JEI {5}: Mom Self-Care

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Welcome to the weekly link up, Just Enough Info (JEI).  The internets can be a great source of community, and I’d love to get to know you better!  Feel free to share your answers in the comments or link up if you have a blog.  You can see our first link up here.

The topic of the week is Mom Self-Care.

1.  What is your mom beverage of choice?

I don’t care for beer, wine, coffee, or tea, but I wish I did.  When refusing coffee or tea at some gatherings, I feel like I might as well have asked for a glass of the liquid from a can of black olives for how appalled it makes the host.

There’s only one thing I drink that could be considered adult enough to be a “mom beverage.”  A friend introduced me to the delightful chai latte.  

How soothing it is to cradle a warm beverage in a mug.  Since the powdered mix is mostly not tea, I’d like to figure out how to make it using actual chai tea and cream instead of the convenient dry mix.

The only pop (or “soda” as it’s called in more refined circles) I drink is medicinal Dr. Pepper when I get a migraine.  The shot of caffeine taken with a Vitamin Water seems to help keep my head from completely imploding.  That sort of makes Dr. Pepper/Vitamin Water a wierd mom beverage for me as well.

 

2.  What do you do to relax?

There are several ways I relax, depending how wide a window of time we’re talking.

Little window:  A few free minutes means I read the internets or listen to a podcast.   I’ve said before that I use bloglovin to make sure I stay up-to-date on my favorite blogs.  The imomsohard videos, super help me de-stress.  It’s…rough around the edges, but funny.

Medium window:  David and I try to have a “date night in” on the weekend.  In the past that meant watching The Office or Downton Abbey.  Now we just find something from the library– preferably produced by the BBC because as we’ve aged we’ve turned into…old people who like Masterpiece Theater.

Big window:  I like creating things.  After reading The Nesting Place, I was inspired to craft and decorate using stuff I already had laying around!  It’s one of the books I recommend all. the. time. to people who don’t think they have style, don’t have any room in the budget for new decor,  or don’t want to risk making decorating mistakes.

I was empowered to glue gun the heck out of life after finishing the book.  I hammered nails into the wall like it was going out of business.  And it felt good.
nesting-place

Here is what we have instead of a headboard in our room.  The kids bump the stuff on the shelf; I should have “staged” it before taking the picture, but hey, “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful” is the whole theme of the book.  I used the pages from an old hymnal for the wreath and repainted an old canvas with our monogram.

This does double-duty as far as mom care, because by creating an environment in which I can be at peace and feel joy, I’m able to put more energy into other areas of life.  I hang stuff on the walls that makes me happy, and it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.  I’m the one here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It’s been a few years now, and I’m starting to feel the itch to break out the paint and do some re-creating.  Just waiting for a big window…

Scrapbooking, knitting, embroidery– those used to be things for me.  I’d like to get into sewing (anybody giving out free lessons?!?!).  If I ever have a big window again, I’d like to get back in the creative saddle.

 

3.  When was the last time you got away with girlfriends or alone (and the grocery store does NOT count)?

A few days ago!  I’m a part of a Well Read Mom group, and we had our first meeting (a sort of pre-meeting, as there wasn’t any assigned reading yet).  It was lovely to talk to other women about the usual mom things as well as bookish things.

But, I have to say that the grocery store *does* count a little bit for me.  If I can leave David with the kids for a half an hour and go to the library, post office, and/or grocery store, I’ll take it.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  You can catch new posts via facebookbloglovin, or email subscription (above).   Be sure to visit my JEI co-hosts Jessica, Kirby, and Kerry and any other linker-uppers this week.

Now it’s your turn!  Link up below, and be sure to put a link back to this post in yours.  


 

 

Questions for next week:
 Naming your Guardian Angel: yea or nay?
Have you had any angel experiences?
How have you shared about angels with your kids?

Momming in Solidarity

Momsolation

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10 Comments


  1. // Reply

    I like your breakdown of things depending on how much of a time window you have. It’s a great idea to avoid the wasting of time problem!

    I’ve heard so much about Well Read Mom. I wish there was a virtual version! I want to talk with people about books more often but there are zero evenings that are not taken for something right now.


    1. // Reply

      I’d be open to some sort of online group. Check out the website and see what you think. 🙂


  2. // Reply

    I’ve just added The Nesting Place to my Christmas List!!

    xo, K

    #zeliegroup



  3. // Reply

    That book sounds great, I’ll have to check it out- I’m a crafting mess and could use some help!


    1. // Reply

      I hope you can find it on your next library run! 🙂


  4. // Reply

    I have only ever had chai in India, and I think that ruined it for me because I’ve never liked any others I’ve tried (not… that I’ve actually tried hard to find one…)
    Ooooo, the Nesting Place. Loved that book. It gave me so much peace to do crafting/decorating as I wanted, and I love your canvas monogram, I think I may steal the idea 🙂


    1. // Reply

      Hooray! I just used leftover wall paint and a black permanent marker. “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful” is one of my mottos now.


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