Tips to take care of yourself

We, as woman, were created as the helper to the man. The glory of him, the beauty, the feminine essence is around us unless we have taken great effort & expense to alter our God given state.

When we are on a constant path of feeding newborns, carting children to extra murals, cooking countless meals…we can still have a groomed and tidy appearance to us. We need not have a newborn “oopsy” down our shoulder, a stained front of shirt from dinner prep, or a rumpled appearance from being in the car.

We would never arrive at an office for work with that appearance so we need to make sure that we are neatly dressed for our job as a Stay At Home Mom. Does this mean we need to prance around in high heels – goodness – No! But you can follow a simple daily routine to keep yourself looking well groomed and comfortable.

Hair Tips – It is best to wash your hair every second day. Longer hair is harder to tend after but easier to tie up on the second day. I found babies sticky hands used to get caught in my hair a lot when they were young so I always kept it shoulder length then. Now I have no more sticky little hands so it is longer. I used to colour my hair but eventually found the time and expense to be too much and have delighted to go back to my natural colour. Either way, short, long, natural, coloured, make sure it is clean.

Face Tips - A simple cleansing, toning and moisturizing routine in the morning and evening is the best way to keep your skin clean and blemish free. Add to that 6 glasses of water and a balanced diet full of fresh vegetable and fruit, and your skin should glow with health. A once a week gentle scrub with exfoliating cream and a moisturizing mask will finish off your skin care routine. If you wear makeup during the day always make sure that you remove it completely before going to bed. Your skin repairs itself and needs to “breathe” at night when your body is resting. Give it a fighting chance.

Teeth Tips – Dragon breath is appealing to no one! Brush your teeth with a soft brush morning and night. Drink lots of water and it is recommended by doctors that woman who have had more than 1 baby and/or a family history of osteoporosis drink 1 litre of skim milk a day. This will help you with your teeth too. The issue of Mercury Amalgam fillings came into the spotlight recently where specialists have listed many side effects of having these fillings in your mouth. Some of the symptoms are depression, head aches, Candida. If you are in doubt about your fillings see a dentist who is open to replacing Amalgam fillings.

Nail Tips – I do not have time to paint-remove-paint my nails. Simple care of your nails is to scrub them when bathing or showering and to keep them at a manageable length especially if you are busy with little ones. You do not want to scratch a babe by mistake nor end up with all the finger paint glued up under your nails. Painted nails are for going out to add some glamour to yourself. Make sure to file off any hooks so that you don’t painfully tear a nail.

Clothing Tips– This is a hot topic in the homeschooling and greater Christian community. If you do not believe in wearing pants or jeans then skip this one - otherwise hear me out. You need to have a clothing budget! Some parents don’t mind shopping in thrift stores. We don’t. But I always set aside a portion of my household budget to buy myself something that makes me feel good when I wear it. Sometimes it is a scarf that will match the bulk of my clothes other times it may be some jeans that have a little “quirk” to them like an embroidered design on the leg.

I will never forget a reaction from one husband of a soon to be homeschooling mom. They arrived at a big homeschool conference and when they left he said to her, “If you ever end up looking as washed out and crumpled as that lot of woman – the children are going back to school!”

Now you can argue the issue about the exterior appearance as versus the heart of the moms or even the judgmental comment that this man made, but it certainly is something we should hear every now and again. And then apply what you can within your budget and time constraints.

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