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— I recently read the quote, “Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know there are better ones coming.” I’ve definitely learned this in motherhood. It’s a […]
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I recently read the quote, “Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on hard days you know there are better ones coming.” I’ve definitely learned this in motherhood. It’s a gift to have and raise children but it’s also hard. Day after day in the trenches of raising little kids I’ve had to remind myself that tomorrow will be better. I also think about this for moments of our day. If we have a rough morning the afternoon will probably be better.
There are a lot of tips running around right now so I thought I would share my favourites and what works for me.
This bit of advice came from a parenting expert who mentioned it when a mom asked for help with her toddler. She advised that we set ourselves up for success during the day, ridding our day-to-day of the hardships that we are in control of. After hearing this advice I gave myself permission to just say no, or not yet to those tough times that I can avoid. I also thought creatively about how to make my day easier.
One thing I’ve done is decreased the number of toys we own so the clean-up is easier. This has saved me so much time and frustration at the end of the day and the kids still have plenty to play with.
We also added baby gates for everyone in our family including our dog. Looking after three kids is challenging and I need everyone to stay in one area throughout the day. The baby gate keeps everyone where I need them to be.
Give yourself permission to stop doing something that’s a hard part of your day or think of a creative way to make it easier! Add music to clean-up time, allow your kids an extra 30 mins of screen time so you can have a cup of coffee, ask your partner to unload the dishwasher because it’s your most-hated chore. Anything!
During this time of isolation, we are all doing things that stretch us too far. And we are all on social media seeing the hundreds of people who are apparently adapting and learning a new skill like calligraphy. I am not one of those people. I’m a stay-at-home mom of three and used to have part-time childcare so that I could get things done, sleep, workout, and/or blog. My daughter was in school part-time for junior kindergarten so now I’m helping her with her online schoolwork. Life is different now.
I read a recent facebook post that said it’s impossible to do all the things we are asked to right now. Working from home, parenting kids, having a clean house, working out, and homeschooling while making it look like it’s a productive and family bonding time isn’t realistic. This is a hard moment so it’s important to focus on what you need to get done or non-negotiables. These are things that have to happen for it to be a good/relaxing/productive day. The blog post suggested 3 which I think is realistic and mine are: workout/clean floors/afternoon break.
I workout every weekday morning. I have a spin bike and use the les mills RPM classes online app that I used to do at my gym. Working out is a big stress reliever for me. Everyday I wake up with the kids at around 6am and by 7am my husband is up so I can go downstairs to do my workout. This is a great way to start my day.
I love having a clean house but it’s hard to do with three kids running around so the floors are my main focus. I have a 10 month old crawling around so having the floors clean helps me relax. Along with picking up things (constantly it seems) and spot cleaning we have a roomba that we got a garage sale that I run 1-2x a day.
Everyday in the afternoon my husband takes a 30 minute break from his work (the time of day is different depending on his work flow) and watches the kids so I can rest. Sometimes I go for a walk, sometimes I sleep and sometimes I blog. It’s a very refreshing time of my day! I understand not everyone can do this but hopefully you can think of someway you can get rest that works for everyone.
Now that we are homebound, I think it’s a great idea to work in new rituals that you may enjoy. This tip comes from an instagrammer, Gretchen, who said that it’s an art in itself to live beautifully. Find something you like to do that you couldn’t before whether it’s having a long breakfast with your family, making your bed, going on a morning bike ride with your kids, or playing Pictionary via facetime with your parents or friends.
My daughter Poppy and I take our dog out almost every morning. This sounds like such a small task but it’s become a fun part of our day! We are living at our cottage now which isn’t fenced in so every morning we walk around our yard with our dog and enjoy the cold crisp air. It’s a lovely thing to do now!
If you’ve read my blog or watched my Youtube videos you’ll know I’m a big believer in dressing for yourself. I find great pleasure in wearing something beautiful everyday regardless of where I’m going which is literally nowhere now. We just celebrated Easter and I put on a floral silk dress for church which is now online and our kid’s Easter egg hunt. It felt great! It doesn’t have to be a silk dress but consider anything that could make you feel great like a really nice cashmere lounge set or brand new slippers!
I hope you found something useful in this post! We will get through this time together! Stay positive!
Dress | Boots | Necklace
All photography done by Bear & Sparrow
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