Self Care for the Exhausted Mom

Oh, finally! It's been a wonderful, uninterrupted day. The house is clean, the laundry is folded AND put away, kids are bathed and in bed by 8:00pm. Time to curl up on the couch with hubby, watch a movie and simply relax...haha! That never happens. So, how does an exhausted mom really practice self care??

It's more like plopping down on the couch for 2 seconds before having to take on the next task, do the next load of laundry or prepare dinner. It's finding time to breath after cleaning up yet another pile of cereal that the baby threw on the floor or cleaning up the stuffing the dog ripped out of the kids' stuffed animal. Self care is almost like something out of a horror movie!

So, what do we try to squeeze in, in those long seconds of relaxation? Let me break it into 4 things!

Time Alone
Have you ever locked yourself in the bathroom to get a few minutes alone? I have! Then, I hear little footsteps, then little voices. 'Mom, I'm hungry' 'Mom, can you get me a drink?' 'Mom, mom, mom!' I know someday, I won't hear those little footsteps or those little voices hurrying me, but....today is not that day!

Personal Hygiene
Before I had children, I showered everyday, shaved every other day. I did my hair, did my makeup. Well, now I have 2 children and doing my makeup has come few and far between. The mom bun has taken over a space on the top of my head.

The rare times I have time to self-care, I hop in the shower and hope I have enough hot water to get through. On really rare occasions, I will shave my legs!

Excercise
Who am I kidding? I don't need to make time for this! I get enough chasing my 1 and 5 year old around the house!

Interests
You may not know this, but I love to color, craft and bake! So..I've been making a point to do these hobbies! Even though my daughter gets slightly annoyed that I keep stealing her crayons and coloring books.

So, there it is...self care for the exhausted mom! It's really just trying to squeeze in moments of sanity and fun into the stressful job of motherhood. When your job is taking care of others, it is difficult to take care of yourself! You're not alone and remember, one day you'll have plenty of time to take long showers. Enjoy these momemts while they last!