Not all treats are made of chocolate

A couple years ago, we had a friend’s preschool-age son over for dinner. The other child asked, “Do you have any treats?” and Milo responded, “Having you here is a treat for us.” Poor kid just wanted dessert.

Though I love my mid-afternoon bite(s) of dark chocolate, I am thinking of non-food treats that are fun for me without all the delicious calories. Here are a few ideas that don’t require me to brush my teeth after. Please share some of yours too!

Go for a short bike ride. Big babies can ride along.
Keep a gratitude journal. No time for paper? Did you know there’s an app for that? I just started one on my iPhone.
Squish the play-doh. You could also do something more mature like painting or pottery, but I find the doh more readily available.
Give someone a cuddle.
Be a tourist for the day. Don’t have all day? Just look around and notice something new.
Breathe deeply. 5 in and 5 out. That’s almost meditation!
Call a friend. I love those daytime check-ins with my fellow moms on maternity leave.
Plan your next Moms’ Night Out.
Sip some herbal tea.Â You’ll totally forget you wanted that chocolate.
Buy something for YOU. This could be a dress from Anthropologie or a lipgloss from the drug store. I do like to browse the hairclip aisle at Target.

Credit where credit is due:

Today’s list was inspired by my friend, Marnie, who sent me a list of 50 self-nourishing ideas that she modified from a list from Boston Health Coach, Christi LehnerÂ
I also co-wrote a great book called The Rookie Mom’s Handbook: 250 things to do with (and without!) your baby; that book might give you more ideas.

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RookieMom Heather

RookieMoms co-founder & mom to 3 boys in Berkeley, CA. Bossy big sister and project manager turned blogger. Find me on my other site on 510families.com or hiding in my minivan eating dark chocolate.

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