Keeping my sanity!
Motherhood is freaking hard. We are typically the last on the priority list and we have little people pulling at us all day long asking for snacks and whatnot. I am here to tell you that you don’t have to put yourself on the back burner and you can also find joy in each and everyday, even if it is just five minutes.
When the pandemic hit I felt like the rug was pulled right from underneath me, followed by the walls closing in on me. Before the lockdown both of my businesses were growing and I felt like we were getting into some kind of rhythm. Then all of the sudden I had both kids home, hubby still working full-time (which we’ve been so grateful for), and I had two growing business with no childcare. I did my best to keep up with everything, including distance learning with my oldest. It was hard! I was cleaning, cooking and care for kids all day long, and trying to work in every extra crack possible and staying up late at night to get what I could done. To say I was exhausted was an understatement.
I knew I couldn’t keep it up and I had to do something. The first thing I did was figure out how much I needed to earn and back into that. We didn’t have childcare expenses and I did a great job at cutting every cost possible. This was important for our bank account, but also for my sanity and not running myself into the ground more than I already had. Then I got realistic with client list and began cutting clients where I could. Those two things really relieved some pressure and stress for me. The only thin I wish I would have done was do it sooner.
Then I started thinking about how I could take care of myself, find joy in each day, and keep my sanity. Although the pandemic has been nothing but a pain, it has also brought so many amazing things to my life and made me really think about what I want in life. The biggest realization was that I want to be home with my girls, as hard as it is, I love not missing milestones and be right there when they need me. My oldest daughter has become an amazing reader right before my eyes and I am so grateful I got to see it firsthand.
Okay, now onto what I was actually intending for this post to be about, keeping my sanity.
Every single day I get myself ready in some way, more on this in another post because I am super passionate about this topic. It has been a total game changer for my mood and productivity.
Make meals easy because you serve a lot of them up. The girls love to eat out of their lunch boxes or mini muffin tins. It mixes it up and it’s fun, even if it’s their favorite Annie’s Mac N Cheese and hot dogs. I also find that they eat more, and will eat more of a variety of foods.
Have some kind of treat you can easily and quickly make with your kids. We love making homemade popcorn, hot chocolate, or even better, enjoying some otter pops (our favorites are from Thrive Market).
Simplifying our home and life has made things so much easier and less stressful. I have been making my way through the house to declutter and purge things we no longer use and coming up with different systems to make life easier. This will also be a hot topic I’ll be share more about later too.
Having work hours for myself that are flexible. I would go crazy if I was not flexible with this, but having a conversation with my hubby really helped with this, but can honestly still use some work. I also allow for a little bit of time to work when the girls are around and I don’t have help. This makes it so I don’t have as many late nights, and I think it’s good for them to see too. I just make sure to pick and choose things I do while being interrupted every five minutes, or tasks they can help with like adding stamps to samples I am sending out.
The last thing I want to bring up that is hard for so many of us is to ask for help! When I started to feel overwhelmed and like I can’t keep up with cleaning the house or my work, I ask for help. This might be asking my hubby to do something extra around the house for a bit and totally taking it off of your mind for a bit, or asking family or a friend to come help with the girls.
This all takes some work to implements but I can tell you it has made all the difference. I do something for me and use the others to have fun each day and not completely exhaust myself.
If there is anything you do to keep your sanity, I would love to hear from you!
