We love following Bethany’s blog and following her and her family on Instagram, so we reached out
to her and asked for a little glimpse into her day-to-day life as a mama in Vancouver.
Here’s what she shared with Motherly:
My
mothering mantra can be summed up as:
Something along the lines of ‘do what works for you.’ I don’t like when people push their ways on new moms, compare themselves, or judge each other’s parenting styles. Family life should be loving, peaceful, and
enjoyable. Whatever things you might need to compromise on to achieve that,
that’s alright by me.
On a normal day, our
home life looks like:
7am
Sleeping!
9am
Poppy’s eating
yogurt & blueberries, I’m drinking tea and getting our house going for the
day.
12pm
Poppy goes down for a nap around noon while I clean, blog,
read, take a bath.
3pm
Usually running errands, at a friend’s house,
playing at the toy store, walking along the beach, or baking something from
Pinterest while Poppy mimics me stirring pieces of Play-Doh in her saucepan on
the floor, and of course emptying everything out of the baking cupboard.
6pm
Poppy is watching her
episode of Peppa Pig while I make her dinner. She eats her dinner before going
to bed at 7, and David and I usually wait until after she’s asleep to enjoy our
dinner just the two of us.
9pm
David and I are most likely drinking wine, eating popcorn, and playing
our favourite German board game; Malefiz.
If there’s one
thing I make sure I do every day, it’s:
Remember to feed Poppy. Just
kidding. We try to get outside everyday. The weather here isn’t always the best
but even just a quick walk around the neighbourhood or watching the sunset for
a few minutes at the beach. It always feels good to get out of the house, even if
we spend more time getting ourselves ready to leave than we actually do
outside, it’s worth it.
My go-to outfit that
makes me feel amazing:
My favourite thing to wear is high-waisted black
skinny jeans and a tank top – I used to wear this all year long. But I have
finally (reluctantly) accepted the fact that I live in Canada and started to grow
a sweater collection.
My trick to
keeping the house somewhat clean while raising kids is:
During nap time & bedtime, I usually force
myself to spend the first 15 or 30 minutes (depending how messy it is) tidying.
I enjoy my relaxing time much more when it’s tidy around me. Every morning I
vacuum while Poppy is in her highchair eating breakfast, it has just become
routine now. As soon as I put her in there she says “Vacuum!” and
points to the closet.
On the hard days
I remember:
That there’s wine on bar. AND that everything is
temporary. Whenever I have felt afraid that my sweet girl has officially become
a monster, the next day a tooth breaks through, or her sore throat goes away,
or she takes the 3 hour nap she’s been needing. Nothing has lasted, every phase
goes so quick.
When I look back on
this time in my life, I hope to say:
I recently watched an awesome video
called “Relax, Breathe,
& #LetGo” where
older women talk about the moments they wished they embraced in their past.
Putting emphasis on “Being” over “Doing,”
I hope I look
back and remember the times we were late because Poppy and I sat on the shower
floor playing together too long, or let the house get destroyed while making
forts. I hope I look back and say, “We had a lot of fun.” I hope that
stands out over memories of being tired or busy.
For more from Bethany Menzel, visit her blog here. Cover image: Gillian Stevens
