The reality of being a mom

I usually try to look on the bright side of things.  I try to find the glamorous things in my life and try to focus on how wonderful my kids are.

But sometimes reality slaps you in the face so hard that you really can't think about the glamorous side of it to save your life.

Tuesday morning I decided to kick off my new year - a few days late - by getting up before the kids so that I could actually shower and be ready before 1 in the afternoon.  However, my desire to do so of course meant that throughout the previous night, I was up 6 times between the 3 kids.  They have a momdar (mom radar) alerting them to anything mom may do that is out of the ordinary and they do all they can to ruin it. 

Proof of this momdar can be found in many different situations.  For instance as soon as I sat down to write this post, my previously slumbering baby awoke screaming for nourishment NOW, and my two older kids who were previously enjoying quiet time began fighting and screaming, requiring my attention. 

One may ask, "How can you give 3 kids your attention at once?"  Answer:  You can't, and you don't.  Inevitably one or more children will be left screaming for their needs as you assess who really needs you the most at the moment.  As of now...baby wins.  A couple days ago - pee soaked toddler and couch wins.

Another example of this momdar would be whenever I sit down to eat or grab a quick snack.  Suddenly I am as popular as a crumb of cake in an ant hill.  What the devil!?  These little people wanted nothing to do with me a couple minutes ago.

To add to the joy that is motherhood, I decided it was high time to potty train Claire.  Basically I should have kept her in diapers and bought a puppy, because that's about how successful she was for the entire first day and a half.

After at least 10 pairs of panties (or underwear if you're my husband and hate the word panties) and many, many Clorox wipes we are FINALLY making progress...however she is now running to the potty every 30 minutes...because she knows she will get a treat if she tinkles in there. 

Who's idea was it to make kids so darn smart?


I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to leave the house again.  We're now knee deep in that terrible in-between phase of potty training where they are doing pretty good but you really can't trust that they'll hold it in public. 


Another reason for our hermit tendencies is because I only have 2 hands and with 3 kids it takes a lot of time, planning, energy and patience - which I am lacking a bit of lately - to go anywhere.  I will get to the point where emerging from our hole of insanity will happen...but for now I am just trying to make the most of it.  Hey, look on the bright side, I don't have to do my hair or makeup or really even get out of my pajamas!  The savings alone in laundry soap and cosmetics is worth it...right?


Lucky Marty gets to come home to such a beautiful sight each night.

Then there is the phenomenon known as mother's Murphy's law, which states, "if you want to get something accomplished, something else will definitely go wrong ruining your chances"...or something like that.  I was managing the stresses of potty training, having a newborn, being lonely, having mountains of cleaning, dishes and laundry to do pretty decently.  Then I put in my first - of about 500 - loads of laundry for the morning.

Soon the sound of a waterfall was flowing through our house.  I knew I hadn't installed such a beautiful feature and began searching out the noise.  I was lead to my washing machine where I found water was spilling out the back by the hose.  I quickly turned off the washing machine and stood there...not sure what to do. 

I felt as though this may be the straw to break the camel's back.  I weighed my options:

1. Cry.


2.  Call my dad and cry.


3. Put Claire back in diapers and undo any progress as to avoid unnecessary dirty clothes.


4. Do all the above and wait for Marty to get home so I could cry and make him fix it. 


5. Investigate and try to fix the washer myself and continue on with the day.

I decided to put my OWN big girl panties on and fix the washer.  Basically - in all my technical knowledge - the drain hose wasn't keeping up with the water and was spilling out the excess. There's probably a clog or something but I chose to just stop the washer long enough for it to drain and turn it back on...with a towel underneath just in case.  Problem solved! (kind of) 

Okay...I may have cried too.

So the washing machine is running, the dishes are done (for now), the kids are fed (even if it is their 4th pack of fruit snacks today), clothed (in dress up clothes), and they're happy (because they're watching TV)...but most importantly, mommy is not crying (anymore).  For now that's all I hope for! 

On the agenda for tomorrow - try to find the glamour again.