3 Ways to Stress-Free Mornings with Kids

As every family knows, mornings can quickly get stressful and overwhelming with children.  The start to the day requires quite a bit of work:  making a (healthy) breakfast, packing lunches, organizing backpacks and getting young children dressed for the day all before 8AM!  I have tried many methods to keep the chaos to a minimum and these are the simplest steps that work for me.  Give them a try and let me know if they worked for your family or pass along your own simple tricks for a smooth start to the day.

1. Prepare water bottles and backpacks the night before.  I prefer not to make lunches the evening before just so they can be as fresh as possible for lunchtime; however, filling water bottles and organizing backpacks are quick and can shave a few minutes of the morning rush.  I also include a dissolvable, tasteless probiotic in the boys’ water bottles (And they have no idea :).   These go in the fridge overnight.  Organizing the backpack with due homework, papers and library books keeps things moving as well so you and your child are confident nothing is being forgotten.
2. Be the first to wake up.  Impossible sometimes I know.  My oldest son, age 7, is the first up in our family every. single. day.  He rises with the sun and has since he was a newborn.  This obnoxious early morning preference does not bode well with me.  I’m a late sleeper.  But I’ve realized my blood pressure will be lowered immensely between the hours of 6-8AM if I force myself up a few minutes before he usually is or at least around the same time.  Waking up after your children is a tough way to start a weekday morning.  They have free reign of the house and pantry and although my 7-year-old keeps to himself and doesn’t do anything disastrous, I like to be present with him as we start the day (although on weekends all bets are off! I have no guilt about sleeping in a bit).
3. Use a checklist.  For my 7 and even 5-year-old this has been the most effective method to keeping our mornings on track.  Having a visually appealing and easy-to-read checklist gives children a sense of accomplishment as they work through tasks such as “eat breakfast” and “brush teeth.”  Pinterest provides lots of free printable options for this or make one of your own!  Simply type up your child’s morning to-dos in Microsoft Word or handwrite one with colorful drawings for each task.  Bonus points: have your children help do this so they feel involved and a sense of responsibility towards it.  I printed this one from Carrie This Home and inserted in a paper protector.  My sons’ check off each item as its completed with a dry erase marker.  They love finishing it off and voila!  They are ready for the day with little frustration.

Three Ways a Mother Can Rest

As a busy mom of three my moments of “rest” are few and far between.  It doesn’t come naturally to be still among the daily routine of preparing meals, cleaning up said meals, breaking up fights, consoling boo-boos and all the chaos that comes with a 7, 5 and 2 year old.  My need for rest is palpable at times.  I hit a wall almost everyday (usually around 1:00pm) and my ability to keeping going comes to a giant halt.  This is as much to do with my activity as it is my body’s sleep needs.  By nature, I can be a low-energy person.  Early on in motherhood I learned I would never get through the day without following the old adage of “sleep when the baby sleeps.”  Wiser words have never been spoken.   We mothers (and all humans no matter what your daily role) truly need to rest.  For our bodies and our minds.  For our significant others.  For our children.  Because as restful mothers we are so much more patient with those we love.  Consider the following ways you can find “rest” within your hectic lives:

1. Take a nap.  No, I’m not kidding.  Allowing yourself a 15 minute afternoon catnap can do wonders as you finish the day.  How?  Where?  As a ninja napper, let me explain:  Doze off while sitting on a patio chair while the kids run around the backyard.  Lay on the sofa with them as they watch an afternoon television show.  Hell, put your head down on the table (a practice I perfected in high school English Lit) while they work on homework.  Take a snooze in the car during soccer practice! And on the weekends never, ever feel guilty about a longer version nap.  My grandmother used to actually get in bed under the covers to accomplish this on Sunday afternoons.  That generation knew what was up.
2. Go to bed early.  Ha!  You say.  I agree this is much easier said than done but doable once you get in the habit.  I am a night owl so this one is particularly hard for me. Recently though I realized watching the 9:30 showing of Family Feud was not doing helpful in any way.  While its nice to unwind at the end of a long day with some mindless TV, it can become incredibly boring and why be bored when I can sleep?!  Set a “go to bed” alarm on your phone 60 minutes before you really intend to.  If you want to be in bed by 10PM set it for 9:00.  This reminds you to wash your face and do all that nightly stuff plus allows time for you to read or stretch before hitting the hay.
3. Sleep In.  Another toughie.  But if you have a husband, partner, even a babysitter that can be on kid-duty two Saturdays a month at wake-up time plan with them the night before so you can snooze away. When our oldest was born, my husband and I had an unofficial agreement of taking turns with him each morning.  This helped each of us know when we got to refill our sleep tank and offered one-on-one time with the baby.  As kids grow and more are born this isn’t as special its just plain work but still beneficial to the adults in charge.

I know these ideas of how to achieve more rest are fairly obvious but the main point is not to feel guilty about doing them.  Mothers tend to take on more than we should or even realize we are doing.  Our bodies have been through enough — give them a break!

