Leaning Into Being

Managing a household with five kids is no small feat, but Shalice Brawner handles it all gracefully, even in the public eye.

Despite juggling multiple roles, Shalice shares how she keeps her household running smoothly while still making time for personal projects. From setting realistic expectations to practicing daily gratitude, she offers practical tips for staying grounded amidst the chaos. Shalice also opens up about the importance of nurturing her relationship with her husband and making time to connect even with their busy schedules.

Her story powerfully reminds us to be kind to ourselves and to our families, especially during life’s most challenging moments.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
  • How to communicate during busy seasons: Openly communicate with your family during hectic periods. By setting clear expectations, you’ll help everyone understand the flow of their schedule and avoid unnecessary stress.
  • How to nurture your relationships: Shalice stresses the importance of maintaining a solid connection with your spouse by prioritizing time together, whether a quick errand run or a simple date night.
  • Give Yourself Grace: A recurring theme in Shalice’s story is the importance of self-compassion. She highlights the need to stop comparing yourself to others, especially as a mom. Whether it’s how quickly your child reaches a milestone or juggling life’s many responsibilities, it’s essential to give yourself grace and celebrate the small wins.
  • The Power of Support and Community: From her HeyMama network to the community at her children’s school, Shalice talks about how vital a strong support system is when balancing a hectic lifestyle. Leaning on friends and trusted networks provides her with the encouragement and help needed to manage life’s challenges, especially during tough times.

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Meet Shalice Brawner
(01:43) A day in the life of a mother with five kids
(06:17) The importance of community support
(10:04) Shalice’s family life under the public eye
(12:13) Prioritizing health and self-care
(16:24) Overcoming self-doubt with daily gratitude
(19:53) “Success is freedom of time”
(21:56) How to stop comparing yourself to other moms
(24:23) How to maintain a healthy relationship with your partner
(26:42) That “one moment” from Shalice’s perspective


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What is Leaning Into Being?

As women, we’re constantly asked to do more and be more. And yet, there's incredible strength and wisdom in just "being."

Being present. Being Mama. Simply being you.

This is Leaning into Being. A show brought to you by the Founders and Leaders of Hello Mamas and HeyMama. Erika Hanafin Feldhus, mom, stepmom, CEO, and co-parent hosts alongside Amri Kibbler, mother, founder, and cancer survivor.

Each episode focuses on relatable situations, resources, and experiences to help you balance the beautiful chaos of motherhood and ambition. This show is designed for all mamas seeking community and connection in her definition of success.

Allowing you to simply be…be your all so you can give your all, for all you care about.

Shalice Brawner [00:00:00]:
Every child is different. Every mom is different. You just, like, give them what they need, meet them where they're at. Lean in on you know what? You know, you're a great mom. You don't need to compare, you know, even if it's school or grades. I've really learned that as a mom, like, give yourself grace and, like, meet your kids where they're at.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:00:22]:
I'm Erika.

Amri Kibbler [00:00:23]:
And I'm Amri.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:00:24]:
This is Leaning Into Being, the show that allows you to be your all, so you can give your all.

Amri Kibbler [00:00:29]:
Brought to you by Hello Mamas and HeyMama. Erika, I'm so excited for today's guest. We're going to have Shalice Noel Brawner on. Shalice has been a member of the HeyMama community from the very beginning. She is just an incredibly kind and sweet woman. She also is balancing a really hectic career.

Amri Kibbler [00:00:49]:
She has a thriving social media account, a fashion brand. She also has five kids.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:00:57]:
I mean, five kids. The juggle must truly be real in her household. I can't even imagine the amount of food she goes through every week. And you're right. She's an incredibly ambitious woman and mother. And I also want to know what she does for herself, how she takes moments of self care and kind of stays grounded with all of those things that she has going on.

Amri Kibbler [00:01:21]:
I have a lot of questions for her, actually. I want to know, how did she and her husband manage to keep their relationship alive with five kids? How did she get out the door in the morning? And how is she managing to maintain these other thriving careers with five kids? So I'm excited to bring Shalice on.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:01:43]:
So, Shalice people often wonder how you do it all. How do you manage the balance between your career and motherhood?

