self-care ideas for mamas on mother's day.

oh heeeey there! if you haven't noticed, i haven't been around very much in the last month (or more). and if you haven't been keeping up, it's because i am currently baking our third baby (baby Z3) and i'm just starting to come out of my first trimester fog.obviously because i'm in the process of becoming a mom times three, mother's day is on my mind more than it is most years. and because i'm about to become a mom times three, that means that it's about to get crazy times three up in here, and i'm going to need to make sure my self-care game is on point.in honor of mother's day, i have a little guide to help you moms (or you people with moms in need of self-care, which is all of us) come up with the best self-care for yourselves to make sure you're taking care of yourselves and not just your families.

self-care ideas for the mamas

• take a bath. i know that not everyone is a bath person so you could substitute "super long shower" for the bath if that's more your speed. personally, a bath with epsom salts, some candles, and a good cocktail/mocktail is my idea of heaven. there is something about being in a situation where you have no choice but to relax and do nothing that just makes the stress of the day melt away. i recommend taking a couple cups of epsom salts, mixing in some essential oils (my faves are eucalyptus and lavender), and dissolving it in the bath.

 

• do something alone. for my birthday, Mister Man told me to take the whole day to just go and do whatever I wanted...BY MYSELF. i could have cried i was so happy. i went to brunch alone. i went to target alone. i went to a movie alone. and while none of that was particularly noteworthy on its own, it was the doing it alone that made it so special. and while a whole day is certainly not going to happen regularly (and regular occurrence is important in self-care), alone time usually can if you make it a priority. plan to do your weekly grocery shopping after the kids go to bed when dad is home. take an hour to go get a coffee on a saturday morning when everyone is hanging out at home. work out by yourself, either at the gym or in the basement of your own home. whatever it is you decide to do by yourself, just make it a priority to do it. it's important to have time to yourself where you aren't thinking about who needs to eat next, or playing referee about who gets all the blue blocks, or keeping children alive. even an hour can be enough to clear your mama mind. 

• go to bed early. this sounds really silly. like, seriously, how is this self-care? but hear me out. what is often the main complaint of moms? it's how tired we are! and yes, much of that is due to our children NEVER STOPPING EVER, but some of it is due to us trying to do all the things all the time. so when i say go to bed early, what i'm actually saying is, leave the dishes or the toys out, don't throw another load of laundry in, maybe decide to use dry shampoo tomorrow instead of washing your hair, and GO TO BED. maybe just do half the things instead of all the things and then get some much-needed sleep so you're taking care of yourself as well as everything else in the world.

• pamper yourself. this can mean different things to different people. so let me give you some ideas:
  • facemask. slap on a sheet mask, slather on a charcoal mask, whatever your favorite face mask is, just take 15 minutes to give your skin a little extra love. i feel like a queen whenever i take the time to do anything outside of my normal skincare routine.
  • teeth whitening. most mamas i know drink a lot of coffee (or wine), and so we might not always have the brightest white teeth. i've talked before about smile brilliant and how awesome their teeth whitening trays are, and i still love them. my before+after photos speak for themselves, but if you need more convincing i could also talk about how great their gel is for my sensitive teeth, and how easy their system is to use. smile brilliant was kind enough to contact me to offer a giveaway and a $20 off coupon code for my readers in honor of mother's day. go to the bottom of the post to enter the giveaway and get the coupon code if you want to whiten those beautiful teeth of yours.
  • manicure + pedicure. you could go get your nails done, but you could also do them yourself. either way you do it, who doesn't feel more put together when their nails have a fresh coat of polish on them? bonus: if you "accidentally" start your nails before the dishes are done, you'd love to help your husband with the dishes but you CAN'T. it's not your fault that your nails need to dry for an hour while you watch tv...
  • popcorn, wine, + netflix. do i need to explain this one? i don't think so.

• spend time with friends. if there is one thing that moms can sometimes be really bad at, it's making time to hang out with friends outside of playdates. or i guess making time for mom-only playdates. i think we underestimate how fulfilling it is to spend time with people who know us and love us and don't need to talk about kids or schedules or diapers or anything important (if we don't feel like it). so if you are feeling like you need a little self-care, think outside yourself and get some girlfriends together for refreshing friend time.

and now...the giveaway!

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="4750,4749"]these are the before+after photos from my first round using the smile brilliant teeth whitening system, and sometimes i just like to look at them in awe. i had so many people ask me about this system when i did my first post, so i'm excited to have another chance for you guys to try it out.if you're interested in winning the $149 smile brilliant credit giveaway, click here to enter!if you just know that you want to try out the smile brilliant teeth whitening system either way, you can use code “everythingwithlove20off” for $20 off a smile brilliant kit. enjoy!

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