Tired mom survival guide: How I’m making it through the day

This post is sponsored by Starbucks Refreshers, which shouldn’t be a surprise because I’ve talked about my love affair with the Pike #refreshersrun approximately a bazillion times.

If I stop and think about it, these days are a little cray.

Liiiiiike, I have 3 boys under 4 years old. (It makes me tired just saying it.)

I have 52 pounds of baby weight to lose. (But I made some major progress this month! Go me!)

And lately, I’ve been getting up at 5am everyday to nurse my 3-month-old, then leave the house at 5:30am and sweat in a hardcore boot camp workout from 6 to 7am.

It’s no wonder that, by the time we get to the children’s museum, I feel like I’ve run a marathon. Or climbed Mount Everest.

And it’s only 9:30am.

Right?

But despite the lack of sleep, lack of “me” time and serious lack of personal hygiene, I actually feel pretty darn good.

Yes, you read that right.

I feel good!

Sure, I barely have time to pee, and I collapse into bed approximately 4 minutes after all the kids are asleep. But somehow, I’m making it through the day. And totally not hating life.

Here are some of my tricks. Call it the tired mom survival guide. Or ‘how the haggard mother of 3 makes it through the day.’ Something like that.

1. Car shower.

I mean, I just sweat through 2 shirts at boot camp, but I’m not going to see the inside of a shower until the other side of 8pm. The answer? A stash of baby wipes in the center console of the car. A quick wipe-down and I’m good as new… (ish.) Well not really as good as new, but doing a great job at masking the workout stench before I dive into my morning of diaper changes, cereal refills, milk spills and copious amounts of kid TV. Good enough. (And as with most things in the stay-at-home mom universe, good enough totally wins.)

2. Caffeine. If you ask me, Starbucks’s slogan should really be “the ultimate mom break.” Because every mom I know lives and dies by Starbucks, and no joke, I see at least 1 friend in the drive-thru line whenever I go. Like, the day can be a scrambled mess of potty accidents and meltdowns in the middle of the grocery store, but once I pull up to that drive-thru, all my troubles melt into the screaming, tantruming abyss of my back seat. (Honestly, it doesn’t matter what is going on back there. Somehow, I’m able to tune it all out as I place my order.) I usually get a hot Pike, but I just tried the Starbucks Refreshers and love them. They’re basically a cold, fruity spritzer that comes in a can and uses ginseng and all-natural caffeine from green coffee extract. You know, to add a little mojo to my mom-jo. (<— And thus, you have my favorite line of the whole post.)

This was my own little #momcation while the kids were trashing the Legos section of the children’s museum. Me and the little guy and my cute sandals. Exhaaaaaaaaaaale. A little blueberry acai bubbly goodness, just for me. Until the boys knock over the whole freaking Legos display and I’m back on duty. It was a glorious 30 seconds, anyway.

3. A good manicure. Was I tilting that can of Starbucks Refreshers at the perfect angle, in order to show off my amazing fluorescent pink manicure? Well, yes I was. If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you probably know that nothing makes me happier than a fresh coat of nail polish on my haggard mom hands. Of course, I don’t have the time to get to the salon, but every week or so, after the kids are in bed, I ask my husband to cover when-the-kids-get-up-after-bedtime duty, and I retire to our master bathroom to paint the lady claws. It’s my own perfect little inexpensive luxury that I love to do, just for me. The great thing is, I can try out fun colors and it’s a totally easy, low-cost way to feel put-together and on-trend. (Plus, the hands never look fat.)

4. Friends and outings. I feel so energized and refreshed when I get together with a group of mama friends, and it is an essential part of how I’m getting through these very-little-sleep days. It was reaaaaaally hard to find a group of mom friends, but now that I have them, I’m never letting go. (For real. Sorry, friends. You’re stuck with me for life.) Seriously, though. No matter what, they are encouraging and inspiring and motivating. And their support (and commiseration) reminds me that I’m not alone. Oh, and sometimes they watch my kids too, which is totes amazing.

5. Dry shampoo. Alright, you’re probably sick of hearing me talk about how much I love this stuff, but now that we’ve covered my lack of personal hygiene, I can’t ignore the goodness and perfection that is dry shampoo. You spray it on, and in 30 seconds, your dirty hair instantly looks and smells better. It’s stay-at-home mom magic. (I posted a list of my favorites here.)

6. One thing for me. I’ve heard that the key to being a happy stay-at-home wife is doing 3 things a day for yourself, but I’m keeping the bar low (it’s a theme these days) and starting with one. Sometimes, it’s writing for this blog, which is fulfilling and gratifying to me on a deeper level. Sometimes, it’s doing my devotions, alone in bed with a cup of hot tea. Sometimes, it’s booking a babysitter (and having a real momcation). Sometimes, it’s cuddling with the baby and taking some photos of him to capture all the cuteness that is oozing out of every fat roll. (And also, maybe so I feel a tiny bit less guilty about how fast the babyhood is going. He’s already 3 months, ya’ll!)

Sometimes, my gift to myself is simply blow-drying my hair and putting on a dab of makeup. In order to stay sane, I try to do 1 thing that’s just for me.

It may be small, but it helps me feel like I’m thriving. Not just surviving.

How do you thrive? Share your favorite #momcation moments in the comments section below.

With a revitalizing blend of sparkling fruit juices, b vitamins and ginseng, Starbucks Refreshers™ has the goodness you need to get the most out of today.