While the title of this post may sound like an impossibility, or at the very least, paradoxical, I can assure you that it is possible to keep your younger child’s room tidy. And, it doesn’t have to be a full-time job for you, either! In fact, if you take certain steps and use plenty of positive reinforcement, you’ll likely find the job of tidying to be quick and something your child is more than capable of (and willing to do).

Starting fresh, here’s my ultimate, number one, never-forget it rule…

Get down, get dirty and declutter

You’re never going to get anywhere while your child owns 8,731 cars without a home, in addition to three different, mis-matched and failing sets of trains. This is your opportunity to get into the very bowels of where children’s messes begin: the toy collection. A positive of this first step is that often, your child will enjoy helping, because the first action of decluttering is to pull everything out and assess it.

Have three bins ready in waiting - one for stuff to keep, one for toys to toss and one for toys that you’ll give away. As you pile all of the toys in the middle of the room, assess their fitness and immediately throw broken ones into the toss bin. Set aside anything that requires matching and put it with it’s partner(s) as you sift through the pile, then anything missing a partner can also go into the toss bin. Anything your child has outgrown can be given away, as well as any toys that he or she simply isn’t that interested in.

Repeat this same process with books, games, clothing and baby supplies. Then…

Teach your child what goes where

Assess everything that is staying after your decluttering efforts and find homes for them that will work for your child. This means that anything you want your child to be able to access on his or her own - and put back where it came from - much be within their reach, preferably at eye-level or below. Anything you don’t want them to be able to grab can go above their highest reaching points - for instance, I store the books I plan to save for my daughter and her nicer clothing at least six inches above the highest spot she can get to.

Remember that having a dedicated space for each type of toy will make cleaning up much easier for your child, so try to keep like things together in their own containers - you can always draw pictures, attach polaroids or otherwise label the container so that your child will be able to identify his or her stuff’s homes.

Then…

Next, you rest while bribing your child

No, I don’t really mean that you should bribe your child, but if tidying his or her own room without your help is a new concept, you’d do well to instigate some sort of a reward system until the practice is routine. A sticker chart, an allowance, liberal uses of high fives and treats are all great ways to reward your child for tidying their own space.

Give it a week or two, after you’ve helped them tidy up a few times and spent a little while teaching them what the labelling system you’ve used means. Before you know it, bedtime will also mean clean up time and before you can say “If I have to ask you one more time…” your child’s room will be neat and clean.

An admission: I’ve never been very good at balancing work and home.

Before I had my daughter, I was a workaholic. When ever I was employed, I quickly saw a full-time week jump from 40 hours, five days a week to more than 70 hours a week, with daily tasks accomplished. I took on too much, juggled multiple people’s job descriptions and often had more than one employer at a time.

Maternity leave was a much-needed break, but by the time she was four months old, my fingers were itching to type again, and posting on my personal blog wasn’t cutting it. I started working from home, bookkeeping and providing consulting services to small, home-based businesses - most of which were owned and operated by fellow parents with the same late-night schedules as I had.

Within a year, I was blogging professionally on a few health topics that I had an intrinsic want to keep up-to-date on and sharing the knowledge I gained. One job led to two, then three, and so on, so that now, even though I’m still only working part-time, I’m freelancing from home, writing, bookkeeping, providing advice to businesses and acting as a virtual assistant. Add in website design, and a business that I’m planning on launching in two months and you can see that I have a lot going on.

But I still have a child to raise - I can’t expect her to entertain herself at any given time, while I address the demands of my clients’ businesses.

Being a single parent, this tends to be a little harder than I’d imagine the same scenario in a dual-parent household would be. I depend heavily on regular bedtimes, so I can get cracking at my to-do list, and the mornings when she goes to daycare are a god-send because the peace and quiet, first thing in the morning, is exactly what I need to power through my work load.

Though on paper it should all work out - I should have X amount of hours to work after she falls asleep and Y amount during the week when she’s in the hands of someone else - it never quite does. Often, 8 p.m. comes crashing in and I’m exhausted, have little motivation to write my blog posts for the week, do the dishes and clean up the apartment, or really do much of anything but crash out mentally with the newest chick-lit and a steaming mug of tea.

My daughter suffers for that, because on the mornings after I’ve given myself permission to just rest, I’m usually more stressed, in a greater hurry to get errands accomplished and sometimes, if she’s having a difficult day, I can be just as difficult back.