Three Easy-To-Keep New Year’s Resolutions

Well here we are at the end of one year and start of another.  Just walking through Target gave me paranoia on what my New Year’s resolutions might be:  big displays of storage and organization, sales on athletic wear and point-of-purchase set ups showing off detox teas and protein shakes.  The new year typically brings a newfound interest in starting with a fresh, healthy slate.  However often times New Year’s resolutions are easy to state but hard to keep.  With that in mind I am sharing the three I have found to be simple yet effective!

DRINK WATER – simply put.  You’ll be surprised how much water you can drink when you start with a fun, cute water bottle and just keep it on your desk or in your car.  I love the Swell bottles for their pretty designs. Bonus points for adding flavor with lemon or lime slice!

WEAR SUNSCREEN –  another no-brainer.  These days we cannot afford to NOT wear sunscreen even on wintry days.  This is the easiest way to prevent a major type of cancer and not look older than you are (win, win!).  So many make-ups these days offer an SPF.  If you prefer a no makeup routine, a moisturizer with SPF will certainly do the trick.  My favorite by far for a bit of foundation coverage is IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50.  People have actually committed on my skin since I started wearing this product.  AH-MAZING.

STRETCH YOUR BODY – After having three children and not getting any younger my body has suffered a bit.  The most obvious toll has been in my lower back.  After 7+ years of picking up children, strollers and toys, my back has taken a beating.  Since monthly massages are not in the budget I find stretching helps tremendously.  Stretching comes naturally once you get in the habit of doing it and the benefits are amazing!  Better breathing, better posture and more strength just to name a few.  This is a simple resolution because it literally be done anywhere, anytime:  on the living room floor during The Real Housewives, watching your kids play at the park, or even sitting in traffic.  While this is pretty easy to learn some specific techniques are always helpful.  I recommend Stretching by Bob Anderson.  This book has been around for decades and is a go-to for trainers and massage therapists.  In fact an excellent massage therapist is the one who first told me about it!

If I can commit to these three simple resolutions I am certain you can to!  Cheers to a healthy, happy 2018.

Sunscreen Round-Up

Protecting your skin has never been more important as we are all (or should be) hyperaware of the dangers of sun exposure. And not just during the summer while at the beach or pool but in our daily lives. Living in San Diego, I have the benefit of beautiful year-round weather. As a stay-at-home mom I am also outside in the weather every day with two very active boys. After trying many different sunscreens I have found the ones I love the best. No matter if you give these specific ones a try or not be sure to protect your skin every day!

FOR THE FACE
Your face is the one body part that is exposed to the sun every single day no matter where you live. Wearing a facial sunscreen should be vital to your skincare routine. The one I have come to love the most is Coola’s Face SPF 30 Organic Cucumber Classic Sunscreen. The fresh cucumber scent is divine.  It goes on smoothly and lightly making it ideal to wear under make up or simply by itself.

FOR THE BODY
Recently I’ve started applying sunscreen every morning to my hands, neck and chest (I should have been doing this for a long time now but I’ve finally gained some sense). Again, living in San Diego I’m exposed to sun most days even just driving in the car. I admit part of my motivation is aging (yikes!) but the main reason is staying healthy. This summer I discovered Neutrogena Beach Defense Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30. It is a fast-aborbing, lightweight sunscreen with a subtle “beachy” scent. I recently went on a girls trip to Palm Springs and friends at the pool asked what fragrance I was wearing! This is a great option for all over body coverage when doing summertime activities or just for day-to-day use on exposed skin.

FOR BABY
I have tried so many sunscreens on my children ages 17 months and 3 years. My favorite to date is BabyGanics SPF 50 Sunscreen Spray. I apply liberally all over them before putting on their swimsuits and reapply as needed. It has no smell, no irritation and rubs in quickly – key for fast moving boys! Once the beach or pool activity begins its hard to reapply so I often use Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Spray SPF 70. I quicky spray them down and even use it on their scalps! Neither of my children like to wear hats so this is a quick way to protect that sensitive part of the head and believe me it can burn.

What sunscreens have you found to be the best? Do you apply every single day? If you try any of the above suggestions let me know what you think! Comments always welcome.

Child’s Play(dough)

As a child I had an imaginary store called “Coloring World” so you can imagine my delight when my 19-month-old son held a crayon for the first time.  And instead of eating it he actually put it to paper and drew!  Not quite a Picasso yet, but a squiggly line is a start. So as a safety-concsious mom and wannabe artist I began searching for non-toxic, quality art supplies.  Clementine Art is what I found.  An eco-friendly, all natural line of art supplies for kids.  I just love the modeling dough and soy crayons.  Perfect for little fingers and curious mouths!

Rainy Day Fashion

Rainy days are a rarity here in sunny San Diego.  They are actually a welcome change.  Something about the drizzle outside and not the bright sun gives you permission to stay indoors to watch movies, take a nap, catch up on reading and all around be a little lazy. However if you must venture into the wet weather there’s no reason to check fashion at the door. Mix fashion and function with key rainy day accessories.  Gear up and go!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Lifestyle File!  I’m Macie and while I love my life I am always looking to improve my wardrobe, my beauty cabinet, my home and, most importantly, my ability as a mom.  Lifestyle File is a place to gather ideas and inspiration for being the best me I can be.  It is a way to keep up with trends, try new things and hopefully inspire others to do the same.  Enjoy!