Take care of yourself to be a happy at-home mom.
Life as an at-home mom is full of interesting moments -- some have you feeling like Supermom, others leave you reaching for the aspirin. Take care of your emotional well-being with these simple tips so you can be a happier at-home mom who's ready to tackle anything.
When you first have a child, you automatically want to be with her 24/7. After a while, the walls close in and you might start gasping for kid-free air. We hesitate to admit it to anyone, but sometimes we need a mini getaway from our children.
Take a walk. Read a book. Go for a drive.
Remember the relaxing activities you enjoyed before having kids? Revisit them. You won't have time to knit a sweater in one sitting but every minute's worth of peace and quiet will rejuvenate you.
Be committed to taking regular breaks away from your children. It's easy to brush off the importance of "me time" but it's a must to keep you at your best.
Full-fledged date nights are nice but they're not always practical. Try to spend time together at home every day for some face-to-face interaction.
Plan activities with your husband that are just for the two of you. Play cards. Talk about your day. Put a puzzle together. You don't have to be whisked away to Paris to benefit from alone time with your spouse.
Even if the children are around, steal moments together right in front of them. A kiss. A hug. Your kids may pretend to be disgusted but you're fostering their ideas of what makes a good marriage at the same time you're strengthening your relationship with your spouse.
Get together with other adults for a night out. Brave a weekend vacation with your girlfriends or throw a girls' night in party.
See if you can leave the conversations about your kids at home. This is a big challenge when you're out with friends who are also parents. Set a few rules beforehand so you're not spending all of your adult time discussing report cards and trying to top each other with gross-out stories.
Think of your conversations with adults as your own structured playgroup for your mind. It's hard to keep your social skills sharp when you're talking to your children all day. As much as we love our kids, it's still important to talk to grown-ups too.
No wonder we can't remember anything. We're too busy trying to remember everything.
Create a realistic time management plan to get better organized and simplify your day. This will also free you from that constant stress of thinking you're forgetting something on your mental calendar. That's a fast way to brain drain.
Celebrities don't bother trying to remember everywhere they have to be on their own and you're much busier than they are. A time management plan is like your own personal assistant and you're the rock star with a small, sometimes screaming, entourage.
When you first have a child, you automatically want to be with her 24/7. After a while, the walls close in and you might start gasping for kid-free air. We hesitate to admit it to anyone, but sometimes we need a mini getaway from our children.
Take a walk. Read a book. Go for a drive.
Remember the relaxing activities you enjoyed before having kids? Revisit them. You won't have time to knit a sweater in one sitting but every minute's worth of peace and quiet will rejuvenate you.
Be committed to taking regular breaks away from your children. It's easy to brush off the importance of "me time" but it's a must to keep you at your best.
Make Time for Your Spouse
Part of a healthy mental outlook as an at-home mom comes in sharing quality time with your spouse. It's crucial for your time together to be more than just being in the same room with one of you staring at the computer and the other flipping through the TV channels.Full-fledged date nights are nice but they're not always practical. Try to spend time together at home every day for some face-to-face interaction.
Plan activities with your husband that are just for the two of you. Play cards. Talk about your day. Put a puzzle together. You don't have to be whisked away to Paris to benefit from alone time with your spouse.
Even if the children are around, steal moments together right in front of them. A kiss. A hug. Your kids may pretend to be disgusted but you're fostering their ideas of what makes a good marriage at the same time you're strengthening your relationship with your spouse.
Talk to Grown-Ups
Your conversation with other adults is severely cut when you stay home with kids all day. Even if you head out to the playground, the discussion topics with your mom friends generally range from breastfeeding to bowel movements.Get together with other adults for a night out. Brave a weekend vacation with your girlfriends or throw a girls' night in party.
See if you can leave the conversations about your kids at home. This is a big challenge when you're out with friends who are also parents. Set a few rules beforehand so you're not spending all of your adult time discussing report cards and trying to top each other with gross-out stories.
Think of your conversations with adults as your own structured playgroup for your mind. It's hard to keep your social skills sharp when you're talking to your children all day. As much as we love our kids, it's still important to talk to grown-ups too.
Create a Time Management Plan
We joke that mommy brain has dumbed us down. In reality, our head is swimming from a schedule packed with soccer practices, naps and kiddie bathroom breaks.No wonder we can't remember anything. We're too busy trying to remember everything.
Create a realistic time management plan to get better organized and simplify your day. This will also free you from that constant stress of thinking you're forgetting something on your mental calendar. That's a fast way to brain drain.
Celebrities don't bother trying to remember everywhere they have to be on their own and you're much busier than they are. A time management plan is like your own personal assistant and you're the rock star with a small, sometimes screaming, entourage.
