Please Help Me De-Stress And Re-Focus!

[randomkid]

I don't think this belongs in B!itching, because I'm really looking for advice here, but feel free to move if you feel it should be there instead.

It seems that I have a never ending list of things to do as I'm sure everyone here does. The weekends are pretty much a bust since DH is home and my stepdaughters are here a lot. We are usually pretty busy on the weekends, which is fine. Then, I have Monday and Tuesday to get things done before I have to go to work Wed-Fri. This includes running errands, laundry, cleaning, etc. I have all these little projects I need to do and I just don't have the time. DD is very active and she is the only one, so she commands a lot of attention. This basically leaves me 2 hours or less when she is napping to do anything.

I guess I'm just overwhelmed today because I took DD to Old Navy and she kept running off, freaking me out. I had to keep chasing her down and it took me forever to do almost nothing. We left, came home and while DD was napping, I started going through her old clothes. I guess this has just done me in today. Some things still fit and whatever doesn't is going. My Mom wants me to give stuff to my cousin, which is fine, but I also want to have a garage sale. We really need the money and I don't think my Mom realizes how much. All she knows is that my cousin has less than me. This is totally stressing me out. What do I give her and what do I sell? I don't know really how big her DD is, so if I give her stuff that is too small, then that is just something else I could have sold, KWIM?

In addition, I had my hair highlighted last week and it needs some touching up. The stylist called today and said she can fit me in tomorrow. I have too much to do!!! But...I need to get this taken care of.

See, I'm totally overwhelmed and I need to chill out and focus. Please tell me something to help me keep my sanity today.

BTW, DD is in one of those moods where she is into everything (throwing around the clothes I just folded, for example) and screaming/crying over every little nothing. I know DCs can feed off our stress, but she was doing this before I was stressed. Hence, that contributed to stressing me out today.

Sorry too long, but thank you for listening!

[kcandz]

Hang in there, mama!

Could you do both for the clothes? Have the garage sale first, then give your cousin what doesn't sell? Your mom hopefully must be asking with good intentions, not knowing your situation, so you could tell her as much to stop her from asking over and over.

YES get your hair hilighted even if it throws other stuff off your schedule. For me, feeling unkempt just adds to my stress level. It may not look that way to the outside world, but I feel it. Plus having my hair done always makes me feel refreshed enough to have the energy to power through other stuff.

[Jenn98]

In a big hurry - dinner to cook, babies fussing, but I have one word for you: YOGA.

Just started classes and I love it. It has made me calmer than I have been in years. HIGHLY REC for destressing.

[niccig]

I could have written your post...so I'll give advice that I know I should take..maybe seeing it written will help me.

Write today off. With a toddler you can't get everything done and sometimes are just bad days. If it's a bad day, just cuddle and play with her rather than try to rush her through things - much less stress for both of you.

Garage sale - tell your mum you're getting things ready to sell, if she tells you what size your cousin's DD is, you will put things aside and you get ready, and she can also have what does not sell. Try to do the clothes folding in front of the TV after DD has gone to bed. I would also look into consignment shops. There was a big sale here over the weekend and I sold a lot of baby gear. Maybe I didn't get as much back as ebay etc, but it was very easy to do.

Old Navy - put her in the stroller or in the carts they have there for kids to ride in. My DS is the same age and he is not a child that will walk beside you, so he's strapped in at every store. I need to go get some clothes for me and he'll be in the stroller, I'll grab everything I can see, then into the changing room once and then we're out. Not much fun at all. If DH is home, I try to go by myself or I swap babysittting with another mum. I need to do that to get my hair cut next week - my grey roots are VERY visible and have been for a month.

I spend time on organizedhome.com about trying to get a handle on things. I used to do a nightly clean up routine of 15 mins that entailed putting everythign away, wiping down bathroom etc. It made a huge difference. It's all gone kaput for the last 2 weeks as I've had a term paper due and a final this week. But once that's over, I'm going to attack the house with a vegenance during naptime and after bedtime - those are the only times we have and I've found doing a little here and a little there and maintaining it have made a huge difference. I just have to get back on the wagon.

[randomkid]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Sometimes it's helpful just to hear that I'm not alone. After DD's nap, I fed her lunch (since she wouldn't eat before her nap), then she watched Baby ST 2.5 times while I tried to get the clothes picked up before she destroyed the progress I had made.

When DH got home, he said "There are little Grace explosions everywhere!" - toilet paper on the bathroom floor, plastic eggs all over the kitchen, table cloth and cards from stepDD's b-day party pulled off the table onto the floor - you get the idea. I just couldn't keep up today as she was far more "into everything" than usual. DH took her outside and ended up turning the hose on and letting her play in the water (it was 82 degrees!). That seemed to do the trick - she really settled down after that. She just needed an outlet.

I made it through most of the clothes when DH took her outside. I know that my cousin's DD wears size 12 months, so I picked out several of the nicer outfits and bagged them up for her. I didn't feel so stressed about it after I opened the bin that had all of DD's summer clothes from summer before last. I have a ton of 6-9 month stuff I can sell. My perspective is better now. The kitchen is clean (finally) and I will definitely go get my hair fixed tomorrow. The dark areas are driving me nuts - it just looks uneven.

Thank you again!