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Summertime. The weather is warmer; the grass is growing, and the flowers bloom. It ‘ s a time for everyone to get outside, smell the fresh air, to enjoy life after the past 7 months of school and cold weather.

And yet, the prospect of summer fills many moms with a sense of dread. What exactly to do with your wonderful, but usually in school, kids all day, every day?

I am here to tell you that not only can you survive the summer, but you can truly enjoy it!

# 1 – Schedule SOME Time For Your Kids To Go Camping:

Summertime should include some summer camp. It can be any summer camp – a science camp at the local elementary school, an art camp at the Y, a week away at a camp on a lake in Maine. What is the right kind of camp for your kid?

Modern-day children have so much scheduled time that the sudden onslaught of free time when school gets out can be overwhelming. So schedule them some camp.

The key word here is SOME camp. Kids must have downtime for proper development. They need time to entertain themselves, to be dreamy or adventurous, or whatever makes their hearts sing.

So schedule them SOME camp but also schedule them some free time. One of my clients has her kids go camping every other week in June and July, leaving much of August free for downtime and family activity.

#2 – Let Yourself off The Hook:

You have a TON to do. A TON. Every day is packed with chores, errands, and work, and having the kids underfoot all summer makes those things difficult to accomplish.

So let yourself off the hook. Choose some chores and errands that can be let go this summer, like keeping the house clean or being involved in family dinners. Tidy up when you have some downtime and get the kids to help; for dinners, use your grill! Grill some meat or fish, make a salad, pop some veggies in the steamer, and you are done.

Of course, some things can ‘ t be put off. Schedule some time every day, or every other day, to get these things done. Choose a time you know will work for you: first thing in the morning when everyone is slow to rise, after lunch when people are lazing, and after dinner when the kids are running around with the neighbors.

Pick a time, put it on your calendar, and finish those things!

And don ‘ t forget that your kids can HELP with these things. Your child can do the dishes or the laundry or clean their rooms. And the kids can go on errands with you and learn a thing or two about how the world works. Don ‘ t be afraid to get your kids working. It ‘ s good for them.

#3 – Embrace Playing:

Remember summertime when you were a kid? Our parents didn ‘ t schedule us at all ‘ ¦we were sent outside in the morning and told to come back for lunch and not a moment earlier. And remember how much fun you had?

So it ‘ s summer! Do some things with your kids that you love to do. Go to the beach, hike in the woods, take out the canoe, go to the park, and climb a tree. Get dirty and sweaty. Play!

#4 – Do Something That You Like To Do:

As I have said in earlier blogs, it is essential for your mental health to do something for yourself as often as possible. Putting everyone else ‘ s needs ahead of your own is exhausting and life-sucking. Yes, hopefully, you will let things go this summer and play with your kids, but still, you will be very tired at the end of every day.

So schedule something that you love to do. Take a yoga class, volunteer at the local hospital, go on a date with your partner. Whatever it is that takes you out of your life as a mother and reminds you about the woman that you are.

#5 – Eat A Lot of Ice Cream:

Come on! It ‘ s summer. And if there was ever a time to eat ice cream, this is it.

Keep a box of popsicles in the freezer, all different flavors. Make a regular trip to the local ice cream spot and try a different flavor each time. Maybe even have a sundae.

There is a television ad about a room full of children who are bouncing off the walls, having a great time. In the next scene, there is silence ‘ ¦because everyone is eating ice cream. Ice cream is one of those foods that makes everyone happy. So indulge.

These tips work for both stay-at-home and working mothers. Working mothers have the extra challenge of keeping the kids occupied during their workday, but by applying some of the principles above, you too can enjoy your summer and not let it go by without stopping to smell the roses.

And how have you read my blog? GO OUTSIDE and start enjoying your summer.

Need more ideas about living the life of your dreams? Contact me now, and we can get started!

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention, Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.

