Take a Deep Breath

I hate getting up once I go to bed - especially after I've been asleep. If one of the boys have trouble in the night and come in to get me, I just put him in the middle of our bed (to the annoyance of my Lobster), give him a pat on the back, and go back to sleep (Hallelujah for king sized beds!). Luckily, it doesn't happen so often anymore, and very rarely do the boys come in the same night.

Well, earlier this week, Boy 1 came into our room. When he was little, Boy 1 woke 4-5 times a night and was a frequent middle-of-the-night visitor. But he's grown out of most of that. He's still a VERY light sleeper and has trouble getting to sleep. A small bit of Melatonin helps him to relax and quiet his mind just enough of the many troubles that have a chance to catch up when he's lying still in his darkened room. 

He had had a nightmare. My usual patting on the back and falling promptly to sleep wasn't working. He was shaking and still frightened although he had his mom and dad on either side of him. He was whimpering and wanting to talk about his dream. Sometimes, I don't indulge him in talking it out  because he often works himself up to inconsolable. I tried to get him to start some deep breathing and told him that we'd talk about it in the morning. Luckily, with a little help from my soft, doughy  snugly arms, he was able to settle down and fall back asleep. I'm sure my snoring in his ear helped, too. ;)

 Apparently, in his dream, a blimp caught fire and crashed into his room, engulfing one of his walls in flames. Can you blame him for needing a little comfort? I sure can't. When we talked the next morning, he still remembered many details. I had hoped that he would forget. Those details made his next bedtime (and almost every other one since) a little more difficult. Poor kid.

Ok, so if you know me, you know how organizationally challenged I am. I try, but man, it's a struggle.

If you've been reading for a while, you'll also know that I've been stuck. I've been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds over and over for months. Exercise has been hard because of my foot/ankle and I let myself "off" way too easily. How else do you think I got this big? I have such good intentions, but I'm sure you've heard which pathway is paved with those.

Anyway, one of the blogs that I regularly read, Back To Her Roots, is sponsoring the Super Summer Mind and Body Challenge starting on June 1. It's just what I've been needing, but too lazy to put together myself. She even has free printables for point tally sheets, ideas for points for both mind and body and blank sheets so you can customize activities and point values for yourself/your family. Check it out - she's got some great ideas. I'd love to know if you end up working on the challenge. We could help motivate each other!

I'm going to try a version of this to help in the activities that I plan for the boys and me this summer - encouraging them to stay more active, positive with each other and working individually and together toward a goal with a big reward at the end of summer. They get to help decide the reward.

I'm feeling frustrated. I've been doing so awesome at tracking all of my food on My Fitness Pal. And I only went over my calorie goal once this past week. I gained almost a pound this week after gaining a half pound last week. I'm noticing that although I stay under my total calorie goal, I'm not staying under the individual goals for sugar and sodium. Those two categories are where I go over most often. So I'm keeping an extra eye on those. I also really have to up my water intake - especially in the afternoons. 

I'm frustrated. I'm a bit discouraged. But just like my 9-year-old, I'm trying to get through things by doing some deep breathing and keeping calm - not working myself up. I'm going to pat myself on the back for the things I'm doing well, get some good sleep and keep working. 

I'll get there.


SUNDAY STATS:
WEIGHT GAIN/LOSS: +0.8 lbs
TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: -23.6 lbs
EXERCISE: Yard work and a little walking - not great
FOOD: I made some really good choices this week.
FOOD TRACKING: Excellent! 6 of 7 days!
HYDRATION: Okayish. Need more water!