I’m not good at self care, and as an avid mom group attender, I know I’m not alone. Popular mom self care goals I’ve heard include getting a pedicure after six months, grocery shopping alone, going to the dentist, or exercising. My latest favorite was cooking for her parents. God bless us selfless beings, none of these involve pleasure. In our culture, once you are a mom, pleasure becomes optional, and then we wonder why we want to drown ourselves in wine and chocolate after bedtime.

I was in the midst of dreaming up a healthy coconut oil, coconut sugar cookie that my kid would eat in my spare time (self care fail), when I received a beautiful box with my name on it that had nothing to do with Amazon Prime.

Skinny Coconut Oil contacted me and asked if I would like to try their oil and I was like, heck yes! I use coconut oil for my Mama Bars. Little did I know that I would receive these lovely jars of oil that were not for cooking, and in one day, I used them all.

And you know what? Pleasure happened. I was Mandy, oil pulling to whiten her teeth because yes she’s gonna be forty, but she can still be pretty! And I was moisturizing my heels and hands with coconut oil fortified with lavender and chamomile. I suddenly had time to apply oils to my body and to scrub my face with a concoction that I wanted to eat. Then I looked in the mirror and smiled, and that hasn’t happened in a long time.

So if you’re knee deep in momming, I encourage you to gift yourself with something that is just for you (you can share it with your family a little later). It makes everything better.