5 Ways I Take Care of My Mental Health

One of the biggest challenges that comes from being a single parent is the amount of stress. From being the only disciplinarian, to balancing a single income budget, and trying to be in a million places at once, raising kids on your own is a tough job.  Taking care of your mental health is extremely important- not only for yourself but for your kids as well. You know the old airline saying about who do you put the mask on first? You put yours on first, so that you're able to take care of your child. It's the same thing with your mental health.  If you are stressed out, frustrated, or losing your mind, you need to get your head right, so you can be the best version of yourself. You and your kids deserve it.

So, I wanted to share a few things I do on a regular, and not so regular, basis, to keep myself in top shape, mentally.  (I want to note that I also struggle with depression, so I'm not always at my best, but these tips really do help most of the time). 

1. Keep a journal.  I take a few minutes every night to write down at least three positive things from the day.  Doing this at the end of the day puts me in a positive mood before going to sleep. 

2. Exercise. If I find myself getting stressed, I go for a walk. I listen to some of my favorite music, and just enjoy the fresh air, and pretty scenery.  

3. Unplug, and watch a movie. I do this one a lot, especially during the holidays, when all the Christmas movies are on (Hello, Hallmark Christmas movies). I turn my phone off, and just relax, and enjoy the movie. I usually do this after the kids are in bed for the night. 

4. Laugh. Call your BFF, and catch up on the latest celebrity gossip or chat about the cute barista who you've both been drooling over, but doesn't know you exist! I love having that girl time. 

5. Take a kid-free vacation.  I take at LEAST one mom-cation every year. I've gone big- spending a couple days at Disney World with one of my best friends, and I've gone smaller- going to a local hotel for a night, order room service, and sleep in. I almost always go to my company's annual conference, which is a great way to write off a mom-cation on my taxes! 

What are some of your best mommy mental health tips? 

One-on-One "Date Night" With Mom

One-on-one time with my kids is very important to me.  Having three kids, it can be difficult to give each of them individual attention every day, so we like to plan individual "date nights" every few months.

I recently took my youngest daughter on a weekend getaway with my best friend, and her daughter. While my one-on-one dates aren't usually this elaborate, we really needed the time away, and a trip with my bestie is always a great idea! We went to the beach, and stopped by Colonial Williamsburg on the the way home. I m a huge history buff, and I've never been to Williamsburg, so I was like a kid on Christmas!

When I saw an ad on Facebook for a local theater company, performing Steel Magnolias,
I just had to get tickets to take my daughter, Lexi. It’s one of our favorite movies, and I
knew she’d be excited to see the play.  I was right! As soon as I told her where we were
going, she freaked out!

When I got the tickets online, I was able to choose our seats- front row, middle! Score!  
It was the perfect spot! We even got wet at one point, when an actress knocked over a
water bottle. We weren’t allowed to take photos during the show, but here are a couple
from their Facebook page.

It was absolutely perfect! The entire cast & crew did an outstanding job.

My brother and I took my son and my nephew to a Washington Nationals baseball game.
It's a little harder to plan our "dates" since he's older, and getting to be a little too old to
hang with mom. Luckily, we both love baseball.

I'm so grateful to be able to make these memories with my kiddos. I love hanging out
with them, and showing them how much fun life can be.

Pumpkin Carving

The big kids are a little past the whole pumpkin carving thing, so while they were with their dad this weekend, my youngest and I hacked into the biggest pumpkin we could find!! We flipped through a book of pumpkin face templates I got from the store, and decided on this one:

We had a blast throughout the whole process, making the biggest mess imaginable, and here’s our final product.

Hey, nobody ever said I was a master pumpkin carver! LOL

After we were finished, we decided to snuggle up on the couch and watch Hotel Transylvania (the most Halloween-ish movie we own)!

Welcome To The Crazy Train!

Hello, and welcome! My name is Jennifer, and I am a single mom of three kiddos. This post will be to share with you WHY I decided to start this blog, and what I will be posting about, as well as introductions to the family. So, grab a cup of coffee and come meet the fam.

I have always been a big fan of making fun memories over having lots of material things.  My own dad passed away suddenly in 2009, and the best memories I have of him were simple activities and day/weekend trips he took us on. I decided right then and there, that I would make those same memories with my own children, so that when I am gone, they have great memories of their time with me.

I love documenting these activities and trips with photographs, and up until now, I have just posted them on Facebook and a few on Instagram.  However, I wanted one place where we could look back on these fun times, and I could inspire other parents to create fun memories with their kids.

I will be posting all the fun things! We try to do a lot, so I will have plenty to share on this blog. I hope you follow along, and I'd love to hear from you, if you decide to do any of these things with your own family. Speaking of family, let me introduce you to mine.

Like I said, my name is Jennifer, and I am a mom to three human kids, and 3 fur babies. I am a huge history nerd (as you will notice, with some of our most frequent day trips), and I am a lifelong Disney fan.  I work from home, and love it. My hobbies include reading, spending way too much time on social media (most of it is for work, I swear!), and having fun with my kiddos.

My son, Joey, is almost 14. He is pretty obsessed with video games, which is another reason I love our fun family activities. It gets him out of his room, and away from the TV for a while.

My oldest daughter, Lexi, is 11.  She's quite the diva these days, and loves all things fashion! She drags her little sister into doing regular fashion shows, and loves being the center of attention.

My youngest, Kaitlyn, is 8.  She's got such a big heart. She loves everyone, and is such a big helper to her family, her friends, and her teachers. She's also got the most energy of any kid I've ever seen.

We also have an adorable cat, named Luna, and two guinea pigs, named Ginger and Cookie. They don't really do much with us, but I'm sure you'll see them every now and then.

Thanks for joining me on this journey, and I can't wait to share more!