It's late, I should probably be sleeping. I had a little nap earlier today, somewhat by accident; and I am glad I did. (By the way, tonight's post likely won't be divided into nice, sensible paragraphs, sorry ahead of time.) Have any of you ever heard of CHAOS? Martha Ciley (aka FlyLady) describes it as Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Today I began, or maybe continued, digging myself out of this sad state. It feels great to tell you the truth, even if it is overwhelming and daunting at times. FlyLady recommends sorting your clutter into boxes, bags or bins. I don't remember the exact catergories, but they are along the lines of "Keep, Sell, Toss" or something to that effect. I happen to have 3 empty laundry hampers since I've actually been keeping up with my laundry for the past week or so. I labeled them with some scrap paper "Church Friends", "St. Vinnie's", and "Papers". The paper hamper is filled with every piece of paper I came across today that wasn't obvious garbage. Later (hopefully this week) I will go through the papers and sort them into "file", "shred", or simply throw them away. The items in the church friends hamper will be given (or returned) to people who can use them, mostly baby items Libby has outgrown. The St. Vinnie's hamper seems self explanatory ;) Anyway, I found the process somehow liberating. I worked on one room (the worst room) and got it so much closer to being usable again, it was so worth the exhaustion!
I have been having trouble with getting my oldest child, Hannah, to fall asleep lately. She is (almost) 10, mostly responsible, very helpful with the younger children, very attached to me. She suffers quite often from what I call a nervous stomach; any stressful or exciting event gives her a tummy ache. She seems to be suffering from growing pains also. I think her insomnia is stemming from nerves. I've been telling her to pray, have prayed with her, suggested things to help her relax, but every night it's the same thing. She comes down several times, "my leg hurts", "my back hurts", "I can't sleep", "the tv is too loud". I am getting very frustrated, and am asking for any advice. I want her to be able to sleep, and I want her to be able to put her faith in our Heavenly Father, and in Brian & me.
Thank you friends for sticking it out through my ramblings tonight! May God bless you all.
Do you think she would try a warm cup of chamomile tea before bed...with a little honey to sweeten it up? This is supposed to be calming and relaxing. They even sell "Sleepy Time Tea". Sometimes just the routine alone can help you relax and prepare you for sleep. You could also try a lavender spray on her sheets...that is supposed to be calming and relaxing too. I would start with looking at her bedtime routine and taking out anything stimulating before bed...tv, fast stimulating music, foods or drinks that are stimulating (which I know you pay close attention to!). Create a relaxing music station on Pandora to help the whole family calm down. I start listening to this kind of music about an hour or two before bedtime. It helps the kids settle down and it helps me not to lose it when the bedtime routine (cleaning up and brushing teeth, etc) gets stressful. I know she's older, but maybe she needs one of those regular bedtime routines that younger children need. Another idea is to go up to her room with her at bedtime, sit and read with her, talk with her and pray with her in her room to tuck her in. This really helps Lucy especially when she starts to have bad dreams. We pray very specifically about things with her and ask for God's help. I don't know if any of this would help, but it is just what came to my mind first. A calcium supplement at bedtime (the Grainery sells children's chewable ones) might help her legs too, and even her Tummy. God will give you wisdom, just keep seeking Him.
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