HALT!!!!

Christine over at welcome to my brain wrote an amazing post (all of her posts are amazing so if you haven't read her blog - get over there!) about the acronym H.A.L.T. which is apparently used in programs like alcoholics anonymous to eliminate stress.

H- Don't get too Hungry.
A- Don't get too Angry.
L- Don't get too Lonely.
T- Don't get too Tired.

Of course this is true for our kids, I always know that when easy-going (non-hormonal) Ponito has a meltdown it is because he is hungry, tired or sick - period.

I get frequent reminders that I need to apply this to myself (Katharine Leslie told me straight out that I need to stop and take a break, Hubby has given up on me ever coming to bed). As you know from reading pretty much any of my recent posts, I'm a bit of a perfectionist with an apparent inability to say "No." When I get overwhelmed and stressed I tend to shut down and be much less tolerant.

So as I sit here Hungry (blogging is more important than breakfast right?), Frustrated (I rarely get angry, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." - as a child I had epileptic seizures that were similar to the children's meltdowns right down to the fact that I remembered nothing after them - that were triggered by anger so I've learned to go to great lengths to avoid it even though I outgrew the seizures.), Lonely (since my return from the seminar I've been isolating myself from everyone because I'm too overwhelmed to be patient and tolerant, or because I know they'll fuss at me for not taking care of myself, and did I mention Hubby has given up on me ever coming to bed?!), and of course we can't forget TIRED (last week it was sewing and the seminar stuff, this week I've been up until after 3am playing catch up and blogging).

So I'm going to grab something to eat and maybe close my eyes for a few minutes before my 10am special needs kids support group meeting for parents of kids using the special needs programs at the local elementary and middle school (of course it must be designed for stay-at-home moms, but I want to go to at least one). Hmm... how do I make sure I don't sleep through the meeting? This is when I envy the guys techno watches with alarms and stuff (and the ability to concentrate long enough to figure out how to use it). Ooh I know! The time on the stove!