Stressed or Tired . . . Tired or Stressed?

Am I more stressed because I am tired or am I more tired because I am stressed??

I have been pondering this for a few days and I am beginning to think that it is much like the proverbial "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" question.

There is no doubt about it that I am stressed.  There have been a number of things going on at work since the Christmas break, there are a million and one things that I need to do around the house, not to mention all the day to day mom things . . . mix it all together and you've got one big batch of STRESS!  However, I am also exhausted.

Being tired has become a normal part of my existence, but I often lie awake at night with my mind filled with thoughts off all the things that are going on and all the things that I need to do.  So, it seems as though my stress is causing my exhaustion.

But wait, because I am tired, I put off doing many of the things that need doing - the things around the house, volunteer things that I've committed too . . . the list is much longer, but you the idea!  Knowing that all these things (many of which have deadlines) need to be done and that I don't have the energy (or time) to do them gets me all stressed out again.

So, could someone please tell me - am I stressed because I am tired or am I tired because I am stress?  Or am I just tired and stressed because I am a working mom?  Please, give me answer, because I would really be stressing over this if I could stay awake to think about it!!!!!

I don't want to "Fall Back"

Tonight is the night that Daylight Saving Time ends and we put our clocks back an hour. I always dread the time change. Not only does it mess with my schedule and cause me a week (at least!) of trying to figure out what time it is and get my sleeping back on track, but it totally screws up the kids at daycare. Again, for at least a week they are cranky and tired because their sleep schedules are messed up. What was nap time last week (12:00 pm) will now be lunch time (11:00 am) which means some of the kids will be too tired to eat, they will end up going to nap without having much if any lunch and wake up even more miserable because they are starving.

And on top of the time change, it is also a full moon this week. I know that a lot of people out there think that the full moon doesn't effect people in any way, but when you have worked with kids for as long as I have, you KNOW that there is a change in the way they act and behave for about a week around a full moon. They are louder, busier and overall more difficult to deal with.

So, I am bracing myself for a LONG, BUSY and EXHAUSTING week. I think that I will just go hibernate for the winter. Would someone please come wake me up when it is time to "Spring Forward"?