• In the Kitchen
  • Recipe Index
  • Bento Lunches
  • Life As I Know It
  • Life in Texas
  • Faith Walk Farms

Following In My Shoes

tales of food and family

  • home
  • about
  • press
  • contact me

How To Recharge During The Not So Nice Times Of Mommyhood

April 23, 2012

Share
Pin
Tweet
+1

Alternate Title: Baby Poo and Vomit Don’t Have To Get You DOWN, Yo!

This was a weekend for the record books.

A mini epic drama of pestilence, plague, and broken water pipes.  Days were I oscillated between wanting to laugh hysterically (hyena style) or cry and cry and cry (mommy style).

It all started Thursday when the Little Lady woke early and greeted us with flushed pepto-bismal-pink cheeks and glassy, blood-shot eyes.

And complaints that her throat, eyes, head, back, neck and even her littlest pinky toes hurt.

Never a good start to a day.

A few tense moments of forcing her to stand still while I held the thermometer under her arm (Mama don’t do thermometers in the “derriere”, thankyouverymuch), the bright red digital screen confirmed our suspicions: a plague was upon our household.

One by one, our children fell victim to it — a 48 hour LONG virus that brought on high fevers (that would NOT go down despite all the ice packs, tylenol, motrin, and pedialyte I could throw at the kidlets), exploding diapers, vomit, snot, eye boogers (or whatever that eye junk is called), and lots and lots of crying, whimpering, and zombie like stares.

My kidlets were the saddest little people in the world, y’all.

(and so was Mommy after much of the bodily excretions ended up on the new, cream-colored rug that had only been in our house 21 hours before being “christened.”  Sniff)

And, on TOP of all that … at 4:30 am, Sunday morning … I was rudely awakened by water.  Dropping on my face.  MY. FACE.

Yeah — the hot water pipe in our attic had THREE leaks.

And our bedroom ceiling had THREE leaks.

Well — one drip, one leak, and one deluge of water pouring out onto my face, bed, and carpet.

Fun, fun times.

By the time we reached Sunday night, the Husband and I had turned into robots, answering the whining call of sick children, automatically changing diapers, dispensing medicine and Emergen-C “fizzy drinks” with precision.

Not stopping to eat, drink, or take a few moments to breathe.  We had a mission and it didn’t include looking out for our own well-being.

Later, after the last sick kiddo had drifted into a fitful, restless sleep (um, that would be Baby Barney, who only slept in 35 minute spurts all. night. long.), the Husband and I just stared at each other.  Shell-shocked by the drain of being nurse-maids.  Our brains, which had been hyper-focused on our kidlets, had nothing left.

This morning, after one of the worst nights in this Mommy’s record book of “Horrible Nights I’ve Had,” I knew that something had to give.  The Husband was going to work while the kidlets and I played alone (and, yes, we still have one with a fever this morning.  Woot!).

There is no way I can make it through today alone, exhausted and reeking of spit-up (among other things).

So, in true Type-A, List-Maker style, I created a game plan for How To Keep Mommy Sane today.

How To Recharge During Family Illness

  • Quiet Time: Meditate and Pray (so simple but easily overlooked during the chaos of dealing with shivering kidlets; but, I know for THIS Mommy, a few moments in quiet, reading scripture, focusing on “lessons,” and preparing my mind and spirit for the day … it’s HUGE for me)
  • Take a shower.  (there is no reason to continue smelling like pestilence)
  • Eat a healthy breakfast.  (a single piece of toast won’t do much to fuel your body; protein, fruit, and whole grains will.  Do it.)
  • Prepare a few “grab-n-go” snacks. (again, combine protein and fiber: hummus and carrots or almonds and dried fruit.  Your body will thank you)
  • Get out of your Jammies. (now, as of right now, I haven’t implemented this goal for the day.  But I’m going to… I NEED to get out of these clothes AND I know my perspective will be better if I’m not wearing flannel pants and a stained, over-sized man’s shirt.)
  • Take a shower and brush your teeth. (this isn’t always the easiest to squeeze in when you have little ones — especially sick little ones — but it will help you feel better, help you smell better, and help you fight off the kidlet germs)
  • Through out the day, take a couple of moments (here and there) to be by yourself.  (first, tell yourself it’s “OK” to do this — if your children are safe and not in the throws of a fever — it is OK to head into a bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom and be BY YOURSELF.  3-5 minutes without the noise of any other human being will be miraculous for maintaining sanity.)
  • When your husband comes home, Kiss Him! (don’t forget to appreciate your spouse … and vice versa for him.  You are each other’s support system, especially in stressful times like this.  Don’t forget to take time out for each other.)

