CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

It’s the same thing every morning. First, my alarm clock goes off (set to a very staticky radio station that I never seem to get around to fixing). I smack at it with an arm that had fallen asleep during the night — how ironic is that — then feel around blindly for my glasses. A few minutes later, I’m shuffling down the hallway…holding my trusty iPhone, my cat at my heels.

My husband usually wakes earlier than I do (and I’m up — most days — by 6 or 6:30), so he makes the coffee. I stumble into the kitchen, eyes squeezed shut against the too-bright lights, pour coffee and a little flavored creamer into a travel mug, and wander into the living room (the extent of my travels).

I turn on my phone, read something out of the YouVersion Bible app (my favorite way to start the morning), and sip at my coffee before moving on to the news apps. I am a total news junkie, and just like spending that time with God, not checking the news every morning would just leave me feeling like I was forgetting something. Seriously — I have six news apps on my phone. (I may or may not have just admitted that.)

Next, I move on to check my email inbox, searching through the junk for something sent by a real person — any real person, then it’s on to Facebook to read messages sent to me and to see what others could possible have to say at such an awkwardly early hour (well, early for me — many of my online friends live in entirely different time zones, and some in different countries).

Some mornings I’ll feel a little guilty for starting my day like this. But I’ve come to realize that this is just what I do. It’s how I wake up and prepare for my day. It’s a ritual, and it’s one that’s a part of who I am. I have the luxury…for now, at least…of starting my day off in a very easy-going manner. Why start off frazzled if I don’t need to?

I have no other rituals until the clock strikes 10 o’clock or so. It’s then — provided my wily five-year-old has gone to sleep — that my husband and I sit down in our family room and watch Seinfeld and Frasier reruns. The shows are still funny, and it’s our time together. I love starting and ending my day with these rituals. Somehow, I think it keeps me feeling balanced, if that makes sense.

It’s a rare woman, indeed, who hasn’t experienced some kind of stress-inducing upheaval in her life. Stress and anxiety that sticks around over a prolonged amount of time can also lead to depression (as you may know). Sometimes that depression can be very deep, or it can be such a light fog that it’s become your “new normal” until it’s diagnosed by a professional. In this current time in our nation’s history, when so many are experiencing financial hardship, that very stress+anxiety=depression equation is affecting many, many people.

You may be one of those women, or perhaps you’re facing other issues — small or large — that are causing you to feel some stress in your life. If you don’t have a ritual of your own, I strongly recommend that you create one. Maybe you don’t have an iPhone to have coffee with (sometimes my husband joins in on the conversation, which I also consider part of my morning ritual), and perhaps you can’t stand sitcom reruns, but I’m sure you can think of something you enjoy doing. In fact, you’re probably thinking of it right now.

Rituals are an important part of our lives because they provide a sense of sameness, of stability. We know, almost instinctively, that small children need rituals because those very rituals help them to feel safe and secure. Bedtime, for example, goes a little easier for all involved if the child knows that getting pajamas on, brushing teeth, reading a story, and perhaps a sleepy-time prayer are all a part of the routine. In the same way, rituals can also help us moms, who often feel we carry the weight of our worlds on our shoulders, to feel a little more safe and secure.

If you’re on your computer Facebooking with friends…and coffee…first thing in the morning, that is a ritual. Enjoy it! If you have a favorite show you watch on a regular basis, that’s a ritual, too. Enough with the guilt! Your ritual needs to be something you enjoy, not something someone else thinks you should do (like going for a walk with the dog at o’dark-thirty every day…unless you want to, of course).

Another ritual of mine is working out. Because we’re a busy family of six, I don’t always get to exercise right when I want to, but I consider it a comforting ritual when I’m able to do it. (Though perhaps “comforting” isn’t the best word to describe Jillian Michaels’ “30-Day Shred”!)

So, ladies, if you don’t have a ritual, get one — we all need some semblance of normal in our everyday lives. I would love to hear what your rituals are, if you’d like to share. Leave your comments below.

©2010 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sallydinius, and come join the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook page by clicking here.

I came across this post from last Christmas and decided it was definitely worth a reposting. Enjoy! – Ed.

Does this ever happen to you?

