Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Five things I'm doing for ME

Let's be honest.

We all know I'm not one for only showing the "pretty" side of parenthood. Being a parent to two kids is extremely demanding and the incredible rewards of joy, love, and sheer delight are often matched with exhaustion, emotional duress, and goldfish crumbs.

Like, everywhere.

There is nothing I love more than mothering Madelyn and Davis. But I have let it take a toll on loving myself and I'm hoping to put a stop to that in 2013.

So I started doing five things that don't benefit anyone but me. They are selfish, time consuming, and for the most part not at all productive. But I think they are important, so here they are.

1. Exercising. I'm setting aside 20 minutes at least three times a week to exercise. I have Matt watch Davis and Madelyn comes and does the workout with me. Usually she just twirls around in her tutu but sometimes she tries the moves. It's fun, and I think it's important for her to learn that we need to take care of our bodies so that we can be "strong and healthy" as she likes to say.

2. My mom's group. For years I have wanted to join some sort of mom's community but as a working mother there just are not many opportunities available that don't take place during the daytime. Our church has blessed me beyond measure with a mom's bible study every other Wednesday night. It's an amazing group of sweet, smart, and hilarious Christian moms and joining has been invaluable for me, especially since most of my best friends don't just live down the road.

3. Personal care. This will sound ridiculous (because it is), but sometimes I don't even take the time to put on lipstick because I'm running around like a crazy person (exhibit a: the above picture). And really, it's amazing what doing this one things will do for your confidence. Aside from that I'm making time to do my nails, lighting a candle at night while I do my face/teeth routine to make it a bit more enjoyable, and instituting a once-weekly bubble bath night. Oh, and I got a haircut. I'm calling it my chic mom do.

4. Making the spaces where I spend the most time pretty. I used some birthday money I received to buy some pretties for our kitchen that I had been lusting after for way too long and they make me happy every time I see them. Money well spent.

5. I schedule our cleaning people on the same day I get paid. It's a bit Pavlovian but it develops a very conscious work/reward mental connection.

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