Motherhood Mondays| What Are You Doing For Yourself This Holiday Season

Happy Monday afternoon Friends and Mother’s!  Happy Motherhood Monday!

How is your Monday going so far?!  I have to admit that I didn’t get myself together this morning.  I did… in one sense.  I was a mama, a good one!  I got up and I had my coffee (which was spilt all over the couch and the floor by the way) and I spent the morning with my boys before the big one had to go off to work!  I played trains with my little one in which spidey took over the train and blasted it off to the North Pole where it did goodness knows what!  I made a somewhat healthy breakfast before it was “goldfish time” and yes there is in fact a goldfish time in our house!  I try to hold off because I don’t want to believe that goldfish is a breakfast food, but goodness my 4 year old loves those little fish crackers and he would eat them all day long if I let him, morning noon and night!I guess what I’m trying to say is that this morning I rocked the motherhood world!  We went to the park, we ate a great lunch and I feel good about where I stand on the motherhood front!  That means though… that I did not do so well on the business side of things, which is why I”m just now sitting down at 1:30 pm to write this blog post that I probably should have written yesterday but I didn’t because I wanted to take some time just for myself!  I wanted to take care of me for a little bit and guess what:  I don’t feel the least bit bad about that!That brings me here:  What are we doing as mother’s for ourselves this season to keep us balanced?  

This is something that as mother’s I think we truly struggle with, taking time for ourselves, to take care of ourselves!  We all know it’s important to take care of ourselves so that we can better take care of others.  We’ve heard that statement probably a million times.  Heck, I think we’ve even said it ourselves a million times; but that’s just it… saying it and actually putting it into practice are two entirely different things.  It’s hard to take time for ourselves!  Some days there just doesn’t seem like enough time in the day to get everything checked off the “to do” list let alone set aside time for personal care.  The days seem to fly right by without warning.  Yet, we know at the end of the day when our heads hit the pillow that we should have carved out just five minutes to do something just for us because we can feel that feeling creeping in.  You know the one I’m talking about, that feeling of exhaustion or burn out or even lack of patience with those around us.  At least that’s what happens to me when I don’t carve out time.  I find that I start snapping at my son.  I am quick tempered and my patience is the first thing to go!

This is why we need each other mamas!  This is why finding yourself a tribe of moms that you can count on to surround you and lift you up is so important!  We need to remind each other to do the things we need to do to stay on top of our game and one of those things is taking care of ourselves!

So what are some of things things that we can do this season when things are going to become so wonderfully and beautifully hectic to stay grounded?

I posed this question on my instagram this morning (give me a follow if you want to keep up with one crazy mama livin in Disney with a wild climbing boy, living barefoot and keepin it real drinking panera green tea all day every day) and I already received some wonderful comments!  If you are on instagram you should absolutely check it out because these are some amazing mamas that are coming together to form a mom tribe of support and community, something we all need!

Here are some of the things that I’m hoping to do this season in both life and business!

• Wake up earlier!  I know that probably sounds a bit crazy because we are already early risers in this house, but I love the early morning hours when the house is quiet and calm!  I love that I can make some coffee and savor it before the wildness begins!  These are the moments that I want to spend just with my thoughts!  I want to sit out on my porch and some mornings have quiet time with my bible preparing for the day ahead of me.  I think on other mornings I might just sit with my pen and my notebook and free write a little to help stir up some creativity and challenge myself and push my boundaries.  Who knows, other mornings I might just sit in the stillness and breathe!
• Sunday’s are my days!  This is a little selfish of me and I’m a little torn on this one!  I did this yesterday and it was hard for me not to feel guilty but it also felt sooo good ya’ll!  I spent yesterday shooting a sunrise session which in my favorite time to shoot!  I came home and I spent the rest of the day folding laundry, listening to some long overdue education seminars that I had purchased over a year ago and then binging on the Gilmore Girls Revival at my girlfriends house next door and scarfing down pizza!  I neglected to blog because I just needed the break!  I took time for me and took a moment to reflect on what I wanted my Sunday’s to look like from here on out.  I want my Sunday’s to be free of expectations.  I want to take those days as they come. I know I need to prep for the week so Tuck and I discussed having the ability to take a few hours on our upstairs balcony and just getting the weekly chores done:  pre-blogging, meal prepping, grocery shop ordering (yes I know), and list making!  The rest of the day is ours to do what we wish!
• Mornings with Linc:  My mornings are just for Linc!  Linc is in afternoon preschool which means my mornings are just for him!  This is something I chose a while back but writing it down just makes it set in stone!  I will not touch my computer or my phone unless I absolutely have to because I am one hundred percent engaged and attentive to my son!  In a world where social media is king, I want to make sure my son knows he has my undivided attention!
• Work hours on Monday, Weds & Friday: Setting up designated working hours means that I can also have time to be a wife and a friend and run my household!  I want to be able to do other things while I build my business!  This also leaves me some time while Linc is at school to take care of myself and set up appointments to do things like that without having to worry about a babysitter!
• Personal Projects:  I am a creative and one things that fulfills me is being creative!  One of the most important things I have learned this year is that I can’t just focus on what I feel like I’m “supposed” to be doing!  I have to take the time to do personal projects and moving has allowed me the time to do just that!  I am better when I am pushing my own boundaries and doing things that excite me without putting pressure on me!
• Not worrying about “the perfect holiday gift”: I stress over this big time to the point where I won’t sleep for weeks.  I realized that honestly there is no one perfect gift.  There are lots of wonderful gifts but spending time together, that’s the best gift.  I realized that just putting your heart into a gift, that’s what counts.  I don’t worry so much about that anymore and just try to focus on the experience of things!  People remember experiences not things!

What are some of the things that you are doing to take care of yourself during this holiday season???

Photo credit goes to the always amazing and talented Elizabeth Friske of Elizabeth Friske Photography in Virginia Beach!  Linc was so little there compared to how he is now!  I miss those days!