Tag: tired

Categories
4 years and beyond

Motivation Needed

Coffee that I prepared earlier.YUM!
Coffee that I prepared earlier.YUM!

Do you struggle with motivation. Sometimes I do. Especially when not 100%. I have been getting better but still feel very tired and in need of more rest. As I sit here and write this I am thinking of bed, but also all the things that need to be done today. Tidying, laundry, and of course food shopping is a definite must. What about you, do you have days or times where you just feel flat and would rather be resting? Maybe it is my bodies way of saying yes you need more sleep.

I’m off to get my much needed coffee and to charge up the energy that is left and can be added to in the body currently. A shower always helps me to feel a little better.

Categories
4 years and beyond

Aches and Pains

Lately I have been in pain and not happy about it. I did go to the chiropractor but to no avail. Oh my I wish it would all go away. I am now hobbling around and very frustrated and annoyed.

I had plans to do things and all I want to do is rest and sleep. I am about to go and do some stretching as it might help, along with pain killers and later a hot bath with Epsom salts. Maybe this might help. However the aches and pains don’t help me tidy, clean or sort and of course do things that I want to do, like sewing or reading.

What do you think is the best way to fix a pain that starts around the rib and down the left arm mainly from a sore neck! It is now affecting my left leg and I do think it is just a nerve that is pinched or jammed. Would a good massage help? Would a nice bath help? I am at a loss to understand how to fix it all.

I have been told to do more core strengthening exercises and that has been my plan, however doing them while sore is not the best either.

Any advice would be greatly received. If you have a magic cure or at least tip that would help send it my way.

Thanks everyone! Off to do some much needed stretches and will catch up with the Block All Stars while I exercise.

Categories
4 years and beyond

Feel Like I am Failing

Do you ever catch yourself and think you are the worst mum/mom in the world. Yelling when you promised you would not, and doing things that you also never imagined you would do. Over the past holidays not getting a break from kids/family or even some alone time was not a good thing for me. Even just having a day here or there for mummy to do something for me would have helped a lot.

Hubby did give me a day in the afternoon here and there as I was not feeling the best but it was not like having a whole day to maybe do some sewing, stuff on the blog or just dream or do something for me. Maybe watching a scary show that is not kid friendly, for example, “Being Human”.

With the long awaited start to the kids going back to pre-school I used my one day off this week, getting food, milk, vegetables and fruit. Unpacked the car, put all things away. Tidied kitchen did some laundry and then sat and had a relaxing date with a coffee and my shows. It was a joy to be in a house that I did not have to check on little people doing things they were not supposed to be doing. Another big plus was it was great to not have to raise my voice at all that day, oh the joy of that and it is relaxing to not have to. It is such a drain to you as a person raising your voice every so often.

Again I promise to be better and to try not to yell and to be a better parent and mummy. It is hard though when you feel harassed and don’t get time off. The twins do sleep well and I do things in the evening however I am more energized to do things during the day, so some things don’t happen and if not important can wait.

So my plan for the next few days is to tidy up as much as I can so I can use my days off next week for some things I want to do. I also do want to tidy up some rooms and start to chuck some things or give to charity what we can give away. I need to focus on getting rid of some things that we don’t use anymore, as it is small house and cannot handle too many things, so a big to do list.

What did you catch yourself doing with your day off when kids went back to school? Did you manage to get more than one day off? I hope you did.

Send in your comments and why not continue the discussion on our Twitter or Facebook pages.

Categories
3 years and beyond

I love sleep

My brain is active with things that I want to achieve, however I am just so tired and exhausted. The reason I feel like this is I am currently getting over a bad cold/flu, not sure what it was actually. Probably was the flu as I had fevers and cold sweats, I know too much info. Now I am fine but still tired and find that I am not thinking 100% clearly, so still must be getting over the germs. Another reason for being tired is two very active three year olds to look after and to entertain.

Sometimes I think it might be the lack of sleep I have had since the girls were born. People say it is hard to catch up on sleep and if you are constantly interrupted or do not sleep well this can not help. Maybe this is one of the other reasons, I am still sleep deprived due to having kids and looking after them. I don’t see this changing any time soon, I think I might have another 14 years of this if they leave home at 18. With the world the way it is and expectations of children to walk into a dream job without working from the bottom up, my kids might be back to live with us after moving out of home. So maybe my sleeping days will be numbered after they are 18 as well?

