When You Feel Like Collapsing Out of Exhaustion, But It’s Not On Your To Do List

Mom days are long. No big surprise to you is it?

We are usually the first one up and the last one to crawl into bed at night, or should I say fall into bed.

Maybe you have had a day like described below. Maybe it was today.

The alarm clock goes off and you actually contemplate the notion of everybody skipping school and work, and the thought of sleeping in till 8:00 sounds heavenly.

Just when you decide you just might do that a large dog who has to go out to pee just shoved her cold wet nose into your face.

Or maybe you have a toddler who comes running into your room screaming like a banshee holding a poopy diaper in his hand.

Either way, you have to get up.

Ugh! Might as well rouse the rest of the troops.

With the morning chaos of breakfast, fights, getting dressed, backpacks and lunches, then flying out the door hopefully in time to meet the bus, you are already feeling a bit frazzled.

Let’s admit it, your morning routine is so frenzied it would make any marathon runner feel winded.

Add in the household chores of laundry, dishes and cleaning that weird stain on the carpet… what IS that?! 

Then errands or a job outside of the house and by 11:00 AM you have already put in a full day’s work.

Come evening with homework, dinner, dishes, more fighting, tossing in yet another load of laundry…I swear I am doing laundry for people who don’t live here... the the ball practice you are already late for, you find yourself dreaming of actually collapsing on the floor in a heap. Your body completely worn out and no strength to hold its own weight up.

Have you ever fantasized doing this? Come on, I can’t be the only one!

So picture this as you stir the macaroni – You are on the kitchen floor right in front of the stove. Maybe your family will be so alarmed they will take care of you and do all their chores without fuss for like……forever.

I told you it was a fantasy and fantasies aren't supposed be realistic!

Here is what would really happen to me if I tried this:

I know how my family would react. They would just step over me to get to the fridge, lean over and ask me if I remembered to wash their favorite shirt and if I have seen the remote.

That is when my choice of floors to collapse on may not be the best choice as I notice all the crumbs and strange dirt on the floor, the giant dust bunnies caught in the fridge vents and all the missing toy pieces under the stove.

So far I’ve seen 2 hot wheels, 6 cheerios, 3 vitamins, 4 game pieces, a AA battery and some weird looking chunks that I think may have been dog food pieces at one time. All of these wonderfully lost items are also sitting in about 6” of dust.

I sigh as I get to my feet and write the words, “Clean under stove” to my already longer than should be “To Do” list. So much for my drama themed mom moment.

In all seriousness though, I truly have had days where I just run upstairs, hide under the covers and answer their never ending questions with a disguised and muffled voice saying, “Mom? Nope, haven’t seen her.”

But when I have done this I get the following scenario:

My husband comes into the bedroom finding me buried under covers muttering some unrecognizable words and asks the famous, “What’s wrong?” and before I can even spill my guts on all what’s wrong in my life he starts asking me if I paid the bills yet, if there is any money left and when I was planning to go to the grocery.

He would then promptly leave when a small human runs into the room screaming at the top of his lungs because his favorite car went under the stove.

Wonderful.

Then there’s the dog. Remember the dog? Yeah, she’s sticking her nose under the cover right into my face. I’m not sure if she wants out to pee again or just to escape the terrors of the household. I pat her head and she gives me an understanding look like, “Thank you for fixing me so I can’t have puppies.”.

The macaroni's burning and sticking to the pan. Looks like I’ll have to reschedule my “Mom Collapses Day” for another time when there isn’t so much to do like um…..never.

Julie

If you have ever wanted to add to the household income while still staying home with the kiddos, you can do both. I have and it is actually a lot of fun. It gives you a reason to shut the door to your office, even if it is just the bedroom, and use the excuse of, “Mom’s working!”

Moms, you can own your own business and make your own money while fitting it into the nooks and crannies of your day.

We call it Project M.A.H.M.A – to learn more and hear from other moms who are doing it and still managing to stay sane, visit our website: http://tobehealthy.myshaklee.com/us/en/about_mahma_success.html

Then click Contact Us up top of the page and tell us how we can help.

Tip: If you take your phone into the bathroom to look at our site, lock the door and turn the vent fan and the tub faucet on full blast, you can almost drown out the sounds of the kids fighting.

The Funny Side of a New Baby & Living Without Sleep

Do you have a new baby in the house? Then you are getting no sleep, am I right? That’s funny!

Ok, so it's not funny to a new parent, but your walking dead type life can appear hilarious to everyone else!

Let me show you.

A new baby brings many changes to our lives, but none more so than the lack of sleep. I'm not sure why nature does this to us or what purpose it serves, but there is no getting out of it. It is a rite of passage.

I remember when mine was brand new and how sleep was just a dream of mine. I firmly believed my lack of sleep would get me in the end though.

