How to Look After Yourself as a Working Parent

We all know how difficult it can be for working mothers to strike the right work-life balance, but making time for yourself can be another challenge entirely. Between your work duties and family responsibilities like preparing healthy kids meals, self-care can easily be forgotten, leaving you feeling drained and burned out.

Fortunately, having a job and children doesn’t mean you can’t find room in your schedule for a little self-care. These tips will help you find the time for yourself that you need to recharge and reconnect with your passions and interests.

Get Up Early

Your mind and body both need adequate sleep to be at their best, so you should always try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Even just fifteen to thirty extra minutes in the morning can be enough time to make yourself a drink or a light breakfast and relax a little before the busy day begins.

The early morning is typically the quietest part of the day, making it the perfect time to spend on the things you want to accomplish. Whether you’d rather work out, start a new book, or just have some time to wake up more leisurely, you’ll appreciate setting your alarm a little earlier.

This is something I do and have done. Twice a week I wake up at 4:10am to meet a friend for a 4:30am run. We run 3 miles and are done by 5am. Leaving me plenty of time to clean up, get dressed, pack my lunch and get to work on time. On days that I don’t run, I started setting my alarm just 5 minutes earlier, so I don’t feel so rushed to get out the door.

Set Your Own Goals

When you’re a working mom, it’s easy to let other people’s interests and goals become your own. While there’s nothing wrong with that, you may eventually feel like you need more space for your own interests and aspirations.

Try to take some time out of your day to work on your personal goals, whether they’re related to an interest, secondary source of income, or anything else. Having something to work on that’s entirely your own will be empowering and help you feel more confident.

Spend Time with Other People in Your Life

There’s no way around the fact that our children take up a lot of our time, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only people that matter to you. Partners, friends, and other family members are all important, so try not to let too much time go by without seeing them.

Some of these people may also be able to offer a helping hand with a few of your parenting tasks, so don’t feel bad about asking for or accepting help when you need it. It can be isolating and discouraging to feel like you’re taking care of these things all on your own.

Being a working parent is an incredible challenge, but it’s also a rewarding experience that allows you to focus on your family and career at the same time. If you find yourself spread too thin to focus on your own goals, keep these self-care tips in mind and try to make time for other things that matter to you.

We have a set bedtime in our house; this gives my husband and I the time we need to chat about our days without having to sensor your language and talk about things we might not want our child to hear.

I also make time for friends, as I mentioned above, I run a few times a week with friends and prior to COVID I attended a monthly ladies game night!

How do you look after yourself while being a working parent? 

Autumn

Time to get the scarves out and unpack those winter wardrobes y’all! Being a native Texan a true fall…and winter for that matter… were completely new concepts for me when we moved to Wisconsin four years ago.

An exciting bonus to the weather was getting to shop for an all new wardrobe! Sweaters, boots and jackets oh my! But our weather up here in Wisconsin can be frigid! This means we have to dress for function and not fashion, so that takes the fun our of it a little.

We don’t typically travel during the autumn season. We did spend a weekend in Door County, Wisconsin a few years ago and it was nice, fall colors everywhere! And we did visit Iceland in October in 2018 but that is considered a shoulder month for them, so on the cusp of winter. But we do like to travel over the long Thanksgiving weekend! In the 10 years my husband and I have been together we have taken Thanksgiving trips to Key West, Hawaii Island, Kauai, Louisville, Chicago and Bay Harbor, MI. Six out of 10 years ain’t bad! The other years were still settling into a new house (x2), had a baby and COVID…

If I were going to take an autumn vacation, I would definitely want to visit New England, probably Vermont. And I have being wanting to take a trip to Quebec City, they probably have a nice fall season.

Where would you like to visit in the autumn? 

10 Dinner Recipes All Kids Love

Between working, running errands, and everyday life, it’s hard to constantly come up with meals that your kids will love. So we’re here to help you plan easy, no-fuss dinners with foods your kids will gobble up!

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A few of these recipes are so easy that your kids can join you in preparing the meal. It’s a fun family activity that will not only allow you to spend more time with your children, but it will teach them to be more self-sufficient in preparing their meals. Picking healthy menu items also helps to instill a healthier lifestyle foundation for your kids to build on as they grow.