Some sites that might help if you struggle with losing sleep and being tired:

  • According to Scientific Amercian’s article, “Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?” states that if you miss sleep you acquire a sleep debt, to repay this debt and to feel less tired and better, you need to go to bed when tired, try and add extra hours each night and in months this might help.
  • Great articles about sleep and helping to get to sleep by sleepwriter.com

As I write this my eyes are heavy and I am thinking of bed. I am now off to dream sweat dreams in my comfy bed and to hopefully catch up from my sleep debt.

Do you have issues with being tired all the time? Has kids made it hard to grab a break or a nap to help this issue? When night time comes are you just wanting to curl up and go to sleep? I know I do. Sounds so anti social but that is so exciting for me at the moment, going to bed and being allowed to sleep in. Send in your comments.

Categories
3 years and beyond

Moody Mornings

This morning kids were yelling and screaming. I entered their room to find both girls fighting over space in Julia’s bed. Last night they were both sleeping together, cuddling and sharing the same pillow. This is nice, however it creates issues. Lillian ended up taking over and leaving Julia no room. I put Julia in Lillian’s bed and a good night sleep was had, until the early morning screams this morning. Julia was most likely trying to claim back ownership of her bed, and Lillian did not want to budge. Why can’t they just sleep in their own beds!

So after we exited the bedroom and dealt with this argument I thought it might all be over, well at least for this morning. I was wrong!  Fights over toys, chairs and other things. Gosh and it is not even 9am yet. I am grateful that they are off to school today. Maybe they can burn energy there and when home they can just relax. I can live in hope. I hear you all laughing at this, yes I know it is not going to happen. 🙂

Both girls have had adequate sleep, although they are acting like they are tired. Maybe it is just a lot of activity at school and big days wear them out. Does this happen to you? I am finding we are getting more moody days and issues. Is it due to each child becoming more of an individual? Is it due to sharing things and parents all the time, this could be a part of it.

I really think both girls are trying to compete with each other, and not sharing is creating more problems. However this is all normal for their age and it is a stage that all kids and parents go through. This stage is exhausting and sometimes I wish I could just skip this stage altogether.

One site that comments on these types of behaviour is Totally Childcare, they have an article called, “Difficult Children – Moody, Disobedient, Naughty“, I think some of their points are good, see what you think.  Some articles that I have seen on the Internet suggest that there might be other issues, this might be so but not in our case.  I believe that it is down to kids not getting their way and reacting. What are your thoughts. Do you have some days that the tantrums start early?  How does this affect you as a mother? What are the magical ways that you deal with these moody and naughty issues. Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond Uncategorised

I don't feel like I'm winning

Why is it when you think of doing something, you then think of the other thing that you need to do? Currently I am finding it hard to juggle, I know I can, and I can do it. However mentally you seem to never really get to complete things. I have stated this before, life before kids was easy. If you wanted to do a task, you get up early and just do it. No interruptions or issues. Now I have other priorities.

Namely the first two are my girls, and then how to keep them entertained without spending a fortune. Play dough, parks, playgroup, going for walks, reading, watching films, and visiting friends come to mind. However after all this activity and action out of the house, who feels like cleaning or doing chores.  Not me!  Do you?

Today for example, the girls got up at about 7am, used to be around 8-8.30am, but daylight savings ending and the wakeup call for school has changed things.  I did think that with no school this might change, but not the case.

Activities that kept kids entertained were:

  • Played with them.
  • Watched a movie.
  • Did a puzzle.
  • Played in the backyard while I hung out some laundry.
  • Play dough fun.
  • Took pictures and video on my mobile phone – this was good to a point. Then Julia dropped my phone, I think on purpose as I wanted it back. It is unhurt, and will live to see another day. Very pleased with that.
  • Danced to music.
  • Did some gardening – the girls helped daddy and mummy plant some bulbs, cannot wait to see them in spring.
  • As the girls were dirty from gardening they had a bath.

You now see why I get tired from the entertainment, it is a big list. Do you have a list that is like mine, or are there more things on your list.