Work-Life Balance: I need some. Because if I can’t make work stay within work hours, and living happily with my daughter during the hours I have with her, I’ll be missing out on something really important: her childhood.

And I might forget to send out the evite invitations for her third birthday party next month.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been to Disney World in Orland, Florida at least half a dozen times.  I thought I’d share with you some of the best experiences we’ve had there.

If you’ve never been, the first thing you need to know is there are four parks.  Keep in mind, I’m a roller coaster fan and I always recommend all of those, but the attractions I’m listing here are above and beyond coasters.

1. The Magic Kingdom
   • What grownups should know: If you have a baby or tot, give yourself a time out in the Baby Station.
   • For the kids: Let’s face it, this is the one Disney park that is pretty much strictly about the kids. The whole thing is for them, so just go with it.
   • Where to eat: For tots, The Crystal Palace has Winnie the Pooh.  Yes, you can get a reservation same day usually.  It’s a buffet.  For girls, the Cinderella’s Royal Table.  Sometimes you can get same days, but it’s more risky.  The adult cuisine is gourmet and very rich, bring your appetite.  No guarantees on those, but worth a try if you can’t get a phone reservation.  These are not cheap attractions, but worth it for a long, leisurely lunch and characters.
   • Best place for characters: Any of the sit down dining places. Also good is behind Toontown and if you get up front during one of the day shows in front of Cinderella’s Castle.
   • Don’t miss: Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor and Mickey’s PhilharMagic.

1. Animal Kingdom
   • What grownups should know: It’s mostly outdoors, with few water and air conditioned rides, and can get very hot. Bring lots of water.  Oh, and your husband will drool over Pocahontas. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
   • For the kids: Don’t miss Festival of the Lion King. OK, I love the Lion King show, I drag my family to see it every year.  And they are always glad I did.  “It’s tough to be a Bug” is great for kids too.
   • Where to eat: The Rainforest Café.
   • Best place for characters: Outside of the Lion King show there’s a pavilion for called Camp Minnie-Mickey.
   • Don’t miss: Dinosaur, but be warned its dark and scary, especially if the ride gets stuck next to a T-Rex. Yes, it happened to us once, BEST AK visit ever!  Also, for “Finding Nemo” young fans, see the musical.

1. Hollywood Studios
   • What grownups should know: Lots of stuff, but don’t Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors, Action stunt tours.
   • For the kids: Toy Story Mania and Voyage of the Little Mermaid
   • Where to eat: Hollywood Brown Derby for grown up food.
   • Best place for characters: Play ‘N Dine for Little Einsteins, JoJo’s Circus and interactive play.
   • Don’t miss: Fantasmic.  I’m not alone in thinking this is the best nighttime Disney show of all.  Beauty and the Beast –Live on Stage is also very good.
   • Next time I’ll try: The American Idol Experience

1. Epcot Center
   • What grownups should know: Another park with a long, hot walk across empty pavement to get to the countries.
   • For the kids: Don’t miss Turtle Talk with Crush.  Spent the rest of vacation trying to figure out how it’s done.  Mission : SPACE and Test Track are fun for older kids.
   • Where to eat: Excellent dining in restaurants at Mexico (Disney makes a kick ass drink!) and Morocco (awesome wine list).
   • Best place for characters: Most of the countries have them, very accessible.
   • Don’t miss: Soarin’
   • Next time I’ll try: Princess Storybook Dining in Norway.

That’s it.  If you’re tempted to skip Epcot, don’t.  I recommend lining it up after an MK day.  And you should devote 2 days to Magic Kingdom because it is the most crowded park with the most stuff in it. If you can do early or late hours, go for it.

Do the PhotoPass, but also take your own pictures. Disney photographers are typically good, but some are not.  And you have to purchase those photos too.  Don’t forget to take plenty of shots of happy kids and share them with us at Webshots.

Here are some of our shots taken from last year’s trip to Disney, with character photos in all 4 parks:

by ginabad
Have a great time! Share your Disney World tips here too.

As the summer starts, I’m already thinking about the beginning of the school year.  My daughter starts first grade in September, and is on schedule with her peers, if not exactly in pace with them.  My daughter has Down syndrome, you see, and all the learning disabilities that go with it. This condition can be difficult on a parent because kids with Down syndrome typically fall behind their peers progressively. That is, they are on par when they are younger and while the other children bloom through their school years, their developmental delays put them further and further behind.

