Babyweight Loss and ‘Me’-Time
Or: Lack Thereof
So, little Miss C is 9 weeks old and has already developed quite a personality. Her 4 siblings just adore her and she shows them her love by only keeping James and me up all night when they are at their other parents’ houses. When everyone is here, she miraculously sleeps through the night.
That does not seem to stop me from not sleeping enough when all the kids are here, so the losing my baby weight is now going in the wrong direction every day I cannot nap out that afternoon slump and try to keep myself awake with coffee, chocolate, and gummy bears. Hmpf. I need a diet plan and I need it quickly. Preferably one that comes with a built-in cook, since I don’t have my hands free enough times to prepare food for myself.
Correction: I don’t use the times I have my hands available to prepare food for myself. I seemingly have all the time in the world to prepare lunches for the kids, while I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. As a matter of fact, it is currently 11:04 here and our youngest two will have their lunch break from zoom-school in 11 minutes, so I will finish my musings on how to be a healthy (read: thin – but muscular! – and energetic, happy, pretty, you-fill-in-the-adjectives) mother later. Whenever I’m done taking care of others. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I fully realize that I signed up for this voluntarily! And I don’t regret it. I just wish I was more organized to get everything done and still have time for self-care. Or that there were more hours in the day. Or, and this might be the single ingredient to today’s tight jeans, just had the discipline to say “NO”. Mainly to dessert. But also to the umpteenth request for something that needs to be done ‘right now’, instead of completing whatever ‘me’-time I was planning instead first. I mean, does that pair of pants really need to be washed this afternoon, or could he wear a different one today?
And, for that matter, do they really need to eat right when their lunch break begins at 11:15 or would closer to the end at 12:05 not starve them to death either? Whom do I talk to about this rather arbitrarily set lunch time? It’s virtual schooling – could the school maybe give a mother a break and call it just “The Daily Classroom Break” or something like that? Instead of “Lunch Break”?
And here is the forth-grader… calling out, “Hey, when are we gonna have lunch?” I check the time in the corner of my screen – 11:15. I decide to read him this blog post. I call him to our office at 11:16. I read him what I wrote so far – 11:17. He fidgets through it. Then turns and unceremoniously declares at 11:18, “Well, I guess we just won’t have lunch then today.”
It is now 11:24 and I hope he has by now informed the others and spread the message.
Okay, yes, I’ll go. PB&Js it is today; instead of the nutritious, veggie-laden nachos I had meant to start making 45 minutes ago. Here I chose to ‘me’-time blog instead and now I feel like I failed my motherly duties. Now I just need to choose to spend the next ‘me’-time that comes my way on my diet. Wish me luck 🙂
Update to follow…
Ashley@Shakenstirredandblended
Hi, I'm Ashley and I am a freelance writer and editor for one local and one national publication. In my spare time, I teach foreign languages and manage two households. Oh, and raise four children. It's a crazy life that I chose and I love every second of it :o)
