If you finished the catchy title phrase, please let's be friends 😉 Mommin' ain't easy and we need our circle, these days more than ever. Other Mama friends who just get IT - the hard days, the fun days, the lazy days and every single day in between.
Today was one of those days - where the sink stayed filled with dishes, the laundry stayed unfolded in the baskets, and the only thing I wanted to do was take a nap (all day) But let's be real, that's pretty much impossible as a stay-at-home Mom and newly appointed homeschool teacher.
Preschool drop off was hard this morning. It didn't help that I was running on 3 & 1/2 hours of sleep, snoozed 2 of my alarms, forgot to pack her lunch the night before and to top it off, this 3 year old is like trying to get a teenager out of bed. I have to go in her room a minimum of 4 times, lights on the brightest setting, sound machine turned off, rubbing her head and pulling back the covers before she musters up enough motivation to wake up. My 8 year old on the other hand, is already like the "Rockstar mom". You know, the one who wakes up at 5am every morning to enjoy a hot cup of coffee to herself while she prepares a 4-course meal for breakfast. Has the kids outfits all laid out with backpacks and lunches next to the backdoor. (If that's you, you're the real MVP and please share your secrets on how you do it) But really, Kay is my early bird who enjoys quiet time to herself. Being able to eat breakfast without her little sister trying to steal her food, watching her "older kid cartoons" and having a little personal space before Lexi comes downstairs.
Today was only day 2 of preschool and after having a 5 day gap in between, she just was not having it. I tried everything. Her teacher (bless her sweet soul) brought out stickers, toys, lollipops but she wanted nothing to do with any of it - she just wanted her Mama. Another classmate was glued to his mom too, tears and all which honestly made me feel a little bit better. I know it's normal to feel embarrassed when nothing we do can calm our kids down, we certainly aren't alone and these times are a part of their learning process and emotional development. But I wanted to reach over and hug this woman I've never even talked to before, pass her my phone number and deliver her a bottle of wine. Because in that moment, that sounded good to me too. After 30 minutes of convincing and lots of distracting, I was finally able to sneak out the door. I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best and sprinted back to the parking lot. No time to make a coffee, no energy to drive to Starbucks, all I could hear was my bed calling my name and I could not get there fast enough.
Can anyone else agree that preschool is just not long enough? 2.5 hours, 3 days a week - How do we fit in a shower without kids banging on the door? Unloading and reloading the dishwasher? Try to catch up on the 4 baskets of laundry that have been sitting unfolded for days now? Get the errands done that are easier without an impatient toddler and bored tween? Clean the toy explosion in the playroom? And some how find the time to sit and rest for even just 10 minutes. I swear, being exhausted is a permanent feeling and probably will be until the kids are grown and on their own. Working a full-time 3rd shift job certainly does not help my situation, I just have to remind myself that it's only temporary. Being able to get back on a normal sleep schedule will certainly give a little more pep-in-my-step in the mornings and a little more motivation and energy to keep up with all the mom-things. Lucky for me, Alexa was up for a long afternoon nap curled up on the couch and it was the refresher we both needed today.
The dishes will still be there when I wake up, the laundry won't have magically folded itself, I can always try again to do my errands tomorrow, and it's all worth it for this moment - snuggling my baby who has outgrown naps and is growing so quickly right before our eyes. The saying is so true, that the days are long but the years are short. It feels like just yesterday I was rocking her in my arms at 2am feeling like the sleepless nights would never end.
But tomorrow is a new day, which means they are another day older. I know I am going to look back and miss tripping over toys, finding clothes pulled out of drawers and scattered on the floor, the tears at morning drop off, and the constant craziness of every day life. Whatever your day looked like today or what it's going to look like tomorrow, your kids only see you. They don't see the endless list of things to be done but they do see how we handle the stress of trying to balance it all. Instead of being short tempered or frustrated and overwhelmed, today I chose to just be. Today I chose to just sit with my girls and do nothing but watch Netflix, color and tend to dinner. We cannot let comparison to our Instagram friends who seem to have it all together with their color coded schedules and spotless houses make us feel like we're not doing our best. Every one of us struggles with something, and we all handle things differently. That's why we need our circle - judgement free. To lift each other up and help each other pull through each day.
I am a firm believer that you can never have too many people cheering you on - I would love to connect with you and be apart of your cheer squad! We can easily connect on here or you can add me on Instagram **click here---> @manda_ber
Let's do this MOM-THANG together ♥
Also - If you need a good laugh, check out these videos below!
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