Shalice Brawner [00:01:53]:
Yeah, I like this question. I get a lot, and I would say, number one, there are seasons, so there are really busy work seasons that I have to delegate and I have to communicate. So those two things I have to tell my family. Hey, guys, heads up. This is my busy season. These are the expectations. So I will be not here for dinner. I won't be here for the soccer practice, but XYZ is going to pick you up and really setting the expectations to be realistic, right? Because we're not octopuses.

Shalice Brawner [00:02:25]:
We can only do so much. And I just feel like we moms are really hard on ourselves, and I've had to really set realistic goals and just like, okay, Shalice, you're doing good. You fed your five year old breakfast, and he ate it. Like, whoa, we're doing good. You know, I had to, like, you're doing good. This is good. And even with my husband in the hospital right now, I'm like, okay, I curled my hair today. Like, I feel good.

Shalice Brawner [00:02:53]:
You know, I got that email out. You know, I made sure the invoices set, like, realistic goals. Wherever you are in your season of life, I think some women will say, I'm so burned out. And it's like, well, maybe you're doing too much and your expectations are too high. And I can't be at the soccer field, and I can't be at my daughter's poetry reading, and I can't record the podcast all the same time. Right? So it's like I have to communicate with my family and also business. Like, hey, this is a busy season. This is not.

Shalice Brawner [00:03:30]:
And I feel like if, you know, there's seasons for it, you don't feel guilty.

Amri Kibbler [00:03:34]:
The realistic expectations that it is so true. And it's even when you have really big goals, if you can break them down into more manageable pieces where it is realistic that you can see yourself getting to the next thing, then it doesn't seem like it's so overwhelming. And speaking of overwhelming, I'm trying to think about your day with five kids. Can you just walk us through a little bit? What is a regular. I don't even know if there is a regular day, but a typical day in your life.

Shalice Brawner [00:04:09]:
Yeah. Yeah. So my kids go to hybrid school, so it's not like every day. So it's like two days a week. So it's like, you know, we have some days that look like this, some days look like that. It's never, like, super quiet. So I like to wake up early in the morning to have that quiet space. And I write down, like, my gratitude list.

Shalice Brawner [00:04:27]:
And I have my coffee. I look forward to it every morning. And just having that me time, don't feel guilty about it. It's like, even if it's like, it might mean a hot bath in the morning before all the craziness, right? And so I try to have me time in the morning, and then usually my youngest wakes up first and I make, like, a lot of eggs for all of them because I'm all about, like, the protein. Like, get the protein. Okay. And so it's like breakfast, and sometimes it's a little homework, and on school days, it's a little bit of rush, right? So we're like, my little tip is, like, lay everything out the night before and so, like, backpacks and, you know, make sure everything, you know, whether you need to instacart or doordash. But I make sure, like, we have a bunch of sausage and egg and egg mcFaffen.

Shalice Brawner [00:05:16]:
Like, I just have all the things ready, so everything's ready to go in the morning, so breakfast goes smoothly. And because I just leave in breakfast, if they don't eat, then they're, like, cranky and, you know, the teacher's calling me. So I really think having things laid out the night before, we do breakfast, homework, whatever it takes, and then we get out the door and drop them off. And then I am able to catch up on work and emails and videos, recording whatever I need to do. And then there's pickup and there's homework and dinner. I do a lot of frozen right now, so it's kind of a failure. But. But you know what, it's like the seasons, right? So we're in a busier season with my husband even not home right now, so I have set expectations lower, you know, so everything is not GF, DF, like organic.

Shalice Brawner [00:06:10]:
It's just they ate tonight, so we're good. We're good.

Amri Kibbler [00:06:14]:
Sometimes that's the win, right? Just sitting, ate.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:06:17]:
Well, I mean, that's definitely a lot to juggle. And we always say the juggle is real here at Hello Mamas and HeyMama. So what is your support system like?

