Getting Rid of the Blahs

Do you ever wake up and just feel blah? I know I do all time.

How do you know if you have a case of the Blahs?

Okay, look down, right now - are you still in your pajamas? Is it after 10am?

Are you wearing a bra? Did you brush your teeth yet - ew!

Are your kids going on their third PBS show straight?

Did you just eat a piece of cake/pie/donut/chocolate or some other dessert for breakfast?

Is the thought of even making yourself a cup of coffee (which you know you desperately need) too much for you?


Yeah, I'm afraid you might have a case of the Blahs. They can be brought on by numerous things - late night with the baby, allergies, your period, but regardless they are dragging you down and your kids are probably swinging from the ceiling fan right now.

So here's Mel's way of attacking the Blahs - and it really works!! Yesterday I went from crazy-haired pajama wearing Mom, to gardening, having an outdoor day with the kids and doing a backyard "picnic" - all in about 30 minutes.

First, go get dressed woman! And like really dressed, with a bra and clothes you would actually wear out of the house. And for the love of all things hygienic, brush your teeth. I'm sure at least your kids will appreciate it - even if they can't talk yet.

Next, eat a real breakfast that won't have you crashing in 30 minutes from all the sugar. You know, like oatmeal or a smoothie or something. When I'm really down, sometimes I don't even feel like making myself breakfast - which in turn makes me feel worse.

Hopefully, by this point you should feel a bit better. So take a tour of your house and pick up all the trash. Can you really feel anything but blah when the house is out of control? Sometimes just picking up all the trash can really make a difference. I know we always have those "items" that won't fit in the trash can, or junk mail on the table, dirty diapers from the morning waiting to be thrown out, etc. Grab all that stuff and throw it in your outside garbage can!

Ahh! Now you can breathe.

Now take a break and check your email and Facebook because you are probably exhausted from all the "effort", haha.

Okay, now go clean up THAT mess. You know, the ones your kids made while you were hanging out in your PJs...I know at the time you were thinking - whatever keeps them busy, but now it's time to fix the lapse in parental judgment. Get the sharpie markers out of their hands and clean up the all the Tupperware bowls they have pulled out of the cabinets.

Once that's done, walk over to your dryer, put it on the "freshen up" cycle and hit start...again. If you're really blah, there are probably still clothes in the dryer from yesterday, or last week...depending on how blah you really are! Be sure to actually remove and fold the clothes from the dryer - or this activity is stupid. (Yet how many times have I restarted the dryer, only to "forget" about it later...hmmm, my record is probably 6 or 7 - a whole lot of stupid there).

If you're still unmotivated, go for a mini-break again. Sometimes, by this point, my blahs have left, but some days they are persistent little buggers.

Look at your kids. Do they have pants on? Are they wearing clothes from last night or yesterday? Is there unidentified food on their faces and clothing? Yeah...go dress them and clean them up! Poor children...tsk tsk. ;)

Okay, here is the crossroads - most of the time you should be good by now, but if you're still down and out - you need to pack up the kids (they are a least dressed now) and head to a Starbucks with a drive through. You obviously need the "big gun" - caffeine - to get you artificially started for the day. I would say make your own at home, but you probably don't have the effort for that. If you do, kudos to you!

Now take your caffeinated self and tackle your day!

P.S. If you're preggo or nursing or laying off the caffeine - woe is you! Go lay on the couch, you've earned it!