Delicious Vegan Dish of the Day:
Friday night is once again pizza night at our house! We had pizza topped with Daiya mozzarella, bell peppers, olives and red onion. Yum!
Money Matters:
Today we went to music class and then Mom met up with a friend at the library. No money spent!
Mom Musings:
The fact that parenting is stressful is not a new concept for me. As much as I love and enjoy my children there are days when I have a tension headache and hunched shoulders after being up with them for just five minutes. I find more and more gray hairs on my head everyday, and I know where they are coming from! The thing about kids is that they are little people. They are not little robots. They are not little toys. They are little people, with little people whims and wants, and they are not easily controlled. I can’t plan for when they will have a bad day, a lousy nap or just have a middle of the night freakout. As someone who thrives on plans and routines, this can be difficult.
However, one thing I’ve really learned this year is that, even when I can’t reduced the stressors in my life entirely (work is still there, kids are still there, messy house is still there) I can control my reactions. I can decide whether to yell or take a deep breath when LP knocks over another glass of juice. I can decide whether an e-mail is worth a long, thoughtful reply, or a short confirmation of receipt. I can decide whether to go ahead with plans for a complex, dinner, or just make some pasta puttanesca after a long day. I can also decide whether to break-down or just chill out with a glass of wine.
I’ve realized that I make better decisions about how to handle these stressors if a few things are in order. I need to sleep – as close to eight hours as possible. I need to eat, and eat well. Picking at my son’s lunch leftovers while dealing with diapers and comforting the baby just doesn’t cut it. I need to work out, whether it is a three mile run, or just a few circuits. If I take care of me, I can figure out how to not sweat the small stuff.
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