Recently a friend of mine told me that I seem in person just like I seem on the blog—purposeful. Together. Within seconds I was spouting off all the things I am NOT excelling at right now, and I thought it only made sense to share them here!
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I have lost track of the last time I bathed the boys. Maybe two weeks? I hope not! I am constantly telling my husband we need to bathe them more, to which he shrugs and says “they swim plenty.” 🙂 I argue that that does not count, and to boot, they haven’t been swimming in at least a week and a half! More? Who knows!
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Trenton’s finger nails are old-lady long and (see above) dirty. In my defense, they grow like weeds.
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Chase takes care of his own nails by tearing or biting. I know I should care about this and want to prevent any bad habits, but honestly, I’m just glad they don’t need as frequent of attention from me.
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Their room smells at night like BOY, and I desperately need to wash their sheets. (Again, see above.)
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I have two loads of clean laundry waiting to be folded right now, but I figure I might as well wash more and then fold it all at once. WAIT! I think I have a load in the washer right now waiting to be switched to the dryer? I’m not entirely sure.
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Speaking of laundry, Trenton is officially my laundry helper (he got that job when he turned 5), but I NEVER remember to have him help me.
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I have put Ryan last far too often lately (as in, since I got pregnant with Quinn, who is now six months old), but I’m working to change that.
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It feels like I never DON’T need to clean the bathrooms.
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In relation to my job managing our complex, one of my bosses recently had to remind me THREE TIMES before I finally put signs on the recycling bins. (Glamorous, I know.)
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My gospel teaching with my children is weak to say the least, but I always have hopes of improving! Key word: hopes.
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I am dropping the ball on nearly all of my friendships, including extended family.
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I have been stuffing Quinn into her pajamas for weeks, but I have not managed to buy her a new size. (Seriously, how much time does it take to get on Amazon?)
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I talk about the importance of seeking stillness and doing less, and then I fill my plate to the brim.
I could go on; I am sure. But!—
Like you, I only have two hands. And like you, I have a big heart.
At the end of the day, that has to be enough.
I love that you are sharing some real life. Sometimes we get so sucked into other people’s highlight reels that we forget everyone has a behind the scenes. 🙂 -Andrea
Thank you, Andrea! One of the commenters below you called it a blooper reel. 🙂 I think I’ll have to keep it up! Every does have a behind the scenes. Have a great day!
You sound like a normal mother! Still, I think you are very purposeful in the way you lead your life and you don’t let these tangents get you sidetracked in your larger goals. My boys rarely bathe as well (once every 1 or 2 weeks if they don’t find an opportunity to get super dirty) and I think it’s fine when they are little.
I think we all have our own 13 ways of not having it together. I’m also sure that mine are more than 13 this month. 🙂
Ever since I drafted this I’ve been continually coming up with more. Gotta stop somewhere, right, or I’d just depress myself. 🙂 And hello, it doesn’t get much crazier than MOVING! Hope everything is going okay! Let me know if you need anything!
Yes totally normal, after the third! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful week, beautiful friend!
I had to laugh at the thing about the baths! For us, it’s tooth brushing. I will never get my husband to help me with getting our daughter to brush her teeth. Every time I ask him to remind her, he tells me that dentistry is just a big conspiracy and he refuses to be a part of it. Oh my… Thanks so much for sharing all of this today and making us all feel a little more normal when we drop the ball (constantly). 🙂
Haha, that’s hilarious, Courtenay, because we are totally the same! I would have added that one had I not ran out of numbers! Ryan thinks the same thing about dentistry for kids, but I’m slowing getting him to come around. I think? But when it comes down to it, I still need to be the one to get them to brush, and I’m definitely not perfect at it!
So funny!
Oh man, I was nodding right there along with pretty much all of them. This last time I think we went 3-4 weeks without a bath (our worst yet) and the only way I could do that was by forcing haircuts (pretty much like the apocalypse at our house). I can never keep up with nails but I’m proud to be 2 for 3 kids right now! I changed the kids’ sheets and we even tackled 3 loads of clean laundry last night! So of course I woke up to a kid who completely soaked his sheets in pee. Why do I bother?!
But this is all said in a spirit of laughter and grins. I can’t complain–I have one at pre-school, one watching Sesame Street, and one asleep. Its my short window to relax and attempt to shower alone. 🙂
I love your real posts. It takes guts but we all feel the same way. Like Andrea said, its nice to see the blooper reel too! Keep them coming!
