Thursday, June 2, 2011

A better me?

Well, my "30 Days To a Better Me" project is over. Am I a better me? Hmm...sadly I'm not sure if I can say yes. It was honestly kind of a tough month for me. The first half went smoothly but the second half has been really chaotic and stressful and at the moment I'm not the calm and peaceful person I was hoping I would be!

I did learn a lot about myself this month though. One thing I learned is that you should never have a long term houseguest or take on another child in the middle of a destressing program, lol. Michael is having a good time here, but having a forth child in the house really isn't helping my stress levels. There is more laundry to do, more food to make, more messes to clean up and one more kid to entertain. That along with the fact that my kids have a million end of the school year projects and activities and parties going on means that life is just super chaotic at the moment. I feel like I'm kind of treading water at the moment and trying to not to drown.

One thing I learned about myself is that water aerobics does wonders for my stress levels, but so far this week I haven't managed to make it to class once. Monday I actually went and I was told that there was going to be a class even though it was a holiday but when I got over there I found out that they were wrong and there was no class. I did exercise in the water a bit by myself though, so maybe that sort of counts. Tuesday the kids missed the bus so I was too late to make it to class. Wednesday I missed it because Matthew had to make a rainforest diarama and it would have been crushed on the bus so I had to drive the kids to school. Today I was bound and determined to go and Shawn even got all the kids lunches made and got Clarissa ready this morning so I wouldn't be late, which was really sweet. I did actually manage to make it there but when I dropped Clarissa off at child care she had a complete meltdown and wouldn't go in. I tried everything to get her to stay but it was no use. We finally gave up and left.

Tomorrow Shawn has the day off so I'm going no matter what. He's actually planning to use a guest pass and come with me, which will be fun. Shawn is actually the best stress reliever of all. I'm always happier when he's around.

One thing I did rediscover this month was my love of photography, although I have put that back on hold a little since Michael has been here. I did really enjoy the photo challenge when I had time to do it. Once Michael goes home I'm going to get back into it again. Now that it's finally getting warm outside it's the perfect time for me to start taking more pictures. I do have plans for some photo projects this summer. Rediscovering photography was probably the best thing that came out of my 30 day project.

Even though the rest of the month didn't go like I planned, joining the gym and rediscovering photography are positive changes that will continue to benefit me. I may still be a little high strung and stressed out, but at least I'm moving towards making changes, and that's a good thing, right?!

Once the kids are out of school and Michael goes home, I think I'll revisit my 30 day project. I may break it down and set some 7 day goals and take it a week at a time for a bit.

For now I'm going to snuggle up with Shawn and see if we can catch up on Army Wives while the kids play. The perfect end to a busy day. :)

3 comments:

~Sara~ said...

For what it's worth, I think you've done a great job. Sure, you've hit some snags along the way, but they've only made you stronger and more committed to overcoming them. I've really enjoyed the more frequent pictures and blog posts, good job Wendy!!

Sara Prock

Jane said...

I agree that you've done more than you gave yourself credit for. I have enjoyed the pictures and blog posts too. I guess the ducks didn't return this spring. Miss those cute pictures but the birds were beautiful though.
Enjoy the weekend.

My5Blessings said...

I totally agree Wendy! You have done a lot this month and you are a better person. Stop doubting yourself so much. I think as moms we are our own worst critic!

I felt so bad for you at the Y, Richard did that to me all the time. He wouldn't go in the child care so I had to take him in the pool with me. Needless to say after a short while I stopped going. Looking back I should have hired someone and kept going.

Keep it up in the long run you will feel so much better!!!