I was a little surprised by a comment left on my last blog. I feel as though I am a mom that tries her best - but that definitely isn't perfect. This has motivated me to make this post. I also have been reading other blogs that are revealing what they are really like. They are showing their imperfections and I love it!! It really isn't too hard for me to find some flaws of mine, but I'm going to get this off my chest. Hope it either makes you feel better about yourself or gives you some insight as to the goings on in my home. I am slightly worried that my mom and mother-in-law might be appalled with me, but I'm sure they felt this way from time to time too.... Anyway, here goes.
*I feed my kids cereal almost every morning (it isn't sugary junky cereal, it's the whole grain stuff but it's cereal none the less).
*I ensure that my kids have all their servings of fruits and vegetables etc, but I am a total hypocrite. I hardly ever eat fish and I frequently grab little candies etc. through the day (I would never let them do this).
*I do not enjoy nursing my babies. I do it strictly because I know it's the best thing for my kids.
*I might gripe a fair bit about how hard it is to stay home, but I actually am really glad that I don't have to work. I feel sorry for the men in our lives who are out there working like crazy.
*There are some days, however, that I think working out in the field would be really nice.
*There are days that I'm sure that Jarett has done more than I have (just at home, nevermind his work load). It seems as though most days he'll be the one who makes dinner and does dishes too. I really don't know if I could function without him.
*I have a goal to do laundry every day. It just doesn't get overwhelming that way and it's a small job done frequently. This very very rarely pans out. Sometimes I'll get the laundry basket down the first flight of stairs one day, the second flight the second day and then it'll sit in the basement for another day before I actually get it IN the machine. Once I rotate it through, I leave it in the dryer for another day and then fold it and then the next day I carry it upstairs. Once it sits there for a day or two, I'll put it away.....but by then I'm carrying the next load down the first flight of stairs.
*My mom took my kids from Tues - Fri last week so I could have a break and it might have been one of the best weeks of my life. I felt so free. I seriously can't thank her enough.
*I have never made homemade bread - ever. Unless banana bread counts. I have made buns - but not in the last 3 years. This might change though. I just got a really good bread recipe from my Mother-in-law that I'm going to try. If you want it, I have it posted on my family's
recipe blog.
*I don't let my kids paint
*I don't let my kids play with play-dough
*I groan at the very word of "craft" because I know that it is synonymous with "MESS".
*My kids watch at least 1 movie a day. Some are only 20 minutes and some are 2 hours, but they watch at least one. Hey, at least it's not TV where I don't know what they're watching.
*When I send my children downstairs to clean the basement, I am expecting them to NOT do it fast. I am expecting them to cry and complain and get distracted and play with the toys. This makes it a 1-2 hour job instead of the 5 minute job it would be. (The reason this is a bad thing is because I enjoy the 1-2 hour time slot this allows me to clean up the other two floors, type up a blog and maybe even prepare dinner).
*I might be a computer addict - my mom called me on that a while ago, but I am cutting back!
*We don't have TV - not because I have noble goals, but because it costs money and I know that I would completely lose track of time and get even less done should I have it.
*I have gone more then 3 days without showering. More commonly I make it to the 3 day mark. It's not something I'm proud of, it just happens.
*My kids are usually only bathed once a week. In fact, Kienna thinks that if I give her a bath it means that tomorrow is Sunday. This is mostly because Kaia and Saryn have bad eczema and my doctor told me to only bathe when necessary as it aggravates the skin.
*I take showers that are probably double the length of the ones I used to take. I might be a little bit more dirty, but it's mostly just standing in the shower enjoying the water and not being able to hear anything else..... no whining, no crying and no demands. Does this work? Sometimes. This is also one of the reasons my kids watch movies. I get a chance to shower - YAY!
*I LOVE Disney movies. I frequently have them on for me more than the kids. Sometimes I fight over which movie to watch just as much as they do because I want to see my favorite one.
*I frequently have my 4 and 6 year old do errands for me. If I need a diaper, a can of corn or something thrown in the garbage, Kienna and Kaia are my little helpers. This is especially true if I need something put in or taken out of the basement. I am actually scared of the basement (which I have just discovered I inherited from my mom).
*I secretly hope bad things happen to perfect people.
*I didn't take my kids tobogganing even once this whole winter. I hate the cold THAT much. It wasn't worth bundling my kids up to go stand out in the cold for that long.....especially with a newborn.
*I sometimes blame my kids for things that happen that were really out of their control. For example, Saryn colours on the floor. This is Kaia's fault because she should have noticed it. Hmmm, maybe I should have noticed too??
*I have punished Saryn by showering her. Not with hot or cold water, just a nice shower. She just really doesn't like the shower head. Even the suggestion of a shower gets her to be good immediately. Hey, it works! She wouldn't EVER stay in bed. I had tried everything. Being nice, being mean, not paying any attention, just putting her back into bed....you name it. I said, "Saryn, if you get out of bed again, you're going to have a shower" and we haven't really had a problem since. She might have some hygiene problems later in life, but for now....it works like a charm.
*It can take me up to 6 months to finally tackle a stain on my couch, walls or floors that has been bugging me.
*I have OCD tendencies in organization, but not in regimines. I only work well on a schedule, but I don't have the discipline to follow them....therefore, I don't always work well.
*I truly believe that I have the most beautiful children in the world. My friends are at a close second and those I don't know.....well, some of their kids are funny looking (some are really beautiful too). I'm not biased, I just know the best looking people.
*I frequently don't know what is wrong with my kids when they are sick. After four kids, people seem to think you know everything, but I REALLY REALLY don't. I am flattered by the questions, but I usually give some off the cuff advise and then say, "Oh, I don't know" afterwards. That way I look like I've learned something in my 6 years of being a mom.
Well, I think I have neglected my children again long enough.....I better get to it. So, anywhere there's some dirty laundry for you to look at. Ironic that as I typed this, I had my kitchen floors coloured on by Saryn.....truly, I realize I'm not perfect.....but I AM trying to get better every day. It just seems to be a really really SLOW and steady process.