Shalice Brawner [00:06:28]:
I think it's really important. We don't have family in the area, so I've had to lean in on. I have friends at kids school, and they've been huge, just a huge resource. These women have careers and they're busy as heck. They've been able to give me a hug or, you know, advice and like, hey, this is a really busy season. I'm trying to juggle XYZ. You know, we help each other out with carpool. And since moving, like Amari said, we're farther from our older community, so we're like an hour from our older community, so we've had to, like, readjust right.

Shalice Brawner [00:07:09]:
And that's what makes me really grateful for the kids school because it's been a huge community for our family.

Amri Kibbler [00:07:17]:
Absolutely. And talking about community and support, as an OG, you literally have been with us since the very beginning. Ogk mall member. Can you share, like, what the community has been like for you?

Shalice Brawner [00:07:31]:
Gosh, I love those events. Like, you used to have a ton in LA, and I would bring all my little kids, and I remember Supergoop, and I loved meeting other women who were so real. They were like, no, we don't have it all put together. Right. It's not perfect. And I remember just having some conversations at some of the HeyMama events and being so encouraged that they were killing it as boss women, you know, I was always surprised what they were doing, what they were creating, and I think lean in on that network and the community. So I'm really grateful because it's, like, vetted out, tight, professional women getting together. It's kind of like, I wish I thought of it, really.

Amri Kibbler [00:08:23]:
We're going to be coming to LA again for our Strong Like A Mama event on October 24, and we would love to see you.

Shalice Brawner [00:08:30]:
Awesome. Yeah, I would love to come.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:08:32]:
We would love that. I mean, community is so important, and you're certainly juggling a lot at home. How do you balance your personal life with your professional life and your ambitions with motherhood?

Shalice Brawner [00:08:45]:
I think because what I do is really intermeshed with personal and professional. I do think, number one, boundaries. So there are times when I have to shut everything off and it just doesn't feel right. Like, I don't, you know, things are imbalance or, you know, life isn't always, like, black and white, imperfect. And you kind of have to be in the right place for what I do in, like, sharing and being available to your community. And it's social media. Right. It's a whole other animal, and they don't always know what's going on behind the lens.

Shalice Brawner [00:09:22]:
Right. There's a lot going on. And so I think boundaries are really important to knowing and giving yourself, like, breaks and saying, you know, I'm not feeling it right now. I'm going to take some headspace. I'm going to turn everything off. And I've had to do that a couple times just to clear my head. And that does help. Just, like, reset me creatively and just take a break from even seeing what I'm following.

Shalice Brawner [00:09:49]:
Right. It's just like, all right, I'm turning everything off. It's a reset. I'm going out in nature and I'm being with my kids. And I think that that's kind of helped me. If that answers your question.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:10:02]:
It really does. Thank you.

Amri Kibbler [00:10:04]:
And so you just touched on this. What is it like for you, kind of being in the public eye with your family and having to create content all the time? Can you just share a little bit about that, what it's like for you? How do you do it?

Shalice Brawner [00:10:21]:
So there's challenges, right? There's challenges. But I also think it's awesome for my kids to see that I'm, like, working my butt off, right and so it's like they don't take anything for granted. They see mom is working and doing what she loves and I think that makes kids happy and I also share with them, like, all right, do you guys want to be a part of this? You know, the granted all state expectations? Like, hey, the brand would love to see you guys in this couch shot, you know, and I never like pressure and I'm like, you have to be it. You know, I asked them, you know, there's expectations and I pay them and they're in it, you know, so it's, it's kind of like there's a lot going on behind the scenes, but I also like to collaborate with them. Like, what do you guys think is, you know, what do you think is a creative way to show this? And, you know, because I like to see their creative too. My husband and I are very creative and we gave birth to like five very different and creative kids. So that's kind of the fun part of it, you know, being, doing this for eleven, almost twelve years and having my kids involved. Like Amory have seen like my kids have always been involved, but as you've gotten older, I'm kind of like, well, you don't have to be an, I don't want to force them, but setting expectations and, you know, there's always something that goes wrong and, you know, you got already sued and, you know, boxes at the gate and so it's, you know, it gets complicated, but it's very fun.

