Rest Time

Every day at 1:00pm we shut it down.

All the phones turned off.  A note placed on the front door not to knock or ring the door bell.  And we have quiet time.  It's as much for me as it is for the boys.

It's the couple hours were we slow and rest.  My big boys will sleep but now I am giving them the option to sleep or read during rest time.

It's my favorite time of the day!  For me, I do whatever refreshes me.  I may nap, read, or catch up on housework.  It's whatever I need that day to energize me.

When you are home all day, every day, with your kids, it is very important to know what refreshes and energizes you.  Then you have to be intentional about taking care of yourself.

For some reason, actually I know exactly why, but I've been Mean Mama this week.  Whew.  The noise levels have seemed extra loud around here and my patience fuse has felt extra short.  It's that hormonal thing that seems to be getting worse with age.

So I am about to go crawl under my covers.  The sun is shining into my windows and my room is so warm!  I may or may not sleep but I'm stopping for a few minutes to rest.

When I wake up I'm going to read my books.  And have a piece of chocolate. 

My friend gave me an excellent idea to try.  She said to make a list of 50 things that refresh and energize you.  She also warned it is harder than it sounds to think of 50 things.

It's good to have an idea of some quick things you can do to energize yourself (i.e. light a candle) and some more involved things that energize you (i.e. asking your husband to take the kids out of the house so you can enjoy your house in peace and quiet).

Do you know that refreshes you, and do you make time to do it?