Every day moms take care of everyone else. That is just what we do. We make sure the kids are loved, fed, bathed and supported. Likewise, our partners. We do our best to carry our share, or more, at work and always try to be a shoulder to cry on for our friends.

What we aren ‘ t good at is taking care of ourselves. We set goals to go to the gym, or sleep more or eat better but in the end life gets in the way, and we just let it go.

We don’t have to do this!

Little Ways For Moms To Feel Happier:

Here are 5 Little Ways for Moms to Feel Happier.

#1 – Every day, do one thing that makes you happy:

It doesn ‘ t need to be a big thing but do something. Make a playlist for your car and listen to music that makes you sing out loud. Serve breakfast for dinner (because no one ever complains when dinner involves pancakes). Bring your book in the car and read a chapter while waiting to pick up the kids at school. Whatever small thing it is that makes your heart sing.

For me, when my kids were little, every Sunday was pizza night, and then my People magazine and I would retire to the bathtub for an hour. I went to bed Sunday night happy, and Monday mornings were much easier.

#2 – Replace the Oreos:

I am willing to bet that Oreos were not a staple of your diet before you had kids. Am I wrong? But now they are because they are in the cupboard. You get tired, or stressed or bored, and there, right in front of you, is a little disk of self-indulgence. So you eat one or 20, feel better for 30 seconds, and then feel not so good.

Keep something you love in the cupboard that will fill that need when you get tired, stressed, or bored, and go for that instead. Chocolate-covered almonds, honey-roasted peanuts, or individually wrapped chocolates (so you can ‘ t take a handful). And, if you have something that combines sugar and protein (like sweetened nuts), you won ‘ t be affected by the sugar so quickly and won ‘ t get that Oreo cookie crash.

#3 – Play with your kids:

When our kids are born, we all have grand plans to get down on the floor with them and play. And we do, at least until their sibling is born, and then we as often as not let them have at it.

Playing with your kids makes you happier, and happiness leads to healthiness. First of all, play makes you smile, and the physical act of smiling makes you happy. Also, by sheer definition, play is more fun than work. So put on a tiara and frolic with your kids, at least briefly. Try it!

One of my clients plays a game of cards with her kids and her husband every night after dinner. It only takes 20 minutes and they laugh and kid and enjoy each others company. And then off they go to homework etc. She reports that the 20 minutes makes the transitions easier and sets up a much smoother bedtime routine, every mother ‘ s dream.

#4 – Get just a little more sleep:

I know you are saying, ‘ Yeah. Right. ‘ But I am serious. Try to fit just a little more sleep into your day. Actually I am suggesting you build it into your schedule. Right there, between going to the dry cleaners and finishing your project for the meeting. Make a plan to take a 15-minute nap right after lunch, before you head out to do errands. Or sleep 15 minutes later 3 times a week, wherever you can fit in just a little more sleep.

If you sleep in 15 minutes 3 days a week, that ‘ s 45 minutes more sleep. Add two naps in there, and you have more than an hour. Every bit of sleep makes a difference.

#5 – Do one thing that will get your heart rate up:

Can ‘ t make time for the gym? No problem. Even a little cardio is better than none. Why? Because getting your heart rate up produces more endorphins, and endorphins produce a euphoric feeling.

Ideas? Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Dance around the kitchen while cooking a meal. Walk the dog. Ride a bike. Kick a soccer ball. Jump on the trampoline. Getting your heart rate up regularly is a very healthy thing to do.

I have a client whose family got a dog. My client was worried because she knew it would do more work for her, which it did. Of course it needed to be walked, but taking it for walks changed her life. Not only did getting out of the house and getting her heartbeat up make her feel good, she also made more friends when she was out with the dog, and we know what more friends can do for your health!

So there you go: 5 Little Ways for Moms to Feel Happier. Give them a try for week. See what a difference it makes. Let me know when it does!

Have I missed anything? Do you have something you do that makes you feel healthier daily?

Are you having trouble implementing healthy habits into your life? Do you feel guilty when you try to set aside time to make yourself feel healthier? Let’s talk.