June has been wild—starting with a Disney World vacation and diving straight into our summer schedule, which mostly means me watching the boys full-time. I’ve had to be ruthless with how I spend my time to keep everything moving. These days have felt long and, honestly, really hard at times—but I’d still take this over the stress of school right now. I needed a break from trying to support James (our oldest, very neurodivergent kid) through the daily grind of school, which honestly feels like a full-time job in itself.

In between the chaos, I’ve been finding joy in the… you guessed it… little things. Here’s what I’ve been loving this month.

1. Aeropress Coffee Maker

Fun fact about Mike and me: we almost never drink drip coffee. We don’t even own a drip coffee maker—just a French press we break out maybe once every couple of months. We’re espresso people through and through. So for our Disney trip at the beginning of June, I wanted something I could easily pack that would give me a richer, more concentrated flavor than sad hotel coffee. After some research, we landed on the Aeropress (plus a little standalone milk frother I brought along for lattes), and I’m so glad we did. I brought both decaf and regular ground Illy coffee, and while the Aeropress doesn’t make true espresso, it was so much better than drip—smooth, strong, and ready in about five minutes (including boiling water in the microwave). If you’re ever in need of a portable, high-quality coffee setup, I highly recommend it.

2. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

When I had Griffin seven years ago, pelvic floor physical therapy wasn’t something that was widely talked about—at least not in the circles I was in. I’d never even heard of it during my first postpartum experience. But around 8 weeks after having Griff, I started having these super uncomfortable symptoms that I couldn’t explain—nerve activation in my pelvic floor that made me constantly aware I had a vagina (which, if you’re a vagina owner, you know… that’s not how it’s supposed to work). It felt like a UTI without the actual infection—24/7. After a round of unnecessary antibiotics and some frantic Googling, I found pelvic floor PT and realized I had a high-tone pelvic floor. Basically, my muscles were so tight they couldn’t fully relax, and it was messing with my nerves. Six weeks of treatment got me back to normal.

Since then, I’ve had one flare about two years ago that I managed on my own with stretches and breathwork, but when it happened again this past May, I couldn’t get ahead of it. I finally went back in to see my friends at Lady Bird PT, and I’m so glad I did. The manual release work, combined with targeted exercises, made a huge difference. I’m still working through it, but I feel so much better. If you’re experiencing weird, unexplained sensations down there, go get a referral. PT has absolutely saved my sanity more than once.

3. Overnight Oat Jars

Anyone else feel like their kitchen supplies have slowly vanished since becoming a parent? Between things getting broken, mysteriously disappearing, or being left in the backyard during some bizarre kid-led adventure, my once-solid stash of jars has slowly dwindled. I finally caved and ordered this cute set of 6 jars on Amazon, and I’m so glad I did. They’re the perfect size for overnight oats, chia pudding, yogurt parfaits, cut veggies—basically all the grab-and-go things. Every time I use one, I feel slightly more put-together than I actually am. It’s the little things, y’all. Gotta find the joy where you can.

4. Lightbox for Tracing

Here’s one for the kiddos. Our boys have been really into tracing lately—especially using their How to Draw Pokémon book—but were getting super frustrated trying to see through the paper. Mike saved the day by ordering this simple lightbox, and it works perfectly for placing under whatever they want to trace. I’m sure it has other uses, but this is how we’ve been using it and it’s a hit (well, mostly). Fair warning: the plug is a little sensitive. Griffin jammed the charger in backwards and broke it within two days, so we’ll be ordering another one. Totally worth it, just maybe supervise the plugging in part.

5. Weighted Vest

I know I’m super late to this trend, but I finally got myself a weighted vest to level up my walks—and I totally get the hype now. There are a lot of benefits to weighted walking, especially for women: it can help improve bone density, support muscle-building, and boost calorie burn without adding extra impact. I’ve been focused on building muscle and lowering visceral fat, and this felt like a simple way to push that goal forward. I started with a 12-pound vest and wow, I felt it after just one mile. That’s all I’m doing daily for now—short and doable—but I’m excited to build up my endurance over time.

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That’s it for this month’s round-up. Life has felt like a lot lately, but finding small moments of ease or joy—whether it’s a better cup of coffee or a one-mile walk with a weighted vest—makes a difference. Hope something on this list gives you a spark too.