It's The Little Things

This weekend we enjoyed a kid-free weekend. My mom took both kids for a weekend sleepover at Grandma's house, leaving Brian & I to enjoy 2 days to ourselves. At first, I honestly didn't know what to do with myself....no routine to follow, no having to be home by a certain time to get the babies down for bed. Liberating? Yes. Scary? A little.

The irnoy is realizing that having the time to sit down, drink coffee and flip through a magazine without interuption is GOLD! I mean it's a small thing, and something that prior to having children wouldn't think twice about. But now I feel like I just vacationed in Belize. These 2 days have totally recharged my batteries as a mom. I love my children more than anything and absolutely love spending time with them, but having a little break is REALLY nice. I'm lucky enough to have a mom who lives close enough to be able to take the babies on occasion overnight, and I'm so thankful for that!

While Brian & I were able to go out for dinner and sleep in late, the best parts of the weekend were actually the little things. It was being able to take a long shower without having 2 kids in the bathroom with me asking me "Mama, you almost done?" 30 times. Or being able to sit down for 15 minutes and read or watch a show on the DVR that we'd normally have to wait until after they went to bed to watch. Those simple things are the ones that make me feel like "me" again. It made me think that I really need to start incorporating these little things into my daily routine - a few minutes here and there to ward off stress and recharge a little at a time. It takes an effort to make time for ourselves during our hectic daily grind, but after this weekend I'm realizing how important it is to maintain it. So here's a list of some realistic things I am going to aim for in the coming weeks...

 

- 5 minutes of yoga each day. It's not much, but that's the point. I can surely make time for 5 minutes each day to strech. I LOVE yoga...and I always felt so much better when I was doing it regularly. So I'm starting with a goal of 5 minutes each morning. If I can stick to that it's 35 min per week, right? I guess I somehow had the idea in my head that if I couldn't get to a 1 hr class, it wasn't worth doing. But with that thinking all I've suceeded in doing is NO yoga. So here's to a little going a long way...

 

- 15 min per day of "reading time". We read books all the time, but it's me reading to the kids. I'm thinking we need to have a quiet reading time where we all read books to ourselves for 15 min a day. This may involve each child spending that time in a quiet spot (like their bedrooms). A time when I can actually start a book and read more than 2 paragraphs at time before someone yells for mama. They may protest a bit at first, but this will be good for ALL of us :) I may actually even get to finish a book - GASP!

 

- I would LOVE to be able to do some exercise each day, and come the nicer weather we'll be playing outside and going for walks. But what about cold and rainy days? We need to move more and I know my babies love music, so why not try and make that a fun part of our daily routine? Dancing babies & 70's music - stay tuned for pics ;)

 

 

- I NEED to start some fun, DIY projects at home that involve the kids. One of the things I'm hoping to do this year is an indoor garden. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, maybe some herbs. We have a perfect spot on our screened in porch, we just need to clear the space and set it up so we can start planting in May. I think this needs to be a project that we work on together as a family, getting ready over the next few months. I'm hoping that this will be fun and educational, and that if we can successfully grow something, the kids will actually eat these healthy veggies instead of making sour faces at them when offered up on their plates :)

 

 

- Lastly, I vow to do a home pedicure this week. Let's be honest, if I could, I'd be getting pedicures at a spa on a weekly basis. I LOVE pedis...but the time and the expense is just not realistic at this point. I was in a groove for a while where I'd do a home pedicure pretty regularly after the kids went to bed. I'd get a glass of wine, put on some trashy reality TV, and give myself a pedi. Then winter came and I kind of let that slide. But with the nicer weather on the way, my toes need some lovin'. It's one of those simple things that when I throw on flip flops come spring, the nicely painted toenails will remind me that I did something for myself.

 

 

That's it for now...attainable and simple, right? Just the little things that we have to make sure we continue to fit in for ourselves. Happy Mommy's = Happy Families!