Momming is hard. Whether you have one child or more, there is always something to do, to remember, to not forget or to plan for the future. Don’t forget yourself in the process and learn how to be a better mom to your family tomorrow.
I don’t ever regret for a minute being a mom. It was a surprise for us after being told that pregnancy would not be easy due to my chronic autoimmune disorder. But, surprise, it happened when we least expected it and I wouldn’t change a thing. My pregnancy was hard and memorable and more than once we thought that we might not make it, but we did.
I am only a working mom of one, but there are times that with all the crazy in my career and life, that I feel that I am not being the best mom that I can be…a feeling that working and stay-at-home moms can all sure relate to. Feeling impatient, feeling tired (which makes you more impatient!), feeling used and not appreciated when making and serving food and snacks what seems like 24 hours a day.…
…but you can turn it around. It is all about balance. Especially work life balance with your family. There are five easy ways that you be a better mom tomorrow and not live out the day, week or year in regret. You just have to know where to start.
It is so easy to get caught up in the crazy day when your boss yells at you or your client is super negative, but I always believe that when moms go down, the family goes down too! I have incredibly supportive husband that not only supports my career, but also my crazy new side-hustle ‘creative’ ideas. I know that personally, I am at my best as a mom and wife when I am rested, focused and with a plan, but when one part of that triangle is out, then my world comes tumbling down.
The level of mounting stress and anxiety starts to attack my self-confidence and self-worth which is something that I vowed never to let my child see…when this happens, I find myself constantly telling my husband or my son, “just one more minute” or “maybe later” full well knowing that they would forget about it and they would not ask me again…this is a sad place to be but thankfully, I know now how to get out of it. Read: How Do You Balance Work and Home Life?
I would complain about not being my best version of me, but didn’t give any real effort to change it until it came to the tumbling point of me silently crying in the car because my son wanted Daddy to take him into school, not mommy…despite me taking the morning off to do so. Can I blame my toddler for wanting to stick to the Daddy-takes-me-to-school each day routine? Of course not, but in that moment, I felt so sad.
This was my changing point and I realized that everything else in my life was not as important as what was in waving frantically in front of me. My family, my sweet husband and son, were patiently waiting for me to get ‘back with the program’ and I was finally ready to do so without regret or impatience. Tomorrow is a NEW day and kid’s memories are short…I DO Have time to turn it around and give him the best parts of me. Learn below how to be a better mom to your family tomorrow.
5 Ways to Be a Better Mom to Your Family Tomorrow
1. Plan some quiet time for you
Quiet time is hard to find, so you have to purposefully find it. I have a long commute so I have to get up early, but by best peace is found when I wake up before everybody else and enjoy some time drinking my mocha-flavored coffee and pinning my day through Pinterest.
I only need 30 minutes’ tops to feel that I am able to reset and recharge myself for the day. So, I purposely plan that time in for myself. Throw in a freshly washed blanket and may some old reruns of Sex and the City on E! while I am mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest—my life is in a happy place to start. Some people wake up early to exercise, I wake up early to spend time with just me.
2. Plan a family activity together
I am a planner, a big planner, so nothing drives me nuts that NOT HAVING A PLAN. I can go with the flow with other people, but if it’s up to us, I want to have a semi-formal plan in place for the day. Our weekdays are usually so busy, but we always fall into the same weekend routine. Errands and “linner” (lunch + dinner) out on Saturdays, and chores and play time on Sunday. My mind is at ease when I know what our plan is (where are we going, what do we need to do, when do we eat! Etc.)
3. Wake up early
This was the hardest adjustment for me and it’s not like I go to bed late!! My husband and I record everything so we can watch it the next day because simply at 9pm, we are both tired and there is a high chance of us falling asleep during a show. I already used to get up early, but I had to make an effort (and enroll my husband in pushing me out of bed!) to get up 30 minutes earlier at 5am so I can have my quiet time and get out of the morning slump.
My husband even likes to get up early, so we take advantage of sitting on the couch together with our hot coffees and fresh ‘laundry” smelling blankets to talk about our day, what we have planned personally and our after-school plan too. I CHERISH TIME WITH HIM. Read: 10 Mindful Self-Care Habits To Help You Find Life Balance
4. Dress up pretty
I am all about the comfort clothes. As soon as I get home from work during the week, no matter the time, I take off my work clothes, take of my jewelry, always take off my bra (!) and put on my soft t-shirt and comfy yoga pants or workout leggings. However, on a weekend (I could probably stay in comfy attire all day), I do enjoy taking my time in the shower, doing my hair pretty before we go out for lunch. I think that Stitch fix has helped me get out of my clothing comfort zone and feel way cooler than I once did! Check out my post here!
5. Save work for after bedtime.
This can be super hard to do. I always have work on my mind after I leave the office. On my commute home, I am thinking of all the things I didn’t get done, the emails unanswered and the problems unsolved. It is so tempting to get home and get lost in laptop, but this is a key time for making dinner and hanging out with my family—I time I cherish.
So, I have learned to put the laptop to the side, make some audio notes on Google Keep on the way home to save for later. After bedtime is through, I spend about 20-30 minute wrapping up my day on the laptop then permanently close the lid for the night so I can spend some quality (awake!) time with my husband. Read: 30 Romantic Surprises That Will Improve Your Relationship
So now it is your turn. Anyone of these five easy ways to be a better mom tomorrow will only make you feel emotionally, mentally and physically better each day. You can can balance work and homelife and still be a great wife and mom. Let me know in the comments how you did!
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