Self-care and motherhood...

Sunscreen.  I always forget the freaking sunscreen.  Not for the kids - they are slathered in it.  I always forget to put it on me.  And even when I do remember, I still get burnt because I can't reach, you know, the hard to reach spots.  It's really easy to forget yourself as a mama.  I know, I know, everyone will give lip service to the 'the kids won't be happy unless their parents are happy/you have to take care of yourself first' business.  And I totally agree with that business.  It's just good business sense for the survival of mamas.  BUT - it's not always so practical.  I do what I can.  I'm trying to get out more.  I'm trying to read more books, take more runs, look for jobs and daycares, and somehow make more time for me.  However, my day-to-day existence often makes remembering about the minutiae of self-care kinda difficult.  I'm the mama who's at the park, with sunscreened, bugsprayed kids, complete with sunhat, snacks and water, having had the forethought to anticipate everything my kidlets might need or want.  I'm also the mama who's at the park, skin getting sun-damaged  and likely courting skin cancer, and surreptiously sneaking goldfish from the tots' snack tupperware and sips of water from their sippy cups.  This is due to the fact that my toast from breakfast is still sitting in the toaster because somewhere between wiping the kids out from under their oatmeal haze and breaking up fights #1, 2, and 3 of the morning, I totally forgot to eat.  I'm the mama at the park, marvelling at how easy it is to forget one's own existance.