1. Mini Pita Pizzas

Pizza night doesn’t always have to be on Friday. Enjoy this recipe any day of the week! It combines a few ingredients and can be topped with your kids’ favorites – garlic, pepperoni, ricotta cheese, olives – the list goes on. And this is the perfect recipe to make with everyone in the family.

2. Spaghetti Carbonara

You had me at bacon! This pasta recipe is ready in 25 minutes and will be devoured in a lot less time. Bacon can be swapped out for pancetta.

3. Beef Tacos

Looking for a recipe to make on Tuesdays? Make it a Taco Tuesday and serve this simple but still delicious dish, made with a solid base of beef, onions, tomato sauce, and a homemade taco seasoning. You can have as little or as many topping choices as you want. Avocado anyone?

4. Lemon Chicken

Looking at the photos of this finished dish made me drool. Made in less than 30 minutes, this lemon chicken is a quick dinner that can be made after a busy day. 

5. Stovetop Mac and Cheese

With a high review rating, this recipe combines two of every kids’ favorite things – cheese and pasta. Most of the ingredients are what you’d find in your kitchen pantry. And it’s made in 20 minutes. Sold!

6. Meatball Subs

This easy dinner can be made in 5 minutes. Yes, really! Make sure you have frozen Italian meatballs (thawed) and you’re good to go. If you forget to thaw them overnight, the meatballs can also be thrown into a crockpot for cooking. 

7. Penne Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Pesto

Looking for a delicious recipe that can be made with quick-cooking pasta (pasta that’s ready in 60 seconds)? This one includes sundried tomatoes, pesto, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley. Yum! And it’s ready in 15 minutes.

8. Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Once you learn how to make thin breaded chicken cutlets, you can make a variety of dishes, including this one made with panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and rosemary.

9. Vegetable Fried Rice 

Skip the takeout option and make vegetable fried rice at home. It’s easier than you think and takes less than 15 minutes. If you freeze leftover rice, you have it ready for when you need to make something quick.

10. Spinach Tortellini Soup

Soup is a comforting dish to make as it warms the body. This 10-minute meal is made with chicken stock, minced garlic, cheese tortellini, dried basil, chopped spinach, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

What are some of your favorite meals to prepare for your kids?

Grand Cayman Island

After getting a blizzard dumped on us last April (2018) we decided to book a tropical trip for winter in 2019. We landed on Grand Cayman based on award availability (three round-trip tickets for 105,000 points?! YES PLEASE!).

However, we had some hiccups getting there. The day before we were scheduled to fly out of our local airport, that is only eight miles from our house, we got an alert from United letting us know our flight from Appleton, WI to Chicago, IL had been canceled due an impending snow storm. After a few rebooking attempts and those getting cancelled too we just decided to drive to Chicago. We tried our hardest to wrap things up at work, at the house and get the kid from daycare and the dog to the boarding facility within a few hours. We were on the road by 3pm and in Chicago by 6pm. We stayed the night in a hotel close to the airport and had no issues with our flight to Grand Cayman.

The flight was smooth and short, but customs was a hot mess. Luckily for us we had a kid and they pushed us to the front, sorry folks! Once we waited in all the lines for customs and the car rental we were driving on the left and heading to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriott with points, which was good because I would have been disappointed if I had paid full price for that room.

Cayman Sunsets

Our trip was relaxing and unscheduled, we didn’t have much planned with a 3.5-year-old in tow. We slept in everyday and did a lot of beach sitting and sandcastle building. We played in the ocean and the pool. We did visit Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park to see the blue iguanas and we took Sea View Rd to see the blowholes (and we learned that most are blocked with debris from past hurricanes). We took advantage of all the activities the hotel had to offer for her age and just relaxed. The two activities we did have planned were a boat trip to snorkel, Sting Ray Island and Starfish Point and the other was a night boat ride to Grand Cayman’s bioluminescent bay.

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park

Sting Ray Island is a shallow sandbar that is famous for its attention seeking sting rays. They all seem pretty friendly, swimming around your feet and letting you give them a “hug”. I was so proud of our daughter for staying in the water with them! Then we headed to Starfish Point. I thought it was really cool, I have never seen starfish in warm water that I could pick up and feel.

