Sleep Is Awesome

What a difference a good night's sleep will make.... Brigette woke up twice again last night, the same as the night before, but I wasn't nearly as stressed out. My quality of sleep was monumentally better (whether or not that had anything to do with Brigette being back in our room, I don't know).... Either way, because I slept so much better, my day today has been exponentially better!

Yesterday, I had said I was having a schlumpy day, but I didn't fully say how I felt. It was a scary reality for me, but I really felt like yesterday was a horrible postpartum depression-ish kind of day. Now, I don't think I actually have it, but I for sure have some serious mood swings. Lately I've been having an awful, horrible, no good, very bad day, about once a week. I'm tired beyond belief, I'm cranky, everything Carrie does drives me nuts, Brigette is needy, I feel fat and unmotivated, and I get absolutely nothing accomplished around the house..... It sucks.

Another thing that sucks though is I don't think people really know I have these kind of days. And honestly, I think we all have them occasionally, and nobody else ever knows. How horrible is that?... I know on my bad days, I'm mostly cooped up in the house all day slumming it on the couch, or if I do see people or go out, I fake a good day. I cover it up. And then I whine at night to poor Justin (because everything is horribly worse late at night)....

I need to find a balance soon though. All my day by day mood swings are no good for me or my family. I hate to say it but I know a big part of it is my physical activity and my planning. When I sleep in, laze around, and am not productive, I feel like sludge. When I get up and going, get dressed and ready, and keep up with the house, I feel awesome :)

For example, this morning, I got up with an alarm, got myself ready, got Carrie and Brigette ready, and headed out to take Carrie and her little friend Grace to preschool. Straight from preschool I headed to go grocery shopping; With a list that coordinated with my preplanned two week menu and the local sale prices to ad match. I got home and unloaded the groceries just in time to go pick the girls up from preschool. We've eaten lunch and I've tidied up a bit around the house and I feel so amazing. I feel super accomplished.

I've also recently been trying to start eating smarter and working out a little. My self-confidence in my physical appearance certainly plays into my mood... It's just the way it is. I know I could certainly be worse-off, but I also know I'm not eating as healthy as I could and I'm not in as good of shape as I could be.

Last week I also created a weekly schedule for our family. I do really well with lists, structure, and basically knowing what to expect. I found a website that had an example of weekly chores to be done to keep up around the house, broken down day by day. I used it as a guide to create my own chore system that works around our various events (preschool, teaching piano, scouts, etc.) So far I haven't been all that great at it, but I'm hoping it'll catch on and I'll feel more on top of my duties around the house.

And as I've learned, a clean home makes for a happy mommy, and a happy mommy makes for a happy home. Our home is so much more peaceful and open to the blessings of the Spirit when there is order. Hallelujah that both Justin and I came from homes where we were taught how to clean.

Speaking of a clean home, I better get going on catching up from my yuck day yesterday!