Forget new year’s resolutions! Mums know the real false promises we make to ourselves are in September. Let’s be honest, the term ‘summer holidays’ can feel like anything but a holiday for a wrecked multitasker who is running on reheated coffee and someone else’s leftover Weetabix.
After a hectic summer, you might start to feel like ditching some holiday habits and make some new school year resolutions. This can be tough, but we’ve come up with a few achievable goals that you should keep!
1. Family Hikes
You’ve always wanted to be that family who go hiking every weekend- and have the picture-perfect snaps to prove it. Though busy weeks can make you feel like hibernating for the weekend, getting out into the autumn air has amazing benefits, even if it’s just to ‘tire them out'
We decided to be that family this weekend. The blackberries were out, even if we did have to venture off the beaten track with the buggy -Yes this is now possible, thanks to Maxi-Cosi Nova! It meant stained sleeves and muddy wellies, but rosy faces in the autumnal sunshine was a perfect way to end a stressful week!
2. Veg up!
Do you have a toddler who won’t consume anything that isn’t beige? Over the summer, I honestly gave up force-feeding my toddler broccoli. I had hoped that my secret every-available-vegetable-blended pasta sauce would suffice for her vitamin intake. But now she is so unfamiliar with all things green that I think I’ve done more damage than good.
I’m getting back on the green band-wagon though because now that she’s older, she seems to be hungrier and an amazing opportunity has emerged. She is now asking for a snack on the go, during our daily commute for example. I found if I pack veg and veg only, she has no choice and neither do I! She must have whatever is under the buggy and that’s that- WINNING (finally!)
3. “Go for a walk!”
“Go for a walk” is my mother’s favourite phrase, and I’m turning into her! If you are a busy mum who somehow also manages to get to the gym three times a week then you are my hero… but this isn’t the reality for most of us. Even though we make false promises that we will eat like a rabbit and run five miles a day, it can actually leave us feeling defeated and worse off when we don’t achieve the ridiculous goals we set.
I have given up on these whims and decided I’m just going to buggy up with my Maxi Cosi Nova and get walking. If you make an achievable goal, it is more likely to be kept and a walk can be done at any time, flexibility being key for busy mommas!
4. DECLUTTER and get some space back!
You can hardly tell that adults live in my home. The dining room AKA playroom is a reminder that my daughter calls the shots now! Something that really made things easier was gathering a bag for the local charity shop, as well as organising her bits and pieces! Getting back some space was a challenge.
It felt like my baby’s things were growing from the walls and most of her equipment tried to kill me while I stored it away, all except my buggy with hands fee folding- GODSEND! Still, when I regained a few square meters of space, I felt like a queen! It’s amazing what a little decluttering can do for a momma’s mental health!
Good luck, Mums!
