Change

I'm going to deviate from my recent format today.

I'm pretty sure I've talked on here before about how I have a difficult time dealing with change. Friday was Mitchell's last day of work, so now he's home all the time. And it's really throwing me off. I love having him here just because I feel like I've hardly seen him since we moved to Georgia, but I can seem to stay focused or on task. I've spent most of the past three days reading Mitchell's Dragon Ball comics (it's weird, I know). And my house is becoming an even bigger mess. I've suddenly lost all my motivation and I can't seem to stick to the routine I had finally gotten settled into.

All of this isn't helped by the fact that I started my period this week (sorry if this is TMI!), so I'm moody, crampy, and cranky. I'm not used to this whole period thing; it's only the second one I've had since I got pregnant with Charlie over 2 years ago.

If I try to look at things from another standpoint, it's not so bad, though. I've made dinner for my family, the kids had a bath today, we've been grocery shopping and got gas, and we've had a lot of fun together as a family. I guess the "moral of the story" is that I need to be a little more lenient with myself and remember that I just need time to adjust, but I can do my best while that's happening.

Father's Day

Ah! I can't believe I missed a whole week!

The Obstacle:

I had 3 migraines this week, including one today. The first two were on Monday and Tuesday. They an be pretty debilitating. Thankfully, I don't throw up when I have migraines.

The Blessing:

When the migraine started coming on today, I started to apply my oils. I put the Deep Blue Rub across my forehead, down my temples, and under my eye on the cheekbone. I followed that with Frankincense, and then Serenity. I made sure to massage it into my temples really well. Then I got a wet washcloth and put it over my eyes. I also had it on the back of my neck for a bit, and then on my forehead. I went and layed down on my bed with the washcloth on my forehead and my sunglasses on. I remembered my mom telling me how my Popi would listen to classical music when he had a migraine, and when I was really little I loved being with him. So I put a classical music station on my Pandora and just listened. After about 30 minutes, the kids were starving and couldn't stand me being in my room any longer, so I came out and started dinner with my sunglasses still on, but I was soon able to take them off because I felt so much better. And I've had hardly any hangover symptoms or anything.

The Celebrating:

Happy Father's Day! Mitchell spoke in church today, and everyone enjoyed his talk. Charlie especially loved seeing his "Dah" up on the stand. At lunch, we gave Mitchell his Father's Day present. Then we had a relaxing, low-key evening. I had the kids do interviews again this year. 

Mitchell's cards and gift, a rubber chicken. The Superman card plays the theme song when you open it; Joseph is obsessed with cards that have music and would not rest until we found a cool one for Dad, thankfully it only took about 15 minutes. When you open the other card, Tramp scootches closer to Lady so they're kissing; it was just too cute to pass up. And the rubber chicken is basically a 6-year, running joke in our family.

Sunday?

I missed a day again. And it's because I was playing video games too much...

The Annoying:
I LOVE video games. I just love playing games, especially when they have goals and such that I'm working towards. The problem is that I'm easily addicted to them. Mitchell and I have a new game that we've been playing together this weekend, and we played the whole weekend, literally. It's just frustrating to try to "fight" against my desire to play games.

The Nice:
Church was good. We made it in time for the sacrament and stayed for the whole time, which is pretty good considering our track record. We have a really great ward and I enjoy getting to know the people more.

The Healthy:
Mitchell and I have been sort of doing this diet thing, where we replace two meals a day with these health shakes. So we did that today, plus I ended up walking about 1.5-2 miles trying to get a good shot of the sunset for my other blog. Maybe I'll start losing weight, even though it seems like I've been steadily gaining.

Frustration, but Fun, too.

The Frustrating:

I spent most of the morning on the phone with various people trying to sort out the problem with my Cymbalta. And I'm still not sure if I made progress. Hopefully, the doctor will just put in the Prior Authorization, but the message that came across to me is that she would rather just switch my medication. I'm worried about switching without regular medication management. Normally, if your meds are switched, you go in every 2-3 weeks until you are stable, but my insurance ends on the 30th, so I don't have long. It is true that I've done really well this week on the Prozac, so maybe that's a sign...