The holidays go by in a crinkly blur, and you’re left standing in the middle of wadded-up wrapping paper and worn-out decorations, scratching your head and asking:

“What in the heck just happened?”

Most of us, I think, go into the holiday season that way — we just let it happen. I’ve found, though, that the holidays I’ve enjoyed the most have been the ones I’ve taken time to plan. When I write down my Thanksgiving menu and the ingredients I need, meal prep is easier and the day is more enjoyable. Sending out Christmas cards isn’t so difficult if I make a list beforehand of who we’ll be sending them to. Having the cards, envelopes, pictures and stamps together in one box or basket that I can carry around with me (to fill them out wherever and whenever the mood strikes) is helpful, too.

Another wise practice is to keep all of your Christmas decorations in one place. My family and I broke that cardinal rule this year. I found two plastic totes in our utility room full of Christmas things (mostly my snowman collection), and various other things were in what I call our “Christmas Trunk.” It’s an old steamer trunk at the foot of our bed. Most years, it’s no big deal getting into the trunk: just flip the latches and lift the lid. But earlier this year, it was forced into double duty as a TV stand. The TV is an older one that is too heavy for me to lift on my own, so my sons helped with that.

After the totes and trunk had been gone through, along with a cupboard in our laundry/utility room, I found out why being unorganized can bite you in the rear: Our Advent wreath is missing. And because Sunday was the first Sunday of the Advent season, we weren’t able to begin our celebration, which includes candle lighting, the singing of carols or hymns, and reading Bible verses and a Christmas story or two.

The search for the wreath will continue tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t culminate with me buying a new one, because that’s when I’ll find the one that’s missing (it always works that way). And then I’ll have two.

If you’re like me and tend to let the holidays happen to you rather than the other way around, here are a few links to help you reign in some otherwise crazy days:

1. If you’re hosting a Christmas party or family get-together, Party411‘s Christmas Party Planning Guide will give you lots of ideas and help you feel at least a little bit sane. It’s a fun site to go through, so be ready to print out ideas you like — or at least have a notepad ready to write them down.

2. The interior decorating channel at About.com has a fantastic, short and simple article on how to plan for Christmas. I’m not going to recommend any other “get organized” list to you. This one’s pretty much perfect. Why? It’s the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Sweetheart (or as I learned it years ago: Keep it Simple, Stupid…which isn’t very nice). This article tells you a few great ways to simplify without getting too complicated. I don’t know about you, but if I have too many things on my list, my brain shuts down and I start playing games on my computer. Yes, I did just admit that.

3. Once you’ve decided what you need to plan for, write it down. There are many ways to keep track of your list (or lists) electronically (such as in a note to yourself on your iPhone, et al), but I really like the good, old-fashioned write-it-down method, and I prefer to do that in a planner. The Busy Body Book is my all-time favorite planner. Each week is broken into five columns, which gives you five boxes to write in for each day. These columns can be used for anything: different family members (good for seeing what each child has going on that week at one glance), or use them to organize household tasks, work-related activities, or even…yes…the holidays. It’s very inexpensive and I think you’ll love it as much as I do.

So, if you haven’t already figured it out, the best holiday stress-reliever is…planning. Delegating follows at a very close second — please don’t think you have to do it all yourself.

Do you plan or delegate to lessen the stress of the holidays? I’d love to hear your strategies!

©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and come join the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook page by clicking here.

By Peggy Baron

Thanksgiving can be a little stressful when you have company coming and you have to cook the whole meal. Sure the company is bringing a pie and will help with the dishes and clean up, but you’ve got a whole lot of work ahead of you when you wake up on that special Thursday morning. Don’t despair and stress – rally the troops!

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably got one or two or more children running around that house don’t you? Put them to work and give them all jobs. Just don’t mention the words “work” or “job.” Kids like to be helpful, especially when they see how much you appreciate it. Let them help!

First off, you need to have a plan. Take some time before Thursday morning to plot everything out. Of course you know what you want to prepare and serve – you do the same thing every year, don’t you? So that’s the easy part. Really look at each recipe and see what’s involved. You could probably do it in your sleep, but your kids can’t. Assign a recipe to each child, depending on their skill level. You may even want to find an easier version of the recipe. Go over the steps with your child and explain how it’s all going to work. Do kind of a foodless dress rehearsal with them.

