“Get yourself a snack” and other sage advice for making it through the day from Instagram sensation Caitlin Murray (aka Big Time Adulting)

Motherhood requires the ultimate “two things can be true once” mindset. You’d starve in order to feed your children, but just thinking of making dinner again makes you want to hide in a closet. You’d move heaven and earth to make your precious angels happy but if they scream from the backseat one more time, you’re going to start fantasizing about Ursula’s powers of voice removal. You love them with a fire so intense it could launch rockets into space and just thinking of them being far away could bring you to heaving sobs, but if they don’t stop touching you and fall asleep in three minutes you’re going to lose your ever-loving mind.

It’s this universal experience–and her right-there-with-you commentary– that has made Caitlin Murray (aka Instagram’s @BigTimeAdulting) a social media sensation. From relatable (and profanity-peppered) pleas to her toddler to just eat, to rants directed at health and wellness experts who suggest we need more sleep (“We don’t have insomnia. We have KIDS,” she offers), her lens on motherhood is hilarious and refreshing. “Any time you have the ability to like laugh at yourself or laugh at the craziness–it really changes your mindset,” says Murray on a recent episode of the Motherly Podcast.

But more than just calling out the absurdity of all things mom-related, Murray, who has three kids, ages 5, 8 and 10, has become a real cheerleader to fellow mamas in the trenches. Her regular parting words of “Get yourself a snack” are a reminder to take care of ourselves in the midst of caring for everyone else. Her epic dance breaks that accompany mom-to-mom pep talks which may or may not make you laugh through tears have no doubt helped bring back thousands of burnt out, touched out, stressed out women from the brink of a full-on breakdown.

Personally, my kids are 12 and 18 and I can say for certain she’s exactly who I would have needed in the days of unrelenting care. (Also, can’t wait for her thoughts on raising tweens and teens because if I’m being honest, some days I’d LOVE to trade one of mine for a tantruming toddler. For a few minutes anyway.)

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In addition to having her on this week’s Motherly Podcast, we asked Murray a few questions to get her thoughts on how to make this gig just a little bit lighter, a little bit funnier, and maybe even a little easier.

Your dance parties are totally epic. What is one song that never fails to help get the frustrations/stress of parenting out?

Thank you! I switch up my song choices a lot and tend to go on kicks with certain songs for a couple of weeks. When I’m feeling stressed out I love an upbeat song that kinda makes me chuckle at the same time. Been digging “Burning Love” by the King, Elvis, a lot these days. Always gets me going and makes me happy. 

Where did your “get yourself a snack” tagline come from?

My dad. He will sometimes out of nowhere say, “how about a goddamn snack?” and I love it. I think it translates so well to mom life in particular, though. Moms are always taking care of everyone else and it’s kind of a metaphor for taking a breath and taking care of yourself a little bit, too. 

What words of wisdom would you offer a fellow mom in the trenches who’s feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated and totally unqualified for this absolutely insane job we’ve tasked ourselves with?

GET YOURSELF A SNACK! Just kidding…kind of. I would tell her that she is not alone. That every single one of us have moments of that feeling every single day in motherhood, but that I truly believe that the absolute best mom a kid could have, is you. 

What is one product you can’t live without in your daily routine?

Caffeine, preferably in the form of hot coffee, but I will take it any way I can get it – tea, matcha, intravenously, vape, you name it. 

Could you share a recent product discovery that has made a significant impact on your life?

Electrolytes. I drink a Cure Hydration packet literally every single day because I love to work out and I am always hustling around and I truly need that enhanced hydration. I think every mom should be drinking electrolytes.

Cure

Hydrating Electrolyte Mix

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$18.99

Gatorade? Never heard of him. Based on the World Health Organization’s ORS formula, Cure’s plant-based hydration packets help keep you hydrated post sweat sesh, travel, sickness, or when you’ve had one too many cocktails and woken up with your head sewn to the pillow. (Or just felt that way.) The variety pack allows you try eight of their most popular flavors in convenient single serve packets.

SHOP CURE

As a mom, what’s one product that has made your life significantly easier?

Leggings with pockets! I hate carrying a purse around, love to be hands-free, so I have a card holder on the back of my phone and, since 50% of the day I am usually in leggings, I love to have a pocket on there to keep my phone. Game changer. 

Some of Motherly's favorite picks

Love & Fit

Guardian Evolve Leggings

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$79

From the super soft fabric to their like-new appearance even after relentless washings, we’re big fans of the Guardian Evolve Leggings from Love & Fit. And not only do they have pockets, they also have rows of silicone grips in the waistband to keep them perfectly in place without rolling down.

SHOP LOVE & FIT

Quince

Ultra Soft High Rise Pocket Legging

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$44.90

Quince has totally nailed their activewear game–and at a fraction of the cost of similar styles we love. The Ultra Soft High Rise Pocket are buttery soft with just the right amount of compression and feature both a side pocket and a hidden pocket in the waistband.

SHOP QUINCE

 Is there a particular toy, book, or game that your children absolutely adore?

Magna-Tiles. All of my kids have really loved building with Magna-Tiles and I love them even more because they are super easy to clean up and store. 

MAGNA-TILES

Classic 32-Piece Magnetic Construction Set

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$49.50

The ever-popular Magna-Tiles are great for encouraging open-ended, creative play and developing math, science, spatial and fine motor skills. The magnetic sides will inspire beginning builders (they’re almost completely frustration-free) and help more experienced builders think “outside the box.”

SHOP AMAZON

MAGNA-TILES

Storage Bin & Interactive Play-Mat

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$24.99

With space for up to 300 MAGNA-TILES, this official storage bin makes it easy to corral their collection and keep it neatly stored between build sessions. Unzip the sizes and the entire thing can be used as a play mat to learn colors, shapes or simply a base to build on top of.

SHOP AMAZON

Want more from Caitlin? Check out this week’s episode of The Motherly Podcast!