A Few of Our Favorite Things: Busy Mama Edition

At There Will be love, we are always on the lookout for things that make our lives feel more luxurious and easy. Moms are some of the hardest working people we know and not only do we deserve good quality items, we need things that help to make our lives a little less chaotic. Here are a few of our favorite things for busy moms!

1. A good eye cream

We're all tired and none of us are getting any younger, am I right? I know that since I have become a mom I have felt like the aging process has been accelerated and it is not slowing down anytime soon. Due to that realization and a recent big birthday, I decided I need to start taking better care of the skin around my eyes to keep those growing crow's feet at bay. I did not want to spend a small fortune on a product that wouldn't work so after I did some research and consulted my local Ulta, I landed on this gem. Not only did I see results in a few days, it keeps the skin around my eyes super soft! And the best part is, it didn't break the bank! 

2. Dry Shampoo

Alright Mamas, let's not kid ourselves. Whether you're in the workforce or staying at home, nobody's got time to wash, dry, and style their hair more than a couple times a week...if we're lucky! That being said, dry shampoo has been my savor recently. While I have tried many different types, I didn't truly understand the hype until I found this product from Not Your Mother's. Not only does it revitalize my hair, it smells great and makes me feel at least somewhat put together when I leave the house. I may still have my son's boogers on my shirt but, hey! At least my hair looks clean!

3. Someone to come clean your house

Ugh, the last thing I want to do after a long work week is clean my house. I don't even know how our house gets so dirty in a week's time, I feel like we're barely in it! For about a year now, my family has had a house cleaner on and off. They would come while we're at work and let me tell you, there is NOTHING like leaving your house in shambles in the morning and coming back in the evening to it being sparkling clean. Is it a luxury expense? Sure, but man oh man is it worth it. The peace of mind it gave me, the amount of anxiety it relieved, it's just wonderful. And most importantly, when we do have someone come clean for us, it gives us more time to spend intentional family time together and makes the weekends much more pleasant and relaxed. 

4. Family Organizer App

Whether you have a family of two or ten, it is a full time job in and of itself to keep everyone's schedules straight. Who is going to be home for dinner and when? Who has practice and at what time? Who can do daycare pick up? It's exhausting to think about and even more exhausting to keep track of if you don't have a great system. Over the summer, I downloaded the Cozi app and I can't recommend it enough. You can set it up for your entire family so you all have access to the same account at the same time and everyone in your family has the ability to add things to the schedule. While Google calendars are great, I found them overwhelming and Cozi just seemed much more user friendly to me. Not only do we now have color-coded daily schedules emailed to us straight from the app, we can all look at it on the app itself. Another aspect of this app that I love is that there is also a place to keep an ongoing grocery list. Family members can edit the list so planning to shop and shopping itself is much less of a guessing game. It has been a great addition to our family's organization and definitely keeps us all in the know a little better. 

5. Amazon Prime

Because...DUH.

6. Dishwasher sign

This may seem dumb, but really, how many times have we put a dirty dish in a clean dishwasher because we haven't had the opportunity to empty the dishwasher right away and the clean light isn't lit anymore because we're out of dishes and have been taking them from the dishwasher but now it's been so long we can't remember if it's actually clean or dirty? In my house, clean dishes may sit in the dishwasher for even a day or two before we have time to empty it completely. Because of this, this little sign has helped us so much. Just a little flip of the sign and everyone knows! Who ever invented this needs to win an award, stat. 

7. Swedish Dishcloths

I'm not even sure how I heard about these but I decided to try them out and they are wonderful. They are like a regular dishcloth except they dry super fast, don't ever start to smell, and you can put them in the top rack of the dishwasher to wash them so they last a long time! Who has time to always be looking for a clean sponge? Not this mama!

8. Line a Day Book

I always thought that I would be the mom who scrapbooked and had photo albums for days that contained all of our beautiful family memories. Turns out I'm not that mom, I don't have the time to be! One of my best friends turned me on to this line a day book that allows you to write a quick blurb about your day, every day, for five years. It's so fun to be able to look back and see where my family was on any given day but my favorite thing about this is that it's so simple. I am still keeping track of all my family's memories but in an easy way that's not to overwhelming and is quick and easy to accomplish!

9. Wet Hair Wrap

Rarely do I ever do my hair. Nine out of ten days if you see me somewhere, my hair will be in a  knotted mess on the top of my head because I haven't washed it in days. When I do decide to wash and style it however, this wet hair turban is a game changer. As soon as I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair up in this bad boy and get going on doing my makeup and getting dressed. Once I'm done, I unwrap my hair to the perfect dampness for either air-dried curls or a blowout that takes half the time as if I didn't use this turban! It soaks up all the excess water from your hair to make styling so much easier and so much more time efficient. Which really, who doesn't love that!

10. Something to make you smile at the end of a long day

After a long day at work and coming home to be "Mom," I need something to help me relax and feel at peace. Every mom should have something like this. It doesn't have to be anything big but just something that will help you unwind at the end of the day. For me, I love to light candles after I put my son to bed and just relax with a good book. My current candle obsession is the Cinnamon Chai Latte Candle from The Collection by Chesapeake Bay at Target. Oh my goodness does this candle smell delicious and it's in a beautiful mercury container that fits in my household decor perfectly. I mean, this candle is my dream, like more so than Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl-ing" me. I loved it so much, I may or may not have bought all the ones at my local Target...and then got three more online...sorry I'm not sorry. 

Have a great week readers, we hope that you find peace, happiness, and a great bottle of wine in your week ahead :)