The Blessing:

I'm so grateful that I haven't been sick from missing my Cymbalta. Usually, I my muscles are really sore, my head hurts continually, and I'm nauseated like I have a stomach bug. I've just been continuously amazed and grateful that I'm not suffering like that.

The Fun:

It's Friday night, so Mitchell and I could just hang out with worrying about work tomorrow. We were able to play a video game together for a couple hours and just have fun.

Play Group and Too Much Sun

The Stupid:
So, I read this article in Psychology Today that talked about the link between depression and vitamin D deficiency. And it said that sunscreen prevents the body from absorbing vitamin D. So, like the smart woman I am, I decided to not wear any sunscreen while we were at play group today. Play group was 3 hours at the pool. My back, shoulders, and upper arms are completely pink and sore. It's annoying, but it's really my own fault.

The Awesome:
I have been feeling surprisingly great this week. I thought I'd be bed-ridden with the "discontinuation syndrome" that usually comes if I miss my Cymbalta. But the Prozac and Wellbutrin have helped me get past any problems. I'm just so grateful for how well I've been dealing with this.

The Fun: 
The kids and I went to play group today. It was hosted at the neighborhood pool of a friend in the ward. It was SO much fun! I didn't take a single picture because I was too busy having fun and enjoying the kids. There were a couple times that I thought about getting the iPad out, but I felt like it would have ruined the special moment that we were having. It took all three of the kids a while to warm up to the water, but that was expected seeing that the last time they were in a pool Joseph was only 2 1/2 and Annabelle was about 9 months; Charlie wasn't even a thought in our minds! Eventually they all got very comfortable in the water and had tons of fun playing. Joseph ended up loving it the most, which I totally wasn't expecting. He's normally very cautious and he doesn't like water very much, so it was a surprise when he stayed in the longest and played the most. My absolute favorite part was the giggles and pure joy that came out when he was using arm floaties for the first time in the deeper water. He just loved that he could be in the water like that. I'm planning on getting them each their own floaties so they can play more next week.

The Zoo and Spending Time with Kids

The Negative:

There is SO much stuff around my house that needs attention, but I feel like I either don't have the time or the energy to ever take care of things. It's really frustrating because I just feel like I always have this weight on my shoulders of all the responsibilities and tasks that are waiting for me. And I just can't seem to find the right balance...

The Fun:

The kids and I went to the zoo today. We had way too much fun there and really wore ourselves out. They spent the majority of the time playing on the splash pad they have at the zoo. We did look at a few animals, though. I'd post some pictures now, but it's late and I haven't gone through them yet.

The Lesson:

This morning I read a blog post that a wonderful friend shared on Facebook. And it really got me thinking about things. The point of it was that spending time with the kids is an accomplishment. It is important. And it's a very good way to spend the day. So I tried to keep that in mind today. It's hard because I have that weight of stuff to do on my shoulders, but if I keep trying to find a good balance, The Lord will help me.

Shopping and Exhaustion

I know, I missed a few days... It's been pretty difficult for me lately.

The Hard Part:

I was SO exhausted today. I think it's due to two major things. The first being a very adventurous day yesterday, and the second that I STILL don't have my Cymbalta, so that's two days without it now. I

Was hit by a huge wave of exhaustion at lunchtime. I barely made it to the bed before I passed out on the bed. It was that kind of sleep where you just have no control over sleeping or waking. I slept about 2 1/2 hours. I was able to force myself awake when I realized that Charlie had been awake for a bit and had a stinky diaper.

The Good Part:

I was at least able to pick up the Wellbutrin that I was prescribed. And the insurance is finally, sort of, fixed, so the prescription was only $15. I really hope that adding it will help me out a lot.

The Work Part:

Despite being a sleep-walking zombie, I was able to get to Kroger where I got some grocery shopping done and picked up my medicine. I had loaded coupons into my Kroger card, so those combined with sales prices saved me $26 on my groceries. The kids were really wild because there were no car carts to contain them and my brain was working at half-speed, but it still went pretty well.