I’ve experienced this firsthand.  Three years ago, we lived in a different area and Amelia had a friend that was a few months younger.  They had a great time together and cried when they parted.  After we lived in our new area for about a year and Amelia was 5, this friend visited. It was as if a completely different child showed up. She had no interest in Amelia’s toys or tastes.  It was heart-breaking for me to watch, although my daughter is extremely carefree and didn’t suffer over it.

In two and a half months, she will enter first grade.  Amelia is behind her peers, but for better or worse, she is moving ahead.  We’ve chosen a charter school, hoping that hands-on learning will serve her well.  The school is happy to accommodate us, but we’ve been told that it is a full inclusion school.  That is, Amelia will participate as completely as possible with her class and hopefully progress with them.

I’ve battled in my heart if this is the right decision and today I saw something that convinced me it is.  I’ve started attending a new, very small church and yesterday was the first time I brought Amelia.  There were some little girls staring at her during the service, and while it upset me somewhat, I can’t blame parents who don’t notice.  At coffee time, Amelia was helping herself to donuts and a little girl asked how old she was.  My daughter was too busy scarfing down food to answer so I told her that Amelia was 6.  The girl was dumb-founded and started to argue with me.  “But I’m five!” she said.

This is only the second time I’ve been confronted with a young child who pointed out that Amelia was different and, like the last time, I was completely tongue-tied.  How do you answer a 5 year who wants to know why a 6 year old has difficulty speaking and keeping still, and in general, acts like a much younger child?

Often when talking about full inclusion, preschool teachers and therapists have said to me, “It’s also so good for the other children.”  My thinking was always, “That’s nice but so what?”

Dumb, dumb me.  The answer is that having young children exposed to kids their age who are different may help lead to a world with more hope of acceptance, socialization, and integration for my kid.

In about 10 weeks, we will go on this ride of full inclusion.  I’ve seen the drawbacks of limited inclusion and they left a bad taste in my mouth.  I hope this is the right decision and that Amelia will not be the odd child out on the bench by herself, not so much because of her disability, but because I used to be that child and I know how incredibly painful it is.  The truth of the matter is that she can be excluded no matter what, and she can be included no matter what as well.  We’ve made our choice as parents and now we have to wait and see.

I’m curious to hear from other parents about inclusion and its pro’s and cons, from both parents of disabled and typically developing children.  Share your experiences.

When the news of Michael Jackson’s heart attack hit Twitter yesterday, it was nearly instantaneously the most popular subject. Within a half hour, reports of his death were trending, with users scrambling for confirmation from a reputable news source. Twitter, Gen-Y’s current mode of news media, heard it first.

Within minutes, there were songs being broadcast online, and radio stations and music channels on TV were having Michael Jackson marathons. People were talking about how sad they were, how big a part of his childhood and in music’s entire history he was. The majority of people said they would miss him and they would be mourning.

Back up.

Few people, prior to his demise, were very open about their fondness for Michael Jackson. Few of these same people would have proudly exclaimed their love of his music or presumed gentility. But, as soon as news of his death hits the airwaves, the man could do no wrong and has fans coming from the woodwork, so to speak.

The simple fact, from my point of view, is that for the last decade, most people liked the person Michael Jackson used to be before rumours, law suits, allegations and presumption of guilt ensued. Most people, and (I know I’m generalizing and going out on a limb here, but) most parents especially, would not have felt comfortable with Michael Jackson living next door. Or having a small child in his vicinity without watching him like a hawk.

A lot of people, before 18 hours ago, thought of Michael Jackson as one who’d become, quite literally, a joke. He was assumed to be a child predator, after the molestation charges came to be. No one can forget the image of him dangling of his child over a balcony, the grandiose court appearances, or the gigantic statue.

A person’s memory, regardless of infamy or celebrity, deserves to be respected after their death, yes. But death never redeems someone from the wrongs they’ve committed that have scarred others. If, in fact, Michael Jackson was a child molester, any child he had that kind of contact with is feeling a mixture of grief, vengeance and rage today - and wouldn’t you be, too, if the person you were a victim of died and was immediately put on a higher pedestal than the one he stood upon in life?

There’s no polite way to say that some considered him a monster - at least the parents of the child who legitimately accused him. His death hasn’t erased that pain.

What it has brought about, apparently, is an even-larger fan base than in life. There have been solemn declarations to examine the things in life that people have taken for granted. I actually saw a woman crying yesterday, walking down the street while talking on her cell phone - a woman, I have reason to assume, had no personal connection connection to the family of, or Michael Jackson.

