What self care looks like for this mom of 4

I love my children but in order to stay sane and have the patience required to be a good mom, I need to take care of myself. My 3 oldest go to school during the day and my youngest at 18 month old stays home with me. My husband travels out of town usually 4 days a week and my mom in law lives with us. So the way I take care of myself and recharge is by having some me time!

Exercising

At the beginning of the year, my husband visited several gyms in town and choose a membership to one close by. It is about a 5 minute drive from our house which makes a big difference in planning my workouts. I have been trying to walk/run or workout on the elliptical at least 20 minutes a day 5 to 6 days a week most weeks. Of course there are occasional weeks where I do not work out at all but this is my goal! I go when my son is napping and grandma is home! I sometimes walk outdoors but it has already gotten too hot to do that in the middle of the day. I do have some weights at home and a trampoline and I occasionnally use these too.

Early kid bedtime

My children go to bed early even during vacation and summer time! The baby goes to bed around 6:30 and the 2 middle boys (ages 5 and 8) go to bed at 8. Yes, they do get up around 6 to 7 most days but I would rather have some of that me time in the evening than them sleeping in! I usually spend some time with my oldest before his 9 o’clock bedtime and then it is ME time! I usually watch some tv shows on some nights, work on blog posts on others like tonight or sometimes go to bed early myself. Having that time to decompress and do what I want to do recharges my battery!

Treat myself

Here are a few of my favorite ways to treat myself:

• a pedicure (I actually don’t get more than a couple a year typically because I would rather spend my money on other things but I do enjoy a nice pedicure)
• a date night out or sometimes just lunch out on my own
• go shopping for an hour so so kid free!

As you can see, the theme here is that the way that I take care of myself is that I make time for myself! That time is usually just that hour or two in the evening and occasionnally a special me time on the weekend. And as much as I can, I exercise in some form daily! I have found that when I take care of everyone else but myself, I become short tempered, impatient and start eating unhealthly. How do you take care of yourself?

A bientôt!

Please take a minute to subscribe to the blog to receive an email letting you know when a new post goes live. I usually post Monday, Wednesday and Friday but sometimes have a bonus post during the week. You can also follow me on instagram @chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

I link up with these fabulous blog link ups!