Gratitude List: To Prevent Flipping Your Shit

The last few days have been a rollercoaster. Mostly things I cannot control, yet rain down chaos and frustration from the heavens. I have had several not-so-proud mama moments. I have yelled. I have given mean looks. I have threatened. And I even flipped my shit exactly once.

I went through something similar to this a few years ago. It was not pretty. I did not like the person I was during that rough patch, let alone the parent I was. But I managed to soldier on and learned a lot from it. Namely, the warning signs that shit flipping was imminent so that I could head it off at the pass. Trust me, that is a HUGE deal. If not for me knowing those signs, I might be curled up somewhere quoting The Mad Hatter. You know, after flipping my shit...times infinity.

One of the things that has stuck with me a lot lately is this:

I have calmed the storm in my mind by thinking of these words. I do need to focus more on what is going right than wrong, especially in times like this. It leads to less shit flipping, as previously stated.

I remember in 8th grade English class that we did a project in November where we kept a list and wrote 5 things daily that we were grateful for. At the time, I was dealing with crappy family situations and the death of a close friend. I truly NEEDED that daily list, it helped me through.

The teacher kept emphasizing the importance of recognizing these things in our life that we were thankful for because it was good for the mind and soul. My first few days were filled with "typical" things: parents, siblings, home, friends, food. But it evolved to more: the cool crisp in the air, the warmth of the autumn sun, the acrobatic leaves swirling through the sky. Focusing on the mini-blessings helped to ease the burden of the big picture.

As I have struggled the last few days, I have found my soul reminding my heart of little things that have had a positive effect, even if minute. Hopefully listing them will help me lift my spirit a little further out of this funk and maybe help someone out there in the Interwebz.

So here is my handy dandy Gratitude List (TOO much Blues Clues lately, it is affecting my handy dandy vocab) from the last few days, in no particular order.

Lost my Beach Virginity

Yep, you read that right. I have LOST my Beach Virginity.

I bet you didn't know that this was a real thing, right? But it totally is. See, I am in a land-locked state. The closest beach is easily a 4-5 hour drive. Growing up, I went on ONE trip where the bus I was on drove by the ocean. I was about 12 years old and I swear that the beach and waves laughed at me as I passed it with puppy dog eyes.

Also, my family never went on vacations when I was a child. Like, no beach, no camping, no trips to the mountains, no amusement parks, etc. I went on a few school trips (like the one where the beach mocked me as I passed) and weekends with friends, but not an actual family vacation.

Mother's Day 2012

First of all, YES, I know that Mother's Day was 2 months ago and I am WAY late. But I have lots to talk about and lots to show you, so DEAL with it.

This year, I had a pretty rocking Mother's Day. And I have all the pictures to prove it. So be prepared to be PHOTOBOMBED!

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 10

Psssssssst......

Want to hear a secret?
I skipped posting last week.
I decided I was so busy with work, kids, etc. that I was going to skip a week.

Want to hear another secret?
I actually gained 1lb during the last 2 weeks.

One last secret?
I don't care because my clothes are still getting looser.

Where Did This Crunch Come From?

While I live in a pretty rural area, my town is large enough that many things are "mainstream". I went with the mainstream for many things growing up, including when I started my family. The only choices I made that were not mainstream for my area was to breastfeed and co-sleep. Well, I made the decision to breastfeed. Co-sleeping was more of a happy accident, a necessity for two tired college students to get sleep with their new baby.


Beyond that, I was the poster child for mainstream. My pregnancy nutrition consisted of taking a prenatal vitamin and eating whatever I wanted, although I tried to eat relatively "healthy" for meals. My childbirth education consisted of the class at my local hospital, where I learned more about standard hospital policies than pregnancy and childbirth. I honestly learned more about pregnancy and birth in high school health and human anatomy classes than in the hospital sponsored childbirth and breastfeeding classes. My births with my oldest two children consisted of pitocin, epidurals, *fear* and doing whatever the nurses told me I should be doing.