Celebrities die all of the time. Because there’s been three popular icons’ deaths in the past few days, I think people have been using it as a method of funnelling their grief surrounding other issues. Michael Jackson wasn’t a deity, or more important than Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, or your postman. They’re just people, who were constantly in the media spotlight.

Let’s be a little more respectful of their memories, by not over-reacting with waves of grief over their deaths. Especially now that they’ve passed on, they do deserve some privacy.

Fresh on the coat-tails of Gina’s great posts about vacationing to Disney World and the all-inclusive 10 tips for vacationing with small children, I’m looking forward to taking a vacation without my daughter.

I haven’t been on a vacation in five years, and next month, I’ll be attending the well-touted BlogHer conference in Chicago.

I could have brought her along, booked her into the childminding and spend three days alternating between speaking, networking, learning and sightseeing. I would have missed the parties, unless I could have arranged in-hotel childcare for the evenings. I would miss spending time with some of the people I’ve most looked forward to meeting for a couple of years. And I probably would’t have felt very relaxed at the end of it.

Instead, this single mom is packing a bag for herself with some clothes, makeup and gifts, and packing a second one with clothes, diapers, stuffed animals and gluten- and dairy-free foods. My daughter is going to be staying with a family I’m close to, with some of our best friends. Two kids around her age, a patient mom, a fun dad - all at her disposal while I party, relax, unwind and work.

I don’t know, honestly, who will have more fun - each of us on our own vacations from the every day. She’ll have a whole host of new toys to play with and get to spend time with some of her favorite people; I’ll get to hug and laugh with people I’ve previously only met online and chatted on the phone with. She’ll be swimming and having tea parties; I’ll be live-blogging and watching friends speak on topics they’re well-informed about.

I’ll miss her, even simply because this will be the longest we’ve been apart, ever. Before this, my last vacation was two years before her birth and she’s only once spent the night away from me. She’ll miss me for the same reasons, I imagine, and I really wonder if she’ll seamlessly slide into the vacation, or if it will be a gigantic struggle for her and everyone else in the house.

Worse is the scheduling of the conference, because I’ll be out of town on the date of her third birthday. Of course, she’s not old enough to know the date - or any dates, really - but that doesn’t make it seem any more right to me, to miss her special day. I’ll be throwing her a birthday party the following weekend, with all of her friends, disposable cameras for the kids to take pictures with, and tons of junk food.

But I think I’ll come home feeling better for the vacation. I’ll be renewed (after any jet-lag wears off), with more patience and I’ll have gotten to miss her - something that never happens around here because the longest she’s usually out of my sight is a few hours. Hopefully, I’ll return not only with career plans in hand, but a firmer grasp of my parenting plans.

As I count down the days and start to prepare her for the long-weekend sleepover, I also wonder another vacation is needed sooner rather than later. Just the two of us.

Here’s something you might not know about me: I own a vacation timeshare in Kissimee, FL, which is about a 10 minute drive from Disney World.  We paid it off years ago, so that means for the price of our annual taxes and airfare, we can vacation in Orlando for at least a week.  In the last 10 years, we’ve made about half a dozen Disney visits.  Here are some of my best tips for vacationing in Disney World.

1. Buying tickets.
   • First off, buy theme park tickets in advance.  Websites and clubs (like AAA, which has some good deals) offer advanced discounts that might not be available at Downtown Disney or the park itself.
   • If your plan is to go on a timeshare tour to get free tickets, some of the resorts crack down on who shows up for a tour and can refuse you tickets.  It happened to someone I know, so beware.
   • Disney is currently giving free admission to one theme park on a person’s birthday.  You need to sign up in advance at their website.
   • Buy extra days.  Once you get up to a 4-day theme park ticket, the cost for additional days is only a little more.  A 7-day ticket is only $9 more.  We did this one year with a park hopper option and ended up returning to the Magic Kingdom twice for fireworks.
   • Because the price difference for additional days is so little, I don’t think it’s worth it to upgrade your tickets to unlimited use.  It’s very costly, so you’re better off just returning for a few hours.
   • I think the park hopper is the best option, which allows you to do more than one park in the same day.  It is costly so if you think you are only going to do one park per day, don’t bother.

