108th Mommy Mondays - St. Patrick's Day Hunt & Announcement

I was so excited for today!!! I've been thinking about it for a week!!! Eeek!!!

Read about all the excitement on St. Patrick's Day 2017

My husband was able to get the day off. My photo-op time for FanX changed to a little earlier so we figured we'd pick the kids up around 1:40 and head straight to the train. Because of that we decided to tell the kids this morning with their St. Patrick's Day hunt.

Here's a link to the video. They are so funny!



*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Yup we're pregnant! #3
I made the video because my mom wanted a video to show family while they were in the Philippines. They don't have the best connection so video on FB was the most creative way I could tell them. I'm glad the kids are excited. 

Once we got to the last line, one of the guys noticed my shirt and thought that was cool =) (I was wearing Babe with the Power ---- from the movie, Labyrinth)

Once we got to the area and I saw him taking pictures with other people was when I got most excited. Luckily everything worked out and they let us use our signs. I just asked Zachary Levi if he could help us and he took the sign, read it and said Congratulations. We got the kids in better positions with his help. Both the kids were touched by Zachary Levi!!! Then we took our picture....and he asked if this was our announcement. I said yes and he said that's awesome! I told him Thank you and we left. I was so excited about our picture. I ordered a digital copy too since it was only $10.

In case it's hard to read the signs....
Zachary Levi's: They're pregnant! "I'm not freaking out. Are you freaking out?" (Tangled Quote)
Mine: Doing my best not to Freak Out. Baby Nelson #3 Due October 5, 2017
Hubby's: Not Freaking Out. Baby's 1st FanX
Son's: Excited!!! (oh well that he wasn't really smiling)
Daughter's: Yay!!!

I am so impressed with how well the kids did in the less than 1 minute we had to pose for the picture. So happy! Best day this year!

My soon to be FB Cover Photo =D when everyone gets to know.

This was planned =). We've always been inspired when to have our kids. Heavenly Father luckily gave me a couple months to get used to the idea of having another (because I'm kinda freaking out for those who are familiar with my struggles with my mental health after having my daughter in 2011 and the fact I've pretty much sold all our big baby items in our last 2 moves)....especially since my daughter and this one will almost be 6.5 years apart!

What are some creative ways you announced your pregnancy?
With our first we just e-mailed the ultrasound picture. With our 2nd we did a shirt for our oldest and mailed our cards. This one will be hard to beat if we decide to have a number 4.

31st Wellness Wednesdays - Meet Meghan Stolp

Meet Meghan - a fearless fighter of anxiety, panic disorder, depression, and ADHD.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY // Martha Keyes http://www.marthakeyes.com/

 "If I had to say one thing to anyone that was going through what I do, it is possible to overcome it. While it may never go away completely, it is possible to be happy and to live life in a normal way -- no matter what other people say, no matter what labels you may feel like you put on it. You're still a person."

  
Her Blog, My Journey to Healing, has many inspirational posts. I just love her quotes on her side bar. 

 

One of her posts, No Longer Living in a Misconception, was a great reminder to me. She shares,

(Google) defines the word selfish as: “lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.” Note that nowhere in that definition did it say that to do what is best for us personally is a selfish thing. Being selfish is when you are so self-consumed that you don’t care how it affects anyone else around you.


Thank you Meghan for sharing your story. It was amazing to work with you <3 font="">

30th Wellness Wednesdays - A WAHM with Depression

Tips for other WAHM (work at home moms) with depression
Trying to do it all like I sometimes try to do? Feeling pulled every which way. Guess what you can't do it all and it's okay! Here are some tips to try to focus on what you want most and get the support you need to reach your goals.

 #IAMSTIGMAFREE

1. Support from Spouse (or Family & Friends)
Sometimes you just need to vent to hear it out loud and then move on. I've told my husband this and when I say something that he can just reply back, "That must have been frustrating" or something to that effect. Now when he says it to me, I smile knowing that he understands and can move on. I'm so grateful for his support especially this past year.

2. Time Blocking or Designated Days
I learned this tip from some of my leaders at a training. Schedule your week out having set times to do things: chores, time with family, business activities, self-care, church responsibilities, etc. Then stick to those times unless it's an emergency!
This past year I was called to be the president of a women's organization within my church in a very high needs ward. So sticking to my time blocking has been helpful in not making feel so stressed out. If my time right now is blogging, and someone from church calls (I use a Google Voice number just for church calls), then I only answer if they leave a message saying it's an emergency. I have found that people aren't as in a hurry as they want us to think.

