It’s Been A Long Day….

As you know, I’m a mama to two amazing little boys. While I know I’m not the only mama of boys, there are many close friends that I have, that have two girls. And regardless of gender, when we, as parents, spend the entire day with little kiddos, it can be exhausting and draining.

Now, I’m not a stay at home mom, I do work full time. I’m not with them all day, every day. But regardless of if you’re a stay at home mom or a full time working mom (or dad) the kiddos are full of energy! I don’t know about you mamas, but my kids are energizer bunnies. They never slow down. Ask anyone of my family members. They can vouch for you that our kids, don’t sit still. Well, maybe the 15 month old will; for a nap, or two. But they keep going, and going and going and…well you get the point. It is exhausting trying to keep up after them. They just want to run around, pick up everything and anything. They are interested in so much! They want a story read or for you to play with them. Honestly, I haven’t gotten a lot of the “mama, will you play with me?” yet but I’m sure it’s coming.

And somewhere in there, you just get super stressed, your patience level has gone down and you may want to scream at the top of your lungs. We all need ways to de-stress and wind down. Sometimes, you take 2 minutes to check your phone while your kids are occupied. YES! I mean, literally, maybe 2 minutes because then they are hovered around your legs and saying “mama, I need your help” or “uh…uh..uh…” (from the 15 month old). Or you shut yourself in a room (even if it’s the bathroom) for a minute alone. Truth: I’ve done it. But when the day is coming to an end, how do you feel? Relieved? Thankful? You kept the kids alive, so it was a good day, right? Now they are in bed. What do you do to de-stress or calm your mind down?

Personally, there are a few things that I do to decompress from the stresses of those days. Whether it be after a long work day and then hanging with the kiddos or on the weekend. I do tend to go to my phone a lot to do something a bit mindless and not think about much. Sometimes I peruse Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, articles from blogs. Sometimes I actually read a book, although it may be on my Kindle or iPhone. Sometimes I’ll watch a TV show. While we don’t have cable, we do have access to TV shows and I LOVE World of Dance (so need to catch up!), The Good Place, Super Store, This is Us, Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Shameless, The Handmaid’s Tale, and some others on Netflix too. And sometimes, believe it or not, I write. (see what I did there). I find that writing gets things off my mind. I find that it helps me process certain things. It’s a good outlet.

But can I tell you what I really like to do when I’m stressed? I like to move. I like to dance. Give me some good tunes and I will dance around the house. Although I actually like to do dance routines (more to come in another post), I find that moving around, singing, and laughing definitely help me recoup after stressful times. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sit on the couch and staring into the world of another life and then falling asleep. Good times right there. And it totally happens more often than not. But sometimes, being mobile and moving is good.

So to de-stress, I watch TV / Movies, read, write, listen to music, dance, sometimes sing and sometimes just talking with my husband. Those are the things I do the most after a long, tiring, loud, crazy day. Mostly sitting on my butt and reading, writing or watching TV. But I have those other outlets too.

What do you like to do to de-stress or calm yourself down after a long day?