Tip of the day.

You know when 3:00pm rolls around and after doing all of your chores, having kids running like marathon runners through your house, getting the arts and crafts mess cleaned up, the little kids are already up from their naps with more energy than this morning, and you haven't even sat down once the whole day and you feel like you are going to pass out or fall asleep while standing?! I have a trick, a super secret trick to help you feel energized and helps you finish the rest of your day that is full of more kiddos running around, picking up your house, cooking dinner, doing dishes, bathing the kids, putting the kids to bed and even doing 3 hours of homework.. It's called. A protein shake. Usually I will chug a sugar free red bull but once I tried drinking my protein shake instead I was PUMPED with the effects, I am..

A. Full, so I am not snacking on crap (which is so easy at all the snack times the kiddos have)

B. Energized (just like the red bull does, but these wings come from protein and vitamins)

C. Not dreading the rest of my CRAZY day (most think ooo 3:00pm only 2 hours left of my work day, man that must be nice... For us mom's it's the countdown to the kids' bedtime and then the countdown to OUR bedtime! THAT is when we get to clock out, but only as long as one of our kiddos doesn't decide to wake up in the middle of the night.)

So moms, for the future, don't drink your fake energy crap (I am a hypocrite because I do love it too) BUT make yourself a quick protein shake and sip it, chug it, whatever and watch as your energy pours back into you. Well, now that I gave you my secret what secrets do you have, we all like to have options don't we?!

Lists = Sanity.

My husband makes fun of me on a daily basis for all of my 'lists', I have grocery lists broken up into three different lists,  one for Costco, Winco and Safeway. I have packing lists, to do lists, chore lists, etc.  He asks me, "Why so many lists?!" Let me tell everyone why I have so many lists, and moms you will know exactly what I am talking about..

We have all heard of 'pregnancy brain' that many of us women use as an excuse for the rest of our lives.  Well, I don't think it is pregnancy brain, I think it should be called mommy brain. We don't just have ourselves to worry about, we have our kids, a diaper bag, a purse, a significant other, a job, a household, animals, friends and other family members. When I pack to go out of town I have four different lists, One list for the girls, one for Mitch, One for snack and misc, and one for me. Guess what list I always forget something from..... You guessed it, MINE! I always remember everything for everyone, I remember my husbands favorite basketball shorts and swim trunks, or my daughters favorite bed time stories but somehow I forget MY underpants! HOW?! HOW?! I'll tell you how, mommy brain. We think of everything for everyone else, we remember every chore, every project for school, every snack day, every play date, we even know when to replenish our husbands favorite snacks or favorite body wash before he runs out, even though we don't eat the snack or even pick up the body wash... But you always forget to get more of YOUR shampoo, body wash or worst of all shaving cream when you are in desperate need...

Another thing that is freakishly weird and takes up a lot of our concentration is when it comes to knowing where things are located when asked. We are on it! Like your husbands baseball glove (that you saw last week and it is still fresh in your mind), your daughters favorite teddy bear (that bad boy practically has a homing device in it, no matter how random the place, you know where it is at all times) or even the dogs favorite chew toy. But, when it comes to yourself you always forget  where your car keys are when they were JUST in your hand and you have NO idea what happened to them, you misplace your sunglasses and are stuck without them on the first sunny day in weeks and my favorite; you forget where you put your coffee cup that you need so badly to carry on and it was just RIGHT there! 

The reason for writing this is to let everyone know, I do not have pregnancy brain, not any more anyway, I have mommy brain, a brain that is so full of amazing information that my family needs and uses on a daily basis, it might not be a doctorate or a bachelors degree but I use it more than most people use the degree they paid big money for. Also, I might have a plethora of lists, but let me tell you it helps keep this busy brain of mine in check and remember everything for everyone else, and sometimes for myself :)