This $30 dress is my favorite thing in my closet right now!
Hey there mama,
Checking in with you. I have been feeling pretty unsettled, as many of us are and reminding myself to take breaths is simply not enough. I wanted to share what else I am doing to keep my sanity. And actually most of these are things I do most days even before the quarantine.
1. Keep up with my morning routine. Wake before the girls, make the beds, and morning clean up. I love having some time to myself now more than ever so waking before them may suck after binging Grace & Frankie but it's my holy grail. My morning clean up now looks a little different because I use to do this when O left to take Zoe to school. But that is not stopping me, once the girls are up and the hubby is off to walk to the pup I pick up each of the bedrooms, a quick vacuum and make the beds. I usually clean up at night but this just sets us up with a clean slate.
2. Get dressed. I have talked about this on IG but this brings me joy, even if it just means changing into a lounge set and putting a little mascara on. But on the days I actually get an outfit on it makes ALL the difference. We will start taking morning walks this weekend ( we waited until I was fever free for two weeks just to be DOUBLE sure) and I cannot wait to add this to our routine, we need it SO much.
3. Drink ALL the water, I drink half my body weight in ounces of water (for example if your 120 pounds you should drink 60 ounces of water!). I try my best to do this before 3pm but the days that I don't I feel it in my skin, my mood and my gut. Do this for a week and I swear to you you will notice the difference.
4. Eat and drink the greens. Drinking my green smoothies (once or twice a day) , especially making sure I 'break my fast' with a green juice or smoothie and a pre-dinner of a big bowl of greens and crunchy veggies before or with dinner. This all has helped my gut, my energy, my skin; ALL of it has shifted since changing this. I do not deprive myself of the things I crave, maybe I should!! But it feels wrong now that I've changed the way I address food. Eating when I am hungry, and feeding myself the way I feel the girls! I never tell the girls that a brownie or chip is bad for them, (we tell them it's a treat and talk more about the foods that make us stronger, fight colds and help or tummies stay healthy) so why should I do that to myself?
5. Writing. I am keeping a notebook by my bed for doodles or words, to do list or journal entries. This is something a therapist told me to do 10 years ago and I still find it so helpful. And coming here to write, even if I don't always hit publish, REALLY helps sort out my thoughts.
6. I've had to put the spinning classes on hold for now because of some heart issues that I was suppose to see a cardiologist for weeks ago but I am still trying to get my stretching in, dance parties with the girls, and some breathing exercises. Sometimes the best thing for me is to get the bathroom really steamy, stretch and then soak in a hot epsom salt bath, followed by the cold shower. I may try a few other classes too ( PVOLVE was awesome!)!
7. Tea time. My family has been really into tea time, and we are trying a bunch of different ones, including some homemade immune boosting ones. This keeps me drinking a bit less coffee, and it's definitely relaxing. Green tea is especially good bacteria fighting & immune boosting tea, so I drink at least one cup of it. Want your kiddos to start drinking tea? Buy options you think they will love, add honey and lemon. But you should also drink tea in front of them! Make it a ritual for yourself and model the behavior!
8. Grace. Giving myself some grace and cutting myself a TON of slack. We can only do so much. I try and remind myself to pick dance parties, snuggles, game nights and extra screen time over fighting over an assignment. We make special treats, and look at cookbooks for ideas on meals together. Giving myself grace on not having life perfect has given room for all of this. The mess can wait ( no one will see it anyway!!).
9 . Medication. This may not be the right move for everyone but I reached out to my doctor and had a virtual appointment to address when I was feeling my worse anxiety, usually I hit the highest worse amount of it and then it eases. But it wasn't getting better, not able to fall asleep and kept freaking out over very little things. We came to the conclusion that a small dose of medication is what is best for me. About 3 weeks in I realized how I should have spoken up so much earlier. There is so much I want to say about this but for now I want to say that I am sharing this so one of you may feel less alone, and maybe seek what is right for you. More on anxiety medication, the stigma in my culture (and others) and more coming.
Life is not perfect you guys, we haven't left the apartment in so long, we worry about time slots for groceries too often, the meltdowns that end in "I miss the world" are heart breaking but I am grateful for a healthy, safe and having my little family together. I will not take that for granted! I will say that having some tools, some routine and honestly having this outlet on the blog has been really great to keep myself feeling balanced.
I really hope that by sharing this I am helping you to be a better version of yourself during such a trying time.
Sending all the light and love your way.
xoxo
Natalie
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