If the child is too young to do a whole recipe, just give them certain tasks in a recipe and have them help you. Little ones can melt butter in the microwave, mash the potatoes, wash the vegetables, toss the salad, and put the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole.

This is one meal where everything seems to happen at the same time. To help prevent this, the kids can mash the potatoes ahead and keep them warm in the crockpot, ditto with the sweet potato casserole and veggies. If you don’t have a way to keep them warm, time them to come out before the mad rush, put a lid on them and wrap them in several towels. They can stay quite warm that way. The salad can definitely be made earlier in the day or even the night before.

Try to schedule the prep time so there aren’t too many people walking around the kitchen with sharp knives at once.

What about the pies? Kids love to make the pies! Go with the pre-made pie crusts if their pastry skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Maybe they could pick the pies they want this year and shake tradition up a bit. I’m sure a Chocolate Dream pie is a tradition in someone’s home even if it isn’t (yet) in yours.

Keep one step ahead of total chaos by having someone wash the dirty dishes that are accumulating. Perhaps those who are watching football on TV could lend a hand! Not only will there be fewer dishes to do at the end, but it leaves lots more room for the cooks to prepare the grand feast.

If you give it some thought and plan ahead of time, this Thanksgiving could be a lot easier on you and a heck of a lot more fun for the whole family. Have a good attitude and lots of patience and just enjoy yourself. Your kitchen will be filled with those you love, and that’s something to be thankful for.

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Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin’ Kids Newsletter. Interesting themes, fun facts, silly clip art, easy recipes, kid jokes, cooking terms, and safety tips make this newsletter a hit with kids! Learn more about it at cookinkids.com.

How are you doing this holiday season? Are you looking forward to it? Chomping at the bit to get out and buy those gifts and have family over? Or are you dreading the stress and strain?

U.S. home foreclosures for the third quarter of 2010 were 1 in 139 – a huge figure – so I think I can be pretty sure that a large number of people reading this are struggling financially in some way. I’m going to be very transparent in this post. We all have struggles, and I’m not going to pretend our family is any different at this present time. After all, we all need to know we’re not alone.

I’ve been feeling for a while now that my husband and I have been involuntarily enrolled in what I call “God’s school.” We’ve been hit by this trial and that trial over the last several years, and I know for a fact that we’re supposed to be learning something from it all and not just sitting and wallowing while waiting for the sky to finish falling.

The other day, my oldest son (18) asked me what my least favorite month was. His was November because, here in the Pacific Northwest, everything outdoors is blah…gray skies, a lot of rain, and temps that still aren’t cold enough to snow. When he asked me for my response, I said, “December.” His jaw dropped as if to say, “That’s almost inhuman!” I explained that I just didn’t enjoy that month anymore because of all the stress. In fact, I dreaded it.

Now, what kind of impact did that make on my son? Sure, he’s 18, but still impressionable and still looking to me and his dad for examples in how to live. I wish I’d clapped my hand over my mouth or just fumbled through and said, “I like all the months.” Seriously – there’s nothing wrong with December or Christmas. The problem is with me and my way of looking at it.

When your kids are grown, and they look back on their lives, what will their memories be of the holidays you spent together? They may or may not remember that your family struggled financially, or the things they had to do without. If you make a big deal about it, sure…they might remember. It depends on what your focus is, how big a deal you make of it, and what you talk about. What’s your attitude? What emotions about your situation do you let your children see? Do you want them to look back and remember you as a nervous wreck, someone who was constantly depressed and despairing, or someone who tried to make the best of every situation?

Is your sadness evident on your face, or do you cheer them with a smile? (How easily we adults forget what it’s like to be a child. They feel stress, anxiety, and despair just like we do, and they feel it deeply.)

Life, after all, is full of hills and valleys. It’s like we’re each in our own car, travelling through. We don’t stay in the valleys forever…though some people tend to stop their cars and stay in the valleys longer than they should (that’s called giving up and wallowing). Life is up and down. When you’re down, have faith that the “up” will be coming soon. Start your “car” and get moving.