Stingray City & Starfish Point

Later in the day we boarded another boat to head to the Bioluminescent Bay. This was pretty cool and so hard to capture on camera. But the small microorganisms glow blue when they are disturbed. So, when you jump in the water, they glow. You could swim with them if you wanted but I opted to stay aboard with our daughter. The tour guides did fill a bucket for the kids to play with and see the glow or sparkle, which was really nice of them. The only time I could capture a picture was when they started the boat engines up. It was really cool and I highly recommend it!

We were not looking forward to the weather that awaited us back in Wisconsin, hello wind chill -55 degrees Fahrenheit! But we were glad we took it and thought it was worth the points!

Thanksgiving 2018: Chicago

My husband and I visited Chicago before we had a kid and when we were still living in Texas; we now live only three hours away. We have traveled to Chicago a few times since moving up here (twice for flights out of O'Hare and once for a work thing) but we were never there to visit the city. After our Thanksgiving 2017 outing to Louisville,KY we wanted to get something in the books for Thanksgiving 2018. We decided Chicago would be fun and it was only a short car ride away (but the longest car ride since kid-o has been out of diapers).

Since we were only going to be there for two nights we decided to be fancy and stay at the Ritz Carlton. The thing I loved most about the hotel was its proximity to all the shopping. There is a mall on the same block and The American Girl Store. We shopped at the AG store and even got my old doll's hair done and ears pierce (now she is Alana's doll). Then we enjoyed some pizza and hit up the Disney Store.

The next day was Thanksgiving Day and we headed to Uncle Dan's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not knowing much about this parade, or parades in general, we positioned ourselves a block next to the block that was being televised. Turns out, that's the last black to see anything. So, we got there at 7:45, parade started at 8 and we didn't see anything until 9:30!! And it was 32 degrees! We ended up only staying for a few floats and balloons before we headed into a Subway to warm up. After spending some time in Subway, we headed to the Christkindlmarket, a replica German Christmas market. It is very cute and has great food and treats but the crowds make it not worth it. You could barely move around with a stroller and when crowds are that big I tend to just say, "let’s go." And that’s what we did. We pretty much relaxed in the hotel for the rest of the day and then headed out for Thanksgiving dinner. So much easier than cooking all day and then having to clean up!

We took advantage of our late check out on our last day and walked to Lincoln Park Zoo. It’s a really nice walk along Lake View Drive and has great views of the city. The zoo is great too and its free so that is always a bonus.

I loved seeing the city lit up in Christmas lights and it was good to explore parts of the city we hadn't seen before. 

Emphasizing Self Care as a Working Mom

I was recently asked by Yumble to share an article about working moms and self care. I was so excited to be asked because this is an important subject to me being a working mom and a runner. Running for me is stress release and a social scene. When I moved from Texas to Wisconsin the local running group provided fitness and friendship for me. Please continue reading to learn more!

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Do you constantly feel busy and stressed all the time? You’re not alone. According to survey results, many American families have busy lifestyles.

Unfortunately, those same results also indicate mothers are still expected to do most of the housework, even if both parents have full time jobs.

It’s easy to understand how that can lead to burnout. Self-care is the best remedy to guard against burnout. As a busy mother, you might feel you need to do everything for everybody, but this type of attitude will actually sap your productivity in the long run. Do yourself and everyone else in your life a favor by taking care of yourself.

These tips will help. If you’re not sure how to embrace self-care with your busy lifestyle, keep them in mind.

Wake Up a Little Earlier

 Getting enough sleep is vital if you want to stay productive throughout the day. If you’re not getting enough rest, your cognition will suffer, you’ll be more vulnerable to heart disease, and you’ll simply be too stressed to handle your daily responsibilities.

That said, setting your alarm 15 or so minutes earlier than you normally would can give you a little more quiet time to yourself in the morning. Those few extra minutes can be used for reading, meditating, or any other short activity you enjoy.

If you do feel the need to make use of this time for your family, preparing quick breakfast ideas, planning dinner, or fixing healthy, simple vegetarian meals for your kids to take to school is always an option, too. Try not to make this a habit, though. It’s still important to allot time for yourself, too.

Adjust Your Attitude

Mother’s guilt is a very common problem. Don’t worry if you struggle with it. As a mom, you want to give your loved ones the world. But, as a human, you can’t. Failing to meet your own expectations for motherhood can make you feel too guilty to care for yourself.

Fight back against this attitude whenever you notice these types of thoughts. Again, you’re only human. Having needs and tending to them isn’t a flaw. It’s simply natural.