I often found myself falling asleep at odd times, but I still stayed somewhat functional. Here are few things you can actually do while sleeping:

• Sleeping while standing up. Yes you can sleep while standing up like horses and cows do. But beware. Just like cows, you are a candidate for someone to come up and "tip" you. RE: tipping cows. Who would be that mean? An older child, shaking you while yelling, “Mom! Mom!” that’s who.

• Sleeping while holding a bottle under warm running water. Of course this is done while standing up. Not very ecological to let the water run, but you are too tired to care.

• Sleepwalking through the living room without stepping on any toy. You do this to keep from jabbing things into your feet, cussing loudly and waking everyone up including the baby you just got to sleep. You are proud of yourself and this new found skill that will ultimately fail you around the time leggos can safely appear on the scene.

• Getting dressed through closed eyes. Now this is big. Getting dressed BB (before baby) could be fun and required thought. Now if it doesn't smell like soured milk and it doesn't have a brown stain on it somewhere, it's clean and ready to wear.
  New parents just don't care how they look anymore. They know the zombie look isn't a turn on to others of the opposite sex even if they had the energy to be interested and they just flat are too tired to care anymore.

• You can sleep quite well even at a fun game party where you friends yell when their team scores and you wake up with a jolt and yell, “I’m coming sweetie!”

• Sleep while standing at the coffee pot at work. It’s a great time to steal a few minutes while you brew your second pot. Use the wall behind the pot to hold yourself up.

• The bathroom. Ahhh, the bathroom…the one glorious time you get to sit down.

• You can also fall asleep at a school meeting. What’s really great about that is another mom will take a tissue and wipe the drool off your chin and prop you back up if you are in danger of sliding out of your chair. School meetings are a place to find kindred spirits. Use them.

Here are some of the stupid things I do or forget to do when I am running on fumes. See if you can relate. Have you ever done this before?

• While in the shower you can't remember if you just shampooed your hair or not. You look down at the bottle, you run your fingers through your hair, but you just can't remember. Now you are aggravated. You say to yourself, "Did I or didn't I? This is so stupid and I don't have time for this!!!" So you shampoo again.
  Now chances are you did the first time because we all do a routine in the shower and shampooing is usually one of the first things most people do, but you just flat can't remember. So you end up taking more time, use more water and run out of shampoo faster.

• While driving to work you think of the horror stories of people wearing two different colored socks to work or worse, two different shoes! So you risk an accident by looking down to confirm that you not only have the same two pair of shoes on, but that your socks match too. The car slows down fast when you take your foot off of the accelerator to look doesn't it?

• Someone at work or at the store points out to you that a bird crapped on your shoulder and it ran down your back. You look over your shoulder and pull up on your shirt to have a look. Then you smile, thank them and walk away. You know the truth. The baby projectile device got you again, but you are just too tired to care. Funny how you get used to the smell.

• You stare at papers with writing or figures on them at work or at home for heaven knows how long until someone walks up to jerk you out of your stupor only for you to say, "Huh?" You stare at the words on the paper wondering what it is you’re looking at, why you are looking at it and what the heck you were supposed to do with it.

• You forget how to spell the word, "the". You know it's a simple word. You're sure you have spelled it before, but for some reason it totally escapes you now and you are in awe of yourself and how stupid you are at the moment.
  You sit there, your brain reeling over the fact you can't remember it, wondering if maybe you are having a stroke, but you realize it's just lack of sleep.
  It eventually comes to you in an “a hah” moment and you are amazed at forgetting it in the first place. I mean who forgets how to spell the word “the”?!

• Drive a car to a destination and no recollection of the drive. Now that's scary. You can't remember if you stopped for that red light or stop sign, etc. You do care about this one, but then again you are just grateful to have arrived so the caring thought is fleeting.

You wonder how long you can possibly last without sleep and you ask other parents around you if there is any end in sight. When they just laugh and walk away you know that didn't sound good, but hey, they are living proof you can live through it.

I found it a privilege that I was a card carrying member of the new baby = lack of sleep club and I wanted to shout it from the roof top.

But I knew if I somehow miraculously had the energy to climb on the roof I would just lay down and take a nap instead.

Yes, there will come a time when you will fondly look back and say, “Aww, remember when we brought the baby home and how precious of a time that was? I miss those days.” It may take 30 years for that amnesia to hit you, but it will.

Sweet dreams new parent. 

New parent? 

New Parent? 

Oh, I see, you fell asleep reading again, didn’t you. It’s alright. Take it when you can get it.

Julie

Would you like to receive info on children's health and even how to stay healthy as a new parent? We have some great energy products that are safe to take with no harsh stimulants. 

If you would like to receive our Healthy You newsletter or would like info on some of our products, just fill out the "Contact Me" form up top and tell us how we can help you. 

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How To Use Your Dryer Vent To Help Heat & Moisturize Your House During Winter

Today’s newer efficient homes come with a price. The air inside our homes can become almost toxic and with the cold weather comes dry air.

