The world of a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) can be very isolated and lonely. I am grateful every day that I have the honor and privilege of staying home to raise C and I am NOT complaining, I am just stating the facts. Talking to a toddler all day can leave your brain mushy by 6:00. Being cooped up with a sick child can leave your feeling alone. The monotony of it all can seem like walking on a treadmill, all of the hard work but ending up right where you started. But, along the way I have discovered a few tricks to make myself stay sane...a few little things to make those isolated days more cheerful!
1- Open the blinds! Let the light shine in and enjoy the beauty around you! For me, opening the blinds (or windows if it's cool out) can be the easiest way for an instant pick-me-up! There's nothing worse than moping around a dark and gloomy house all day!
2- Get dressed! There's just something about putting on a little makeup and cute outfit that puts a pep in my step. Plus, the hubs always appreciates coming home to a non-yoga-pants-wife!
3- Turn off the TV. It's just a life suck. I get drawn in, Carson stops being imaginative and playful and my productivity drops. Instead, I set up a good, happy station on Pandora and go to town. I may or may not be pretending that it's the soundtrack to my imaginary life movie.{
This sweet friend calls it "happy house music"}
4- Get out! Go to the park. Go to the library. Go on a walk. Just go for a drive! The kids will be happier, you'll feel like you've "done something" and your mood will be boosted! I'm a frequent go-to-Sonic-just-because-I-needed-to-get-outer.
5- Do something for someone else! Bake cookies for a friend, bring in your neighbor's trashcans, do a chore for your spouse. Giving is getting! I especially like doing things for people in secret. It just feels so good!
6- Call someone! Make some sort of adult contact each day. Texts don't count. I can sometime feel my brain getting less mushy by the minute as I'm on the phone with an adult.
7- Move your booty! Treadmill, YouTube video workout, jumping jacks, walk outside, chasing the kids in the yard, etc. The endorphins released are your body's natural "feel good" juice.
8- PLAY! Sometime I reach the end of the day and feel like I haven't spent any time with my son, which is crazy since we are together ALL DAY LONG. I find that if I spend some focused, un-distracted, personalized time with C, the day seems more productive....and I feel like a better parent.
9- Get up before the kids. This one is hard for me, but I feel so much better when I do! C is a late sleeper; he inherited this super power from yours truly. I love nothing more than a good, late sleep. But... If I can get up and ready before C wakes, I feel like I have invested some time in myself. I have gotten to go to the bathroom alone, maybe watch the news, put on makeup and invested time in myself before giving to others for the remainder of the day.
10- Get in The Word! I know that the Bible says to wake early and spend time with God, but ooooh how I hate the morning. I am all groggy and cloudy headed and craving my pillow. But, that being said, I feel like God speaks to us in the morning in preparation for the day ahead. I have an app on my phone with Bible studies to follow. This is a good way for me to stay directed on an applicable topic instead of feeling like I'm opening the Bible blindly. I like to do my study during breakfast and I read/say it all aloud so that C hears it. I like to think that he's absorbing some of the knowledge, or at least seeing mommy in God's Word.
What do you like to do to stay out of the loony bin?
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