March Favorites + What’s in my toddler’s Easter basket?
Hey there, I’m Kayla! I’m a licensed therapist in Minnesota as well as a mom of an almost-three year old. Here are some of the activities, items, and resources that I’ve been enjoying this past month!
Please note that some of the items may include affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you use the link to purchase the item yourself. Know that I’m only recommending items that I actually use and love!
Mental Health
Getting Outside: As the weather has gotten a bit warmer, getting outside for a little bit each day has been such a nice way to support my mental health! I’ve been getting in some more midday walks to break up the work day, park outings with my kiddo, and time outside in the backyard clearing things out for spring.
Self-Help Books: A couple of books that have been top recommendations I’ve shared with clients this past month have been No Bad Parts, by Richard Schwartz, as well as Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, by Lindsay Gibson. You can find a list of my top mental health book recommendations here, these are the ones that I find myself recommending to clients over and over again!
Substack: As I’ve personally been overwhelmed with social media (both as a consumer and creator), I’m shifting a bit to hosting some more of my content on Substack. I’m wanting to step out of the algorithm a bit and focus more on content that feels more authentic and actually reflects the work that I do with my clients regularly. Here, you’ll find my monthly Wellness Newsletter (if you’ve already subscribed you’re good to go!), some occasional posts with reflection prompts and gentle reminders, as well as my podcast and other offerings.
While I may add some bonus paid material on there down the road, all of these things that I’m currently sharing on Substack are free to all subscribers. You can subscribe to my substack here! Don’t worry, you’ll just get one monthly email from me (I know an influx of emails can be so annoying) and the rest of the posts will just show up on the Substack app or website.
Mindfulness: As I’ve personally noticed a little uptick in anxiety (which is common for me once the days start getting longer- which is how Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms show up for me!), I’ve made sure to bring in some more mindfulness as a way to regulate my nervous system. Doing some gentle breathing exercises is one of my favorite ways to bring in moments for grounding throughout the day. Here is a 15-minute guided breathing exercise that I just added to my Ground & Grow podcast. It’s very beginner friendly if mindfulness exercises are newer to you!
Parenthood
We’re still in potty training season over here. My kiddo loves to be independent with new skills that she’s learning, so we’re kinda following her lead and reinforcing her excitement about it. Last month I shared a couple of our favorite books to help her understand the process and have some fun with it- those were Potysaurus and Potty Time with Bean.
What’s going in my toddler’s Easter basket?: Easter is around the corner for those who celebrate, and we love to make holidays fun around here!
We don’t go super big in terms of decorations or gifts, but do enjoy some small things that make the season fun. For Valentine’s day we made a fun garland together by my kiddo painting watercolor on paper with some pinks and reds, and then I cut them into strips and created a garland for decoration. Next week, we plan to do that same activity but with some more spring/pastel colors!
One thing that I was excited to get for her Easter basket is this adorable kid’s Owala water bottle (she’s going to flip about having a matching mini water bottle to mine!)
And, a final fun addition to her Easter basket is an amigurumi bunny that I crocheted for her! As you may know, recently I’ve gotten back into crocheting big time- and it’s been such a nice activity for me. I’ve made a couple mini amigurumis in the past, but recently got a book with some patterns called “Crochet Cute Critters” and am having so much fun with it! I’d call myself a beginner in crocheting and found these patterns very easy to follow (but youtubed a couple of stitches that I initially got stuck on). The bunny that I made came out so cute and love that it gets to be her little toy made by mom!
Lifestyle
Books: I have still been loving the Libby app as a way to utilize my library for audiobooks and ebooks!
It got me on a kick of listening to the Philliipa Greggory books that I read back in college (I still remember reading The Other Boleyn Girl in the break room of the department store I worked at as a sophomore!).
For my book club, we read The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, for this month’s theme of “banned books”. A very intense book, and also so many important themes. If you’re ever looking for a book that has themes that are important to know about in our political climate- looking up books that are banned by some schools/programs is a great place to start!
Looking for more recommendations?
I’ve got a list of several of my favorite items for mental health, parenthood, and lifestyle over at my ShopMy account. Again, a few (not all) of these are affiliate links, but they’re all my tried and true recommendations!