A few days ago my friend and I were talking and she shared with me that she doesn't use facebook (or much social media) because it is a stumbling block for her. She'll look through posts about the perfect day with perfect children and spouses in perfectly clean and organized houses doing perfect crafts and eating perfect meals. I'm sure I have been guilty of portraying this. This post is about MY REAL reality!
Let's begin with the fact that one of the main reasons I use facebook is because I am SO behind on any kind of scrapbooking, photo books, or baby books that I'm hoping maybe, one day I will have the chance to organize all the photos I've taken and put them in a book. If not, I'll just tell my kids to go look at my feed if they want to know when they walked or lost their first tooth. So, here goes....
My day started at 7:15 (in my ideal world I would have been up at 6, gone for a run, done my devotions and had a lovely, quiet cup of coffee...all of which I would have "documented") with my 4 year old whining from her room, "I need to go to the bathroooooooom!" So, I rolled out of be
d to start my day. I gather children, lay out clothes, remind them to do chores and carry the two year old (who smells like a pee barrel) downstairs. Thankfully, my husband has breakfast laid out. Children eat, I make Bk's lunch, daddy does morning devotions and we're off!!!! I'm convinced someone gives my children red bull before they get out of bed. While I clean up they run around like MANIACS as I yell "go outside!!!" Daddy leaves with BK and I start school. This was a rare day that I was in real clothes by 9 am. Now, we have chosen to home school, which I love most of the time, but inevetibly once a day I think I have lost my mind and I'm putting all of them in school!!! We do school, I yell (I mean gently remind) the boys to focus or be quiet or stop throwing pencils...Jude whines or colors on things he shouldn't or spills water everywhere or colors on himself (all of which happened today).
We clean up the mess from school,
and go read.
Now, once again, home schooling is great...blah blah blah. Did I mention someone is with me or touching me ALL THE TIME.
I make lunch, clean up lunch, do my 20th load of laundry for the day (ok, maybe that's exagerating!) Load boys in car. REALITY...Cole forgot shoes, the only shoes I could find for Jude were different sizes (thankfully they were the same kind of shoes), and I just changed Jude out of his pajamas right before we left. Pick up BK, cole locks us out of the car so I get to look like the psycho mom talking through my teeth threatening Cole within an inch of his life until I realize I have the keys. Sorry Cole =) We get home and PRAISE JESUS for rest time. If I had it all together they would all read quietly in their rooms while listening to classical music...REALITY they can watch TV for the whole 2 hours for all I care as long as I get some quiet time! During rest time I realize that I am missing two key ingredients for dinner. Dillema, take all the children to the store or have peanut butter and jelly for dinner. I bribed myself with coffee from starbucks if I bring all the hoodlums to the store. We get to the store, Cole does have shoes this time, but Jude has a 5 o'clock shadow from who knows what nastiness and I don't even wipe him down. We go to publix and I'm about ready to make a sign that says "YES! they are all mine, and YES I know how this happens, and YES, I know my hands are full!" We make it through the store to the check out to which the 2 year old loses his mind because he wants ALL the candy (whoever decides to put the candy at a 2 year olds eye level is cruel and evil!). I carry the maniac child out with the other 3 crazy people, as everyone stares, load the car and I get my coffee. HALLELUJAH!
This could be why people stare =)
I come home and ask Cooper to bring the towels we used at the beach up so I can wash them....he decided to bring the whole beach with him.
At least they tried to clean it up =)
I suck down my coffee and start dinner. I pull out rice for our mexican dinner and find this! For realz?!?!?!? Mold in the rice!
Sushi rice it is! As I cook, Jude follows me around and whines for coke, (until I pull the camera out) to which I may have given him some to shut him up...GASP!
Now, a bright point in my day...Nina (clay's mom) brought us some awesome new clothes. Praise God for her because if not for her who knows what my children would be dressed in!
This is the only kind of laundry I like! At this point in the day I think, "I have to feed these people AGAIN! and clean up?!?!" We do, we bathe children, read stories, put to bed. I'm pretty sure the angels in heaven are singing at this point. Then we clean up...AGAIN!!!
(mind you, this is just from 1 day in 1 area of the house!)
Ok, REALITY...all of this to say. We need to STOP being so hard on ourselves or judging others for "having it all together." We are all doing the best we can. We need to have the freedom to say once in a while, "this sucks royally!" I'm fairly certain if you looked up the meaning of mom it would say "glorified servant, taxi driver, or cook." Yes, it is all worth it in the end (so I've been told), but, in this moment, after this day, I will be ok with saying, this was a bad one, and definitely NOT what I signed up for! So, if you see a post of mine that seems to demonstrate I'm the perfect mother, just know I'm more than likely sitting in some kind of filth and my children are probably running wild, barefoot, in the dirt!
Ready for the preschool parade
