It’s Book Launch Week!

Hi! To those new here, thanks for joining! For those who have been a part of this newsletter in 2024, thank you for sticking around. 

I’ve undergone a metamorphosis that I didn’t expect this year. Going into 2024, I told Hunter (my husband) that I needed one full calendar year of NO big family changes: no career shifts (together we’ve been through at least four), no pregnancies, no births, no moves, no huge life disruptors. And that has stuck. We haven’t had a baby, we haven’t changed our places of work, we haven’t moved. Instead we’ve put down roots. Poured into relationships, shifted some boundaries around others, and made our lifestyle our own. I feel confident that I’m in the space and doing the work the Lord has called me to, as an individual and as a family. 

Don’t get me wrong: work was extremely trying over the last four months. We’ve had family tragedies happen. We’ve all been sick at some point. I’m gearing up to launch a book. However, we’ve conquered these challenges as a team at the firm and at home and are moving forward. The Gallaghers are slowly moving out of survival mode.

And here’s what I discovered in my year of sitting in one place: I feel much more comfortable when I’m moving. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to my husband or those closest to me. When I’m at home I’m constantly straightening up, getting a toddler something, or trying to put away laundry. At work, I’m always on the move from meeting to meeting. What did surprise me was that I was moving at such a fast pace for the last 11 years (since college graduation) that it’s taken me almost a full calendar year to feel the effects of not moving at lightning speed with regular change. 

As we settle into a new season, I’m ready to embrace the slower nature of fall. We’ll still be active these next few months but here’s how I’m going to embrace a slower approach to life:

Early Mornings: My girls are already early risers but getting in 30 minutes of prayer time in the morning before they come downstairs is just essential to my sanity. I’m saying “no” to more work-week evening events, virtual or in-person, so that I can go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. Hunter and I are committing this week to 5:30am mornings. We have to be out the door on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by 8am for Rosie’s school so this also makes for some extra family time in the mornings without the rush.

Meal Planning: This takes a lot of intentionality. To the point that I create a grocery list and schedule at least a week or two out. I also have been blocking out our Sunday afternoons so that I can make ahead at least one meal. (Last week I conquered roasting a chicken and was so proud of myself!)

More Play: I started reading “Good Inside” by Dr. Becky Kennedy and it’s been great so far. It’s made me revisit being more deliberate about incorporating play into my day with the girls. Spending even a few minutes having a dance party or playing on the floor with them is good for all of us. 

ALSO IT’S BOOK LAUNCH WEEK! When we originally met with our marketing team at Ave Maria Press, we were told our launch date would be November 8th and then our printer surprised us with an early run so we found out just recently that the book will be available for sale THIS FRIDAY! It’s already available for pre-sale and I know some people have already received their copies. It’s absolutely surreal after a year-and-a-half of holding this book in our hearts that we finally get to share it with the world. Follow me on Instagram this week for some content around the book and stay tuned for events (virtual and in-person) over the next month to celebrate our launch.

Little Spoon Meals: Rosie is a very picky eater so I’ve had to get creative on how to sneak in veggies and extra protein into her diet. Little Spoon plates have been awesome so far! It definitely took some coaching to get her to try it at first but she’s grown to like the meals and they have been great for supplemental meals when I can’t make the girls a fresh dinner.

Mighty as a Mother Podcast: I wish I had found this podcast sooner! It’s new to me and although it’s not necessarily a Catholic podcast, the hosts speak of motherhood with a sense of reverence AND realism that I really appreciate.

Merit Makeup: I wanted to freshen up my makeup for the fall so I bought Merit’s blush in Apres, eyeshadow in Brun, and Tinted Lip Oil in deep berry. It’s a clean makeup brand and I’ve loved everything so far!

Catholic Family Crate: We’ve had the monthly Catholic Family Crate subscription for the last six months and while not everything is perfectly age-appropriate for the girls, I save whatever they don’t use for the future. Every CFC item is so well-made and beautiful!  

October is a big month in our household! We celebrated St. Therese’s Feast day on October 1st with extra dessert and roses. Pope Saint John XXIII is our family’s patron saint so we celebrated his feast day on October 11. I know it’s already far into October (I hope to start sending this newsletter out sooner in the month in November) but this week we’ll be celebrating Blessed Karl of Austria (October 21) and Saint Pope John Paul II (October 22).

Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful week!

Xoxo Elise