“Yes, they are honey. Now go back to sleep.”
“Are they in this land?”
“No. We don’t have any pyramids here in this country.”
“In Brazil?”
“No, not in Brazil. In Egypt. Now got to sleep darling.”
“The Egypt in Africa?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“Are people in Egypt called Egyptians?”
“Yes, they are. Now go to sleep, honey.”
“Have you been to Egypt, Mommy?”
“No, honey. But your grandparents have. They went on a cruise down the Nile.”
“What’s the Arrow?”
“Nile. It’s a river in Egypt. Now go to sleep. It’s late. Or early, really.”
“What time is it?”
“Two. Now go to sleep.”
“Is the Nile deep?”

… You get the idea. Nearly two hours, a bathroom trip and a glass of water later, my son finally drifted back to sleep.

I knew when we decided to have a child that there would sleepless nights – especially in those newborn years or the teenage years when your child is old enough to drive. I just assumed there’d be a grace period in between where parents could catch up on all the sleep they missed out on when their newborn was wailing every two hours. Or that time when he was a year old and he got into that jag where he woke up every night from 2 a.m. – 4 a.m. without fail wanting nothing but my undivided attention. (After two weeks of that I broke into a slobbering, tearful mess and begged my doctor for help, which came in the form of OTC Benadryl, but that’s another story.)

Apparently, I’m not alone. Sleep deprivation among parents is common, according to a study by a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a health survey of more than 79,000 adults in 18 states and Washington, D.C., consisting of married parents with children living at home, unmarried parents living with children, and married or unmarried adults without kids, parents were more likely to report insufficient sleep than adults without children. Among the sleepless, moms topped the list.

The solution? Researcher Daniel P. Chapman suggests sleep education among families with children, “particularly mothers.” Um …. Ok.

Source: WebMD
Photo, Flickr, peasap

Post from: Blisstree

News Flash: Parents are Sleep Deprived

I’ve been having these bizarre recurring dreams about having to plan my wedding again — which MUST have something to do with having watched, for the billionth time, Charlotte get married in her $14,000 Vera Wang wedding dress on Sex and the City.

But I’ve been married for 22 years and I’ve never had this dream. Although, the fact that I was late to this nocturnal ceremony does reflect what actually happened in real life.

Maybe experts would say it has something to do with feelings of wanting start over — in order to fix past mistakes — that I’m looking for a fresh start. Or, maybe I’m feeling unsettled and weddings symbolize some kind of constancy.

I’m thinking that it’s pretty literal…I would love to plan my wedding again. The first time around was no picnic:

My father didn’t show up because he was divorcing from my mother, my sister didn’t show up because she wasn’t speaking to my mother, one of my brother’s didn’t show up because my mother wasn’t speaking to him. And my mother was so busy transitioning into divorced mom that she forgot to be bride mom.

It was an absolute mess.

That’s not to say that we didn’t have a lovely time; my husband and I looked adorable, we were just starting our careers and we were in love.

But I had no help and I didn’t know what I was doing…I was lucky to have been paying a morsel of attention to Martha Stewart and Emily Post. Who knew the etiquette of dealing with divorced parents?

There was no internet…there was nothing like The Knot or Manhattan Bride or the tons of wedding blogs out there.

We had no money, but mostly, we had no style or taste.

If it were up to me, I’d re-plan the whole thing and do my hair and make up correctly. I hope have this dream again tonight.

Post from: Blisstree

Wedding Planning Part Deux.

It dawned on me that much of my worrying and sleeplessness resembled what my condition was like when I worked my “real” jobs in Corporatetown:

• Obsessing over marketing strategies
• Worrying about looming deadlines
• Regrets about something I said to someone
• Confusion about how to move forward
• Feeling inadequate when sales or contacts slow down
• Not eating right | missing meals
• Locked working in my office for hours

So, what has really changed since having decided to pursue my dream of owning my own business? Actually, not that much. Not That Much!? you exclaim? How can that be? All day long you hear and read commentary emphasizing that you have to love what you do, and make your dreams become a reality, isn’t that what all the Martha’s, Donald’s and StartUpNation.com experts say?

What they don’t tell you is that your personality type may sometimes get in the way. I am a worrier and a nervous nilly…although, I am able to make a decision, simply by judging by how tingly my fingers feel.

The difference at this point in my life is that my stress actually helps me stay focused on my business — for me and only me. At the corporate level, it was a toxic existence, because it was all for someone else’s judgement and approval. If I fail at this, I have only myself and the vision I laid out before me to blame.

Am I living my dream? Or living in a dream?

Well, I’d always hoped to be sitting in a home office, putting ideas together while looking out the window at my blooming Azalea bush, with my dog. Is it a peaceful dream, not yet…but soon.

Post from: Blisstree

Analyzing Your Dreams