Mommy's Time Out
After a particularly long day at work and/or a difficult day with my minions, I can find my energy reserves depleted. For me, having a bit of quiet time is essential. I need that time to decompress, and I find that without having my "time outs", I easily become over-stressed, irritable, and even depressed. Once I started taking "me" time more seriously, my emotional and mental well-being improved tremendously.
Here are some of the items that I use to pamper myself, decompress, and de-stress.
I try to take mini breaks each day whenever I can fit them in. However, at least once a week, I try to actually take some scheduled time to myself. For me, the best way to spend this time is soaking in a hot bath. But not just any bath, oh no. I like to soak in a bath that smells nice to really add to the relaxation factor.
For the past several years I have really enjoyed Village Natural's Bath Salts for Aches and Pains.
The Aches and Pains Relief is made with Eucalyptus and Menthol and does have a very sharp smell, but it is a smell that I find really relaxing. This scent is also great for if you have a cold; the smell is similar to Vicks VapoRub. Village Natural bath salts dissolve fairly quickly, and I find it takes maybe up to 3-5 minutes, but then it is good to go.
Up until about a week ago, this was the only variety of Village Naturals bath salts I was aware of, but I recently discovered that there are a few other scents.
The bath salts also come in Juniper and Menthol for Stress and Tension Relief, and Lavender, Passion Flower, and Chamomile for Restless Nights. I have not tried these two scents yet, but if they are anything like the Aches and Pains Relief I am sure they are amazing.
Bath Foam
Village Naturals also makes the bath salt in a foaming bath soak. It comes in the same fragrance as the Aches and Pains Relief, but this will foam a little bit like a bubble bath populated of tiny bubbles and it won't color your bath water green like the salts will.
Mini Bluetooth Speaker
These little Bluetooth speakers by Krazilla are convenient for when I want to listen to music to help me unwind. Their small size and ability to wirelessly connect to many different devices makes them extremely portable and versatile. So, whether I want some music to help drown out the whining in the next room while I am cooking dinner (I said it will be ready when it is done!), or while I unwind in my bubble bath, this little speaker is essential to my "me" time.
Travel Pillow (Mommy time out in the car)
Most mommies have been there before. You are out running errands in the morning and you rush to get home before your little one's nap time. You pull into your driveway, glance at the clock, and breath a sign of relief. You have approximately 30 minutes before the little one's usual nap time. You turn off the engine, and instead of being greeted by silence or the shuffling sounds of impatient waiting to be released from the bonds of their car seat, you hear the almost imperceptible sounds of little snores.
During my first child, I would be foolhardy and try to gently remove them from their seat without waking them to get them in the house and bedded down. (Just so you know, that never works.) Instead, minion rouses, and is fully recharged even if their nap were only a few minutes long.
What I do now, if it is not too hot outside, is roll down a window and pull out the travel pillow I leave stored in the car for occasions like this one or for long road trips.
The Daydreamer Neck Pillow is one such pillow that I keep in the car.
This awesome travel pillow is an air pillow with a "90s Reebok Pump-style" button pump built in. This saves me from almost passing out while trying to manually inflate the thing. It comes with a little storage pouch to protect it while it is not in use from spills and getting dirty, and even if it does get dirty, the soft fuzzy covering comes off and can be washed. It is designed to cradle the base of your head making shared car nap time an enjoyable piece of "me" time.
Last, if not least, if you can just make it until your minions lay down for the night there are always adult beverages to aid relaxation, if you are not staunchly opposed.
I find that theKitchn has the perfect citrus beverages to be enjoyed any time of the year.
No matter which poison you pick (Screwdrivers, Greyhound, Rum and Orange) they always taste better with freshly squeezed juice. My essential tool for this task is the Premium Double Squeezer Bundle w/ Zester. It has different size hollows to hold on to any size citrus and the zester that it comes with is perfect for adding citrus zest for flavoring as well as garnish. Both tools are of all-metal construction and can withstand quite a beating in the dishwasher as well as being dropped.
This rounds out my collection of items for Mommy's Time Out for now. Keep an eye out, I will be opening a new page to collect these and future suggested items on the new Mommy's Time Out page.
As always, comments, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome.
Please remember to follow the blog and sign up for posts to be delivered directly to your email inbox at the top of the page so that you never miss an update!
Disclaimer: Any items mentioned in my blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment