As a parent, I think it’s so often we do not take enough time for ourselves. I feel like when having conversations with friends they can rarely tell me when the last day they took off was, when the last date night was, when the last time they even sat on the toilet without a request coming meekly through the door was. As mothers we feel an unbelievable amount of pressure to make sure our lives revolve around our kids and less about us. The shower, or even bathroom time itself, often remains the only personal time a parent gets throughout the day. But someone like me needs downtime the same way I need air. Without it, I get impatient or unloving or just plain cranky! That is why, no matter what, I find time to make sure I can steal moments throughout the day just for me. Here are 5 ways that I use to recharge.
This post is in partnership with Miriam Shopper
5 Ways to Make ME Time During the Busy Day
- Morning Brew: Getting up 10 minutes early during the week to a quiet house and a cup of Joe, can help anyone get started on the right foot. I keep my favorite creamer, coffee, and a selection of my very favorite cups ready. Don’t turn on the TV, don’t open your phone, its just you and a beautiful cup of coffee before the kids arrive with demands.
- Shower: Again, getting up early is a great way to take an uninterrupted shower, but locking the door and turning on the music works too. My kids are relatively respectful when it comes to someone being in the bathroom, only coming by if they have a parent question, but the morning shower is a sacred one. It helps wake you up and set the prescience for the day. Using amazing scented products like one of Caress’ scented body washes, keep your focus on you and wake up all your senses early on.
- Keep the TV off: Sure, this isn’t a steal away moment exactly, but I personally keep the TV off as much as possible in my home. You would be surprised on how just keeping additional noise out of your day can keep you calm and relaxed. Sometimes I turn on music, but mostly I just listen to the silence, the birds, the kids- its the distractions that make the day tiring and without little ones like the TV, I find the entire family is less whiny and unfocused.
- Eating outside: Its so easy to take a meal outside, from a little backyard picnic to a dinner barbecue, the spring is a perfect weather time to sit outside and recharge. If you have a baby, they love sitting on a blanket just playing with toys and being able to get out of a house can often change your entire mood
- Read a book: I cannot believe the amount of people that tell me they don’t know the last time they have read a book was. “I don’t have time” is always the excuse. Make time! Put down the phone, Facebook, Pinterest (what am I saying!) and find time to pick up a good book. I read every single day. I read either in the morning, during kids naps when they were younger, but always when everyone goes to bed. I sit in the bathtub and read! Finding that time to relax and unwind at the end of the day, helps bring down the trauma of the day and reset my busy mind before bed. The last thing you should do is be surfing your phone past 7pm, so make a plan right now to find a good book and focus. It feels a lot more “me time” than scrolling and scrolling and scrolling….
Up Your Shower Experience
Some parents only get a moment or two during the day period and that day starts and ends with a shower.
If this is your day, make sure that time in the shower counts! Turn on all your senses with hot water, a little radio, and some great body wash. I choose Caress because it helps pamper me before the day starts. With one of the deliciously soft and scented fragrances like Sheer Twilight, Daily Silk Body Wash, Evenly Gorgeous Body Wash, Pure Embrace Body Wash, or Tahitian Renewal Body Wash, my nose and skin wake up before the day even begins. Not sure what scent? Take this 5 second quiz to narrow down your personality and Caress will tell you which one. My quiz told me Evenly Gorgeous, which isn’t one I own but will now!