Shalice Brawner [00:11:56]:
At the end of the day, I'm very blessed and I love what I do and I think, like I said, it makes kids happy. Like, I've never had a mom that worked, you know, so it's kind of like I'm trying something new, right. But I also want to make sure there's no pressure and make it fun.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:12:13]:
I love that you're creating and a space for your kids to have a voice, right. As to whether or not and the boundaries so on that, like how do you stay true to your personal and professional goals, which you're certainly doing that as a mother in your role, how do you do that for yourself?

Shalice Brawner [00:12:34]:
I think going back to the expectations and setting those realistic, there's things I want to be doing with my brand right now. Say I'm not there yet or I'm not building it right now because my husband's in hospital. So it's like you have to know when to press pause, you know? So setting those, this is, these are my five year goals. These are my ten year goals. That is awesome. Make those lists. But be okay with pressing pause. Pressing reset.

Shalice Brawner [00:13:03]:
Pressing pause. It doesn't mean that. Oh, I'm just throwing these. This paper away, and I'm not going to get to that. No, it's still there. So communicate it. Write it down. Believe in it.

Shalice Brawner [00:13:15]:
But also know, like, I'm gonna press pause on this right now because I need to keep myself healthy, my kids healthy, mentally, physically. Right now, I'm just focusing a lot on self care. And, you know, I do have a couple campaigns I'm just shooting this weekend, and I'm like, well, the timing isn't perfect, but I'm thankful for the distraction. Right? But after this, I'm going to be going back to my lymphatic drainage massage lady, who just detoxes all my stress and everything, but just knowing, like, it's okay to pause some goals at the moment to keep yourself really healthy.

Amri Kibbler [00:13:55]:
And you just talked about lymphatic drainage. So it just prompted me to ask you, because you are in a stressful situation right now. Your partner is in the hospital. How do you de stress? You know, you've also got a lot of people depending on you. What do you do?

Shalice Brawner [00:14:12]:
Yeah, I mean, I really like hot baths. Like I said, I, like, take a moment by myself. I have to tell the kids, like, you know what? I'm locking my door. Like, I'm just gonna need a moment. You know, just know, because I have five and I have one that's always like, I peace out. Like, I need a moment because you just. The noise, it gets us to be a lot. And so, yeah, a friend of mine was like, shaliz, give yourself a lot of grace.

Shalice Brawner [00:14:41]:
A lot. Raiden and I do a lot were landlords. We just, like, do a lot, right? So I have to really put a timeout. The hot baths, I schedule the massages. I do, like, one at least every four weeks. And that is just so medicinal. And I feel really recharged after that. But on the daily, it might mean, you know, classical music in the car.

Shalice Brawner [00:15:07]:
It might mean a podcast. It might mean just locking the door and being like, I love you guys so much, but I really need a timeout. And I think the last item is, I lean on my older kids. I lean in on them, and they're older, they can understand just emotional weights. So, like, my five year old, he gets like, dad is sick. He's not coming home right now. Right. But, like, my older kids, like, can understand more.

Shalice Brawner [00:15:33]:
And so I kind of leaned in on them like, this is what I'm feeling, and I'm not perfect. I don't know all the answers. I'm scared, and, you know, I've cried and they've cried. Like, we can work through this together. We can pray together. So I guess that's. That's how I approach it. Self care is, like leaning in, knowing when to shut the door, turn on the classical music, you know, the candles, the hot bath, all the things.

Shalice Brawner [00:16:06]:
Whatever speaks to you.

Amri Kibbler [00:16:10]:
I want to call out. You said this, and it stuck with me. Mom, time out.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:16:13]:
Like, mom, time out.

Amri Kibbler [00:16:15]:
Instead of being sent to someone else's room, like, we're sending ourselves to our room.