This sounds so much like my life right now too!! It can be hard for me to let things go and not stress about it but it definitely makes everyone happier by just coasting and doing the minimum for now! I always love your posts (sorry not always good about commenting! )
No problem, Brittany! You probably have a baby on your lap most times you read! I know how that goes!
It is a continual balance between doing enough of what matters and juuuust enough of what really doesn’t. 🙂 Have a great night!
Loved this post, friend. It’s always refreshing to read all the ways that others don’t have it all together. I was nodding my head while reading most of the things you mentioned. 😉
This post reminded me of a friends post you can read here http://courtandsharee.blogspot.com/2013/09/mismatched-flip-flops.html. I know the “boy” smell you are referring to. I have to burn candles every day to get rid of it (even though the house is almost clean). I always forget to brush teeth. Probably because it takes at least 15 minutes with a lot of screaming. Thankfully, only one out of the four has cavities. I thought life would slow down a little when school started. I now have one going to school all day and another one in preschool. I was completely wrong. There are some weeks when we are always running somewhere. I am always forgetting to do something or not having the motivation to do it because I know my boys will destroy everything I just did. Thanks for sharing!! I know I can relate to many of the things you listed 🙂
Oooh, Connie, that was a great post! I always need the reminder to think harder about what I REALLY want my kids to learn from me than what I wish they’d do in the moment (like match their flip flops).
We too have been way lucky on the teeth front. Good thing I have those regular dentists appointments to guilt me back into getting on top of it! haha.
And amen to school making us more busy than less! Trenton and Chase’s preschool and school pickups work out pretty horribly, so I am always on the go. (Although thankfully, for us, that ends by the time we get home at about 1:30.)
What a crazy journey this is, and I’m just glad we’re in it together! Thank you SO much for commenting, because it always makes me so happy to hear from you!
Last year my oldest filled out a paper at school for Mother’s Day. It said, “My mom is happy when…..” He wrote “the house is clean”. I felt really bad when I read that. I felt like I was failing as a mom. However, I reminded him when the house is mostly clean we are able to do more “fun” things. I brought up the point when our house is clean it is easier to feel the Spirit and everyone is happier. We thought about the temple and what would happen if it was messy. Hopefully, from our little conversation, he understands why it is nice to have a clean house and why I am a little more happy when it is clean. I always thought my mom was crazy for always wanting the house to be so clean. Now I understand. Teaching our kids “why” we do things is so important. I believe they will have greater appreciation if they understand the “why”.
This made me smile, especially the part about stuffing the baby into his footie pajamas way too long… 🙂 We are all there some times.
My confession: I am constantly having to rewash the same load of laundry over and over because I keep forgetting them in the washer. My infant seems like he needs new sleepers so I feel like I keep stuffing him the things like a sausage in a casing. I could have bought new ones already. But, I that would mean that I have to make time to go the store. I don’t want to go the store right now. Ok, I think that he can go one more week.
Thanks, Lisa – I do that too, forgetting about laundry and needing to rewash! And that’s hilarious that we’re both stuffing little sausages into their casings every night! Errands are pretty much my enemy right now – I can barely make it to the grocery store, much less twenty minutes down to the nearest Carter’s store!
Just one day at a time! You’re doing great things! Thanks for lifting me up!!
Erica, I love your honesty! I’m catching up on your posts and am enjoying finding one after the other of quality topics and your genuine voice. How is the school routine going? I can’t believe Quinn is already 6 months old?!? And I’m with you on the laundry… sometimes I pick out half the clean clothes basket to dress the girls before I get to folding it. 🙂 Hugs!
Thanks, Becky! I think I have a couple to catch up on at your place too! The school routine is going well! It has made a big difference for our family, even just having T in half-day kindergarten and Chase in four hours a week of preschool. Our days are passing faster, and the boys are usually pretty excited to play together after being apart until 1pm. (I say *usually,* not always. 🙂 And yes, the madness – Quinn is approaching 7 months! Feels like I just had her, and here she is starting to get on her chubby knees!
How are you doing?? How’s the school schedule treating you?
I love this. I have my list of stuff like this – different from your list in a few areas but a lot of the same. Now I feel a little bit better knowing how normal other people are!