When Facebook Makes You Feel Like A Bad Parent, Just Read This

I signed onto Facebook the other day and had the sweetest message from a friend I went to college with telling me that I make her feel like a bad parent on a daily basis.

I was totally flattered.

That kind of makes me sound like a jerk face, but I am relatively hard on myself, so it was nice to hear that! I have gotten lots of compliments lately on a couple of the pictures of projects and accomplishments that I have posted, and while they have all made me feel super awesome, they have also reminded me of just how deceiving this whole social media / massive race to post the best picture of your kid in your perfectly clean house really is.

I'm a victim of it...daily.
Pretty house. Great big yard. Super cute cloth diaper. Skinny mom of 3. No laundry on the floor. Beautifully painted walls. Gorgeous hair. Delicious dinner that I couldn't have even made before I had kids. Happy baby. How does she look that good after just having a baby? Awesome wardrobe. Dinner with her kids and husband...

Things My Kids Have Ruined

I am one of those who truly believes that my life is better because of my kids.
I see things differently now that I have them and I enjoy so much more because of them.
But with all of the good that they have brought...they have taken a few things down with them.
And now, a list of things my kids have ruined.

1 - Songs.
While they have made some songs more enjoyable, they have actually done a really good job ruining plenty of them. Any song with a swear in it? "Mom. Mom. Did you hear that? They said a bad word. Mom, you say that word...and it's bad." Awesome. And thanks.

We were driving in the car a few weeks ago when a song I didn't recognize came on the radio and I hear a genuinely excited voice in the back seat ask me to turn the volume up. "This is Daddy's faaaavorite song. We need to listen to it super loud." So, I turn up the volume super loud (something I typically do only when someone is screaming at the top of their lungs and I just don't want to hear it anymore) and I wait to hear something that I recognize...but that doesn't happen. Then I start to think it sounds like Lady Gaga and now I'm REALLY curious because I have not really ever known Joe to be a big Lady Gaga fan.

And then I hear it.

Firsts & Lasts

Out of nowhere tonight my littlest little guy started dancing in the middle of the living room to the song playing in between worlds on Super Mario Bros.  He was cracking himself up and didn't care at all that nobody seemed to be paying much attention.

I swear, Blake has grown up more in the past week than even seems possible. 

I feel like he is taller, smarter, funnier and brattier than he was just a few days ago...and as much as I love it is as much as I hate it. 

I sat down on the couch just to watch him in all of his silly glory and I had this familiar knot in my stomach. It's the same knot every time. It's not a tear jerker, it's not the result of something awful I tried to make for dinner and it's not the knot that I get when I realize that I forgot to do something really important. 

It is the knot that pops up out of nowhere when something makes me stop for a second and realize how very fast time flies by. 

Yes...My 1 1/2 Year Old Has His Own iPad. No...I Don't Feel Bad.

Both of our boys got iPad Minis for Christmas.

Yes...both boys. The almost 5 year old and the 1 1/2 year old. 

There is the occasional judgmental stare that follows my telling some people that, but honestly,  those don't bother me all that much.

Yes. My 1 1/2 year old has his own iPad. He also has a temper and a pretty decent screen protector on it, although I am fairly certain that is not the main point of concern when said judgers are in the middle of judging me. But if you are reading this as a judger and were concerned solely for the protection of the iPad...rest assured that we have it set to withstand the wrath of Blake. 

It kind of makes me laugh when I get these looks, honestly. 

The Anti-Resolution Resolution

I am really not a fan of New Year's resolutions, and I refuse to make one. I mean honestly, I already have a list of things I want to do more of, or things I want to be better at....I don't need a New Year's Resolution added to this mix. Really.

Even the daily goals I set for myself are so high that I rarely go to bed thinking I have done enough. And, on the off chance that I do feel like I got it all done, it is 2:30 in the morning and I get about 3 hours of sleep before my alarm goes off and Joe is yelling at me to either wake up or just stop bothering to set an alarm at all. So I get out of bed all cranky and tired, because nobody should attempt to function on as little sleep as I do, and I start out my day feeling like I have fallen behind before it even starts. 

I power through the day with ridiculous amounts of caffeine and I stop to eat whenever I think about it and then I wonder why I feel like I am literally dying. And no, I did not just misuse the word "literally" there. Just ask my family and a few of my closest friends...I am so tired that I actually have convinced myself that I am dying (again...because I convinced myself of this last year when I was crying because it was my last Christmas).