Self-Care + At-Home Teeth Whitening = Mom Win

My life at home with 2 kids can get pretty crazy busy. Which makes it difficult to find time for myself. I have admitted before that I kinda lost myself to motherhood after having my babies. And it's even harder now that I'm a stay-at-home mom. So I have been trying to get back into the habit of practicing self-care more regularly -- like waking up a little earlier to get a good workout in or occasionally putting on a pretty dress and doing my hair + makeup just so I can feel a bit like I haven't completely lost who I was pre-baby.

One thing that I have recently decided to try is teeth whitening. I have never had my teeth whitened before but it's something I've always wanted to have done because my teeth has definitely stained over the years and has made me a little insecure especially when it comes to taking pictures -- I blame my love for coffee and almost 2 decades of drinking it daily. But who has the time to sit in the dental office for hours to get this process done? Definitely NOT me.

So, as you can imagine I was super excited when Smile Brilliant reached out to me and asked if I was interested in trying out their teeth whitening kit! Their whitening process takes about 45 minutes a day and can be left in for up to 3 hours. It still sounds like a HUGE chunk of my day but the fact that I could do it AT home while doing all the mom things was a major WIN for me. They recommended that I do this every night before bedtime as part of my routine -- which I did implement. But I loved that I could do it at any time of the day, even when I'm playing with my babies or doing chores.

If you were wondering, this is what comes in the kit: the molding paste to make your teeth impressions, tubes of whitening gel and desensitizing gel, and detailed instructions on how to make your teeth impressions, as well as instructions on the whitening process. On average, you will see results after 7-14 daily applications. It took me a little longer than usual to complete my whitening process because I experienced some teeth sensitivity within the first couple of days, so instead of applying the the whitening gel for 14 consecutive days, I did it every other day. And the in-between days, I would only apply the desensitizing gel to help with the sensitivity issue.

My overall experience with Smile Brilliant has been amazing. Their kit is very easy to use and if I had any questions or concerns, they were there to help me every step of the way. I am also very pleased with the results. At first, I didn't think it was really working but my husband was the first to really notice the difference. My teeth have definitely whitened some and the staining is not as noticeable which makes me feel much more confident to smile BIG and fearlessly for the cameras and...just because. Check out the results!

Oh and guess what?! Smile Brilliant has decided to give away ONE teeth whitening kit to one of YOU! How awesome is that?! All you have to do is click here to fill out the entry form. But if you're kinda impatient (like I am) and want your whitening kit NOW, you can always use my code "thatplainjanelife15" for 15% off your entire purchase!

Also be sure to follow both Smile Brilliant (@smilebrilliant) and me (@thatplainjanelife) on Instagram and tag/share with your friends who would also love a chance to win!

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Do you or have you ever whitened your teeth? Have you tried Smile Brilliant? If not, would you be willing to give it a try? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!!!

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Disclosure: This is sponsored by Smile Brilliant. I have been compensated to create this post, however all opinions are my own. I only recommend products I’ve personally used and love! This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. 

Tags: #smilefearlessly #teethwhiteningkit #teethwhitening #smilebrilliant #selfcare #momlife #athometeethwhiteningkit #affordableteethwhiteningkit

New Year, Same Me, Different Attitude

It's 2019 and I'm feelin' like it's taking me FOREVER to get my ish together! I don't know if it's because the last part of 2018 was just crazy busy or if I was just being super lazy but I really did not want the year to end. We spent some time with family and did a little bit of traveling (not far, just up to my mother-in-law's house near Lake Tahoe) and I was busy trying to live in the moment that I didn't really take the time to reflect and make goals for the new year. Once we were back in town, I decided to just sit back and relax and really take this time to think about all that happened in 2018.

Here's a recap of my 2018...

I rang in the new year as a newly mama of 2. Everly and I were fresh out of the newborn haze and was starting to establish some sort of normalcy. I was mentally preparing myself to go back to work at the beginning of March which meant I needed to get my babies on some sort of schedule to make it easier for the baby-sitter. But all that came to a screeching halt when I got a call from my District Boss informing me that my position was being eliminated, effective at the start of the new fiscal year in February. So instead of returning to work, I became a SAHM. Then at the end of Summer, Daniel and I made the decision to move once our lease was up at the end November, so that meant looking for a new place to call home. After a lot of searching we weren't successful in finding the right place and since we did not want to renew our lease for another year, we moved out of our apartment and in with family while we continue searching for our new (preferably permanent) home. And then, of course, the holidays hit and lots of celebrating and adventures happened... and now here we are.

