Top Ten Ways to Refuel During Motherhood

1.    Once a year book a weekend away, mark it on your calendar Jan 1^st. Remember turn your cell phone off, in this technological era, kids can still track you down.

2.    Take the kids for a hike in the woods. Kids love to explore and will do very little belly aching about walking when surrounded by nature. It also gives you an opportunity to refresh while with your kids.

3.    As a mother of 3 kids who are involved in organized sports, never underestimate the time spent sitting and watching your kids play or practice. Make use of that valuable time. Take a notebook with you and write down what you are grateful for. Continue to add to this list of gratitude as you progress through the team’s season. In the end, you’ll recognize the value of the time to reflect and gain this wonderful collection of appreciative thoughts.

4.    Take an afternoon with the kids and get some old magazines and create vision boards. A vision board is montage dreams, goals and aspirations that can be represented through pictures, words, or saying. Don’t forget be creative! You will be amazed at what your children’s hope and dreams are.

5.    Book one mental health day a year and make sure no one is home so you can have the house to yourself. This opportunity is very decadent when you have teenagers!!

6.    When chauffeuring the kids around listen to some inspirational CD’s. Your kids will start to like them and you will actually look forward to an evening of driving.

7.    Have a bubble bath and make sure there is a lock on the door. In my house my kids know that if I am in the bath you do not bug mom!!!

8.    Every six weeks hire a cleaning lady to do the deep cleaning so those precious nap times and play dates can be used for you to refuel.

9.    Get a group of mothers together and start a babysitting co-op. A babysitting co-op works on a ticket exchange system whereby tickets, which represent set amount of time, are exchanged between families who will care for one another’s children. This is great for the kids as they can play with their friends, and a bonus for you, as you know your child is with a responsible adult. And to boot, this system saves on babysitting costs since time but not money are involved in the ticket exchange system.

10.  Every day before you get going, before you start the lunches and the morning routine, take 10 minutes and breathe. It sounds simple but I know with the hectic schedules you can go a whole day without breathing!!

Last but not least, enjoy these years with your kids as they really do go by so quickly!

By Sue Mckee