Confession Time: I’ve been feeling a bit ‘Watevs’ the last few months. And by ‘Watevs’ I mean when it comes to how I feel about myself, the only thing I can muster in the one second of the day that I have to check myself in the mirror to make sure I’m not covered in food/boogers/vomit/poo before I step out the door, all I have time for is ‘Watevs’.
After feeling sufficiently ‘Blah’ during my second pregnancy (thank you all-day 9-month-long pregnancy sickness!), I then shifted to the ‘Holly Crap!’ stage after giving birth while I blindly navigated the big world of being a parent of two. Then after a year of being in the ‘Holly Crap!’ bubble, things shifted to ‘Watevs’.
Let me clarify - I am one proud Mama of two, and I cherish my role as mother and wife wholeheartedly, I can’t imagine being anything else! But let’s be frank here - we all know we are much more than just mothers/wives/partners, we are still ‘ourselves’ and need to celebrate that too from time to time.
Having spoken to quite a few of my fellow Mamas about this state we find ourselves in, none of us could really put a word to how we viewed ourselves, except for ‘hmmmm Watevs’. One very wise Mummy *uhm Lynsey uhm* set me straight (cue Irish accent) - ‘Jess you need to stop putting yourself at the bottom of your list! Start looking after yourself, you’ll feel so much better for it!’
Does anyone else have THE LONGEST list of things to do, and you find that anything relating to you gets pushed further and further down the list until it pretty much falls off? And worst of all, it isn’t anyone else doing the pushing - we do it ourselves!
It makes sense that in order to be able to adult we need to make sure we take some time out to look after ourselves, make sure that we attend to our physical and mental health, that we rest when we can (which I know is a hard feat with kids), that we accept help from our loved ones when we need it, and that we take time out to recharge our batteries, even if it’s 1 hour a week - because a happy healthy Mama means a happy healthy family. We are the hearts and souls of our families and we need to make sure that heart is well looked after too. We tend to be our own worst enemies and put everything else before ourselves. You aren’t being selfish by putting yourself first from time to time.
I’ll be returning to work soon so I thought what better time to take on Lynsey’s ‘Look After Yourself’ Challenge then now as I prepare to get myself into a new schedule.
I’ve put together a Wish List of things I’d like to do before I go back to work, things that double up as pamper treatments as well as beauty life hacks to make every busy Mama’s life just that little bit easier. I'll also be focusing more on my health and eating habits, making sure I don't skip meals even if I do feel other things take priority. After all - a girls gotta eat!
The first item on my list:
Eyelash Extensions = minimal makeup application in the mornings #beautylifehack (for those who don't know me I'll do anything to avoid putting on make up - I'd much rather sleep in that extra half an hour thank you very much!)
If you have any beauty/health life hacks that suit a busy Mama’s lifestyle or would like to join me in the ‘Look After Yourself’ Challenge, feel free to drop me a line any time!
Watch this space x Jess x
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