As any parent does, it’s important that we don’t— forget to prioritize ourselves amongst the chaos that is our lives. This looks different for everyone. Here are some ways that I like to put myself first on that rare occasion.

Some may prefer to go to the spa, some may prefer to take a long bath with a book in their hand (while hearing distant chaos ensue while their husband takes over the parenting duties lol). Regardless of what you decide self care looks like for you, the important thing is that you take the time for it in the first place! Any parent will find that time is limited, sometimes more than others. The demands of the kids, work, household tasks, the list definitely goes on (and on) and on. I’ve gotten burnt out more than I’d like to admit and the worst part about it is that you don’t realize you’re at that point until it’s too late. The inability to manage tasks, keep track of what needs done from being overwhelmed, or even worse, getting ill from the lack of rest. When a household relies on you a lot to keep its flow, you have to treat yourself as a household task as well. Yes, the to do list is already long. But adding yourself to it a necessary MUST. So that’s what we’re gonna do. Whether the kids are in school, or taking a nap. Time for yourself can be just ten minutes, or an hour one day. Add it to your list of things that need done and stick to it!

Sometimes my self care looks like taking extra care of my skin which may take about 15 minutes. I don’t have a normal daily routine that I do every morning with multiple products, I usually just wash my face with Micellar cleansing water to clean off dead skin, pollution, make up if I wore any and maybe old slobber from kissing on my babies lol. Pretty simple, but I’m very lucky to not have much issues with my skin besides dry skin, especially in the winter months. So, occasionally I like to have a night for an “Extra special skin care routine”, maybe once a week if I can. It’s still not much because I really want to feel relaxed and like I’m taking care of myself rather than having a bunch of time consuming steps and walking out of the bathroom like I just did even more work than I needed to.

Another way I like to practice self care is by spending my time in hobbies that I enjoy and one of those hobbies is embroidery. Maybe not everybody’s cup of tea and I will admit it can be time consuming, but whether a tiny project or a small one. One can always start, set it down and come back later. Which let’s be honest, is a very common thing when juggling tasks with little humans who need you. It’s inexpensive to start out and you’ll have cute things to decorate your house with if you’re any good. Now, I didn’t even say I’m any good either because you don’t have to be to have a creative hobby. You just have to enjoy spending your time doing it. I don’t have many projects to show off anyhow because again, time is limited. But every once in awhile I find the want to sit down and spend an hour poking my finger with a needle and butchering what was supposed to be a cute lady bug.

A hobby that I’m fairly new to but LOVE is clay. Whether it’s air dry, or polymer clay. This is a fun and also (decently) inexpensive hobby to start! You really don’t need many supplies just some ideas of what you want to make. My daughters made me a pair of earrings with polymer clay and together we made some air dry ghosts and finished them up with some mod podge. There are so many ideas for air dry clay or polymer clay, the possibilities are endless.

If the creative hobbies just aren’t really up your alley or you’d rather spend your time doing something that feels a little less like “work”, then maybe settling into the bed, couch or in a bath with a book seems more relaxing and just the thing you need. I’ve caught myself getting “lost in a book”, more times than I can count and sometimes when I’m looking around for something to fill my little bit of free time, other hobbies seem like they’re more work than they are relaxing. I’ve thought to myself, by the time I get out all my supplies to embroider, paint, or make something out of clay, I’ll lose the motivation to do anything because I have to come up with ideas, work on something I most likely won’t finish and clean everything up..without having halfway finished what I was working on.. And I’m absolutely SICK of cleaning things up right now! Sometimes it’s nice to leave the creativity up to others and sit back and enjoy it. Or if you’re like me, you may like to read books that aren’t only fiction but non-fiction as well or educational about things you take interest in. I love to read books on herbs and holistic health, psychology and other related topics about nature and the body. Maybe you’re a history junky or you like a spicy story about a fictional love triangle that turned deadly. Either way, there’s always a good book!

Taking a bath is one of my favorite ways to have me time! And it’s the perfect way to rest your body and mind. Paring a bath with a book is nice sometimes but other times just filling the tub with a scented soap or your favorite bath salts and making sure the temp is just right — is just right. Clearing your mind while your muscles unwind is like entering a meditative state. If I’m lucky enough to stay in until the water starts to turn cold, then we’ve had a huge success! I work on my feet all day whether I’m at home or actually at work. And any kind of mama is a working mama, so I don’t think you can go wrong with this kind of self care! I have a few must haves for an unwinding bath, it’s nice to have a few things on hand when you don’t plan for a bath, but know that you need one.