January was an absolute doozy of a month. One of the toughest I’ve endured in my seven years as a mom. Coming off that holiday crash combined with 10 days of everyone having the flu was soooo tough. Truthfully I wasn’t sure I would survive. My goal for February? To fill up my OWN tank. Treat, pamper & maybe even spoil myself a little. I mean I DESERVE it! You do too. Here are 5 things I did in February to practice self-care so I can continue to give my family everything they need. And let’s face it, they need A LOT!!
1. I scheduled a massage and a facial!
I know your 1st thought is OMG EXPENSIVE. The American Institute of Alternative Medicine is one of the best-kept secrets in Cbus. You can get a 50-minute full body massage for $35 no tipping. The catch? These are massage students supervised by a professor. I have only had amazing experiences here and it makes a monthly massage much more affordable. Not that I go once a month, but a girl can dream. Next, I scheduled a facial which I had never done before. Between the birth of my twins and my 40th birthday creeping closer and closer, my skin has been looking rough. I had some old Massage Envy gift cards lying around because duh I always go to AIAM. Did you know Massage Envy has an esthetician and do they amazing 60-90 minute facials? It was seriously heavenly and just as relaxing as a massage!!! My skin was so glowy afterward!!
2. Girls night is always the best balm for this sometimes weary, exhausted mama soul.
We usually just end up at our local cantina for margaritas and queso. If we can summon the energy, we might sneak in a movie (The Greatest Showman for the win!). Sure we end up talking mostly about our kids and ALL the reasons why we’re so tired but I always left feeling happy and energized. There is something to be said for talking with adults that are feeling all the same overwhelming feelings you are without any interruptions. It helps to know that I’m not the only one having hard days. Don’t underestimate the power of getting out of the house and meeting up with friends while someone else puts the babies to bed.
3. I scheduled all of the DREADED appointments.
I have HORRIBLE, dental anxiety. I would literally rather have an epidural than go get my teeth cleaned? I can’t even tell you how bad it is. Literally, the only thing that helps is to force myself to stay up on my appointments and go every six months. If I put it off my teeth are just worse meaning root canals, tooth extractions, oh my. Regular visits help make the appointments short and sweet just like I like them. Plus my smile always seems whiter and brighter after a cleaning. Another appointment I dreaded and put off for YEARS was to address a skin tag I had on my lower eyelid. I mean really, why did it have to grow on my eye? People always said they didn’t notice it but it bugged me so bad. Especially when I was putting on my make up. So I sucked it up and FINALLY went to the dermatologist to get it removed. 30 seconds and it was gone! I totally wish I had done it sooner!! Those appointments weren’t exactly fun but definitely needed in the name of self-care.
4. Exercise (duh)
This one is kind of a no-brainer in terms of self-care. Also notice, I didn’t put nutrition. I’m not gonna sit over here and pretend I haven’t been eating ALL the Valentines candy & Girl Scout cookies! Sadly conversation hearts and Thin Mints are my jam. What I HAVE been doing is exercising regularly. I finally accepted that getting to the gym just isn’t in the cards for me at this stage in motherhood. The time it would take for me to get there and back plus the classes being right during the witching hour (you know, the hour before bedtime when everyone is losing their minds?!) is just not doable. So I found something that is!! It’s 0-40 minutes, I stream it on my computer and usually do it once the kids are in bed. My point is to find what works for you! Is it the gym, yoga DVDs from the library, a mom’s fitness group? Whatever it is, I promise you will feel so good after you do it. I’m totally the girl that works out one time and the endorphins have me looking back like “dang, my butt looks amazing already!” Not sure if my butt actually looks any different, but I definitely feel more confident, (even sexier) from the past few months of regular workouts.
5. I booked a trip.
Well actually my hubby booked it, but I had been looking for deals for weeks. Again this may seem extreme, but it really isn’t considering we both LOVE to travel and haven’t been anywhere since our quick trip to Lake Tahoe THREE years ago. It almost doesn’t count because I was 8 weeks pregnant with the twins and so sick and tired I couldn’t do very much. Except eat carbs. Like ALL THE CARBS. Anyhoo, fast forward to this month and my hubby was in need of a break as bad as I was. We need the time to connect and really SEE each other. There are days we barely speak at all because we can’t hear each other over the screaming kids. So do it. Book a cruise with your spouse, sister, mother or BFF, fly to NYC for a weekend to see Hamilton, or just book one night in a hotel in downtown Cbus & check out a rooftop bar or yummy new restaurant!!!