What you display about your situation is what your children will remember. Whether they look back and remember stress or happiness is up to you – it’s under your control. You don’t have to have a beautiful home and the ability to give them everything they ask for…you simply need to make sure that you’ve decided to be content no matter what your situation is. That is what they’ll remember.

Happy memories can be made from anything. I never lived in a grand home as a child, and it didn’t matter to me. What I do remember are the situations that made an impression on me…and the memories my parents made for me, whether they were good or bad.

I often fall into the trap of thinking that if I can’t do such-and-such with and/or for my kids, it’s not worth doing at all, and many times I find myself sulking about it deeply before I know what’s hit me. That’s just stinkin’ thinkin’ and it’s a bad habit of mine. I am determined to do things differently this year:

I’m going to cheerfully give to others out of what I have – however much it is – and teach my kids to do the same.

I’m going to stare in wonder with my four-year-old at the first snowflake of the season and not let other worries overshadow that little bit of joy.

I’m going to smile whether I feel like it or not.

When I feel like panicking over holiday stress, whatever its cause, I’m going to eat chocolate (just thought I’d throw that in there).

When a negative thought looms on the horizon, I’m going to “flip it” and repeat the opposite (positive) version, instead. If that isn’t possible, I’ll replace that thought with a positive thought of some kind.

I’m going to remember my priorities this holiday season: God, husband, children, others. I’m not going to let drama caused by others disrupt my spiritual peace or the good memories I plan on creating with my hubby and kids. And isn’t the holiday season the time when drama rises up? Why is that? The holidays are happier when we don’t pay attention to it or let it steal our joy.

Finally, I’m going to fill my mind with good things. We may be in different places spiritually, and that’s okay. For me, one way I fill my mind with “good things” is by reading the Bible (I’ve heard it described as the best success book around…and that’s true – it’s full of great principles).

Another way I like to fill my mind with good things is by listening to podcasts that are encouraging. Most are free on iTunes, and some you can even listen to online. I love Zig Ziglar, et al., and my new favorite is a business trainer named Dani Johnson (you don’t have to have a business to listen to her – you’ll be encouraged and inspired all the same). Listening to my favorite music is another way…talking with someone who’s positive and encouraging can help, too.

I’m going to go out of my way to make special memories with my kids: visiting Santa, making cookies, taking walks in the snow (we’re supposed to have more of the white stuff this winter…unusual for Seattle). I’m going to take my kids to Starbucks at least once this holiday season. I’m going to watch sappy, romantic Christmas movies with my husband. I’m going to drink apple cider with whipped cream and not worry about the calories.

I don’t know about you, but I feel better already. I would really love to hear about the memories you’re deciding to make this season, so please share!

And stayed tuned in the coming days — I’ll be sharing with you more ways to make the holidays bright, not just for yourself and your family, but for the less fortunate (because there’s always someone less fortunate than ourselves). Focusing on others is the perfect way to get your joy back.

©2010 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and come join the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook page by clicking here.
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You may be interested in:
Grooming the Next Generation for Success by Dani Johnson. I am currently reading this very motivational and encouraging book and am having a hard time putting it down. I strongly believe it’s a must-read for EVERY parent!

By Guest Blogger Aurelia Williams, author of Balancing Work and Family


The trend of moms working from home to be near their children has grown in the last couple of years. Now that they have found jobs or businesses to run, they’re starting to realize that working from home is not as easy as they thought it would be. The work they do is hard to separate form their personal lives, which makes it hard to schedule time for work responsibilities and home duties.

The workspace these moms use to do their jobs at ends up being a part of their household, so that makes dividing work and home life even more difficult to do — and one of the motivating reasons for creating my Balancing Work and Family guide. Imagine that your office is a part of the dining room, which also happens to be the room where you eat your meals as a family. How easy is it going to be for you to leave your work life to be with your family when the office is 5 feet away from the dinner table?

The realities of dividing work and personal life can get smudged for work at home moms. When that happens, one’s stress level is sure to rise, which could jeopardize one’s sanity. To prevent your sanity from leaving, you should find ways to ensure that separation takes place between your job/business and your family life.

