Relaxing what is this word?

So recently I’ve been asked a lot about how do I unwind chasing around after 4 young children especially with all of MOs needs and BBGs appointments. My honest answer is ‘I don’t know’ so I pondered and asked some of my other mummy friends and came up with a couple of things.

So for a majority of parents the answer I was given was being alone with nature, so walking, cycling or even going outside finding a nice area and just reading a book came as the number 1 choice of what they would like to do to relax on an everyday basis.  These ideas are all wonderful, they are all so refreshing and actually being outside in the fresh air really does make you feel so much better especially on a nice spring day when the weather isn’t too hot or cold and you can hear the sound of birds chirping and if your lucky like myself you can hear the sounds of the waves lapping up on the beach. The idea of just spending even half an hour outside alone with nature, not worrying about when the next feed or nappy change is, not worrying about house work or even work. Just completely relaxing and switching off sounds like bliss. Thankfully with 3/4 children in some form of schooling Monday-Friday this is quite easy to achieve in my household as if your anything like me, when the kids have finally settled into their beds I am not one to go out, your more likely to find me in my pjs, laying on the sofa then going for a leisurely bike ride to my relaxation time is during the day. However fresh air is free, it is right there on your door step and if you don’t have someone who can look after the kids while you take a half hour recharge and you have a balcony or garden you can have them sleep inside and enjoy the fresh air with a baby monitor next to you. It’s a night or day relaxation time and as long as your motivated it’s more then achievable if you can work out logistics.

This is a picture from a couple of months back however it was a time where Dad and I took SB out just him and us and even though we had SB with us the walk along the sea front was the most relaxing thing we had done in awhile. We felt so refreshed and ready to fight the next situation after this walk.

Another favourite was yoga. Again working out, making your body exercise releases all the bodies good chemicals making it so worth while. Now I haven’t done yoga at a class for a few years, I have neither the time or money for a committed weekly class, however again depending on your circumstances this may not be the case for everyone. You may have school aged children and are able to go to a weekly morning class, or maybe you can go out during the night once a week while your partner takes care of the household and child duties and if this is the case going out and doing the class would be highly beneficial. For myself, I have my yoga DVD, I put the kids down for bed, turn the TV on and start my yoga, it completely relaxes and unwinds me especially after a long day and again can be done with the children at home. It can just completely bring you back to a place of peace before going to bed ready for the next day of craziness with the children running around you in the morning.

For me personally, all the above are brilliant for daily and weekly calm down activities. All of them completely chill me out, I can tailor them depending on my children and can do these things for free if I need to. However, I do like the odd occasion where it is completely different, completely taking me away from everyday life. For me I love a good spa day or afternoon tea.

I had the pleasure of speaking to the Roslin Beach Hotel about what they would recommend for a parent or carer who just wants a special time relaxing during the day.

First off lets just quickly talk about their afternoon tea who doesn’t like a good cake and tea? Dad and I actually went to their afternoon tea to relax a month ago as a treat and it was delicious! We got a good selection of finger sandwiches which Dad was extremely happy about, he hasn’t really got a sweet tooth so this tier was more his cup of tea then mine. However the home made fruit scones, with the miniature Tiptree jams and Devonshire clotted cream were amazing in fact I would quite happily eat these all day long! They were even served slightly warm, they were just mouth watering and then to finish off a wonderful afternoon came the home made cakes and treats, there was so much Dad and I couldn’t finish it all and I was extremely disappointed about this fact as everything about the tea was amazing, all this was served with tea and coffee, and if you like a little bit of fizz you can even upgrade to their sparkling afternoon tea to really unwind! To top it off we were sat right by the windows and so just looked at the sea view just gazing as the tide was going out. It didn’t feel like we were there for only a couple of hours it felt like we had spent a lifetime away from everyday life and chores it was the perfect way for us to relax.

Dad enjoying the fact he was about to get some beautiful food surrounded by a beautiful view.

The Roslin Beach Hotel also has a spa where you can really sit back and relax if you want to make a day of it.

Now in our discussion they actually highly recommend the Elemis Garden of England Rose Restore which is a 50 minute treatment which sounds amazing, ‘Take a walk in an English rose garden with this lavishly hydrating massage and micro wrap. The unique trio of Rose, Camelina and poppy seed oils leaves skin exquisitely moisturised, intensely supple and delicately scented.’ now to me that just sounds like 50 minutes of heaven.

They also have a variety of different treatments at their Retreat and I had a look at their treatment list and I have to admit sign me up for all of it, however the treatment that really took my fancy was the Lava Shell full massage, ”This indulgent Lava Shells Relax Body Massage offers an idyllic treatment combining the warmth of the shells with deeply relaxing massage techniques, creating a sense of balance to the entire body and mind. The shells are worked over the palms, arms, feet and legs in slow deep moves to warm and de-stress, followed by a wonderfully tranquil massage on the back, neck and shoulder area to ease away all tension, knots and stress.’ Again doesn’t that just relax you just reading about what is going to happen.

Image credit to Roslin Beach Hotel website.

What’s even better is that if your pregnant they have special pregnant spa treatments so you won’t miss out on the special occasion relaxing activities and even the men have special treatments designed just for them, they really do have something for everyone. If you want to combine a spa treatment with an afternoon tea just take a look on their offer page as they do have an offer at the moment combining some of their spa experiences with an afternoon tea, all by the seaside.

So now I have a few activities that I can try out to become more relaxed, ranging from daily free activities to a whole day of pampering and relaxation. This list is obviously just a small minority of things you can do but to me it was brilliant to open my mind to the relaxation possibilities out there. After all, we all need to relax to become the best possible parents, even if it is just a nice bubble bath with no kids toys joining you!

Bubbles and no kids toys! Dad really knows how to treat me 🙂