I remember one of the 1st times I watched my niece and nephew for an entire week. They were ~3 and 4. I wasn't a mom yet; it was just me and Matt! Life was grand and easy. So I thought. I was whooped by the end of the week...who am I kid'n? I was whooped by day 2. I couldn't figure out why this "mom" thing was so exhausting. A week later I found out I was pregnant with our first blessing, Magdalene. Now, that did add to the exhaustion but being a mom {not pregers} is plain energy sucking. Even though I was tired most of the week, we've always had fun!

I knew the kids were heading back to school soon and my timeline for stealing them away for some quality time was narrowing, so I begged to take them this week. This time, with 5 kids 8 and under, I am WHOOPED! The first couple days I had everything seemingly under control. Then...Matt had to go to a meeting out of town and I suddenly had a low grade fever and my entire body ached. Needless to say I did all my 'chores' before we moved on to a no-bath-straight-to-bed-night and I was in bed {ASLEEP} after ODing on {night time} tylonal by 9. After that night my swing of things kind of swagged a little slower and fell behind.

I don't often realized I'm stressed until I'm snapping loudly at my kids and the hubs and I've gone through my chilled 12-pack in the fridge. You heard me right. When I'm stressed, I drink. LOTS. I identified it tonight when I'd been sighing all day in an effort to relieve some of the stress built up in my aching bones. My kids thought I was annoyed with them. In trying to stop the sighs, I stood by the kitchen counter, chugging. Deep breaths, eyes rolled back in my head with delightful satisfaction as I chugged that chilled can. That's not exactly the moment I realized I had a problem. It's come slowly over the past few months of stress.

I've gained about ~15 pounds in ~3 months. Fewer and fewer of my clothes fit. Even the new ones I bought. My belly has begun to stick out. I desperately thought, "Maybe I'm pregnant!" You may think I'm joking. I've taken 2 pregnancy test. I've even told Matt in excitement thinking I missed my period. Still think I'm joking? Here are the pictures I took of the test just in case they were 'false negatives' I would have proof that I'm not one of those crazies on the show I was pregnant and didn't know it. Ya know, cause after 4 years I still don't know how to pee on a stick.

I never thought sitting...waiting would be so stressful. I mean really. I have worse acne now than I did in high school. My weight is going crazy. And my drinking. My drinking has gotten out of control. I'm no where near my husband's intake but who can compete with that? You could ask him though; he's noticed my drinking habits have changed and even teased about my fear of an apocalypse based on my stockpile in the pantry. Yeah, my fight against being a hoarder is waning during this time of stress as well. I know stress tends to make people gain weight but really I think stress breeds bad habits that sometimes induce the gaining.

So anyways. I know my drinking can be to blame for all these problems: giant belly/weight gain, bad skin, and even the lack of brain power. I used to limit my intake to about 3 cans a day when I was pregnant. I know I know, they really recommend eliminating all together, but lets be realistic here. Pregnancy is hard enough without taking all your pleasures away. Now that I'm not pregnant {boo to no blessing in that growing belly} or nursing, my eating had gone down the pot! Eating better should definitely be on my list of to-dos but I can't seem to bring myself to do it. Not now. I need this! Happy Hour savings or not. It's my sanity. I need my Dr Pepper.

What are your symptoms of stress?
How do you deal with the bad habits that creep up during stress?

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Maybe Dr Pepper isn't your vice but you still love good Sonic Drink. This FREE Printable ifs for you!

This Home Runs on Love... {post from the archives}