I recently purchased the Five Minute Journal after hearing one of my friends raving about it on social media. She was sharing about how much of a positive impact it has made in her day-to-day life, as well as how much it has improved her overall mindset. I figured why not give it a try? After the past week of using it, I have to admit it has really helped me to see the positive side of what life has been throwing at me. It has forced me to set up a morning and nighttime routine that helps start and end the day on a good note. Regardless of what the day was like, being able to sit down and reflect on it has really helped me decompress at the end of a long day and prepare for whats in store in the days to come.
Mini Spa Night
After the kids go to bed, I always try to take a long, hot shower to decompress after the day. I start out by lighting one of my favorite candles. For some reason that always helps me to relax and remember to take a few deep breaths after a long day with the kids. I try to avoid washing my hair too often during the week so I use these scrunchies and headbands to keep it dry and clean from any face treatments I decide to do. I really like this Clay Face Mask and let it sit while I exfoliate pre-shower. I love using this dry exfoliation brush before starting the shower, especially while I’ve been pregnant. It’s a great solution to dealing with the itchiness of a growing belly while avoiding causing stretch marks! I’ve always been a fan of ODE Beauty (they’re a local company, too!) and their Olive Oil Sea Scrub not only smells amazing, but leaves my skin feeling unbelievably soft. I finish up with these under eye masks to help bring some life back to my face after chasing toddlers all day and lather on some ODE body lotion that smells amazing!
Yoga
We’ve been on the Peloton App for a few years now and have always enjoyed their workouts. When I started having some issues during this pregnancy I had to stop working out and really couldn’t do too much when it came to physical activity. Luckily, the Peloton App came out with some really great pre- and postnatal yoga classes at all different levels of difficulties! I love that on days when I really need to get some stress out, I can opt into one of their more difficult classes and if I need to take it slow, they have plenty of slow-flow and beginner options. They also have a ton of various other prenatal workouts thanks to Robin Arzon’s pregnancy journey (check out more about that here)!
Read
I have always loved to read. I feel so much more relaxed sitting down with a book as opposed to scrolling through social media (and a social media break is always a good idea). Right now I am half way through Circe. It’s such an intriguing story about a witch during the time of the Greek Gods that I can’t stop seem to put down! For more of summer reading ideas, check out this post from a few weeks ago!
Drive
This may sound silly, but one of the more regular things I’ve been doing to destress and decompress lately is going for a drive… and the kids always tag along. The past few weeks at the in-laws have been a little tough on the kids when it comes to adjusting to a new routine and bedtime. They have been fighting sleep like nobody’s business and it’s been pretty exhausting trying to get them to go to bed after dealing with meltdowns all day. It only takes them 20 minutes to fall asleep once we start driving so after they pass out, I spend an extra 20-30 minutes driving around the backroads in silence. While it’s been a struggle to get them to sleep and decompressing with toddlers is nearly impossible, I figured taking a few quiet minutes for myself while I’m already out is easier than trying to force some “me time” in the midst of a bedtime battle at home.
Embrace the Chaos 