Assess the current situation. Try to find an area, within your home, to have your office so that it won’t interfere with your family life. The home office needs a room with a door where you can be apart from the rest of the house. A den or a garage can be converted into office space that is exclusive to your business. Some people have resorted to placing their office in the laundry room, just because it has a door! When that is not an option, set up shop in your bedroom to keep it away from the family areas.

Organization is the next step. A messy desk can be a huge distraction when trying to work. Everything needs to have its place. If you worked in an office, your boss would not stand for a messy work space. There’s no difference when you’re office is at home and not at the worksite.

Use inexpensive organizing items, such as baskets with separate compartments to help organize the odds and ends on your desk. You can keep rubber stamps, letters, invoices, pens, pencils, and the like in here. Organization makes finding things much easier, which results in a more relaxed work day.

Keep your business phone separate from the family phone line. When using the same line, you run the risk of your children answering business calls or picking up the phone during a conference call. This causes your professionalism to fly right out the window and takes your customers or employers along with it.

The same goes for the computer. It’s best to keep your business computer separate from what the other family members use, but budgets don’t always allow for this. In that case, make sure that the business/job files and documents can’t be easily accessed by anyone but you. This will help prevent some of the stress that could be brought on by family members stumbling on a client’s important document and accidentally deleting them.

Be sure to use calendars or planners as they are very helpful when trying to keep track of business appointments or deadlines and family appointments. This will lessen the stress of setting up family appointments when you’ve forgotten about business deadlines you have.

Consider hiring a sitter on days you have a lot of work to do. Being a work at home mom gives you the benefit of controlling your own schedule. Having a sitter keeps the kids away from your office and gives you quiet time to focus on your work and gives your kids a chance to have fun without you feeling too guilty.

Mixing business with family in the home setting can be a major source of stress. Keeping the business side of your life organized and separate is crucial to success in keeping your stress levels down and your sanity intact.

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Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.

For those of us trying to watch our weight, the holidays can be tough. We find ourselves surrounded by snacks and sweets, and though we know we should eat only in moderation, emotions associated with the holiday season can blow all self-discipline out the window. If we’re sad, stressed, or frustrated, it’s easy to think, “I deserve this,” or simply, “Who cares?”

Jillian Michaels has written a great — and short — article on “4 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Better Other Than Eating. You’ll learn some ideas to help yourself soothe those emotions in ways that don’t involve food and won’t make you hate yourself the next time you look in the mirror
(you shouldn’t be hating yourself, anyway, but that’s another blog post). We all need a little TLC once in a while, and I think she’s got some ideas worth reading.

I will add one other outlet for your pent-up emotional energy that Jillian didn’t mention: exercise. I know — weird that Jillian Michaels didn’t mention exercise, but she’s so well-known now that perhaps that’s just a given.

Nonetheless — get out there and do something when those emotions have got you down (or ready to scream). I went for a run with my daughter yesterday, and boy, I felt good afterward. I felt like I’d given it my all, but actually had some energy post-running. A little while later, we drove to the mall, and the mellowness kicked in on the way there. Not a blah, depressed mellowness, but a good, peaceful feeling. It occurred to me later that it was from running. (My daughter even said, “What’s wrong with you?” I had to convince her I really was fine — just mellow!)

Read more about the benefits and basics of running here.

Yes, I know the holidays are almost over, but New Year’s Eve is still on the docket, as is New Year’s Day. If you have more get-togethers planned, take a look at Jillian’s article and remember there are other ways to soothe a sad or cranky soul than by eating.

Happy New Year!

©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and become a member of the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook fan page by clicking here.

I’ve been thinking about excuses lately. I’ve personally been very good at making lots of them, thinking up plenty of reasons over the years as to why I couldn’t get in shape, eat healthy, etc. But ever since I made the choice to change my life, I’ve been blowing some of those excuses out of the water. I’d like to share them with you.