What made matters worse for the day was discovering drawing on the wall, cupboard, and fitted sheet of Lillian’s bed (on the wall was a picture of a person with four eyes and weird arms and legs, and the same type of thing on the fitted sheet). The girls managed to have pens in their room and decided they wanted art on the wall. I only discovered this when I went into tidy the room and get clothes ready for their bedtime. The pens have been removed and all offending items quarantined.

My first choice for removing pen from the wall, and cupboard was not working; however Jif Lemon Cream Cleanser was the winner. It worked a treat. The pen is all but gone and if you look closely you might see a mark or two but it is a great result.

Once girls were in bed, Julia and Lillian wanted their favourite book, “Where Is The Green Sheep, by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek.”  Julia loves to read it to you, however you have to make sure Lillian gets a turn, she is just as good as Julia, however is happy to let Julia do the reading.  It is so cute to see them both read it to you, and then say in a big happy voice, “Where is the green sheep?”

So now I have some time, I really don’t feel energized to do any of my things on the to-do list. I am sure it can wait until tomorrow.  The activities for the day have done there magic, as no noise is coming from the girls room and they looked so tired. The same could be said for mummy and daddy; l personally am looking forward to bed.

Do you find that by the time, you get time for you; you cannot be bothered with your plans? Does this annoy you? I for one, am looking forward pre-school starting again, bring on the 23rd of April.  How do you deal with entertaining your kids/child? I am sure I am not the only one that feels like this, I am winning, but there are times and days when I just feel like I have failed. Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog

Categories
3 years and beyond

I don’t feel like I’m winning

Why is it when you think of doing something, you then think of the other thing that you need to do? Currently I am finding it hard to juggle, I know I can, and I can do it. However mentally you seem to never really get to complete things. I have stated this before, life before kids was easy. If you wanted to do a task, you get up early and just do it. No interruptions or issues. Now I have other priorities.

Namely the first two are my girls, and then how to keep them entertained without spending a fortune. Play dough, parks, playgroup, going for walks, reading, watching films, and visiting friends come to mind. However after all this activity and action out of the house, who feels like cleaning or doing chores.  Not me!  Do you?

Today for example, the girls got up at about 7am, used to be around 8-8.30am, but daylight savings ending and the wakeup call for school has changed things.  I did think that with no school this might change, but not the case.

Activities that kept kids entertained were:

  • Played with them.
  • Watched a movie.
  • Did a puzzle.
  • Played in the backyard while I hung out some laundry.
  • Play dough fun.
  • Took pictures and video on my mobile phone – this was good to a point. Then Julia dropped my phone, I think on purpose as I wanted it back. It is unhurt, and will live to see another day. Very pleased with that.
  • Danced to music.
  • Did some gardening – the girls helped daddy and mummy plant some bulbs, cannot wait to see them in spring.
  • As the girls were dirty from gardening they had a bath.

You now see why I get tired from the entertainment, it is a big list. Do you have a list that is like mine, or are there more things on your list.

What made matters worse for the day was discovering drawing on the wall, cupboard, and fitted sheet of Lillian’s bed (on the wall was a picture of a person with four eyes and weird arms and legs, and the same type of thing on the fitted sheet). The girls managed to have pens in their room and decided they wanted art on the wall. I only discovered this when I went into tidy the room and get clothes ready for their bedtime. The pens have been removed and all offending items quarantined.

My first choice for removing pen from the wall, and cupboard was not working; however Jif Lemon Cream Cleanser was the winner. It worked a treat. The pen is all but gone and if you look closely you might see a mark or two but it is a great result.

Once girls were in bed, Julia and Lillian wanted their favourite book, “Where Is The Green Sheep, by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek.”  Julia loves to read it to you, however you have to make sure Lillian gets a turn, she is just as good as Julia, however is happy to let Julia do the reading.  It is so cute to see them both read it to you, and then say in a big happy voice, “Where is the green sheep?”

So now I have some time, I really don’t feel energized to do any of my things on the to-do list. I am sure it can wait until tomorrow.  The activities for the day have done there magic, as no noise is coming from the girls room and they looked so tired. The same could be said for mummy and daddy; l personally am looking forward to bed.