That is why I'm super excited for the Erin Condren planner new hourly weekly layout! I have this on my wish list so I can take my time blocking and other planner stuff on the go =) Right now it's just on my bulletin board by my computer.

 "He who gains TIME, gains everything..." -Benjamin Disroeli

For those with young kids at home, you might have to do smaller increments of time like 15-30 minutes. I've tried to play with my kids for 15-30 minutes and then tell them mommy has to work for 30 minutes next. Having set days for things also might be helpful. Since a lot of my business is currently on FB and Wednesdays aren't the best days for sharing on FB, I try and designate most of the day Wednesdays (and part of Saturdays) for cleaning: laundry, floors, counters, big organization jobs, etc. Yes my house can look crazy the rest of the week, but I'm not great at cleaning so this works for me otherwise again I can feel like I'm pulled in too many directions, get stressed out which can trigger my depression and then I all I want to do is lay in bed hiding out.

3. Focus on Strengths
Cleaning is not my strength, but organizing is so I'm much happier doing that more often ---- that's why major cleaning is only one day a week for me. Don't worry my husband is an awesome cleaner so he helps the other days if needed =)
Business wise, social media comes naturally to me so I do most of my business on there to help spread my business nation wide, not just locally.
To learn more about your strengths and putting energy into that, then sourcing out for your weaknesses when you can, read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. I get so much more done when I focus on my strengths than my weaknesses.
If you really want a weakness to be a strength, then find a mentor and ask them how they do it ----great tip I just read recently from a personal development book I'm reading, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. Be willing to be educated so that it can become a strength faster....or you might learn that you don't enjoy it like you thought you would. Yes you could learn how to do everything by yourself, but that's not very effective.


4. Personal Development Books
Motivational books that help me understand and develop myself more so I can continue to grow in all areas of my life. I mentioned two in my #3 tip. Reading just 10 minutes a day can help you grow exponentially. Ideas form for me from reading and also help me to help others in my business and in my church responsibilities.
One of my favorite personal development books is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.  Reading that helped me to know that the little things I do matter and will make a difference in time as long as I am consistent. Too many times, people quit right away because something doesn't work out. I've found if you keep going especially in something you love, you'll learn and grow and find what works for you as long as you're consistent in it. It's all about one step at a time and added together compound exponentially.

5. Self Care
 For me this includes proper nutrition, eating right. I love 100 Days of Real Food's ideas on nutrition. For me I use essential oils and essential vitamins and supplements to keep me focused, motivated and energized each day. When I don't do this, my day tends to drag and I get irritable easier.

Other parts of self-care for me include yoga, meditation, joyful breathing, reading, praying, journaling, something from my joy list: crafting, dates with my husband, etc. I try to pick 1-2 of these each day. Life is so  busy and you need time block this as well. When I get my self-care in, everything else tends to fall more into place.

 What tips do you have to share as a WAHM especially when people ask how do you do it?

29th Wellness Wednesdays - Kylie's Fight Song

Meet Kylie -- a fearless fighter of ADD, anxiety, depression, rape, and sexual assault.

I am grateful to her for sharing her story so honestly. There are so many people who need to hear this. She is so courageous. I loved getting to know her and was impressed with how smart she is and all the cool things she is doing with her school and her work. #dontstop

PHOTOGRAPHY BY // Martha Keyes http://www.marthakeyes.com/

"Anyone else that's gone through any of this: there are so many people out there. It's amazing once you open yourself up and acknowledge that you have a mental illness but they are treatable. You can do it! But once you acknowledge it, for me that was the first step in being able to be strong enough to get help and be able to look for other people. Now I'm parts of support groups... the support will save you. It saves everything."

To anyone struggling with mental illness, domestic violence or addiction, you do not have to go through this alone. You are amazing and you are loved. Don't let anyone let you think any differently.

28th Wellness Wednesdays - My Fight Song - #IAMSTIGMAFREE

#IamStigmaFree: Here are the questions we were asked to prepare for our interviews. Wanted to share my original thoughts from paper since I'm not always so eloquent in speaking. Italicized added thoughts.
More of my story here. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY // Martha Keyes http://www.marthakeyes.com/

 
How does your illness or disorder affect your daily life?  I get irritable with my family easily, sometimes feeling like no one cares enough to help me and then feeling overwhelmed trying to do it all, but having no energy to start or knowing where to start. I have to fight everyday to not feel this way, but I'm grateful that I have hope again for the future right now. I feel like everyone is tugging on me and I can't keep my head straight to focus on one thing. When I feel that way, then when my family asks for things I get overwhelmed and lost.
 

