Stress and Mommy Breaks

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."  ~Ovid

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 I feel like if I emphasize the great parts of motherhood, I also have to sometimes throw in some of the hard times. It's only realistic, because let's face it, no matter how perfect you portray your life to be to your Facebook friends, there's always the "real" side of life. And it's not always pretty. I want my blog to be realistic, so of course I'm gonna share some of the frustrating times of motherhood. Like today in my house for instance. My parents are moving back in with me. They have no other choice and I really can't say no because I'm renting the house I live in FROM them! My mother and I have discovered that we cannot live together. She wants to control my kids and undermine my authority, while I struggle to exude my independence and show her that overriding my rules is WRONG. I am not looking forward to this. So with the impending doom of knowing that I get to fight with my mother for God only knows HOW long, I am not the happiest of people today. But lo and behold, stress is always my kids cue to cause more stress. I feel like I have been yelling at them all day because they are just acting crazy! And I mean CRAZY! From jumping off of dressers to raiding the refrigerator to dumping out all the bathtub toys out into the hallway... I felt like it was time for a "Mommy Break". My mommy breaks consist of getting a cup of warm mint or English Breakfast tea, grabbing my laptop or a book, and heading off into my bedroom for about 30 minutes. This may seem difficult to do considering I have 4 kids, but luckily my oldest watches the younger ones. I close my door and I just zone out for about half an hour. In the event that you do have little ones or don't have an older child to help out, here are some things you can do to keep the little one's attention so you can take a breather:

1. Open up a blank document on your laptop and set the font to a large size, and let them type letters and numbers.

2. Have Tons of coloring books on hand.

3. Set up a fort with the sofa cushions and gate off the area so the little one(s) can't take off. Throw some toys in there and there you have instant mommy break!

4.  Set the baby in his/her highchair with a couple of plastic bowls of yogurt colored with some food coloring. It's a baby's equivalent of finger paint and it's safe for ingesting.

5. And if all else fails and you REALLY need a break, I'm sure grandma would be happy to have some company! 

I feel like one of the biggest (and most offensive) misconceptions about being a mother, is that we don't deserve breaks. I have heard people say that if mothers wanted breaks they shouldn't have had kids and all kinds of other wild judgements. But I have to say this. A true super mom can admit that she needs help or that she needs a little break. Not only is it good for the mom, but the child benefits by having a refreshed, happier mother. 

-xoxo Jess