That’s the game plan for today — well, in addition to menu-planning and ensuring my little members of society start feeling better and get back to their crazy, funny, “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” selves.

If all else fails, though — feel free to send chocolate and reinforcements.

 

Share
Pin
Tweet
+1

Get Posts Delivered To Your Inbox

Privacy Policy

About Rachel Lacy

Rachel Lacy is the author of Following In My Shoes, where she blogs about Mommyhood, Family-Friendly Recipes and Bento Lunches, and Life in Texas. She is a lover of all things Coffee and Nutella.
You can also connect with Rachel Lacy on Google+.

« April 26, 2012: Kids Eat Free At Olive Garden
Carne Asada — Grilled Steak Tacos »

Trackbacks

  1. What Is Reiki? Introduction and History | www.garana.crocserve.com says:
    April 23, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    […] ReikiReiki Master Paul MitchellNatural Awakenings Magazine’s Calendar for January, 2012How To Recharge During The Not So Nice Times Of Mommyhood .recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;} […]

Welcome

Who is Rachel LacyMy name is Rachel -- I share tales about food and family. I'm a home-cook who focuses on fresh meals to both fuel us and to help us celebrate our family-life. My day starts with coffee. Lots of coffee.
Read More About Me.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Stay Connected

Recent Recipes

Egg-Nog Caramels

Egg-Nog Caramels

Simple Orange Cream Frosting for an Easy Peasy Christmas Cookie Party

Simple Orange Cream Frosting for an Easy Peasy Christmas Cookie Party

Flourless Cocoa-Monkey Muffins

Flourless Cocoa-Monkey Muffins

Grain-Free Waffle Recipe and An Open Letter To My Free-Loading Chickens

Grain-Free Waffle Recipe and An Open Letter To My Free-Loading Chickens

4 Ingredient Chicken Verde (slow-cooker recipe)

4 Ingredient Chicken Verde (slow-cooker recipe)

Crustless Pizza Cups {iheartlunch}

Crustless Pizza Cups {iheartlunch}

Recent Bentos

Grain-Free Waffle Recipe and An Open Letter To My Free-Loading Chickens

Grain-Free Waffle Recipe and An Open Letter To My Free-Loading Chickens

Crustless Pizza Cups {iheartlunch}

Crustless Pizza Cups {iheartlunch}

I Heart Lunch: Pizza Muffins (grainfree and nutfree)

I Heart Lunch: Pizza Muffins (grainfree and nutfree)

50 Grain-free After School Snacks

50 Grain-free After School Snacks

Favorite Posts

The Things I’ve Learned About Boys

The Things I’ve Learned About Boys

The Things I Hope We Both Remember When I Am 93

The Things I Hope We Both Remember When I Am 93

The Moment Your Four Year Old Announces She Is In Love

The Moment Your Four Year Old Announces She Is In Love

The Clock is Ticking

The Clock is Ticking

Featured

4 Ingredient Chicken Verde (slow-cooker recipe)

4 Ingredient Chicken Verde (slow-cooker recipe)

Wearing My Game-Day Boots and Making Game-Day Food: Slow-Cooker Asian Barbecue Sausage Bites

Wearing My Game-Day Boots and Making Game-Day Food: Slow-Cooker Asian Barbecue Sausage Bites

Slow-Cooker Paleo Italian Stuffed Peppers

Slow-Cooker Paleo Italian Stuffed Peppers

Easy Slow Cooker Ribs

Easy Slow Cooker Ribs

Shop Bento

Check out my favorite bento and lunch-packing resources!

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Home | About | Contact | Press | Archives | Disclosure | Privacy Policy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. I won't take it personally!!AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy