I don’t know if I am alone here, but often I find myself in a funk. One where I struggle to go to sleep at night, which leads to a cycle of bad habits.
Little Man’s recent shift in sleeping habits, in which he goes down around 7:30 PM and sleeps until 10 AM, is probably the initial cause of this funk, since I have used his cry as my alarm since he was born. I am not saying it is my 18 month old’s fault by any means. I am just saying that I was probably relying on him too much to keep me on any sort of schedule.
This unproductive cycle looks something like this:
- sleep until 10 AM
- wake up to Little Man yelling for me
- feed everyone breakfast, including the pets
- get on the computer while Little Man plays with toys and intermittently whines at me to entertain him or read to him
- I juggle between playing tag, reading him stories, and getting back on the computer until lunch time
- I feed him lunch, put him down for his nap, and get back on the computer
- The afternoon is either a repeat of the same boring routine, or we go out and run a few errands
- I realize it’s almost dinner time and either throw something quick together or we order out
Basically, when I am in these funks, I spend most of the day on my bum, which means: 1) neither of us get enough activity, 2) I eat too much because Little Man has not worked up an appetite and I finish his food for him, and 3) nothing gets done around the house (ie: laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.)
Two days ago, after getting on the scale and realizing I had gained eight pounds in five days, I snapped out of it. I had still slept until 10am, but I took Little Man and the dog on a light jog around noon. I even ended up with a little extra resistance when the dog burned out and ended up in the basket of the stroller. 
I limited myself to soup for lunch (that’s my weight loss trick, by the way – limiting lunch to a lighter soup and limiting sweets the rest of the day). I did a couple of loads of laundry and I finished off the day by emptying every trash can, starting the dishwasher, and washing every dish that did not make it into the dishwasher by hand. I then got into bed around 11:30PM, completely exhausted, and fell right to sleep!
Why am I telling you all this?
Yesterday was an amazing day! I find the enormous difference one can make by adjusting only a few small things absolutely mind boggling. One day of discipline and not “put(ting) off ’til tomorrow that which you can do today” gave me an amazingly refreshing start yesterday.
What I mean is, yesterday rooms were cleaned, laundry was done, I took Little Man out to play, and I prepared a somewhat involved dinner by starting early (Eggplant Parmesan atop a pasta blend that included Lime Gnocchi Shell, Mango-Peach Sea Shell, & Red Southwestern Chili Lumache), AND both Little Man and Hubby scarfed it down like… well, like I have never seen them eat something prepared by me before (which I am slightly embarrassed to admit), and then they had father son bonding time while I finished up some laundry. Then to top it all off, I put a tired toddler to bed with absolutely no objections. I will not get into husband/wife bonding time, but my efforts did not hurt my husbands mood either…
I know that sometimes there are just those days; where all the stars align and things go well, but I can’t shake the feeling that yesterday was different. I have been praying for a sign from God as to what I need to focus on in my life to better serve him because I knew something was missing. Today, I feel like my prayers were answered as I took a step towards becoming the Proverbs 31 woman I strive to resemble.
Yesterday, I finally found joy in my role in our home and I *cherished* every moment. I hope I am able to capture that feeling and remember it every day.
Good for you! We all have those funky days, and it does feel so inspiring when you have a productive day and bounce back. I’m glad you’re on the up and up! And thanks for being so honest! <3
Thank you Charise! Sometimes it definitely feels, especially on the more chaotic days, like I’m more of a disaster than anyone else. It’s nice to know we all have off days and I’m not alone! 🙂
Like I told you last week, I really like reading your blogs, I pretty much identify with you in this one, the only diference is that Matteo is not a good napper so he is with me almost all day. sometimes I wanna make a really good dinner but time is my problem can’t do it while I have Matteo crawling everywhere. Somedays the only thing I want is to have a real conversation with a grown up….
Thanks Diana! I am totally with you. Little Man was a terrible napper for a long time. It is only recently that he started getting into a real routine with naps. He has been pretty good at night for a while now, but even that has come and gone and never like this before. I think it gets a little easier as they get older too. I started dinner after his nap yesterday, I just put gates up to keep him in the living room and out of the kitchen. I know, for the most part, what he will and will not get into in that room. I think the stage Matteo’s at now is probably the hardest, but I’m one of the few who believes it gets a little easier once he starts walking. 🙂
Wow, what a sleeper! Sorry to hear you fell into a funk, glad that you got out of it. Keep it up! But take every day as it comes, some are up, some are middle, some are down, they are all worthwhile 🙂
Thanks for the encouragment Michelle! You always make such good points. You are so right. Even the terrible days make entertaining stories later AND it is all time well spent because it is time spent really living. 🙂
I so feel you on this. Jonas’ odd sleeping habits were dictating the schedule here and giving me a late start to the day, which dominoed into exactly what you were describing. I find I feel so much better when I just make myself get off my butt and accomplish things.
I, too, strive to be the Prov 31 wife (which I think just striving to be one is a big part of it). I have a ring with Ruth 3:11 on the inside. Before I moved across country to continue dating my now hubs, an old wise friend of the family told me that scripture reminded him of me, so I’ve never wanted to let him down on that one. 🙂
Thank you for reminding me of that verse, that’s a good one to keep in mind, too. Sounds like good motivation to me! From what I know about you from your blog and our brief interactions, I am not surprised someone would tell you that.
My tagline in my header is sort of my version of your ring. That is what it represents to me. It is another one of my favorite verses (2 Timothy 1:7) because I feel I am often more timid than I would like to be with regards to my faith. I don’t mean I wish I was more “in your face”, just that I was not so afraid to be open about what I believe in day to day interactions.
It’s AMAZING what a push to do something new (and doing it to completion) will do for your spirit. It’s like this feeling of, “I am woman, hear me roar” just comes out in these moments. 🙂 Proud of you.
::rar:: 🙂 Thank you miss inspiration! I have to admit, my visit with you did a lot for me. I think it took me a while to really understand what it means to find joy in daily chores and routines. Next step: daily list 😀
I LOVED this post because I can totally relate! Unfortunately my full time job forces me to be productive (at least during the workday) but my weekends end up being pretty mundane if I’m not intentional. I feel SO much better after a day of activity “building my home” and pouring into Andy and Grace. I can’t wait to meet at BlogHer! I think we’re gonna have a lot to chat about 🙂