Why am I doing this? Does anyone actually want to read another mom blog? I have been posting about my #MomFails on Facebook lately. It breaks up the monotony of the posts of the happy smiling well dressed children in front of perfectly trimmed hydrangea bushes - this usually occurs on Easter morning or the 4th of July. And matching gingham is always involved. You know the ones that make you look at your grimy toddler with a saggy diaper screaming "I DON'T LIKE IT" while laying on the floor covered in dog hair in front of the fridge when all he wants is milk. Why the dramatics?
Those are the moments that make me think, "What the hell am I doing wrong?" I try to put Henry in gingham with cute little white shoes and he immediately dive bombs into the closest form of dirt he can find.
Disclaimer: If your children will stand in a nice line in front of a perfectly trimmed hydrangea bush, bless you. For real, you must have unlimited patience. The following post is in no way meant to "mom shame" anyone. It is simply meant to give others a relatable point of view. And a way for me to vent about my crazy toddler.
Disclaimer #2: I love my toddler more than life itself. I would take a bullet for him. But he is two and ornery as can be. And sometimes I just need a glass of wine or four or a whole bottle to drown out him playing that damn trumpet he stole from someone's house. If you are missing a trumpet, please let me know. I will happily return it.
Back to the real reason I am doing this.
Recently, I have found that social media tends to make me - and others I have talked to - feel not so great about my own parenting skills. I have even considered deleting it at times. Would that help me live more in the moment with my family and not compare to others?
We all post the best of everything on our social media - me included! I don't want people to know what really happens behind closed doors on Owen Court. But you know what, we all have the same kinds of things going on behind closed doors! No one is perfect. We all have struggles - whether it be parenting, our marriage, self value, diet, anxiety, depression, general health, work, financial troubles, wavering faith, or attempting to reach that goal that seems right out of our grasp.
So I thought it would be refreshing to hear some stories about real life. The good, the bad, and the VERY UGLY. I promise not to hold back.
Disclaimer #3: I have an amazing life. I am very very very lucky. I have an amazing husband, an adorable toddler, a really big dog that I cannot keep out of the bed at night, a loving family that accepts me for all my crazy, a great job, my health, faith, car, a roof over my head that was just replaced by some well-timed hail damage. I could go on and on.
But once again, it is not all rainbows and unicorns. I struggle daily wondering if I am doing enough for my family. I am a full time working mom with a full time working husband that is also the head coach for a high school baseball team.
Things I worry about every day:
- Should I have forced Henry to eat more than a slice of cheese for breakfast this morning?
- Should I only bathe him in organic non-chemical products?
- Should I pay a shit ton of money for him to go to a special preschool that teaches him multiple languages? I don't even know if these exist in Owensboro.
- Should I have put more money in his 529 for his first birthday? I mean, my two year old has more money in his college savings then we have in our family savings.
- Should I have let him play outside with just his diaper and rain boots when it was 50 degrees and dark outside last night?
- Am I teaching him bad habits by letting him sit on top of the coffee table?
- Was it rude to laugh at church when he crawled under the pew and pulled on the pants legs of the kid in front of us?
- Should he be potty trained by now?
- Is he supposed to know his ABC's by the time he starts preschool?
- Should I get him an easel so he can finger paint even though the carpet in his playroom is cream and the thought of cleaning up the finger paint makes me want to drink just thinking about it?
If you have the answer to any of these questions please let me know. But I will probably ignore it. I hope someone can relate. If you can't, well you are rocking life and I could use a few pointers.
For more, visit my blog at HashtagMomFail.com!