Give Yourself Some Love

Intro   

 Sometimes it is so easy to get so caught up in everyday life that we forget about ourselves. Busy moms, wives, girlfriends or whatever the case may be we tend to be so focused on taking care of others that we don't make time for ourselves. On top of not making time for yourself, you probably don't give yourself enough credit for all the things you do.

First Thing

Make a list of things you have done today.

    For Example this is my list 

• Packed my lunch and my boyfriends lunch 
• Woke my daughter up and took her to daycare
• Went to work
• Had an awesome day at work 
• Went to the bank
• Filled the car with gas
• Went to see a friend who recently bought a new home
• Got my daughter from daycare
• Went to the store for milk
• Watered the garden and pulled weeds
• Went for a walk/jog
• Microwaved chicken nuggets for supper
• Washed dishes
• Swept the floor
• Jammed out to some music with my little family while writing this blog

and the list continues into the evening.

    You can compile your own list and visualize how amazing it is to see all you have accomplished within one day. 

Next

    Show yourself some Love and make a list of positives you did today. Here's mine:

• I didn't hit the snooze on my alarm
• I made it to work on time
• I didn't eat fast food
• I ignored the doughnuts in the break room 
• I got all my steps in 
• I washed the dishes
• Hey, My floor is clean
• Wrote this blog post

Now, how do we make time for ourselves?

Working

    Working moms, I feel you. A lot of times the drive to work is my "me time".  My drive to work is thirty minutes one way or an hour round trip. This is my time to listen to my favorite music, call a friend, have quiet time, or listen to my favorite podcast. The commute to work is the easiest time frame for me to unwind from work before I get home, and be ready to start momming again when I get home.     Most days this is sufficient enough alone time for me and I enjoy every minute of it. 

Little Tikes Nap Time

    Being at home is a little harder to find time for yourself. Let's be honest, most days your lucky if you get to pee without being interrupted. So, one thing to do for 10, 15, 30 minutes, during nap time, is to grab headphones and jump on an exercise machine to sweat it out. You say you don't have an exercise machine, well then guess what my friend... Dance it out! A little exercise is great for self love and it is hard to be mad when your shaking your butt! 

    So, if your kids are still in the napping stage then take advantage of that time to have for yourself. Really though do not go clean or catch up on laundry, all that stuff can wait! Do something for you! Paint your nails, read a chapter of a book, read my blog, or pee without being interrupted and enjoy it! 

Utilize Your Other Half

    For those of you with a significant other, Communicate! For the first 3 years of my daughters life I was a single mom. I utilized nap time, and my commute to work as my me time. Now, I have my other half to help me when I need some time. It might be 8pm and my daughters bath and bedtime, but when I communicate with him that he is on dad duty tonight and I need to go for a walk he gets it! 

    Another thing you could do is plan one date night a month with your bestie and leave dad on duty. Make it planned. Make it a scheduled thing. Even if all you do is go on walk with your bestie to chat. You should incorporate time for yourself in a monthly schedule, and communicate with your other half on when you need time for yourself

In the End

    So, busy women.. make some time for yourself. Appreciate all you have accomplished from day to day, and look at the positives. You are a superwoman. 

    Lastly, Do NOT feel bad for leaving the kids at a sitters so you have an hour to yourself! I know I have mommy guilt sometimes, but at the end of the day I am more appreciative of being a mom, and thankful I got time to give myself some love. 

     Feel free to leave comments, or email me personally!