Hello everyone and welcome back to our Tuesday how-to video. I have skipped uploading my videos for a few different weeks this fall so forgive me for that. The main reason for this, and I have to be honest with you dearies, is that the stress in my household has been running high. After over 25 years with the same company, my husband is looking for a job. My two Middle Schoolers are battling large loads of homework, leaving my bleary eyed at 9 p.m. from over saturation with algebraic exponents (?). My little ones are demanding more of my time than ever. Throw in 4 travel soccer teams and all the usual mommy obligations, and I have been feeling the S-T-R-E-S-S.

Stress is a nasty 5 letter word. Not only is stress bad for our health, impacting our eating and our sleep. It also impacts our relationship with our kids and our general enjoyment of life! I know that when I’m stressed, I tend to lose my patience more easily and enjoy my time with my kids less. So among our mommy priorities, dealing with stress stands at the top. In today’s video, I talk about how I’ve learned to rejuvenate and offer small ways to reduce stress that have worked for me.

Probably number one on my list when it comes to coping with stress is exercise. If you can, carve out a part of your day for exercise.  Head to the gym, to yoga, or if your schedule is crazy, try to walk to your office or bus stop. A 10 minute walk each way makes for 20 minutes per day which is good exercise. Your body needs the invigoration and your soul does do. Breathe deeply and enjoy some time away from the demands of your household and your manic telephone.

My next tip involves a small daily ritual, some little bit of sacred time to yourself. Almost every day I grab a morning coffee at the same little place. They know how I take my coffee there and it’s delicious. My visit to this cafe usually lasts less than 10 minutes yet it provides my day with a little happy start.

That’s just two of the tips on dealing with stress in today’s video. There are three more in there that have really worked for me. So check out today’s video and thanks so much for watching Cloudmom.

xx Melissa