1. Make your trip to the park easy.
   • I mentioned last week that umbrella strollers are a great way to keep going through the park easily.  I’ve also heard that rental strollers are great for older kids and I have seen kids as old as nine slumped in a stroller. Disney parks are very big, and by night’s end everyone will be tired and have sore feet. (Sneakers, people, not sandals!)
   • If anyone gets injured in your party (broken ankle, for example), don’t let it ruin your trip.  Get a wheelchair from guest services – oh, and the injured party gets to skip lines.
   • One thing that Disney does far better than any other theme park I’ve been to is Special Needs Services.  They are excellent in taking care of the disabled community, so if you have a child who is disabled physically or lacks the capacity to wait on line such as a child with autism or sensory processing disorder, you can get a special pass and enjoy your day just like every one else.
   • Have a sit down meal.  I’ve enjoyed my trips to Disney much more when we did character lunches or stopped in grown up restaurants.  It’s like taking a break from standing in landing, sweating, messy tables, and being too close for contact.   It makes all the difference in the world, and Epcot makes the best margaritas! (I kid you not.)  We’ve often gotten same day reservations for all those restaurants, but it can be a gamble so keep that in mind.

I could go on, but I think I’ll save more information on Disney and other Orlando attractions for another post. I hope these tips help.  Share your theme park tips here too!

Last week really got to me.  Not only did I find myself without the time to get postage or a Father’s Day card for my dad, I also fell behind on my creative writing, found paperwork that should have been completed already, and got sick.  I took the weekend off to recuperate because I was wiped out from last week and getting sicker.

Now I’m playing catch up.  After a Father’s Day barbeque at a friend’s home yesterday, I cleaned the house, put the kids to bed, and folded laundry.  I can’t even say how many unanswered emails I have.  I neatly placed the paper work for Amelia’s new school and the kid’s application for Medicare on my keyboard because they are due Friday (yikes).  I’ll also need a few minutes this week to take some fresh photos of the kids and load them at Webshots so I can create a photobook for my dad, since I blew Father’s Day.

I see other parents who not only have this time thing down, but also have kids in extracurricular activities.  A lot of them have full time jobs too and some have special needs kids.  How do they do it? I don’t see a free minute that does not involve work, housework, freelancing, kids’ needs, paperwork, or cooking.  Most nights, I’m too tired to even sleep properly.

I need a better way to get organized.  I’ve stopped using my Microsoft Outlook calendar alerts because they start to pile up and I ignore them.  I only use Outlook for appointments now.  I put my work commitments on colored index cards for each day of the week and just started adding my daily responsibilities to them as well (fill prescription, do laundry, buy vacation clothes, etc.).  When I complete a task, I cross if off.  If I can’t, I know I’m over-scheduled for the day and move that entry onto another day.

I’d like to write a schedule for the kids during their home hours.  The last time I tried this, Amelia was a toddler and it worked out ok. I didn’t stick to the schedule religiously, but it helped fill time constructively.  (I was a stay-at-home mom at the time.)  Then along came Zoe and there went the schedule!  A proper schedule could help with so many things, including getting the kids to eat at mealtimes and potty training.

I’m still not organized enough, though. I think I need to take an hour or two out of my busy week and prioritize my goals, projects, and responsibilities.  There’s so much going on in my life, even down to getting my house decorated, debugging my buggy PC, and making decisions and choices for my career.   I’m going to list my priorities by the “who” (God, family, me, others).  It many ways I guess this is a spiritual exercise.  I’ve noticed that when I take the time to plan and prioritize by the needs of others and with a little guidance from above, I tend to find the time you need.  Wish me luck!

Do you have any tips as a busy parent on how to plan your time better, especially when you have goals for self, family, and kids? Share them with me as I desperately need them!

Nearly two weeks ago, I read an article that shook all of my parenting opinions to the core. The New York Times relayed results of a study correlating eating habits between parents and their children in this article, reporting little relationship between the two.

I was surprised to read that younger children’s diets are still not that influenced by watching the food choices their parents made, yet unsurprised to find out that older children, teens, were more likely to have their food choices influenced by their peers’.

I’ve gone, for the past three years as a parent and longer as a silent critic of other parents, on the basis that your kids will eat as healthily as you provide and show them is enjoyable. And that children who eat diets laden in junk food and high in calories and unhealthy fats are doing so because firstly, the food was available to them and secondly, because they witnessed role models doing the same.

