My husband is an “all natural” kind of guy. He says he likes me in sweats, messy buns, and no makeup. And let me be honest, he was getting plenty of that out of me with 4 kids under 5.
Then a few months ago I had to go somewhere. I fixed my hair, put some makeup on, and put on “real” clothes. His eyes about popped out of his head when he came home from work, and he said “wow! I haven’t seen you in a while!”. He apologized right after he said it, because he realized it wasn’t the nicest, but the point was made.
We want our husbands to think we look beautiful when we first meet and first get married. Men are visual, after all. But then somewhere between that first pregnancy test and kid #4, we move into “you shouldn’t care how I look and should just be happy I kept the children alive today” territory. Which just doesn’t make sense given how visual God made men to be.
Since that incident I’ve made a sincere effort to get dressed and ready every day. That doesn’t mean I go all out every day, but I try to look put-together. I’ve realized I feel more energetic, more organized, and am more likely to get out of the house when I take the time in the morning to do this. It can be hard as a mom if young children, when you already feel there are just never enough minutes in the day, to take the time on something like your looks. But I’ve found it to be worthwhile for both me and my husband.
So here are my tips as a mom of 4 children under 5:
1.) Wake up before your children. Like seriously. If your children are the ones waking you up, you will be two steps behind the rest of the day. I saw a quote that said “if you lose an hour in the morning, you will be looking for it the rest of the day”. I am a sleeper, and I am also not a morning person, which makes it even more important for me to get up and get myself together before my kids wake up.
2.) Brush your teeth and get dressed before you do anything else. Even if you are getting dressed into “house clothes”, get dressed, put a bra on, and put clothes on that make you feel good.
Which brings me to....
3) Get clothes that make you feel good. Maybe you are still losing baby weight and don’t fit into anything, and also don’t want to spend money on clothes. I get it, because that’s where I am right now. But it is important to have clothes that make you feel good and work with your stage of life. I wear a pair of GAP linen jogger pants I bought at their outlet almost every day, because they are comfortable, look nice, and accommodate my changing body right now. Get a few items of clothing that make you feel nice, and get rid of items that don’t. If you would have been embarrassed to wear that faded shirt with the armpit hole around your fiancé back before you got married, why are you wearing it every day now?
4) Simplify your makeup bag and keep it in a convenient location. I keep my makeup bag in my downstairs powder room, and usually put a bit of makeup on in the morning while the kids are playing. I also simplified my makeup bag so that I contains only the things I actually use regularly.
I keep it in a small bag that I can easily throw into my diaper bag and go if need be. If I had to run upstairs into my bedroom to do my makeup every morning, it wouldn’t get done. I don’t put full makeup on every day, but I’ve found a little mascara goes a long way.
5) Shower at night. Some people would struggle with this, but I’ve found showering at night to be not only relaxing, but much more practical for me. I then either dry my hair before bed, or I braid it and wear it with the braid waves the next day, or I’ll straighten it in the morning.
6) Earrings or a Bracelet help. They take less than 10 seconds to put on and they make a big difference both in looking and feeling put together as well and providing that little bit of sparkle to your day.
These leather earrings are my current go-to, because they match pretty much everything.
It took very little time for me to put on a pretty shirt, braid my hair, put on a headband and do a quick 5 minute makeup routine.
And that’s it! Those are my tips. What do you do to simplify your own routine? Do you feel investing a little time into your appearance helps you to feel like you’ve got life together a bit more?
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I love to fellowship with others and hear what they have to say. I would ask, however, that you be mindful of what you write and try to be uplifting and respectful. Thank you for sharing!