Toilet books and Flying February 9, 2008
Posted by chocolatevegetables in Uncategorized.Tags: Book list, Depression, FlyLady, Goals, Home, Housework, Motivation, Personal Development, Personal Growth
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Ever since I had depression as a teenager I have collected positive motivational books. I don’t have a huge collection but my collection does include some of the Big ones and suprisingly some odd ones that have had an impact too.
For instance the toilet book (oh, don’t tell me you don’t read there when you can, where else am I expected to get away from 3 kids at one time?) atm is “The Forgotten Secret to Phenomenal Success” by Mike Hernacki. His writing style is very chatty yet he manages to present a thought provoking idea once every couple of pages, just right for short readings.
The thought that has hit me most recently was his of making the first step towards a goal be a rewarding type activity in its own right so that you feel better just doing it even without the added bonus that it will give you more rewards down the track if it is regularly practised. I can’t say where exactly he said this, it tends to be the type of book which I jump around in.
For me this ties in to FlyLady’s principle that shining the sink (yes, just shining the sink, not doing all the dishes first, just shining the kitchen sink) is the first step towards the goal of achieving a clean and uncluttered house managed with ease with routines that suit you. And guess what, without a whole lot of effort I can make my sink look great (even if my stovetop and floor is piled with dirty dishes)! It takes a lot more effort to see results in other areas but with the positive reinforcement of just shining my sink I can be well on the way to achieving more.
Best
CV
Pregnancy update January 18, 2008
Posted by chocolatevegetables in Uncategorized.Tags: Children, Depression, Family, Food, health, Me, Pregnancy
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So I am now around 15 weeks and I had my first official doctor’s appointment at the hospital. I have reasonably straight forward pregnancies, no back pain, no diabetes, no sciatica, nothing, except horrible heartburn for a couple of months for number 4. Not exactly a big deal I guess!
Anyway all this to say I have in the past had scans fairly early in my knowledge of the pregnancy for dating reasons but this time I knew my last monthly so we didn’t have to worry about that early scan. Hormonal me though just had to worry that with all that nauseousness and not eating well at all, and losing a couple of kilograms that bubba may not be okay in there.
So the doctor did a quick scan for me, just to check little one was there and alive. Yup, we had a heartbeat and little waving hands and it looked like all the normal bones. Yay! I am so relieved. That has been my biggest concern because I know I have been eating erratically lately and even ate some salami which I know is a no-no. Well, now I can move on and be pregnant instead of hormonally worried. lol
Best wishes,
CV
The health of mama matters January 8, 2008
Posted by chocolatevegetables in Uncategorized.Tags: Allergies, Children, Depression, Family, Goals, Hayfever, health, Home, Home Education, home management, Home school, Homeschool, Homeschooling, Housework, Me, Money, Pregnancy, Responsibility
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I really wish I could get over this allergy to grass. I think it could be a big part of the reason I am needing so much sleep and why even after ten hours I feel like I am dragging through mud, with my chest heavy and my head hurting.
I think going to the homoeopath would help. I know their remedies are safe for babies on board and my older kids have done really well with the cold and flu generic one I buy at the chemist. I am trying the hay fever one from the chemist but I am not sure that it is specific enough for my allergy problems to be much more than a little help.
The first visit costs a lot, $100, because it takes about an hour to get a full picture of my health but the remedies afterwards are usually very cost effective. Now, where to come up with the money? I really feel that I need to make it a priority. I don’t think I can effectively manage this household and home school my boys as well as I would like when I am tired and can’t focus until after 11am. And I really don’t want to look forward to after the baby arrives to how tired I will feel then, it is just too depressing.
Yup, looks like I am going to find that money somehow. I need to look after my health mentally and physically so I can look after my family.
Best wishes,
CV
Food, moods and family December 21, 2007
Posted by chocolatevegetables in Uncategorized.Tags: Children, Depression, Family, Food, Goals, health, Home, Home Education, Home school, Homeschool, Homeschooling, Housework, Me, Organisation, Pregnancy, Time, Values, Work
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I have realised that my tiredness and my slow work and my pitiful memory could be also related to poor nutrition. Since leaving home I have not been a good eater. My family always had the whole breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner with dessert routine. Even if we were travelling or out for the day we still stopped for these meals. I personally didn’t realise how important eating this regularly was to my physical health.
In my research I have realised that my lack of good nutrition and irregular eating style could have led to my tiredness, then also my depression also and the lack of good processing skills. It is weird how we think that we are doing ok because we are able to get up out of bed each morning and move our body but I am realising that it is amazing how little food we can put into our bodies and still do the basics of living and then be missing out on the fullness that life offers.
I am really thinking that I need to get this family onto the same routine that my parents had, with morning tea and afternoon tea and good meals at set times. Dh doesn’t like to watch the clock for food, instead going by when he is hungry but when we have ignored our hunger signals for so long or misinterpreted them I don’t really feel that they can be a reliable indicator of needing food. I have ignored my hunger signals a lot because of my Type A personality. I want the kitchen to be clean and the dishes done and the laundry on before I eat. I am expecting myself to do all this work yet I am not fuelling up my body first. Then I go slowly and I feel depressed that the cleaning takes all day and the kids are always interrupting because they are hungry.
In the New Year I think I will be quitting the supermarket work. I really need to be at home creating routines and nourishing my family. We will do a lot better with our home management jobs and our home school tasks too. Me working irregular hours is too disruptive to our home life. And to me that should really be coming first.
I think I will use the excuse of the pregnancy to work and then really try to apply what I have learnt there about working fast to my home so it is a better place to be.
Best
CV
