Don't Lose Yourself- Mom is FULL TIME

Being a mom is a FULL TIME JOB! Whether you are a stay at home mom, working mom, single mom, or any of the other amazing moms there are, you work FULL TIME! I am a stay at home mom. I have an amazing husband who helps me more than I could ask for, but even with all of his help, I get exhausted. So does he. We have a lot of extended family who lives close by and they help so much, but I still get exhausted. It is just how being a mom goes. Even if you are not with your kids, you are thinking about them, planning activities for them, asking yourself how you can teach them and help them grow to be amazing, influential humans. Because of this, I have had to find ways to 'decompress' and find myself. What do I like? My preschooler loves blue, soccer, crafts, reading, playing games with dad, etc. My toddler loves baby dolls, dancing, also screaming, and music. My baby loves his siblings, and pretty much everything! Seriously, he is such a happy boy! But what do I like? What did I do before I was a mom? Did I even have hobbies?

How can I separate myself from who they are? Now I am not saying it is a bad thing to have your kids on your mind all of the time. My kids are my life and I would do anything for them! Honestly, I had to find hobbies for them. Having hobbies has made me a better mom. We mamas need breaks! After I had my son I had postpartum depression. Finding who I was and what I enjoyed again helped me through that depression. When I have hard days or weeks my husband will tell me "You need to junk journal tonight. You've been too stressed."

Seriously, when I get to sit down and do what I love, my stresses fade for a little bit. It doesn't take them away, but it calms them. So how do I find the time with 3 kids? Right before bed. I usually go to bed when the kids go to bed because I know I'll be up with them in the night, but once a week or so I stay up an extra hour to get some me time. If the kids are sleeping through the night I might even do it more than once a week! Losing a little bit of sleep is worth it for me!

So if you are a mom who doesn't recognize herself anymore, I challenge you to find something you love and make time for it! If you struggle with any depression or anxiety, find something you enjoy that you can do once a week to help settle your emotions. It truly has made such a difference in my life and I hope it can for you too.

Life changes, so enjoy the journey!

Here are my hobbies:

Junk Journaling

Photography

Party Planning

Children's Book Writing

Making activity books and folders for my kids

Blogging

Reading

Drawing on my Ipad

Here are some other ideas:

Video games (my husbands favorite!)

Journaling

Playing an instrument

Cooking/Baking

Sewing

Crocheting/Knitting

Making videos

Researching random topics

Hiking

Biking

Sports

and the list can go on and on... Just find something for you!