We take care of the kids -- shuffling them to school, to practice and taking them out to fun places whenever there's a quiet moment. We take care of our spouses and homes and jobs and extended families. But most moms have one major flaw -- we don't slow down to take care of ourselves.

As busy as you might be, it's important to take care of your own health. CafeMom has five better health tips for busy moms.

Calling all moms: Do you make your health a priority?

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My grandmother used to say that the more important word in "hard lesson" is the second one. Life sends tough -- sometimes seemingly insurmountable -- obstacles our way. It's our responsibility to pull whatever good can come out of those difficulties.

Sheryl Crow faced one of the biggest obstacles anyone can encounter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two and a half years ago she underwent a lumpectomy and radiation to treat her illness. Today, she remains cancer free.

Crow walked away from her battle with cancer with an important life lesson in hand. She says that breast cancer helped her put herself first in her life. That's an example we all can learn from. Many of us put our health on the back burner in favor of more pressing commitments. But what could be more important than your well-being?

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I think sometimes, or most of the time maybe, we all get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Choices and decisions get rushed and the lines between what we need, what we want, and what we're actually doing start to blur. The truth is that although it's great to have all kinds of different goals in life you have to be careful you're not trying to do too much at once. When is the last time you really thought about your priorities? Not everything can be at the top of the list. Where is your health on that list? Are you really giving your top priorities the most effort and focus? It seems many people say 'health and losing weight' is a top priority, but then they bog themselves down with so many other things they hardly have time to work on it. Whether you like it or not that means it's at the bottom of the list, not the top.

So take a few minutes to think about what's important to you and to make some decisions. Make the choice to choose, and you may be surprised at how much focus, determination, and newfound success you find you suddenly have.

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Normal logic says that the more you work the more you'll sleep, given there's enough time in the day. It's a law of physics or something, right? New studies say no, that's not how it works at all. The more people work the less they sleep, on average. That seems totally backwards!

Recent research took a look at how much people sleep as compared to their lifestyles, and found that the #1 culprit for eating into sleep time was work. Those who got less than 4 1/2 hours of sleep a night (every night? How can they function?) generally worked about 93 minutes longer on weekdays and 118 extra minutes on the weekend. On the flip side the people who slept more than 11 hours (whoa) on average worked 143 minutes less on weekdays and 71 minutes less on weekends. TV time was also higher for the long sleepers, as compared to socializing and housework which were higher for the sleep-deprived group. And age seemed to have something to do with it too, as the age group 45-54 was the most likely to be working the most and sleeping the least.

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For you women out there, what are your core health fears and goals? Prevention magazine recently initiated a poll of over 2,000 women aged 20 years and older, and asked them just that -- among lots of other things.

They gathered information about all kinds of women's issues, which you can read about here, but the #1 goal for women of all ages is to lose weight, while the #1 top priority for all ages is happiness. I'm glad it's something positive, and not something like "battling obesity." Because after all, pretty much everything you want in life comes a little easier if you're generally in a good place.

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The word "excuse" is used so frequently when it comes to exercise, fitness, and weight loss that it's amazing anybody ever actually accomplishes any health benefits at all! Working out really has become an exhausting (and not in the good way that exercise is supposed to be exhausting) "chore" that many people hate to do. As a result it all too often gets bumped to the back burner, and even squeezed out of the daily routine altogether.

What's the most common excuse for not exercising? Well, according to a survey, 40% of us say we don't workout because we don't have enough time. I'm definitely guilty of that one -- and at the time my reason always seems completely legitimate! A suggestion for fitting fitness in to a busy schedule is to use your time wisely and prioritize your physical health as important. Whether you can find one 30 minute segment in your day, or three 10 minutes ones, most people can squeeze a workout in if they really make the effort.

The second most common excuse, at 20%, is that people think they get enough exercise at work or home during the normal course of the day. Well, unless you're spending at least 20 minutes a day in your target heart rate, you aren't really doing enough to reap any real benefits. So evaluate your activity level closely and be honest with yourself.

And to round out the top three excuses, 15% of people say they can't exercise because of health problems or illness. This one, of course, should be determined by your doctor. But make sure you ask what kinds of activities specifically you should and shouldn't be doing, so you can make the most of your situation.

Visit the site to see the complete list of the top 7 most common excuses for avoiding exercise, including being bored and too tired, and pointers on how to combat them!

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