Sleep-deprived Mama

My obvious sabbatical from blog posting reveals that other aspects of my life have held my pretty much undivided attention for a while now. While I wish that I could say I have been off on a carribean cruise or a family vacation, that is not the case. Instead, parenting has demanded my time...day and night. So keep in mind as you continue reading that this is a sleep-deprived mother rambling about her sweet life...and try to cut me some slack, since my children haven't.

Okay, with that being said, I already feel a little better. Things have been pretty trying, though.
For example, within a span of two days my hubby's car broke down and our refrigerator ceased to work. There goes the tax return money that we were hoping to use to cushion our savings accounts. Oh well...life goes on.

Did I mention that my 7-month old daughter is teething so bad that she is absolutely miserable...and can't relax enough to fall asleep? No naptime. No bedtime. Just me and hubby taking turns rocking my completely uncomfortable little princess.

Baby Girl isn't the only one having trouble sleeping though. Her 23-month old Big Brother has begun waking up about 4 or 5 times a night now. Unsure of what was causing these night-time wake-ups, I immediately scheduled a doctor's appointment. That's when the car died. Now, I have a car that does not run and a child that can't sleep.

I realize that I sound like a totally self-involved person that is just ranting about her problems. I guess that is exactly what I am doing. But in my defense, everything seems a lot harder to deal with when you are sleep-deprived.

Now is the time to say, though, that just as there are downs, there are also ups. Those sweet, wonderful ups. Baby Girl's two front teeth finally broke through. Not only is she back to her congenial, well-rested self, but she now has the most adorable toothy grin. My son has started sleeping much more like his normal routine again. Not completely back to normal, but it's getting there. (FYI, I'm still going to ask his pediatrician about his nighttime wake-ups, as a precaution). When I told my brother that our refrigerator no longer worked, he knew exactly how to fix it. Finally, when my friend heard about the car, he showed up the next day to "take a look at it." It works fine now. I will eventually have to buy a new starter, but it could've been much worse.

This just goes to show you that Life might throw some challenges in your path, but it also sends you just what you need to deal with them. My brother, my friend, my baby girl, and my little boy all helped me to realize that my problems really are quite small, and the wonderful people that I am so blessed to have in my life make the journey worthwhile.

Stepping Back

Now that I have completed my first writing class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff, I had intended to write a post about it...but that's going to have to wait. At the moment, I probably couldn't do it justice because I just have so many other things on my mind. For now, I'll just say that it was a really great experience, and I highly recommend taking that class. But more on that later.

I have had A LOT going on in my personal life recently...and today it reached a climax. It all got to a point where things just seemed like they could not get any harder than they already were. So what did I do? I packed a diaper bag, grabbed some coats, and headed to Disneyland for the day with my hubby and kids. (We already have annual passes, so it didn't cost us anything to go today).

And you know something? It really helped! My mom always said that when things got rough, sometimes the best solution is just to take a step away from it all for a moment. I think that obviously this advice does not apply to every situation, but in some, it really does help you gain some clarity.

Just for the sake of doing so, I have to mention that I truly, truly love my family! And you know, when it comes down to it, I really don't have all that much to complain about. Because I have my incredibly wonderful family - the most incredible gifts that anyone could ever ask for!

I realize that this all sounds pretty random, but it's just stuff that I really need to get off my chest. I promise that tomorrow I will pick up my pen again and get back to "being a writer"...but for tonight, I just need to be a woman expressing herself through writing. Lately, I have been so focused on meeting deadlines and following a schedule, that I have kind of forgotten about writing just for the sake of doing it. In my case, this is a big mistake because writing has been an outlet for me since I was a little kid. Since I forgot about "just writing," so much has gotten bottled up inside, which is really a shame...because it could have provided inspiration, and I could have focused all that energy on more writing.


Anyway, taking a step back today did give me some insight...

There are things that I truly love in my life, and I cannot take them for granted. It's important to take the time to find enjoyment in daily life, whether it be family or work-related (a.k.a. writing).
Really living your life is the greatest inspiration for writing. So if I want to be a good writer, then I shouldn't always be at my desk. By the way, these are just a few things that I learned. Try taking a step back sometime...you'll be surprised at what you see!