Thursday, March 22, 2012

The importance of taking time for yourself

 
Every morning for the past two weeks, I've started my day at the butt crack of dawn, aka 5:45am. I don't like it - I'm not a natural morning person - but I tried it as a last ditch resort because I thought I might be losing my mind. Lo and behold, it has worked thus far.

Up to that point a few weeks ago, I was sleeping in late with the boys and Adrian, only to find myself scrambling around all day to catch up. By evening I was so exhausted from being "on" all day without a break that I was grouchy, emotional and basically just hating the world.

It’s official: Steaming cup of morning coffee helps you stay fit
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A lot of my grouchiness had to do with the fact that Jonas was still waking up several times a night and many nights sleeping in bed with us. He was also very sensitive to caffeine up until recently, so I was moody without my coffee fix in the AM. We've since broken the sleeping-in-bed-with-us habit and it's been great, but I am certain that my change in attitude is not solely attributed to that.

So, my morning routine has saved me. It would be safe to say that taking this time to myself makes me a better mother and wife.

I usually get up and either work out or take a shower, make some coffee and oatmeal, read some blogs, catch up on a show that doesn't involve half guppy/half children or kids with overly large heads, and do what I want to do. I know that for that hour, hour and a half, I am only responsible for myself. I don't usually clean except for maybe the dishes, because I do that later in the day when both boys are napping.

If for some reason my time is cut short, like this morning when Jonas woke up at 6:15, I find other time. Right now. Adrian is home still because he has a 10am meeting so he is downstairs entertaining Gabriel. Jonas is taking a morning nap. I am upstairs in my bed, enjoying my coffee that got cold this morning, and blogging. It's the little slice of heaven in my day.

Moms or non-moms, what do you do to recharge after/before a long day of work/babies/life?
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11 comments:

  1. ErinMarch 22, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    My favorite thing to do after a long week of work is to wake up on Saturday morning, make some coffee, bring it back to bed and watch HGTV to my heart's content...or until James is done playing video games :)

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  2. ShannonMarch 22, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    I haven't been able to find my me time with my work and home schedule yet, and i've been back at work for five months :/ I do get some me time on the weekends, but other than that.... its non existant :(

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  3. AnonymousMarch 22, 2012 at 2:20 PM

    B - I love to do that too! Or snuggle up with coffee and Pinterest and dream about my someday home :)

    Shan - you need to find time!!! Just do it!!

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  4. BrittanyMarch 27, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    I love this post! It makes me so happy because it reminds me of my me time in the morning. haha. I do the exact same thing and honestly on those days where I am so tired it still makes me feel better throughout the day to just get up and have that time so I don't feel so overwhelmed with regular tasks throughout the day.

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  5. Misty MarieAugust 9, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    New Follower from the Mixer
    Great Post!
    Misty @ http://monkeysandtutus.blogspot.com

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  6. LauraAugust 10, 2012 at 3:38 AM

    Having some time to yourself definitely makes for a happier person. I always got up early too just for some alone time. Enjoy your weekend.

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  7. CassieAugust 10, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    I used to do that all the time and definitely need to get back to it! It's so much nicer to get yourself together before the madness begins. And watching the morning news is like a luxury... although Bubble Guppies ARE pretty cute... ;) I'm so glad you linked up to the Mixer, friend, and I hope to see you again next week! :)

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  8. Maria @ Life on M AvenueAugust 10, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    that sounds SO wonderful! I have considered that many times, but I am so not a morning person as well and it just never sounded like as good of an idea in the morning as it did the night before. :) Following you from the mommy-brain mixer. Hope you'll stop by my blog for a visit!
    http://lifeonmavenue.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-of-lasts.html

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  9. CarmenAugust 11, 2012 at 2:16 PM

    I used to do that when I was studying for school, but since then I haven't attempted to get up much before 6:30am. I usually try to get up just a little bit early so that I can have a shower before the kids wake up, that little task tends to set me on a better road for the day. I am visiting from mommy brain mixer.
    Carmen
    www.thetriplebs.com

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  10. CarmenAugust 11, 2012 at 2:16 PM

    I used to do that when I was studying for school, but since then I haven't attempted to get up much before 6:30am. I usually try to get up just a little bit early so that I can have a shower before the kids wake up, that little task tends to set me on a better road for the day. I am visiting from mommy brain mixer.
    Carmen
    www.thetriplebs.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownAugust 11, 2012 at 6:37 PM

    A close male buddy of mine and the hubs used to get up at 4am - I thought he was a nut job. Then I got my own kids. The last month preggo insomnia was gettin me up at crazy hours.. but I didn't care. In fact having a valid excuse to be up raiding the fridge and blogging in the middle of the night was a godsend. Bambino is her now so I'm SOL - at least for a little while. Although I'm still stealing my blog moments whenever I can - usually when I'm nursing!

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