Shalice Brawner [00:16:21]:
I'm in time out. Like, leave me alone.

Amri Kibbler [00:16:22]:
Mom's in time out.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:16:24]:
I mean, that definitely sounds like it's keeping you grounded. And having those special moments is so important. And I'm sure great lessons for your kids, too. How do you handle in situations? And you're certainly going through a big one now. The self doubt.

Shalice Brawner [00:16:43]:
I think journaling helps that and just getting out some thoughts and also just, like, taking some thoughts captive because I think our minds are trained to kind of go to worst case scenario, and that's not a great place to be. I'll just be honest. Yesterday, I was, like, feeling sorry for myself, and I was kind of punching the wind. Like, all right, this is not cool. Like, we had a cancel family vacation. You know, my husband's birthday was spent in the hospital. I had to fight security to get my kids up there just to, like, see him. You know, we just wanted to bring up balloons and cards, right? And so I think self doubt is just par for the game, par for the course.

Shalice Brawner [00:17:29]:
You're human, right? But I think also acknowledge it and set a gratitude list. And that's what I had to do. It was like I was in a fourth in the road last night. I had a bad attitude, and I started to think about, I'm so glad this awesome hospital is 15 minutes from my house. You know, I'm so glad he's getting really good care. I'm so glad my kids are stepping up to the plate. My 16 year old is cleaning the kitchen. You know, just, like, writing down some things that are really great news, like, the sun is out, and the sun makes me happy.

Shalice Brawner [00:18:04]:
And not saying, oh, look what we missed. Look what he's not here for. Look what could happen to him. And I don't know what I'm gonna do, you know? So really setting that gratitude list, because, of course, I've gone down that bad road, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, but that doesn't do any favors for anyone. And so I've really had to. In the Bible, there's that. That verse about, take every thought captive.

Shalice Brawner [00:18:34]:
I've had to like, okay, Shalice, don't go there. Don't go there. You know, what are you thankful for? And so the gratitude list has been a game changer.

Amri Kibbler [00:18:43]:
When you were saying that, it just was making the hair stand up on my arm, because that was so powerful for me. During my healing and recovering the gratitude list, whenever I started to feel crappy and kind of like, woe is me, then I'd be like, okay, but I have an amazing family. And just listing out and even the little things, like, I do this even now when I wake up in the morning and I'm like, okay. I'm so grateful that I woke up, and I feel good this morning, and I'm like, that's the most important thing. And, like, or even, like, the little things, like, I'm so grateful that my youngest got out of bed this morning without throwing something at me. I mean, all the little things, they start to shift your mindset and your experience, even when you're going through really hard things, like, you're going through. So thank you for sharing that. I'm going to shift the tone a little bit because I am curious, and we love to ask this, people, what is your definition of success for you? And I always love to ask this at different times in people's lives because it changes so drastically as we go through these different phases of our life.

Amri Kibbler [00:19:53]:
What does success mean for you right now?

Shalice Brawner [00:19:56]:
It means time. It means freedom of time. And that's what's changed. It's not a vacation. It's not a car. It's not a house. It is freedom of time. Freedom to be with my kids and say, let's go do this.

Shalice Brawner [00:20:09]:
Let's go to the beach on a Friday. I feel like that's so big to me, and. And I'm grateful for what I do and the flexibility that I can rearrange my schedules to accommodate that kind of lifestyle. That's, I feel, like, really important. And I feel like that's been a generational shift in our culture, too. People are realizing, like, it's not all material. It is time with, like, you mentioned, your loved ones, and, like, what a blessing. I have four kids who love me, who they love their dad.

Shalice Brawner [00:20:46]:
You know, I have a supportive husband. Those are. That's gold to me.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:20:52]:
I love that. So on that, what are you currently working on. That's exciting for you?

