Be Good To Yourself Too // My Goal This Year!

While we are already a few days into the new year, it’s still the first Tuesday of the year, so I can talk about goals right?! Really though, it took me awhile to get to this point. I’d been enjoying the end of the 2015 leisurely and slowly, soaking in the moments, and you know, chasing three kids around while pregnant, so also basically remaining tired. Constantly tired. I came to realize something through it though, I had forgotten what it was to take care of myself. 

Now, I’m not talking about simple daily routines, just the fact that mine had come a little off track. I took showers (quickly and usually interrupted, that’s per normal though), I applied a little bit of makeup when needed, I took my hair out of a top knot, sometimes. You get the picture. And while being comfortable and natural is completely fine, that’s not really what I’m getting at… that’s just the outward picture of where I was at physically and mentally. I had forgotten what it was like to listen to my body, to slow down when needed (before the inevitable crash came), I had lost the art of nurturing myself from the inside out with healthy foods and had found solace in sodas, again. With the first couple months of pregnancy bringing on so much nausea, my eating habits changed drastically… I basically ate only the few items that I could keep down, meaning I lived off of mashed potatoes and starches, when I could even keep those down. Water was pretty much out save the few times I could sip it slowly or chew on ice cubes. Carbonated drinks became my friend. There were days I felt I had the flu (except for the temperature) and so I could barely muster the strength the take care of my little ones, let alone myself. I’m not saying any of this for a pity-party, and thankfully I’ve made it through the “dark months”. (My heart goes out to you mamas that have had extreme nausea throughout a pregnancy, my saving grace was knowing, believing, it would end). All of this to say that I fell out of any habits of nurturing myself.

As a mom of three, it’s really easy to put daily healthy choices for yourself low on the priority list when your day usually revolves around your kids and their schedules. But I find that being busy means it’s even more important and critical to take care of yourself… to make the time to prioritize yourself. And for me, that’s my goal this year, to make daily habits and choices that will allow for a healthier and happier me. This doesn’t mean any numbers on a scale, but rather realizing that a healthier mama makes for a mom with more energy and better moods.

I want them to see an example of a lifestyle that allows for full schedules, big dreams and goals, family time and that taking a pause and taking care of ourselves is important. I want my kids to see that sleep is critical to the health and well-being of our bodies. I want them to know that drinking water is paramount to a foundation of healthy skin, hair, energy and more. I want them to grow up realizing that exercise is imperative and making the right choices when it comes to food can be fun too. 

It starts with mama. I know that I was under extenuating circumstances when I let healthy habits fall to the wayside, and that I’m only in for an uphill battle on the tired train with six months of baby-growing left and then the newborn phase… but hearing from my littles mouths that mama “is sick again” or “let’s play because mom needs to rest,” only put the fire under me to make a change. And thankfully, keeping food down is now possible, so change, here we come. 

You guys, I used a hair mask this past week and blow dried my hair for the first time in… well, I can’t even remember, and it was huge. I felt like a different person again. It really can be the little things. So little changes in my schedule and time are about to happen. And hair masks? Yep, I need them in my curly-haired life (Any recommendations, send them my way! I’m looking for a new one!) More water? Yes, that’s on the list. Listening to my body and turning off electronics so that I can fully rest when needed is another big one for me this year. It’s about balance, yes, things need to get done, but one thing I’ve learned from almost two months of not-being-able-to-do-much-at-all, I can do what really needs to be done, and the rest isn’t as important. Exercise? Well, morning yoga counts right? Maternity stretching and yoga is on my agenda right now. 

A big one for me is the sugar. You guys, I love it, and with the addition of carbonation back into my life, soda became a thing. So along with Chris, we’re cutting out the added sugars from our lives, including soda (I don’t mean everything and I don’t mean all the time!). I’m allowing certain occasions for a sweet treat, but in our home and in our daily lives, it’s bon voyage. Another thing that makes me happy? Books. Allowing time for myself also means allowing time for the things that nurture my mind and reading is one of those things. I’m trying out a new app to keep track of what I read for the year, and so we’ll see how that goes!

Of course, I think it’s important to set real attainable goals as well as dreams for the seasons ahead of us, and I’ve also been writing little notes of what I want to see happen or accomplish both in business and in home life, but I feel like right now, in this season the healthier I can be, the more apt I will be to make, aim and reach for those goals. 

What I’m trying to say is, people will come and go, projects will come and go, kids will grow up (imitating you I might add), dreams will change over time, so don’t just be good to others, be good to yourself, too.

What about you? Have you made some goals for the year?! I’d love to hear some of them… other’s goals always inspire me as well. 

XO

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