Good to Know I'm Still 29!

What's My RealAge?

Calendar Age
30.3
Difference
-0.6
RealAge
29.7

• Review your eating habits


• Do more cardio


• Hang up and drive


• Make breakfast a must


• Ease your headaches


• Check up on feeling down

Depression has many causes and solutions. Take the Depression Health Assessment to get a more in-depth analysis about your depression and find some possible solutions. Here’s why: Depression can be a daily struggle. But the majority of sufferers find relief through self-care strategies, psychotherapy, . . . medication, or a combination of these.

4 Ways to Fight Depression

1. Try to unwind. Yoga, meditation, tai chi, journaling, progressive muscle relaxation, deep-breathing exercises, or any hobby that helps you unwind can help with emotional balance.

2. Keep moving. Physical activity helps relieve anxiety and stimulates the release of feel-good endorphins. Eat good food. A nutritious and balanced diet that includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy -- and is light on caffeine and alcohol -- helps body and mind.

3. If you take an antidepressant, be sure to get ample amounts of folic acid, which may boost the drug's effectiveness.

4. Get enough sleep. Depression can interfere with normal sleep habits. Aim for 6 to 8 hours a night for optimal health. Try these tips for getting better ZZZs.

• Schedule time for yourself


• Reach out to others

You said that you went through one or more difficult life events in the last year. Unfortunately, they likely made your RealAge older. The good news? Your social support network (family, friends, organized groups) is excellent. To relieve the effects of stressful circumstances, . . . reach out to your network, and keep building connections. If tough times continue to affect your health or happiness, talk to a counselor.

Here’s why: In general, strong social ties help you work through anxiety and can counterbalance the aging effects of stressful events.

6 Ways to Reduce Stress and Tension

1. Try yoga, tai chi, or chi-gong. Or just go for a walk. 2. Meditate, or enjoy some quiet time in nature. This will get you started. 3. Write in a journal, strum a guitar, draw, paint, or do your favorite craft. 4. Spend time with good friends, or give your pets extra love and attention. 5. Listen to relaxation tapes or soothing music. Here’s how rhythms relax you. 6. Watch a funny movie, or engage in any activity that inspires a good belly laugh. Laughter is good medicine!

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.”~Author unknown

“There is a fountain of youth: It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”~Adelle Davis, nutritionist

I'm trying here, PEOPLE!!

*between this and my antidepressants, I just might actually become a decent human being capable of surviving in this world without punching stupid mothers who think they know more about parenting my own children than I do!

Err...something like that anyway.

A Novel?

So I'm reading this book, "Those Who Save Us," and the story goes back and forth between Germany in the early 1940's and the United States in the late 1990's. The "child," (now a grown woman), begins to remember bits and pieces of her early childhood, mostly from her dreams...but it is amazing to me what children remember and what they completely forget as adults. It got me thinking...

What are some of your earliest childhood memories? I bet they are nothing spectacular or horribly traumatic, right? My memories as a three year old consist of a red door on our old house and fake butterflies on the walls, a blue plastic fridge downstairs somewhere, my mother (a nurse) giving us our immunization shots at home (which I thought was completely normal by the way), once in Oklahoma I remember her wallpapering my room with some girlfriends and I had to stay with a friend the WHOLE.entire.day (it was annoying and made me homesick)...but anything spectacular or traumatic? No.

Once I was old enough to go to school I began to remember my life by grades. Memories of kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and so on...with only bits and pieces in between. One particular memory is of my mom helping me get ready for school in the morning. She put my clothes on the heating vent to get warm while she made breakfast, and I wore a blue puffy coat to school that day. Particularly spectacular or horribly traumatic? No.

I remember asking my mom to time me as I ran a circle around the house, practicing for T-ball. I remember sweeping the porch and being afraid of the toads that hid behind the grill. I remember playing with the string from the blinds and teasing my cat. I remember being in the garage as my mom got a pound of ground beef from the deep freezer when a can of juice fell out and landed on her foot- she yelled, and though I knew it wasn't my fault, I apologized for it anyway. Was it anything spectacular or horribly traumatic? NO- but it is a moment I will never forget. I just don't know why.