“I can’t exercise because I have this or that physical problem.” When I was 19, I had knee surgery for a cartilage problem in my left knee. I also have it in my other knee, and both can still be very noisy when take I the stairs or kneel . As far as exercise, the crackling sound makes doing lunges quite comical. When I was 12, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, and with fibromyalgia about 10 years ago. The cherry on top of all of this: I also suffer from one or two migraines a month. So what did I do? I stopped listening to myself whine about my knees (they’ve both gotten stronger, thanks to working out), I rarely notice my fibromyalgia anymore, and when the migraines hit, I lay low and allow my body to rest. When the pain lessens, I’m back to my workouts. What’s your excuse? Everyone can do something.


“I’m too tired to make healthy meals for my family.” This excuse can be scrubbed out with a little planning and effort. Do what I did: Motivate yourself by reading about all the ways healthy eating can benefit your family, and how junk food harms their bodies. You’ll find yourself more motivated to make meals that are good for all of you.

“I’m too tired…period.” If you have a physical condition that is causing fatigue, please check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. If you’re otherwise healthy, you may be surprised to know that exercise – hard work that it can be – will actually give you more energy and help you to sleep better at night. I’m living proof. I have more energy now (previously sapped by my fibromyalgia and poor health habits) than I’ve ever had in my life. I feel great! Also, make sure you’re getting enough sleep.

“I don’t have the time/I’m too busy.” You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s true. If you let the trivial busyness of the day take over, hoping to fit in a workout somewhere along the line, it won’t happen. Make it a priority. If you use a planner, schedule it as an appointment.

“I’ll start exercising when my life calms down … I’m under too much stress right now.” My doctor once told me, “If you don’t let the stress out, it will find its own way out.” Ominous words, but very true. Stress left unchecked can cause a host of health issues. Exercise, therefore, is an excellent stress-reliever. During one weekend that was hard for our family, my daughter Erica and I both felt the need to get outside and just walk. We went around our block at a good pace twice (joined for a portion of it by our neighbor’s black lab), joked around a little, and felt pretty good by the time we got home. Was the stress and worry over a particular situation (my husband’s health) totally gone? No, but we both felt better able to manage it. So, really, when it comes to exercise, there’s no time like the present.

Here’s a simple thing to do: Take a few moments to think about the excuses you’ve been making when it comes to getting in shape, then write those excuses down. Next, think of a rebuttal for each excuse, and write that down, too. For example, if you wrote, “I don’t have time to exercise,” you can counter that with: “I can fit in a brisk, 15-minute walk every day.” If walking isn’t your thing, try the 10-minute workouts on ExerciseTV.tv, or through your cable TV provider (I do the workouts that I find on Exercise TV through the Sports and Fitness Channel on Comcast’s OnDemand).

Remember: No more excuses!

©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives.

Ladies, it’s 2009: If you’re a mom, you’re busy. More than likely, you’re a little crazy, too. Aren’t we all? If we aren’t made that way by nature, we’re rendered helpless and hopeless by the hormones that street race through our bodies…or we’re driven just a little bit nuts by our children. Thankfully, the last two categories of crazy are usually temporary.

Toss in stress, and we’re done for. Yesterday, for example, I was a mess. I’m usually a fairly mellow, strong-on-the-inside kind of girl. But I had monster stress, wacky hormones, and too much left-over Easter chocolate body-slamming each other inside my body all day. I was irritable, weepy, and finding dumb things a little too funny…not all at once, but it sure felt like it. Talk about scary…it was my own private version of “Pollyanna Has a Meltdown.”

Come on…you know what I’m talking about.

Don’t worry, though — this blog isn’t about how crazy hormones combined with too much sugar can make us (though I don’t promise that it won’t come up again). CrazyBusyMama (Dot Calm) is all about life as a mom in a society that’s plenty crazy and busy all by itself…a society that is often the cause (or the instigator) of our own crazybusy lives.

Let’s cope together, okay? Scratch that — let’s relish life together! Coping is for people who are muddling through. I’ve been a muddle-headed muddler for far too long in my life. By the way, Webster’s defines muddle as:

verb 1 Mix up; confuse   2 Act confusedly

Muddle-headed, therefore, means:

(adj.) confused

Are you confused? Hey, I finally know what I want to do with my life. (At 39, better late than never really applies here.) Whether you’re at the same point or still feeling somewhat muddle-headed and long to see clearly, welcome!