Do you find that by the time, you get time for you; you cannot be bothered with your plans? Does this annoy you? I for one, am looking forward pre-school starting again, bring on the 23rd of April.  How do you deal with entertaining your kids/child? I am sure I am not the only one that feels like this, I am winning, but there are times and days when I just feel like I have failed. Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog

Categories
3 years and beyond Pre-School University Study

Little people don’t eat salad

The kids are home yet again due to being ill. I was reading them some stories; we have a series of books about dinosaurs. One of the books is Wilbur the Dinosaur who wanted to Fly, Wilbur is a triceratops, and in the book it has a blurb about this type of dinosaur. It talks about eating plants, so I told the girls that plant eaters are called herbivores.  I explained that plants are salad, and vegetables.

This then prompted Julia to tell me, “Little people don’t eat salad” and then she said “We might eat it when we are grown mummy”. I did explain that salad and vegetables are yummy, but this was not believed by the girls, they still think that little kids should not touch salads.  Now I need to expose them to more salad. Just another food that they have decided they don’t like.

Today has been a bit better than yesterday. All three of us had a Shrek A Thon, well just the first 2 films, then we did a puzzle, had some lunch (the girls picked at it and told me they were not hungry), due to no body being hungry they both went to their room for rest time.

As they share a room this rest time is more like enforced play time in their room, this gives mummy a little break, but not long enough. I managed to get some laundry done, have some lunch, watch Being Human which I love (it is based on the BBC Series, I am watching the US version), and after the show they had successfully opened the door and where free to be trouble makers again. Glad that I got to see this show by myself as it would be scary for little kids.

Yesterday it was open all the toys and make a huge mess, It was a task in itself to keep them occupied and every so often there were tears and upset due to not being well.  I managed to get their room sorted, new sheets on the bed and at least there is more floor space. However today, it seems like it is in the same situation as before I started to clean yesterday.

The girls have not eaten that much, however they did eat a big breakfast.   I was asked to get more vegemite sandwiches for lunch but the new ones that prepared were not eaten in full, but some were so not a total loss. I think it might be due to them not being well, but maybe it was due to have a big breakfast?

The girls seem to a bit better and that is good as I need to go to a board meeting at the child care centre they used to attend. If I make sure that they have their medicine and are showered and all ready for bed, then they can just go to bed once home. The centre gives them dinner while I am in the meeting so that is good for me, makes it so much easier.

This week has been a right off with housework and university study. I am aiming to get more done next week. I was able to secure an extension for my assignment but I only have an extra week.  The girls need to be at school next week and glad that they will be ready to go for the last week before school holidays.

What activities have you organised for your sick child/children? What funny things have you learnt from your kids? Monday I was told not to run inside the house. “Mary at school says don’t run inside” said Julia. This was while we were running in a circle to music. Now I am getting told, “Little people don’t eat salad”, what is next?  Send in your comments.

Categories
3 years and beyond Uncategorised

There's a bee in my ear mummy!

The girls were in bed and hubby was finally home. He was in the living room having his dinner. Then a huge blood curdling scream came from both girls. We both ran to their room. I was dreading what we would find. A kid who has a bleeding head? No, Julia was traumatised due to a bee that supposedly worked its way into her ear.

The bee that annoyed Julia? Well we think it was a mozzie... but she told us we were wrong!
The bee that annoyed Julia? Well we think it was a mozzie… but she told us we were wrong!

Julia kept on yelling “Get the bee out of my ear!!!” “Have a look, get it out, I can still hear it”.  While Julia was carrying on, Lillian was screaming and crying all the while holding bummies up to her ears just in case a bee flew into her ears. For those that don’t know, bummies are Lillian’s teddies. There are 2 of them and both are called bummies. It was very hard to take Lillian seriously when she had her teddies at each ear. She looked so cute and funny, however she was getting annoyed at us nearly laughing, we had to look serious and not laugh at this major issue.

Lillian was demanding that we take Julia to the hospital, but said as hossitpol, I explained that this was not needed. Daddy checked Julia’s ear and it was fine. I checked Julia’s ear and it is fine. She did not accept this until daddy pretended to get the bee out of her ear.

I think what happened was due to the window being open, so I closed the window to make sure it did not happen again. Maybe an insect flew near her head, or a mozzie and she freaked out. They are very tired due to running around and being at school all day. Now the bee incident has made them very upset.

