I took this picture this morning when the temperature was -11 degrees outside. brrr I love Logan but this is the hardest time of year and the inversions are a killer. There is no color outside and it can be grey and white for weeks. This picture really doesn't do it justice because there is a little blue sky peeping through, but that's gone now. I find it really easy to get the blues. Especially now that I am a stay at home mom. My interactions with adults are cut down significantly and I find it very difficult to motivate myself to leave the house. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and feel incredibly blessed to stay home with my beautiful bouncy baby boy every day, but it can still be hard. You kind of go crazy after staying in your house for so long...
So to fight the winter blues I have 6 things I am testing out to improve my mood! My friend told me she was at a meeting with the General Relief Society Presidency (of the LDS church) and they said if your depressed at least do these 3 things every morning and it will help!
1. Read your scriptures. Even if it is just one verse! I love that they point out it doesn't have to be way long and time consuming. Just start simple! I am finding that keeping it simple is benefiting me in a lot of ways lately. (more on that later)
2. Make your bed. Seems easy enough...most days...some days...( :
3. Get dressed. I am proud to say this one I usually accomplish. Usually.
I have been really trying to focus on getting these 3 things done first in the morning and have been pleasantly surprised how much they help. Once they are done I am more motivated to accomplish other tasks and I generally feel more uplifted.
Some other things that have helped my winter blues..
4. Exercise. This is always difficult to motivate myself to do but I have found if I put on my exercise clothes as soon as I get out of bed I am 84.2% more likely to exercise. Also I keep it simple! I don't have a crazy long exercise regime and I don't force myself to do it for a certain amount of time. I found that if I do say I HAVE to exercise for 1 hour than I avoid it like the plague. An uninterrupted hour is hard to come by with a baby. So I just start and go for as long as I can. Sometimes this is 20 min. Sometimes its 45. Either way I feel like I accomplished something and move on.
5. Filter your entertainment. I love TV drama but some of the shows can be very depressing. I find that during months like these I have to watch upbeat shows, movies, even music or I feel crappy.
Or I go on youtube and watch funny baby/animal videos! These are some of my favorites.
6. Most importantly I look for the small treasures through out the day like this handsome little boys smile, laugh, or pretty much anything he does.
I also found this little rose plant at Sams Club for $5 and I love it. It is so pretty when everything outside is so ugly.
I can also be extremely grateful for indoor plumbing. Poor Mozzie has to go potty outside and I have been worried his pee will freeze in midstream and .....ok actually I am pretty curious if this is even possible?
Anyway poor guy comes back in looking like this...and I unsuccessfully try not to laugh and take pictures every time.
If anyone else has any tips on staying happy during the winter/grey/freezing/ time of year let me know!
Love J
I totally know where you are coming from! Especially when you only have one little one at home and not a lot of running around to do (I think it gets easier when you have older kids that keep you going crazy busy!) The things you posted are all GREAT ways to beat the blues! I agree with them all-epecially getting showered and dressed (I am terrible at this one 3 out of the 7 days of the week!) and exercise. I know Liam is still really small, but most libraries have a children's play area with soft toys, books, and some of those bead boards that the little ones love, too. They can be a great place to get out and go to in winter, plus swimming at the recreation center with your little one, etc., just breaking up the routine... it's never too early to start play groups either! That way you can visit with other moms while your kids either roll around on the floor or run around and play together. :) Wish we were up there! I would totally invite you over to hang out!
ReplyDeleteGreat post janae! Thanks for the tips. Being a stay at home mom is the best job ever, but it is so hard too. Loved this post though! Thanks!
ReplyDeletelove you! these are great tips. the other day I was actually pretty down and just not feeling energetic or happy or anything and I was thinking why am I not happy, nothing horrible has happened, I'm so blessed, I have a great life. . . and then I remembered, am I reading my scriptures everyday? I know they give us strength and can help us through our days and have recommitted to morning studies with them, rather than right before bed.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said 84.2% of the time...I was thinkin more like 85% :). Can you even think about how we got up and exercised every day at 6 in the morning for 3 years? Even when it was cold outside like it is now....I think that we were pretty dedicated back then :). Love you Nae!
ReplyDeletelove this post! I have been feeling the winter blues lately too! Today I rearranged our living room... always helps me :)
ReplyDeleteJanae, I love this post. I am very familiar with the "winter blues" and I love those six simple steps. I especially like 'filtering entertainment'. I'm watch a lot of teen drama shows but sometimes they can drag me down. In the midst of getting ready to move I've been decluttering, packing, organizing, and letting go of things I don't really need. But sometimes I wake up tired and unmotivated. I'm going to take the advice and see how it goes. Thank you again!
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