Shalice Brawner [00:20:59]:
Yeah, I think we have, like, some home projects coming up that are really exciting. I just need my architect husband out of the hospital. We have some home projects, and I'm working on a lot of projects right now, so I'm just kind of trying to rearrange my, my schedule so I can accommodate that right now with fashion and home. So more to come on that. And then our brand, chile Snow, we make the t shirts in LA. We want to do more graphic tees. Those have done really well for us, so that's really fun. I have a lot of personal things going on right now, so I kind of have a couple things, like the t shirts on hold so I can.

Shalice Brawner [00:21:42]:
So we can attend to that. But it's exciting things, you know? So I'm grateful and I'm excited to share more with my community.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:21:50]:
Super excited to hear when it all. When you can.

Amri Kibbler [00:21:53]:
I know. I can't wait to hear more on that.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:21:56]:
I would love to know what has been the best advice you've ever received as a mom.

Shalice Brawner [00:22:01]:
Ideo touched on this earlier, but give yourself grace and don't compare yourself to other mothers. I remember when my first was potty training, and I was comparing her potty training experience to theirs, and I remember even my sister called and said, I can't believe she's not pun trained yet. And I was like, oh, I'm such a failure. Like, your first is. Someone even told me it takes longer. And I think it was three years old, and I sort of felt like a failure as a mom. And she finally just got it and she was fine, and we didn't. We could put away the pull ups, and I kind of learned from that after, you know, if as kid was, every child is different.

Shalice Brawner [00:22:48]:
Every mom is different. You just, like, give them what they need, meet them where they're at. So and so's son or daughter is way ahead. It's like, who cares? You know? Who cares? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if they potty train at two or three. And if someone's telling you or bragging about that, like, maybe they're not a friend, you know, so just lean in on what you know. You're a great mom. You don't need to compare, you know, even if it's school or grades or. I really learned that as a mom.

Shalice Brawner [00:23:21]:
Like, give yourself grace and, like, meet your kids where they're at. Like, that's. She learned where she needed to learn. I was a late bloomer like, I didn't read till later. It took me a while. Right? So. And my mom was like, that's just fine. We just kind of met you where you're at, you took your time and, you know, don't compare.

Shalice Brawner [00:23:41]:
I think that's kind of what I've learned. After the fifth kid, just really.

Amri Kibbler [00:23:47]:
And then she said, after the fifth kid, I mean, it's true. Eventually, all kids stop wearing diapers and everyone learns to read, right?

Shalice Brawner [00:23:54]:
Yeah.

Amri Kibbler [00:23:55]:
Later in life, and they're. So, what age did you learn how to read? It's not a thing.

Shalice Brawner [00:24:00]:
I know. What was it? I think it was eight. Like, it was kind of embarrassing. It took me a while, and I'm actually a better speller than my husband. Reid's gonna listen to this. It took me a while, but I have really good phonics, so I was embarrassed at the time. Right? I was so embarrassed. I was such a late bloomer as.

Amri Kibbler [00:24:23]:
A mom of five, and you've been through four moves and working with your husband. Do you have any relationship tips for us on how do you maintain a great relationship with all these different things going on?

Shalice Brawner [00:24:41]:
We definitely had our share of just such intense moments and stress that were like, why did we do this to ourselves? Why? They say moving is right up there with the top ten most stressful life changes up there with death, even. And I think, number one, he's my friend, and so he's not only my partner in life husband, but he's my friend. And so just remember that. And I think when you can't find something and he did something annoying, remember your friends. And. Because that always happens, right? Like, did you take that? Did you throw that away? That was my. You know, it can get so intense so fast, and we definitely had so many intense moments with cross country moves and things lost and trucks not arriving and just. I could probably write a book on every move, really.

Shalice Brawner [00:25:39]:
It would just be a chapter. Every chapter. But also knowing that he's my friend and he and I. Half and half, you know, in remembering. I love this dude and just take it down a notch. I think dates are important, and I've had to tell the kids, like, we. Dad and I just need to go to Home Depot. It's like a date, you know? It's like, whatever that looks like, you know, it might not be a beautiful restaurant, you know, overlooking the city, which we have done, but on the day in, day out, it sometimes just looks like.

