Day What???

Day who knows is what this is all about. I frequently find myself thinking that Monday MUST be Wednesday, and that if Thursday isn't Friday then I will never make it through the week!!! So as far as the 30 day challenge went. I struggled - and continue to struggle - but this is reality, and I did the best I could. Having a baby is wonderful and the most tiring thing you will ever do if you decide to do so. I just kind of assumed this little munchkin would be sleeping through the night by now....HAHAHA. Silly Erin, apparently this little one is just not a sleeper. He doesn't get up and cry, he gets up and jumps up and down in his crib like a maniac. And while amusing for the first oh, say, 10 months, Mommy hit a wall entering month 11. And with that wall came exhaustion, irritability, horrendous stress management, and a great deal of self doubt. So, I think my blogging is going to be sporadic until this babe falls asleep for longer than 3 hours at a time. I will continue to post, just don't judge me if my spelling and grammar is less than perfect. I am operating on very little sleep!!!!

And what is the best thing you can do if you are stressed?? SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Someday - this is only temporary - Right?

Day 19 & 20 -Love What You Have and Who You Are With

Instead of always wishing for something else or someone else, why not try appreciating what you have? It is ok to dream and great to have something to work toward, but sometimes we work so hard at getting the next big job or the addition on the house, that we miss the beauty in what we have in front of us and what really is important. Open your eyes to what you have. Want a bigger house? Well, that means more cleaning, so enjoy the little one you have. Wish you had a cool boyfriend? Going to the movies solo is actually pretty fun - you choose the movie, the seat, AND you don't need to share the popcorn. We forget to enjoy what we have. Go enjoy it.

Day 17 & 18 -Listen to Your Body! (and Stay in Bed!)

No, I didn't stay in bed all weekend, but I really should have - and although I would normally feel guilty about missing yet another blogging day, I don't! My poor husband is fighting a crazy fever, and I came down with an infection I had once before that is also known as "the body's way of telling mom she is doing too much." It is quite unpleasant, but reminded me for the second painful time, that I must slow down, take my own advice, relax, and stop trying to do it all. Ugh. I hate being sick - especially when I know I could have avoided it if I just treated myself better, listened to my body when it said, "please go to bed and stop looking at facebook." Well, I think I learned my lesson. I hate antibiotics and I don't like being in pain, so I will listen (at least for a little bit!)

So, do as I say, not as I do. Listen to your body, take a rest if you need to. Don't push it when you feel yourself starting to get run down. Recharge by taking care of your needs, sleeping, eating healthy food, hanging at home, and surrounding yourself by positive peeps.

Day 16 - Don't Judge

Tough to do!! It is so easy to judge others in all areas of life - her children misbehave, she doesn't walk her dogs enough, can you imagine wearing that???? So easy to do, but it really only adds to our stress levels. First of all, judging others doesn't help anyone better themselves and it tends to mean. Second of all, if we are harsh in judgment of ourselves, we will just stress ourselves out and make ourselves feel bad. Try to go a day without judging anyone including yourself. It will be harder than you think!

Day 15-Treat Yourself

Treat yourself? Indulge? I just told you to minimize! But seriously, indulge yourself for 5 minutes each day - just do so healthfully. How about a foot massage? 5 minutes of quite time? Think about things that you don't usually do for yourself but would encourage others to do- sit down while you eat, paint your toenails, spend an extra 5 minutes prepping for the day, read the paper--take time for you!

We are half way through, remember the focus is you!

Day 14-Reassess

It is Wednesday already!!! Are you doing everything you hoped to do? This seems kind of silly this week, since I totally slacked last weekend, but are you eating a fruit and veggie every day? Why not eat 2? Are you moving your body for 15 minutes every day? Try twenty! Are you keeping up with prioritizing, writing stuff down, and organization? Spend 10 minutes and see how you are doing!

And how is sleep???? Still the number one factor to work on if you want an improved mood (in my opinion!!) Aim for 10 more minutes of shut eye a night.

Now go chill out!

Day 13- Minimize

There are many things one could often stand to minimize - the size of your coffee, the size of your behind, the amount of "stuff" you can't throw away, and many more fun things that have reached maximum capacity. Your goal for today is to pick one section of the house, your car, your schedule, your closet, your butt, anything and make a plan to minimize it. If it is clutter go through it, put things in their place, and throw out or freecycle anything you don't need. If it is a body part, make a plan on exercises to attack it. If it is your schedule - look back at how to prioritize and pare down your commitments. Minimizing one thing each week can be very helpful and keep you from overburdening or overstressing!