I have recently received some emails from my readers asking me how I stay so organized and seem to be able accomplish so much. While I do enjoy working really hard to get things done, I want you all to know that it has never been my intention to give you the impression that we have it all together over here all the time.
I do crave organization and order and really try hard to stick to a routine, keep my home clean, put nice dinners on the table and so forth, but my family and I are far from perfect.
I do not want people to come to my blog and go away feeling badly about themselves as a mother or a person. I have simply been posting my successes on this blog, as I feel you people are coming to be inspired or to find new and fun ideas for your family. But I have recently come to see the value in keeping it real too. So…I have a few confessions I’d like to share with you today!
Most days I get it right. But every once in a while my house looks like this…
And sometimes after making a yummy treat or dinner…my kitchen looks like this. And sometimes, it may not get cleaned up until after the kids go to bed. And just maybe every once in a while…it may not get cleaned up until the next day!
Sometimes, my daughter dresses herself (or should I say “undresses”) and I am too lazy to care enough to find something a little more suitable even though it is snowing outside (unless of course we need to go somewhere. Then I might brush her hair if a hat can’t be found).
Sometimes I am too tired for my morning exercise and eat a peice of cake or a cookie for breakfast.
I hate flossing my teeth (L. – don’t tell that husband dentist of yours :)!
And sometimes I get comments from some “well-meaning women” who have noticed my toddler’s bare feet sticking out from the shopping cart. I know they think I deserve the award for worst mommy of the year, but I am too tired to care because I just finished wrestling her into the car seat, then again into the shopping cart. Besides, I know that I just don’t have it in me to wrestle with her to get her shoes BACK on, when she will just take them off and throw them down some random aisle the first chance she gets.
Sometimes the time-out chair gets used multiple times a day. The funny thing is that I have yet to send my 2 year old to the time out chair. When she is upset she will walk over to the chair and put herself in time out. I guess she has seen her siblings there enough to know that when you are upset you go and cry on the chair until you feel happy enough to come apologize and get a hug from mom.
I can’t count how many of our family photos turn out like this! And sometimes before I take a picture of my kids to put on this blog, I have to do their hair or change their food stained shirt first!
And just recently, I was THAT mother in the grocery store. You know…the one whose kid is screaming and throwing a tantrum because you won’t buy, much less open the candy bars that are right at their eye level while standing in MR. SSSSS-LLLLL-OOOOO-WWWW’s check-out line. All the while trying to pretend you don’t see all the glances from other people whose children NEVER acted that way…ever!…Really?
And even though we have a weekly menu plan, every once in a while I don’t follow through and make what we have scheduled. Then find myself at 5:33 digging through the freezer and pulling out the chicken nuggets and frozen peas for a quick and easy dinner. And guess what? The kids usually exclaim that this is THE BEST dinner ever…then I try to not feel guilty or feel like I am a bad mom for enjoying the fact that I didn’t have to make a big dinner.
And just maybe, I find that I might stay in my jammies all day and put off all my chores by finding all sorts of ways to avoid doing what I know needs to be done.
And somedays…Daddy can’t get home soon enough!
But some days…I am working it!
I get up and exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, shower and put on some make-up. Then I send my kids off to school with clean clothes and a love note in their lunch bag. I then make the time to play games or dress Barbies and Polly Pockets for the umpteenth time with the younger girls all while managing to clean the house and put away the laundry. Then during nap time, I whip up a fabulous craft. Later I manage to get a delicious AND healthy dinner baking in the oven as I conquer algebra (okay…not really) with one kid and quiz another on their spelling words.
So there you have it…The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I hope my confessions don’t scare you away. Real life happens over here too! Now…don’t leave me hanging here! Or I might regret that I shared so much of what we as mom’s try to sometimes pretend doesn’t happen in our homes. What are some of your confessions??
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I think it will make us all love you more:). Thanks for being honest! It makes the rest of us feel more normal, I'm sure!
