10 Ways I Practice Self Care — kendra

Us mamas often times forget to prioritize our self-care and end up feeling drained and exhausted because of it. I find that if I don’t take a little time for myself every week, I am shorter with my kids, less attentive to Collin and more stressed about virtually everything. An hour here or there has made a HUGE difference in my overall happiness - so much so that I know block it out in my calendar. I know so many of you can relate - I’m a maximizer by nature - I like to be productive, I hate asking for help and I have the “do it all” mindset. This makes prioritizing myself very uncomfortable and the thought of coming off “needy” is enough to send me into a spiral. BUT - i realized that this mindset wasn’t doing me any favors and Collin so kindly suggested that I take some time here and there for ME! So here we are! I’m going to share 10 of my favorite ways I execute “Self-Care”:

1. Nails - Having my nails done makes me feel put together, even when I’m wearing sweats and used to be the only time I’d ever leave the kids during the week. It forced me to go to the nail salon and sit in silence for an hour. I would come home refreshed and ready to love on my babes. This was the beginning of my self-care and now, I go every two weeks and not only love having my nails done but love that it forces me out of the house.

2. Eyelashes - This is a newer one, but getting your eyelashes done is basically a one hour meditation/nap that results in beautiful eyelashes. Not only do I love the quiet time - I’m able to think and relax - but I love having eyelashes. Makes getting ready even quicker in the mornings and makes mom life feel just a little more glam!

3. Oils - You guys - do yourself a favor and lather yourself in oils. It’s good for the skin, good for the brain and SO good for well-being. Using oils on myself (and other YL products!) has really given me tons of insight into how I can implement self-care in simple ways - like a lavender bath or a eucalyptus shower - feels like the SPA without the bill!

4. Retail Therapy - It’s real. Just accept it. Buy the shoes.

5. Communicating with Collin - I said before, asking for help used to be VERY hard for me. It felt like a weakness. In turn, my stress would play out on Collin (innocent bystander!) and I’d feel frustrated that he couldn’t read my mind. Now, I’m able to practice self-care by saying things like “hey babe - can I get 15 minutes without the kids to finish an email” or “i’m going to run to target alone for a little sanity - do you mind?” — he never minds and I’m able to get the quiet or refresh that I need.

6. End of the Day Reward - You guys. I eat ice-cream in bed every night when they kids go down. Not even going to sugar coat it. It makes me feel SO happy, feels like the reward after a long day and is literally something I look forward to ALL day. TREAT YO’ SELF!

7. Tap in to whatever “Sparks Joy” - This goes along with what I said earlier, but an hour at Target or Homegoods brings me insurmountable joy. Maybe it’s that I can browse without raiding my bag for snacks, or just that I don’t have to watch for runaway kids, but it’s refreshing and let’s me recover from regular life. Find what relaxes you and DO IT. It doesn’t have to take 3 hours or a long drive or reservations - just go get a coffee by yourself or go see a movie with your girlfriends!

8. Date nights - My love language is Quality Time so dates are HUGE for self-care. If I don’t have a date with Collin on the calendar, I get all sorts of sad. Find your love language and make sure your spouse is speaking it - this will do wonders for your self-care!

9. Childcare - I used to be in the camp that STRUGGLED with asking for help with the kids, hated leaving them for any period of time and felt guilty to work. We’ve bounced between a few sitters and my mom now takes them for an entire day once a week so I can get a TON of work done. My days with the kids are SO much more relaxing and I really feel like I can just be present instead of tuning in to my phone, etc while with them. Not to mention, they could probably use a break from me too ;)

10. Practice Gratitude - because no amount of self-care will be received if you’re not thankful for all the things you have!

Go out there & love on yourself friends - you’ll be better for it, I promise!