Be Willing to Ask for Help

The more you realize you shouldn’t be expected to be Supermom, the more you’ll realize it’s entirely acceptable to ask other people for help when you need it. This is particularly important to remember when survey results show responsibilities aren’t spread out evenly in many of today’s families.

Maybe your spouse could do more to help around the house. Simply asking for a little extra help will give you more time to address your own needs.

Socialize

You aren’t just a mom. You may also be a spouse, daughter, cousin, or friend.

Taking time to socialize with the other important people in your life helps keep stress at bay, and research confirms it. Additionally, you may find it’s much easier to tackle your mom responsibilities when you give yourself chances to switch out of “mom mode” and enjoy other relationships.

Set Your Own Goals

Busy moms can be so focused on taking care of others that they forget to set their own personal goals. This can result in an unfulfilling lifestyle.

What are you passionate about? Maybe you want to create a side business or master a hobby. Perhaps you even have a dream vacation in mind.

Reaching these goals can take time if you’re a busy mother. However, setting them is important. They serve as reminders that you’re also a person whose sole purpose isn’t simply taking care of a family.

Remember, when you care for yourself, your ability to care for your family increases. Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s part of doing right by your loved ones.

Museums, Goodbye and Final Thoughts

Reykjavik | The Golden Circle | Northern Lights | Snæfellsnes Peninsula | South Side

We tried to sleep in but we were awakened by the garbage truck…ggrrr. We packed our luggage and loaded up the car, we had to be out of the apartment by 11am. We walked the city a bit and picked up more souvenirs, we went back to Braud & Co. for a cinnamon roll (GET ONE!) and then it was time to go. Even though Reykjavik is a relatively safe city I was really nervous about leaving our luggage exposed in the car; because of this we didn’t linger in the city for too long. And in my haste to leave and get back to our car filled with luggage I forgot to go into Hallgrimskirkja to get pictures and climb to the top. Next time!

Reykjavik Street Art

We headed to the Perlan Museum to see what that was about. It was an interesting museum where you would get the geological background of Iceland, learn about glaciers (and even walk into a man made one! If you pay the extra fee). You can also pay extra to walk around the top and get a bird’s eye view of Reykjavik. As much as I wanted to get good pictures it was rainy, and I really didn’t want to pay extra to stand in the rain.  One of their exhibits was under construction and in general I found it hard to get around the museum. Maybe that was due to the construction on the new exhibit.

Top Right: Walking in a glacier at the Perlan; Others: Viking World

We left Reykjavik around lunch time and headed to The Bridge between Continents, part of the Reykjanes Geopark. On our way over we saw some of the air and nautical teams of the NATO activity taking place on the island, that was pretty cool. Back to the geopark, the geopark is the only place in the world where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is visible above sea level. The bridge is built over the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate; and the plates are pulling away from each other at a rate of about 0.8 inches per year. When you visit the bridge, you are also able to walk in between the two plates! So, this leads me to a very important question, when you’re between the two plates, where are you?!

The Bridge between Continents

After the geopark we headed to Viking World Museum. The museum’ building is gorgeous from an architectural standpoint, but I was bit disappointed with what was on display. The only thing they have in the museum is a replica of a Viking ship that sailed the same path as past Vikings did, but they did it in the 90’s. I thought this would be a good place to waste some time before our flight, but we were only there for 30 minutes. Then we headed to grab some lunch before we headed to the airport.

Once at the airport we returned our car and walked to the terminal. We arrived a little over 4hrs before our flight in hopes of upgrading to WOW’s premium seats because you are unable to do this over the phone. But WOW only has employees at the departure desk 3 hours before takeoff. So, we waited. Turns out, someone snatched the last remaining premium seats, so we were stuck with our XXL seats. We walked around the airport a bit, did some last minute shopping and then headed to our gate and waited some more. Finally, it was time to board and head home!

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip and do want to go back. Iceland is a place you’ll want to see in all its different seasons. I would like to go back during the summer and do the ring road (covering the whole island) and in the dead of winter (just to experience it). If we had added a few more days to our trip I think it would have satisfied me. Its a beautiful and unique country, we saw more vivid rainbows to last a lifetime! And SO many waterfalls! 

Have you been to Iceland? What did you like about it? Did you dislike anything?