Thank you for sharing. I am feeling better about my own situation already :)
So funny! You totally made me laugh and feel much better about myself! Love love love the photos. Especially the time out chair!
me neither now lol
Unk- Thanks.
Wow. It's so nice to know I'm not alone!
Love this post! Just found your blog and love it.
Best,
Dagmar
Dagmar's momsense
http://DagmarBleasdale.com
I've just recently started visiting your blog and wanted to say thank you for sharing yourself! It's great to see that you are real. You are very talented! Thanks again :)
Amy,
I can relate to you on so many levels!!
Love the post, Darling! (and that is what I call my precious friends) You are- and I knew- I am sure they ask, "…how do you do it all…" I think the best answer is– "guess what, I don't. and who does?" You are just adorable. Thanks for all the inspiration! I have made MANY of your things. I am a total phantom reader- never leaving comments. Maybe I have left you only one in the past. But I adore your ideas, and I scroll through my reader to look for your blog. Thanks! And aren't the nuggest the best life saver-eva?
Love to confession, I KNOW many of us are exactly like this and hate to admit it!
So nice that you are normal! Thanks for making us all feel better :)
XOXO
Jen
Love it!
I have so so many confessions and blog about them on a regular basis.
As the mom of f.i.v.e boys, I will be the first one to tell you, it is all about keeping it real.
Some days, I just want to move to a downtown apartment (by myself), order carry out for dinner every night, and re-establish my high heel collection.
And then some days, being a mom is the greatest ever!
I blog about it all. Check me out http://www.fourcrazychildren.blogspot.com
And you know what? We ARE normal!
Ha ha, I feel like I could have written that post myself. We could be twins. :) We do what we can, and that's all that matters.
I want a sign in my hall, where everyone who enters can read it:
My house was clean yesterday…
Sorry, you missed it!
Love this post! Thanks for sharing!
Warm hugs,
Sandra
My confession is that I have a mountain of unwashed clothes in my laundry room. Yes a mountain! I think snow has formed on top from the high altitude. AND…yes and…my grass outside is at least as tall as my mountain of clothes. My mower broke this past summer and we have yet to buy another one. And one last thing…just to make me feel super horrible about myself :) … sometimes my kids wear the same outfit for two days in a row (on weekends of course, never to school), sometimes sleeping in it and wearing it the next day (if it didn't get too dirty). Yuck I know! I get lazy like that at times.
http://sixcherriesontop.blogspot.com
PS. I made the play dough swirl lollipop cookies yesterday and didn't clean up til midnight!
Very well said! Thank you for sharing!
Thankyou for being human! And sharing it all too. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does all these things too. :)
This is so funny. Thanks for sharing – I can stop beating myself up now for being such a failure!!
Aaaah, thanks, what a fun read! I am having one of THOSE days! My husband is away fro 2 weeks and we are still at the beginning end of that. I am holding the fort with 4 kids aged 4 to 10. Today I had chocolate for lunch, did no washing, the kids are watching a movie as they came home from school, even though the sun is shining, I am taking a freezer meal out for dinner cos I just couldn't be bothered and fell asleep at 9:00 this morning cos have been up crafting too late at night! My diary says I am going to accomplish big things today, oh well, maybe tomorrow! Thanks for all the great ideas, love your blog, love Nadine
I confess that my little girl is just like your little girl only she is 3. Sorry, I can't offer you any hope that someday soon, she will keep her shoes on or wear clothing at home (my prefers swim wear since we are done with diapers:)I crafted all weekend instead of doing laundry and my husband let me and watched the kids for me! I love weekends. Thanks for the Monday Morning Laugh.
Love it!!! My fav is when you use a hat instead of brushing DD's hair and then she won't keep the hat on. Then you have unbrushed hat hair. YIKES!!
Yesterday as I was getting ready for Church, I didn't double check what DS7 was wearing since DH was right there. WE got out of the car at church only to realize that DS had on slightly too small stained pants that we keep for playing outside and around the house. They are kept in a totally differnt place than the wear out of the house pants.