yes, this is a topic of concern for many

yes, this is a topic of concern for many of us it seems. I often look for ways to make more hours in my day..but it just doesn't happen. My day starts at 6:30 with getting my kids up and ready for school and daycare. I usually get to work by 8:30 and work until 4:30. Most days of the week I hit the gym or take my kids to their gymnastics or karate...there is "grocery store" day once a week, and dinner and homework. Being a single mom, I do not have much assistance with these things. Not complaining, just stating the way it is. My 11 year old has very poor time management skills and my 4 year old has autism. My nights are pretty hectic. My four year old is very, very active and needs constant redirection. I cannot leave the two of them alone in a room together without someone getting hurt it seems. I have instituted "mommy time", which my kids understand is their time to go to their room and leave me alone lol. This typically happens around 8:30 at night. Unfortunately "mommy time" is often spent doing dishes, laundry, vacuuming, making lunches for school, etc. I do enjoy catching up on facebook with my friends and checking out various sites such as this. I need atleast a couple of hours of awake and alone time each night. I don't want to just go to bed, no matter how tired I may be. I actually can be exhausted all day, then catch my second wind about the time my kids go to bed. I often start a fire in the fireplace, I light candles every single night and I put on HGTV. I also use this time to read or journal. It is often midnight before I go to bed. Or later. I would say I average 6 hours of sleep a night max. I know I need more. I am trying to find a way to do this...but even when I have that rare opportunity bed time has always been a hard time for me. Winding down does not come easy. I take a sleep aid every night just so I can sleep. I find it hard to relax myself to sleep. This is definitely something I need to work on. Thank you, Joanna for the blog and the suggestions. Tracy