Sometimes…

Happy Mother’s Day!

As I’ve mentioned before in an old post of mine that’s been making the rounds again, Mother’s Day is a wonderful chance to celebrate all the amazing, selfless things moms do every day.  But for some moms, it can also be  day-long guilt-fest, comparing our own short-comings to an imaginary “Mother’s Day Mom” ideal.  We see a composite view of strangers’ best qualities and compare that against our own shortcomings, which are all too familiar.

It’s with this in mind that a group of us decided to take today to pull back the curtain on our blogs and show the humanness behind the work we do.

I’ve told you before about the unceremonious fish-flushing, and perpetual floor crumbing, and if you follow my Facebook feed, you’re aware of my recent fiasco with one toddler and one set of keys on the wrong side of four locked van doors.

I’ve told you all that perfection is overrated, and with my gift for blunders, I certainly lead by example on that one! 

(You’re welcome.)

So here’s my latest contribution.  My comparison of my professional work and my everyday life:

When I work on a video here or make a presentation somewhere out in the “Real World”, I always try to look put- together and professional.

But sometimes, I’m up late working on a project/up all night with a sick boy/ up “just early enough” to squeeze in on a deadline, (or sometimes all three—LUCKY!) and I just manage to swap my PJs for workout gear.  (Not because I’m about to workout, mind you, just because sometimes it’s the quickest, comfiest thing to throw on before taking my kids to school.  And mostly because it’s not PJs….but it feels like PJs.)

I share loads of hands-on activities with you here, and my kids do enjoy doing things like this:

But sometimes, they just want to do something that requires a screen.  And while we have plenty of talks about limits and priorities and the probability of their brains turning into oatmeal, sometimes it’s totally fine.

(Sometimes my kids build nests out of my bed pillows.  Which means sometimes my bed is made.  Sometimes.)

I’ve shared our little Saturday morning pancake tradition in our family.  It’s something we enjoy whenever we can pull it off.  It’s a fun way to build a family rhythm and just be together.  Ahh…picture-perfect memories, right?  Maybe.  Sometimes, it ends up looking like this:

(No lies.  No set-up.  Just typical Saturday morning shenanigans.)

I’ve written about giving toddlers projects to keep them busy while you cook dinner.  But sometimes, my almost two year-old can find plenty to do all on his own.  Like emptying the pantry….again.  Or raiding the chocolate chip stash in the cupboard (where did he learn that?).  Or “amending” the soil in the potted plants.  Or emptying a roll of toilet paper (the brand new one, of course).

I love to read nerdy books and share what I read with you in posts, or in my Book List, and I would love to say that I devour these treasures in a beautiful library with dark wood, leather chairs, and glittering streams of light coming in through the window.  But sometimes, (make that, most of the time) I’m multitasking, listening to the books on my iPhone via Audible as I make dinner, run errands, or do something really glamorous like this:

I write and teach about positive parenting.  That’s a big part of what I do as a professional.  And it’s changed me as a mom for the better.  But sometimes my kids lose it.  Sometimes I lose it.  Because we’re human and we’re still learning together.

Regardless of the details– the lack of glamour, the hard work, and the rough edges — I’m honored to be “Mom” to these boys.

Always.

Want to see more real moms behind the blogs?  Check out these ladies:

And Next Comes L | 3 Dinosaurs | Hands On: As we Grow | Kids Play Space | Life Over C’s | Makeovers & Motherhood | Not Just Cute | One Time Through | Play DrMom | Southern Girl Ramblings | Still Playing School | Teaching Mama | The Chaos and The Clutter | The Craft Train | The Educators’ Spin On It | The Measured Mom | The Mommy Talks | Third Stop on the Right | This Reading Mama