While we were talking to Lillian she covered her ears to be on the safe side with her teddies. She eventually put her face down on the pillow at the end of Julia’s bed (yes still wanting to share a bed with her sister) she had her teddy protecting her ear.

After many kisses and cuddles, both girls finally put heads down and I was able to get out of the door and back to dinner.

A word of warning, be careful of dangerous bees before bed time.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond

There’s a bee in my ear mummy!

The girls were in bed and hubby was finally home. He was in the living room having his dinner. Then a huge blood curdling scream came from both girls. We both ran to their room. I was dreading what we would find. A kid who has a bleeding head? No, Julia was traumatised due to a bee that supposedly worked its way into her ear.

The bee that annoyed Julia? Well we think it was a mozzie... but she told us we were wrong!
The bee that annoyed Julia? Well we think it was a mozzie… but she told us we were wrong!

Julia kept on yelling “Get the bee out of my ear!!!” “Have a look, get it out, I can still hear it”.  While Julia was carrying on, Lillian was screaming and crying all the while holding bummies up to her ears just in case a bee flew into her ears. For those that don’t know, bummies are Lillian’s teddies. There are 2 of them and both are called bummies. It was very hard to take Lillian seriously when she had her teddies at each ear. She looked so cute and funny, however she was getting annoyed at us nearly laughing, we had to look serious and not laugh at this major issue.

Lillian was demanding that we take Julia to the hospital, but said as hossitpol, I explained that this was not needed. Daddy checked Julia’s ear and it was fine. I checked Julia’s ear and it is fine. She did not accept this until daddy pretended to get the bee out of her ear.

I think what happened was due to the window being open, so I closed the window to make sure it did not happen again. Maybe an insect flew near her head, or a mozzie and she freaked out. They are very tired due to running around and being at school all day. Now the bee incident has made them very upset.

While we were talking to Lillian she covered her ears to be on the safe side with her teddies. She eventually put her face down on the pillow at the end of Julia’s bed (yes still wanting to share a bed with her sister) she had her teddy protecting her ear.

After many kisses and cuddles, both girls finally put heads down and I was able to get out of the door and back to dinner.

A word of warning, be careful of dangerous bees before bed time.

 

Categories
3 years and beyond Potty Training Pre-School

Social butterflies

Saturday the 25th was a big day; the girls had two parties to attend:

1. A birthday party for a boy at pre-school.

2. A goodbye party for their mate Mia, who is living to live in Germany.

The girls were very excited and I realised that the centre of the universe is going to be Blackheath or at least close to it for a while. Both parties were in Blackheath and as the girls had now started school in Blackheath this is probably going to be more frequent. That is fine with us, however it was just strange that the two events were on the same day. We are never that busy really and both parties were for the girls not us, us parents were just the transport.

It was sad that their good friend Mia was leaving and it was nice that she came along to the birthday party as well. All the kids go to the same pre-school.  The girls had an excellent time at the birthday party, they loved decorating their cupcakes and playing games with the other children. We filled out Mia’s friendship book and hope that we get a letter from her soon.

After the birthday party we all went to get some lunch, ended up getting fish and chips and going to our land to have a picnic. So that was impressive. After we went home had a quick rest, and then off to the next party. The girls made a necklace and bracelet for Mia. It had her name and theirs on the necklace with hearts and the bracelet had just Mia’s name.  Very cute and they were very proud to show Mia their handy work.

We stayed for a while at the goodbye party; however the girls were so tired, ended up falling over to often and getting upset. Happens a lot when they are tired, both the girls did not want to go, but we had to they were exhausted. So we said our goodbyes and made our way home. Gave them some dinner, and milk, and off to bed. We did not hear any noise out of their room after we put them to bed, very tired indeed.

The girls were very good and managed to have the whole day out without nappies and had no accidents, aside from rest time.

Today we went to kids kingdom and the girls for the first time went there without nappies. Lillian told me she needed to go to the toilet and I took her. She was great and very grown up. I asked Julia if she needed to go, she said no. After the kids played, we went off to Woolies at Leura to get some shopping. We were at the checkout waiting to pay and Julia said, “I need to go to the toilet mummy”, I rushed to the end of the shops, and the toilet had a queue. I then went to the other toilet and there was a queue there as well. I asked Julia if she could hang on. She said, “Yes mummy”. I was hoping that she could and we would not have an accident. The lady in front of me offered for us to go first, I thanked her as it was very nice of her to offer. Julia was good, and hung on until we got to the toilet. Clever girl, and then we washed hands and headed off to find daddy and get the shopping to the car.