New Year's Resolutions aren't my thing. Regular goals, yes. But the tradition of making resolutions and starting them on the 1st of January just doesn't sit right with me. I always feel like resolutions are goals that aren't meant to be taken seriously since a lot of people who jump on that bandwagon fall off so quickly.

So what exactly do I want to accomplish in 2019? Good freakin' question (I mean, besides finding our permanent home... and win the lottery). When I first sat down to really think about this, my mind just drew a blank. Like I couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that I wanted to focus on this year. I almost just said "screw it... ima just wing it like I do everything else." But over time, and after having a lot of conversations with my people in real life as well as my friends on social media (yes they are REAL friends, too... I just haven't met them in person), I realized that the one thing I truly wanted to work on is ME. Self-care, self-love... ALL. OF. IT. I want to make sure I take the time to be mentally + physically healthy so I can be the best mom, wife, and friend for my people!

For the past 3 1/2 years since becoming a mother, I have given soooo much of myself - to my kids, to my husband, to my job - that I never really took the time to care for myself. This is not to say that I was unhappy for these past few years, because that is definitely not the case. I am extremely happy. But I realized that I put sooo much of my growth as Jane "the person" on hold while I let Jane "the mom + wife" thrive. Some will say you can't have one without the other but I don't believe that. So many changes comes with becoming a mother. And I've had to learn and adjust with that new norm. And I learned early on that I am no longer the Jane "before kids" and can never become that woman again because duh, I have kids now. If that makes any sense. But so much time and effort goes into taking care of our tiny humans that we go into survival mode and do the bare minimum of doing things for ourselves.

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of moms out there who have found their groove and that balance and I applaud them for doing a great job at it because I know it's hard to do! And this is what I'd like to really work on this year for me.

So what's my goal this year? To get back into the gym. Seriously. And not just for the physical benefits! Working out helps clear my mind and seriously does make me happy - mind, body + soul. Yes I am fully aware that it's going to take a lot of work for me to get back into the swing of things since I haven't been in so long. But the occasional spa pedicure or solo retail therapy or girls night out is just not enough for me to be the best mom/wife I can be.

Prior to babies, my thing was working out and being fit. I was a gym rat. I loved doing physical activities outdoors. I worked out at the gym up until I had Ella in June 2015. But once I had her, going to the gym was not an option because my husband and I had crazy schedules and we didn't have the luxury of having someone readily available to watch Ella so I could go to the gym. Daniel was a stay-at-home dad during the day while I worked and then I'd come home from work and take over mommy duties while he went to school at night for his Masters degree. My job was 42 miles away from home with a schedule of 6am-3pm Monday-Friday. Because of traffic in California, that meant I needed to be up at 4am, on the road by 5am. Then at the end of my day I'd have to hurry out the door at 3pm to sit in traffic for almost 2 hours to be home by 5pm so that Daniel could make it to class on time. And then get Ella and I both fed and ready for bed AND get my lunch together for the next day by 9pm so I could at least get a decent amount of sleep before the next day. Because I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her during the week, I made sure to spend as much time with her as possible on the weekends. Going to the gym was not in the cards for me at the time and I was fine with it. Once Everly came into the picture and I became a SAHM, I thought maybe I could finally get back into the gym. Yeah, wishful thinking. Daniel's job sometimes has him working nights and weekends (not all the time but it's still a lot) so again, gym time was put on hold. I tried the whole 'working out at home' thing and that would last for a few weeks at a time but I could never be consistent because Everly was a super demanding and clingy baby so it was easy for me to give up. So again, I put that on hold again. The one workout that was consistent for me was having regular mom walk dates with a good mom-friend of mine - which I plan to continue doing!

Now that Everly is becoming more independent and less clingy AND I'm not sleep-deprived or as tired as I was a year ago, I feel like this is the perfect time to get my groove back. And to finally work on ME. Because I deserve it.

And the world will be a better place because of it lol - one less grumpy woman in this world. Ok, that was meant to be a joke. But for real tho! I'm determined to make this happen. I'm determined to look and FEEL my best (I feel a self-love POST coming in the future) in 2019.

I feel like I've been rambling on for hours! Tell me what are your goals/resolutions for 2019? Share in the comments below!!!

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Tags: #newyearsresolutions #goals #2019ismyyear #selfcare #selflove #postpartum #happynewyear