What is it about a particular experience that forms a lasting memory? I need to know! I worry all the time about the damage I am doing to my kids with the constant mood swings, the ups and downs of depression, my constant fight to find "quiet time" and "leave mommy alone so she can rest" time...how is all of this going to effect my children? What memories will they have of their early childhood when they are 29 years old and reflecting on some book they read spawning a sleepless night filled with worry and dread?? What will my children talk about when they get together 20 years from now and play the "remember when..." game? Will they be talking about their crazy mother and how it's a wonder they all survived without years of therapy?

Will Tiny remember the time I lost my temper because she lost the only picture I had of my grandparents with all three of my children? Will she remember that I completely lost control because it was no where to be found?? Or will she remember the next day, how I tried to comfort her and tell her I was sorry and that it was "no big deal" and that mommy could always get another picture? Will Sweetie remember that I got irritated with her when she couldn't ride her bike without a push? Or that I picked her up late at night and snuggled her, reassuring her that she was the absolute sunshine in my life? Will Bud-duh remember how pissed off I got in the mornings to find he had once again wet his pants and soaked the couch cushions? Or will he remember the lullaby I sang to him every night before he fell asleep?

Perhaps they won't remember any of those things. Perhaps they will only remember the bits and pieces of being a child that make no sense...memories that will have them questioning the reasons behind those lasting impressions years down the road.

And maybe by then I’ll have forgotten the depressing recollections from "early motherhood" and remember only the gratifying facets of raising my children...

You wonder how I feed my addiction?! Apparently I sell drugs to myself.

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To:	littlemissblogspot@yahoo.com
Subject:	Store
From:	littlemissblogspot@yahoo.com

On Becoming a Mother

"...my point is that I haven’t been the mother I always wanted to be. I’ve been overwhelmed by my emotions through these early years. I’ve often felt like I was treading water, biding my time until the waters weren’t as rough so I could finally swim towards shore where I could touch bottom and catch my breath. This week, I’ve begun to notice a change in the current. The water hasn’t been as choppy–or perhaps, I’ve finally built up the endurance to handle it."

-Sleeping Mommy

I can soo relate to this quote! (sleeping mommy, I love you!) Since returning home from our summer vacation, I have been working incredibly hard at becoming the mom I "want to be"-- TRYING to have family dinners together, TRYING not to lose my patience every 5 minutes, TRYING to embrace my children's silly behaviors and LAUGH more often...
I'm sure my children getting older has provided new freedoms, but at the same time, I also feel like I'm better at what I do because I've had years of practice. I truly feel I can handle my CREW with a certain degree of confidence, and you know what? I'm really proud of my little family.

Remind me of this post on days I feel I'm losing it, OK?

On the other hand, who can blame me if I drop the ball completely?? I mean, c'mon, I had a CRASH COURSE in becoming a mother!! 3 kids in under 3 years--wth were we thinking?! Other (sane) moms out there give themselves time to adjust to motherhood-- space them out a bit to ease into their new job but NO, NOT US!--those of us who didn't think that far into the future ended up with a litter
(insert: paid advertisement for birth control!- you're welcome)

p.s. did anyone notice NOT US can be rearranged: NUTSO?!
hmmph. I'm sure there's a reason for that.

A Boy's Gotta Learn Some Time...

Is it wrong to blog about my son discovering "shrinkage"?! Well, I think Erika said it best when she said, all is fair in parenting and blogging.


AND...WELL, IN THAT CASE...

We just got back from the pool when I told miles he needed to go potty. He pulled down his swimming trunks and laughed!

"hey mommy!! mommy!! look!! look!! my penis got fat!!!"

(and impressed that he learned something new, I giggled and said, yes, Bud-duh, that's what happens when you go swimming and the water is cold--)

He laughed some more and said, "hey mommy!! my penis has water in it!! And that makes it fat!! hahhahaaa!!!"

(um, not exactly son...but we'll save THAT talk for another day! Like-- the day you get married!!)

CRUNCHY?

The girls were looking at pictures on dad's laptop (screensavers) and giggling like...well, like um, little girls. Anyway, when they see a picture of Bud-duh they start LAUGHING (not sure why, probably because most of the pics are from when he was a baby)...

Tiny points and laughs-
look at crunchy Bud-duh!! He's soo silly!

Um, I think you mean chubby Bud-duh.
--hee hee, NO, crunchy bud-duh! He's so very crunchy!

and when I find the camera that TINY has hidden...
I will upload a couple pictures.
Grrr, she is such a Stitch.

--update--

nevermind, I found it in the playroom.