin in the game with us , right , because we're all on the same page , working towards these goals together . And it's not just my goals , you know , they , they have a piece of it . So I'm going to share a little bit about what our family goals were for this year .
Speaker 1We've been blessed to be able to give our girls the travel bug , which I love . So we all have some travel goals for this year . We also all want to focus on our family and spending some more , one on one time with each other . You know , sean and I've always talked about wanting to take the girls on more dates . Just , you know , each taking one , spending more time together , going on dates ourselves . So just having that connection time where it's , yes , great to have the four of us together and we do a lot of that and we have plans for a lot of that continuing into 2024 , but also just really building and fostering those relationships on an individual level as well .
Speaker 1We're going to be focusing on some self love , making sure that my girls know that that is . That is a top priority , you know , and I want to encourage that and foster that for them and help them grow with that , so that their intuition with themselves is so in tune that they don't ever have to go through this like , oh , society's told me to fit into a box and they have to turn that off . And you know , I talked to so many women my age where we were , you know , hold to fit into a box , basically like be quiet , we don't talk about that . You know that's , you know something that happens inside the house or whatever . And a lot of them now are learning how to re retune into that intuition that they've had all along , and I don't want my girls to have to go through that like shut off , turn it back on , type thing .
Speaker 1So self love is going to be a big thing for us this year continuing with our journaling , things like that and one of the big goals that is a priority for all four of us is having a really healthy lifestyle . It's really we've had some big things happening over the last couple of years in the last little bit in our family , and maybe at one point I'll start sharing a bit more about that on the podcast as well . But you know we we have some family members that are going through some major health stuff and watching them go through that is just really highlighted the importance of health for the four of us and we realize that , like , without our health , we we don't really have much , and so just really pushing that , cultivating that for us and encouraging our kids to eat , write , exercise and all of these things having an active lifestyle . So one of the big things for us is is having this like healthy lifestyle together . So whether we're going to be incorporating more nutrient packed foods , finding creative ways to stay active as a family , we're in this together and that's why we're kicking off this year with a gut reboot . So a lot of you are probably like why the gut ? Well , our gut is like the captain steering the ship in our overall health . It influences everything in our body , from our digestion to our immunity , our mood , everything . So when you after some extra indulging over the holidays , it's .
Speaker 1We've decided just that we need to reset our microbiomes and kick off 2024 in the right direction . So , sean and I , that's going to be a very specific three day reset where we're basically going to be eating vegan for three days . It helps cleanse our systems . The girls will be eating the majority of what we eat , since it's all whole foods consisting of mostly vegetables , legumes , fruits , but obviously they're not going to be doing the specific cleanse that we're doing . So I just want to clarify that before the mom police come out of the woodwork on this podcast . But eating some extra fruits and veggies will be good for their guts too . They really . You know we're making it a family affair .
Speaker 1Everybody's been involved in the process , from planning our meals or choosing our snacks . We're going to be making a detox soup and a broccoli avocado soup , and the girls have been feeling a little under the weather for the last couple weeks , so this is going to be great for our immunity boosters , for them , too , and one thing that I've learned is that small , intentional changes can have a really big impact . So we want to reset our digestive systems , we're going to be boosting our immunity and it's just going to help us feel better overall as we step into 2024 . So we're just kind of leaving that energy that 2023 was kind of hanging over us at the end there and cleansing that out and kicking off 2024 just right . So I'm going to encourage each of you listening to take a similar approach , whether like sit down with your family , reflect on what worked well in the past year and set realistic , positive goals for the coming months . It's all about progress over perfection .
Speaker 1For those of you that are interested in the specifics around the reboot , I'll include the details for that in the show notes , and I just want to say that , as we embark on this new year , I'm going to be sharing lots of insight , tips , the occasional mishap on a path to healthier , happier family . I've got a ton of guests lined up this year and I'm really , really excited that we're kicking off 2024 together . So stay tuned for more episodes filled with lots of laughter , learning and lots of mom hacks in the process . So thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode , where we help you conquer the chaos , one day at a time . Happy New Year's everybody .