What advice would you give to someone living with your same illness? Communicate with your loved ones. For me I have to communicate with my husband and children and try to explain how I’m feeling. Some key words I gave to my husband to say when I feel like I'm falling into a sinkhole. He says, "That must be frustrating," after I share my thoughts, trying to explain what's wrong. I always feel a little silly saying all the things that's happened that day that triggered my feelings of overwhelmedness, but it's so hard to explain sometimes. I just feel like the floor was sucked out under me.
If you don’t live with family, make sure you have really supportive friends that you can turn to when you need to talk. Without a few really supportive friends in high school, I’m not sure I would have made it.
It’s been a little over a year now since I wanted to see myself to be brave to take better care of myself so that I can manage my depression better, start sharing my experiences with others so I could never get so low as feeling I was falling into a sink hole back like I did in February 2014.
My fighting for myself and being brave everyday includes Self Care: Sacred 10 or a Morning Routine. For me those things include using essential oils, essential vitamins and supplements, reading and taking action on personal development books and scriptures, and participating in yoga. When I take care of myself, it’s easier to take care of others. Of course some days are better than others. Take it one step at a time. I’ve added things to my self-care a little at a time in the last year. I’m still a work in progress.

Why is it important for you and others to be stigma free? It’s important to be stigma free so that people won’t be scared to seek support, share their feelings. I’ve dealt with depression since at least high school; some years were worse than others. It took me 10+ years to even tell my parents and other family members. Once I was able to make that step, it became easier little by little to tell more people and share my story. I get scared and anxious every single time I prepare to share my deep struggles with others. I hate that ball of tangled fishing line feeling I have in my chest and don’t want to feel like that when I want to share my story with others, worrying about what someone thinks – thinking that I’m making this up or that I want people to feel sorry for me.

I want to see you be brave; so more can do so too.

Help spread awareness and break the stigma on mental health with these brave women who have shared these stories. We've made it on LDS Daily =)
Be brave, share your story - "say what you want to say and let the words fall out..." - Sarah Bareillis "Brave"

We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. - Russel M. Nelson
Click on the photo for his full talk.

27th Wellness Wednesdays #IamStigmaFree Music Video

 

Here's our Music Video to Fight Song



All of this came together in about less than a week for the participants. Most of us learning the dance in 1-2 days. Hearing Fight Song on the radio gives me such a boost. Just yesterday I was really struggling with everything I have going on this week. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, trembling. I haven't had an attack in so long. I heard this song on the radio and was able to calm down some and try to focus.

 

one of the girls took this picture with their phone; pretty amazing!

One fan mentioned liking the visual of having the wooden posts and some of us behind those because it gave him the illusion that are so many more that we can't see that are still struggling.



Some parts featuring me =)

Part of my Individual Dance

 

My Handwriting =)

WRITTEN + DIRECTED + PRODUCED BY // Ashley Sargeant
FILMED + EDITED BY // Tucker Dansie + Chris Peck https://meetusatthecorner.wordpress.com/
PHOTOGRAPHY BY // Martha Keyes http://www.marthakeyes.com/
HAIR + MAKEUP BY // Becky Swasey (beckyswasey@gmail.com)
CHOREOGRAPHY BY // Chantel Stucki
MUSIC BY // Rachel Platten

Click on the Photo for all 17 women's individual interviews.

106th Mommy Mondays - Rebecca's Story about PPOCD

I was grateful to meet this woman and learn from her as part of the #IAMSTIGMAFREE campaign movement. Learning from her, I believe I also dealt with this with my 2nd child which probably made my depression so much worse. I am grateful though to be able to understand myself better.

PPOCD: PostPartum Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is one of the most under-reported PostPartum issues.

If you know someone who is pregnant or recently had a baby then say something like, "I know you probably don't have this problem, but I promised my friend Rebecca, who had a postpartum issue, that I would mention this to anyone I know who could have any possible chance of dealing with this. It's called Postpartum OCD and it's where you have scary thoughts that you might hurt your baby. It's really common, and can be easily treated. Most women who have this are too scared to tell anyone, and that's why I'm mentioning this. Just in case you or anyone you know ever has to deal with this or some other postpartum issue." 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY // Martha Keyes http://www.marthakeyes.com/

For more support if you think you are dealing with this, check out this website: http://www.postpartumprogress.com/hope-for-moms-with-postpartum-ocd-intrusive-thoughts

139th Fashionable Fridays - StigmaFree

B&W Baseball Tee, Dog Tags, and Red Lipstick for the ‪#‎IAMSTIGMAFREE‬ campaign

Photography by Martha Keyes Photography
 
All of these amazing women's stories are officially up on Don't Stop Sargeant to help break the stigma and spread awareness on mental health.