I need better ways to cope with stress than eating!!

I would love to hear your input. A bit about me: I am a married mother of 4 - ages 11yrs to 4mo. I have 2 little daycare kids full time and home school our children. I do all of the financial planning, meal planning, social calendar, etc. My husband is VERY helpful with house work. A lot of the time my stress comes from being overly tired and just having to motor on (just like everyone!). I think sometimes I eat to "feel good" when my body is hurting or in place of stopping and resting.

I know that exercise is a chief stress reducer (I've lost these pounds once before ). With a baby that is getting up all hours of the night still, I haven't committed to an a.m. or "after hubby gets home" exercise schedule yet. I have been doing 10 minutes of stretching and floor exercises in the morning and doing a 20 minute kids exercise video with the toddlers. Better than nothing! Though I remember the days of being able to walk on the treadmill all alone and sweat out the stress of the day...ahhhh...

So...what are you all doing to cope? I know I'm not the only overly busy, super stressed out person!!

Tea? Preferably expensive and hot. (expense is relative - a cheap tea bag is about 2cents, expensive is about 10, but the fact that it's expensive makes it a treat)

And don't knock the kids exercise video. If you really pushed yourself, I bet your could get your heartrate really high! Kids are amazingly active.

I don't know how you do it. Really, I work full time because all that house work and raising kids is just too much for me to handle. tea sounds like a great idea, for unwinding. You train your body to recognize the act of sitting down with a cup of tea as relaxation. Also, get an ipod and headphones and when it all seems like too much, zone out on a great song for a few minutes. Three to five minutes, and your a little decompressed. Add that cup of tea to the great song and you may have to take on more responsibility to counteract your relaxed state of mind.
And try some stretching. In our office we take stretch breaks, it released tension and gets the blood flowing when its needed.
I hope you get some good uninterruped sleep. My mom reccommends a few drops of scotch on the gums for a good sleepy baby...however, I don't...lol!

I'm not a 30-somethings but I do know stress (I'm a busy student who also has a demanding job) - so forgive me

How about a nice hot bubble bath? You time. I also like that tea idea. Usually, I'll make a very BUBBLY bath and pair it with a cup of tea. Just a time to relax and think about nothing. It won't take much time at all if you're busy - roughly 30 mins from the time the water starts running to when it's draining. So it is quite doable!

I also like to take some time and style my hair and do make up. Just helps with making you feel pretty.

hehehe, that brought back a memory sweetscrumptious! I remember being at our babysitters house when I was probably 4 years old or younger and we all sat in the bathroom with our babysitter "Dottie" while she put on her fake eyelashes and did her hair and makeup every morning. To this day, fake eyelashes remind me of Dottie.

I think it is going to sound really bad... but it's not, I promise.

Drink. One small glass of red wine with a book in bed for 15 minutes to 30 minutes before you fall asleep. It all just melts away. The wine relaxes you, the book transports you. Plus studies have shown that the stuff in red wine is good for you And one small glass isn't going to break the calorie bank.

Ah, I remember those days of crying babies and no sleep! Plus, you have everything else to do, too. I know it's very stressful. Do you know any other moms you can invite for coffee? Sometimes just having another adult around to talk to occasionally can really help. Or, you could plan an evening out, just you and your husband. Those are things that help keep me sane.
I second the tea and bubble bath ideas, if you like those sort of things. I love tea, but I'm not much of a bubble-bath kinda gal. I do like to have time to sit and read, but as I recall, I didn't do much of that when my boys were really little. If I was at home, I felt I should be working or sleeping.
Hope this helps a little bit!

You guys are great! I must have had some of the same ideas because I have implemented the following:

Tea - check! I bought some chai tea and try to have some mid-day while the lil' kids are napping and I'm helping with school. Might have to go downtown and see what that coffee shop has for "expensive" tea.

Bath - check! I even decided that maybe the evening bath was better than the morning shower. My hair is really curly so it's wild and crazy anyhow!

Drink - check! I actually hadn't had a drink in 5 years before about a month ago. Just a personal choice. Now, I do look forward to a glass of wine after the kids are all off to bed.

Book - check! Even if I get 5min of reading in before I get to sleep, it's worth it. Just finished the whole Chronicles of Narnia series - awesome!!

Thanks so much for the suggestions, they are really helping! I also decided that I needed to de-stress-ify my eating program. I put away my Weight Watchers stuff and am just concentrating on getting more water, more veggies and what movement I can. I keep reminding myself that we just had our 4th child - I'm tired - it's not an excuse, but it can make this thing harder than it needs to be!

Also - if you're not a 30-Something PLEASE chime in anyway!! I am on this earth to learn and learn from all people.