I am very impressed with the girls and not wearing nappies anymore. I think they understand that they need to hold on and have the ability to do so more now.  I am just an impressed mummy at such a wonderful thing, maybe the end of nappies soon?

Daddy, the girls and I danced to music, they played with their doctors kit (ended up taking the doctors kit to bed, plus a teapot, in case they need to make some tea), and then they were off to bed.

Lunches are made for school tomorrow and have a house to get cleaner or at least tidier tomorrow as well. What have your social butterflies been up to? Is school filling your social calendar with parties? I think that we will have more functions to go to, which is good. Hopefully we will expand our network and meet more people.

Categories
3 years and beyond Family Katoomba and Weather Pre-School

A bit grumpy

Lunches are made and are in the fridge. Week 2 of pre-school starts tomorrow, yippee another 3 days off (not full days, just a school day) for me to get some things done and for my time out. I am really looking forward to it.

This weekend was busy for me. I was tasked with looking after the girls (Not like this is different from the status quo anyway) as James had to work on a presentation for his work.  It was very disappointing for me, as I like the fact that daddy is available on weekends to be with the girls and to help out.  I know it was work and it does not happen all the time so that is something to be grateful for.  However it got me thinking.  Why is it o.k. for the husband to lock himself away at the computer all weekend just due to a presentation for work? I mentioned that when I have urgent projects or things I need to do for university, I don’t get that amount of time to do any of my work. I have to do it all at night, not during the day when you are at your best.  I did mention this to James and it was met with I could always get an extension on an assignment if I need to. He cannot get an extension for a work presentation.

To top it off, Lillian was so unsettled Saturday night that she was screaming and crying and was a mess. I ended up taking her to bed with me, the girls call mummy and daddies bed the “big bed”. She snuggled up to me and wanted to hold my hand and cuddle me. She was so upset. James went in at first to calm her down. He thought that worked, but when he left she was hysterical. When I first came into her room she said there was a thing coming in the window for her. I told her that she was safe and all was o.k. probably did not help that there was a house down the road having a party and playing doof doof music. The beat was vibrating on the girl’s floor. I was just thankful that Julia slept and I only had to deal with one upset child at a time.

So Saturday night I did not sleep the best, as I had a little girl trying to snuggle into me, which was very nice and wonderful, however it makes you get in all sorts of different positions that cannot be good for your neck or back. Hoping that tonight I will have the bed to myself aside from James.   I was so tired after dealing with Lillian in the bed and getting up early for Julia. I organised breakfast for the kids and me, and after we were all fed, I told James that I was going back to bed. It was nice that was o.k, as I knew he was still doing his presentation. The girls played nicely with each other. They played in the backyard due to sunshine at the time, and watched Tangled, the new film about Rapunzel. The girls are so invloved in the story that Lillian was calling herself “Tangled” and Julia was calling herself “Gene”. I suppose this is a nice change from Fiona and Shrek. So I should not complain to loudly as it was nice to have that nap this morning as it was much needed.

James’ presentation is complete and I hope it will be a success on Monday.  The weather here has been crazy all weekend as per during the week. I took the girls swimming at Springwood on Saturday; it started out as a nice sunny day.  When we got in the car to drive to get lunch for everyone there were black clouds, and it poured down.  Today it did the same thing, however it was not blue skies, there was sun and clouds and it did the same thing. Thunderstorm this afternoon and now another one while I write this, thunder getting very loud and the lightening is like flash photography.

Does any mother/partner get annoyed when it seems like that when you ask for the same thing you don’t get it? I do not begrudge James getting his presentation done or letting him have the time to do it. I just feel that he could have come out with all of us for a little family time. He likes the job, and I like him having the job, plus he is good at it. However, I am not sure why you cannot spend some time with the family during the day and then get back to the presentation later in the day or work on it during the evening. It would tire out the kids and also then we could leave him alone to get his work finished.  I will use this to my advantage though, next time I have a major assignment, he can look after the girls all weekend.  I think that is fair, don’t you?