Germs love dry air as they can float through the air more easily. Nasal passages become dried out not working as effectively at keeping the germs from entering our bodies.

Throats become dried out causing scratchy, sore throats. Allergies flare due to an overabundance of dust and pet dander.

I always recommend opening windows for at least 10-15 minutes every day to help “change” the air in your house.

Another way you can add moisture to the air during the winter is to use your dryer vent to pump the heat and the moisture from wet clothes back into your home.

There are benefits to this procedure and cautions, so please be sure to consider your own situation and needs and read the instructions below.

Benefits:

Adds moisture and heat to the air. Helps to warm the home by using the heat from the dryer. Adds moisture to the home from the drying of wet clothes and from the water in the bucket.

How to assemble:

See below picture.

Any large container will do. I like using Shaklee’s large team pack container of Performance Sports Drink. It has just the right size opening to fit the dryer tube.

I used a hole saw to drill out some vent holes in it. If you don’t have a hole saw you can use a sharp knife (with caution) to make some holes. They don’t have to be pretty, just functional. Cut out holes approximately this large.

Next, add a couple of inches of water. This is to trap the lint. Change the water at least once a week to avoid mold from developing and to empty out the lint. Use an old strainer to catch the lint as you pour the old water down the drain.

Loosen the clamp around your dryer vent and remove hose from pipe that exits your house. 

You can buy a vent cover at the hardware store or you can use a plastic lid with tape or at the very least stuff a rag in the vent exit tube. This will prevent cold air and any little critters from coming into the house.

Depending on the size of your container you are using you may want to get one of these inserts.

See pictures below:

(Please ignore the paint on my dryer – my husband decided to use my dryer as a paint mixing table. Wonderful.)

You may also just be able to clamp your dryer hose right onto your container without an insert. I love these easy dryer tube clamps – you can loosen and tighten them without the need of a screwdriver.

If you are uncertain how to make your tube fit the opening of your container, take your container with you to the hardware store and try different tubes and inserts. 

If you go to a smaller, specialty hardware store you will get more expert help than you usually get from the big box stores.

If you can’t make it work, try a different container. Look around and use your imagination.

Tip: 

Empty out and vacuum out your dryer tube of excess lint or just replace it. The buildup of lint inside the dryer tube can cause a fire. Lift up your dryer tube. It should feel very light. If it feels heavy, clean out or replace the tube.

Attach your tube to your container and sit it on a stable surface like the floor or a table.

Now for some of the cautions.

If you use a toxic fabric softener like a store brand – do not vent your dryer inside your home! Many of these fabric softeners and perfumy laundry detergents are very toxic and are the cause of many allergies and asthma problems. Please consider switching to a safe product. I use Shaklee’s laundry products – Get Clean Healthy Home - Laundry

I love how the light scent fills my home. If you don’t want any scent you can use the unscented laundry liquid and their unscented dryer sheets.

Make sure your furnace is running regularly. You don’t want too much moisture building up in your home. Check your laundry area regularly. If you see any moisture building up or if the air seems particularly heavy with moisture. Discontinue use. You do not want too much moisture in the home to cause mold.

If your laundry room is in the basement, make sure your door to the upstairs is open while your dryer is running. Don’t worry about the cooler air from the basement coming in – the air exchange is good as long as there is no mold in your basement. 

If there is mold, do not do this and make it a priority to get any mold eradicated from your home. The expense of doing so is far less than the medical expenses you will have if you don’t. Mold is a serious problem and is the cause of many health problems.

Once the cold weather is over and your furnace is not running much, be sure and vent your dryer back outside. Again, you do not want too much moisture to buildup in your home and cause mold. This procedure is only for when the air is very dry due to heating and you are looking to add a little moisture to the air. 

Make sure there is always a little water in your container and change it at least once a week. 

Check to make sure your connection to your container is fitted tightly and that your container is on a stable surface where it won’t fall over. 

Make sure your dryer tube does not have a kink or sharp bend in it. This will cause lint to build up inside the tube.

If you are doing a lot of loads, check to make sure your container isn’t getting too hot. Give it time to cool down between loads if necessary.

Never leave your home while the dryer is running, regardless of whether you are venting it inside or outside. Dryers often catch fire for many reasons. I personally saw a neighbor lose their house due to their dryer catching fire as they ran a quick 15 minute errand. So sad.

Now that you’ve read the precautions, I think you may really like using this method. We love how it adds a nice scent and moisture to the home and it helps to warm our basement up, too.

Now for the legal stuff: I am not responsible for injury, damage or loss to humans, pets or property. Any modifications you make to your home or appliances is totally up to you. Though this procedure is simple, an improper design or modification can be a safety issue. Use common sense or ask someone who has it for advice. When in doubt, consult a professional.

For more information on the laundry products we use that are safe, non-toxic and much cheaper to use as they are very concentrated, visit www.ToBeHealthy.MyShaklee.com or contact us by clicking the “Contact Us” tab up top and filling out the contact form.

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