Shalice Brawner [00:26:20]:
Like a little car ride and leaving the kids at home, you know, with my 16 year old and having those regular dates and then just remembering the friendship that brought us together in the beginning.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:26:27]:
It's so true. It's such a good lesson, too, that being a friend and taking them where they're at and meeting them where they're at and then adding all of those important values. Okay. While we're kind of getting to. We could talk about this for hours. We could have conversation with you all day long. But I know you have a busy schedule, and I'd love to know, what's that one timer moment that you can't believe you survived and or still laugh about today?

Shalice Brawner [00:27:01]:
Well, I think I'm in a really intense moment right now that it just had had me. We kind of talked about this earlier, but, like, a painful moment right now. And I was going to say my moves, but honestly, it's just right now, it's been really hard. And I'm like, we're almost there. He's almost home. And I'm kind of like, wow, that was crazy. You know, we have, like, a nearby fire here last night, and the guy dropped off six boxes that broke our gate. And I need.

Shalice Brawner [00:27:39]:
My daughter needs stuff from staples for her project, and we're out of eggs, and I need to send over some school documents. It's just like this. Everything's kind of happening at once that I'm like, I know. I'm gonna look back at, like, amazing. We got. We did great. We did great. Because you need to just give yourself a round of applause because some days are just like, can one more ball fall on me? I don't know.

Shalice Brawner [00:28:09]:
Like, it just feels, like, too much, and I'm in it right now, honestly. And I have to wake up. Good job. You woke up. You washed your face. You know, we made breakfast. So I'm literally. I just take down slow wins.

Shalice Brawner [00:28:25]:
I'm a list taker. I like to write down things and cross them off, even if I just did them drink coffee, cross it off, you know? And I have looked back, even on day one, because this is like, a week that we've been in this intense period. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. That day one was horrible. We were in the ER for, like, 12 hours. And I look back and I'm like, we're so strong. You know, sometimes I left. I leave him at the hospital, and I cry in the car on the way back, and I'm looking back and I'm like, good job, chalice.

Shalice Brawner [00:29:03]:
You did really well, you know? And it's kind of like, you have to stop and say, you're doing good. And I know we're gonna look back at, like, oh, gosh, that was so nice. The school dropped off meals. It's so nice that we got through that and, like, dad did well. And it's been an awesome teachable moment and helping us rehydrate, our marriage, reevaluating, and I putting pause on some things and leaning in on other things and really grateful for our family. So that's kind of where I'm at right now. But I do think God gives us these, like, painful moments. It's like a microphone.

Shalice Brawner [00:29:39]:
We're supposed to learn something. And I'm kind of. I had moments where I'm like, all right, like, I need to learn this thing. And it's sometimes patience, it sometimes means I need to be just, like, alone, read my bible more and just filling up my cup and not leaning on myself. And so that's the moment we're in right now. And I am so grateful for where we're at right now and we're not at day one. Right. Today is progress, and I'm thankful for the teachable moments, and I'm looking forward.

Amri Kibbler [00:30:15]:
To that moment when you are able to look back and be like, okay, wow, I don't know how I got through that moment, because we know that you will. And, like, how much of a big sigh of reliefs that will feel like for you.

Shalice Brawner [00:30:26]:
Yeah, definitely. I will be crying tears of happiness when he walks through that door. Yeah. So.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:30:36]:
Well, we're sending you so much love and so much strength and countless blessings to you and your family. Thank you so much for being with us and sharing all of your incredible stories.

Shalice Brawner [00:30:48]:
Thanks so much for having me. And I just love HeyMama. And this huge network. So big love.

Amri Kibbler [00:30:55]:
Thank you for listening to Leaning Into Being.

Erika Hanafin Feldhus [00:30:57]:
To get connected and join the Hello Mamas and HeyMama community, visit hellomamas.co. Let's connect, support.

Amri Kibbler [00:31:06]:
And grow together in this journey of motherhood.