I’ve been pretty lucky along the way. My daughter, while she’s gone through picky periods, has never swayed to the ‘I will only eat gummy bears and pepperoni pizza’ camp, like one child I know. Unlucky maybe is the fact that she has food allergies, to both wheat and dairy, so her diet is naturally very limited and often cannot include some of the less healthy options that her peers might enjoy. She accepts this, any time the allergy card is pulled.

But I was also convinced that part of her love of lean meat and produce was culled from watching me eat a diet rich in green vegetables, fruits and healthy meals. Now, I know that it probably wasn’t as much to do with me, as maybe her age and lack of other choices.

What a bummer!

What does this research show us? It’s even more important, as parents, that we educate our kids about food choices. Simply modelling a healthy diet doesn’t seem to predict our kids’ nourishment, so we must instill in them an intrinsic desire to eat healthily.

How?

Obviously, it’s much easier at a younger age, when you can use peers as an example. If peers don’t work, you can also do what  I do - suggest reasoning that might be silly, but works, such as my, “bunnies eat carrots because it keeps their teeth clean and strong.” If that still doesn’t work, you can look into augmenting recipes to make them healthier, reducing fats and adding hidden fibre-rich foods.

The easiest way to ensure your children eat a healthier diet is to remove the temptation. Just like when one of us goes on a new diet and we stop buying potato chips, you can do the same for your children. For instance: in our house, ice cream (made with soy milk and fruits) is a treat that we must go out to get. Chips and candy don’t come home with us, either.

This makes healthy eating something that takes place at home always, with junkier food considered treats on special occasions (or as a reward or gift). I plan to go forward with this plan and see how far I can carry my daughter’s healthy eating.

But it’s good to know that I can now eat an entire pizza in front of her without concern!

It’s the bane of most parent’s existence, one you can hear talk of at the school pick-up area, the water cooler, in media and well, everywhere: low energy. Seems like by the end of the day, most parents are dragging their heels, especially if they have younger children. Actually, the parents of toddlers and young school-aged kids often find themselves almost ready for bed themselves by the time tiny teeth have been brushed and the last request for a drink has been satisfied.

Those kids. They can go and go, and just when you expect them to crash because they’ve been so busy jumping, learning, singing at the top of their lungs and doing cartwheels around you, they get a second wind. How do they do it?

I have no clue.

I’d love to harness some of the energy for myself though since I, too, am one of the moms who looks longingly at the mid-afternoon clock, thinking “only three more hours until bedtime, and then I can relax.” In fact, I’d like to harness some of that energy to power my home - I’d probably save a bundle on heating and electricity costs, and my daughter’s energy does seem to be a renewable resource.

See? Even when we’re exhausted, we can still think and live green.

One of my favorite websites, Zen Habits, posted an article in May, 55 Ways to Get More Energy. Of these 55 tips, some might seem a little frivolous, others as if they should be tattooed somewhere we’ll see daily. The entire article as a whole left me with ideas for how I can garner some more of my own energy, so that I have the ability to keep up with my daughter all day, and not collapse into a pile at the stroke of 7 p.m. My favorites include:

Rock out loud
Having an impromptu dance party is one thing that we often indulge in during the day. Loud music, faux microphones and dancing around our small living room can incite giggles and a burst of hyper activity from both of us.

Work with your body’s clock
The first thing I learned as a full-time student who was working two jobs to help make ends meet was to work with what I had. I scheduled cleaning, cooking, exercise, sleeping, homework and my work hours around the times that I would be at my most energetic. Understanding how your own circadian rhythm works can give you a jump-start on getting more things accomplished, in a shorter amount of time, without the need to work yourself to passing-out point.

Have an afternoon power snack
A combination of fibre and protein (that’s low in sugar) can always give you a burst of renewed energy - and it’s the longest-lasting fuel for your body because it takes longer to metabolize. Including anti-oxidant-rich berries can give you an extra nutritional leg-up, as they’re rich in vitamins.

Wake up at the same time each day
You might not get much of a choice when a baby is setting your sleep schedule, but when you do have the ability to plan your sleeping and waking periods, aim for the same wake up and bed time each day. You really can’t ‘catch up’ on lost sleep, but you can program your body’s clock so that your energy at certain points of everyday is similar. This can help you to avoid those late evenings of wide-awakeness, and being unable to drag yourself out of bed the next morning because of it.

For more suggestions, check out the Zen Habits article. Making little changes in your everyday can soon lead to having more energy, everyday!