I am 100% certain that I'm not the only one that has been indulging a little with online purchases. I feel like it's Christmas again and I'm just eagerly anticipating packages outside the door. I'm an unashamed frugalista so I want quality, but at a bargain (clearance plus an extra sale preferred). Now that home has become the headquarters for everything, it's quite noticeable how empty our house is everyday and it has caused me to go into overdrive trying to really make this a home for us. Here are just a few of my top purchases up to date:

Initially, transitioning from being a working mom to staying at home was difficult. I wasn't used to not having "adult talk time" or some task to focus on that took the pressure off being a parent for a moment. Being at home and having a little person following your every move was very frustrating and I didn't enjoy it, but I also knew that once we relocated halfway across the country from family that I had to put on my big girl panties. My situation isn't isolated and I've talked with several friends that tried the stay at home life and just said they were too bored and couldn't do it.

Often people end the last quarter of the year with preparations for the upcoming year. Many people have started completing vision boards as a way to visualize goals they desire to conquer. A few years ago, I read a devotional that stated it was good to focus on one word for the entire year. Each year since then, I’ve been attempting to find a word for the upcoming year that I could focus my attention on in various areas of my life. My word for 2018 was: Think.

One of the toughest things for me to experience was coming home and no longer having a career. Initially, I was excited because I was in a complete phase of exhaustion. Working in the social services sector was honestly tough work. It is mentally and emotionally draining and there’s never enough time to complete all of the paperwork. So with that in mind, I was thrilled that I was going to get a chance to be a full-time mommy to at least one of my children.

While I recognize that I don’t have all of the answers and I make plenty of mistakes, I understand that when I’m working at my very best I’m practicing certain behaviors that result in positivity. The same is true for the opposite. After years of working in the counseling sector, I’ve found that these five things are major contributing factors in whether or not someone is truly successful.