don't gag at me!

have you ever looked at another mom's photos 

of her young kids that are being all

cute and perfect and thought,

"oh, well aren't you cute" gag.

(like this..)

HEAR ME OUT!

it sounds horrible i know!!

but i do it...and i swear it's not to be mean.

but why do i do it?

well let me tell ya cause i just figured it out!

once upon a time, when all my kids were under

the age of 5, life was different.

way. different.

if i told the kids we were going to the park,

that was ALL it took and boom, they were in great 

moods and willing to help out with everything!

because going to the park was literally the coolest

thing to my children!

if i gave them something like a pot and a pan and

a spoon, there was music.

it was horrible and ear piercing, but it was music.

and they laughed and it entertained them.

if we went on a car ride, they slept.

if we went out to dinner, they were excited.

OH man, i just remembered: naptime.

ohhhh how i miss those days.

there were no verbal arguments because the world

was still so new to them that everything was amazing

and every day they'd say "THIS was the best day ever!"

NOW.

if i told me kids we were going to the park,

sure, there will be excitement, for like 1 minute.

because then i follow it with, after you clean your room

or after you do your chores, or heaven forbid,

after you brush your teeth.

sometimes i think i am actually killing them.

don't get me wrong, they do chores. 

and they do them a lot.

we homeschool, so literally all day revolves

around chores and school stuff.

but long gone are the days that i can give them

a pot and a pan to make music.

long gone are the exciting park days.

long gone are the sleepy, quiet car rides.

long gone are the naps. *sniff sniff*

welcome to having 3 kids that have opinions.

3 kids that are different, way different.

3 kids that play different sports, year'round.

3 kids that argue. and argue. and argue.

this picture below...not as innocent as it seems.

(left) she's always happy.

(middle) he was on the verge of asthma attack

(right) he is always mad.

THIS one however, is exactly as it seems.

big brother was being mean to him and not sharing.

very typical in our household. 

it.makes.me.insane.

and just when i start to think,

"my kids are always fighting" 

i come across pictures like this

and i'm reminded, 

they are still innocent 

in many other ways

and then i realized,

i am that mom too. gag.

so now i'll tell you what i figured out.

THOSE moms. the ones with the cute kids all 

dressed in matching outfits,

kissing each other so sweetly,

laughing, hugging, playing at the park,

being entertained with JUST CRAYONS!

THOSE MOMS...

i was one of them. and i still am!

when we post pictures online,

it's not that we are trying to hide anything!

we just captured a sweet moment that we want to remember!

because as moms, we are usually barely hanging in there.

we are tired and losing our minds.

the kids ARE fighting! 

we just don't take "those" pictures.

because why would we? who wants to remember that?

NOT ME.

we already live it. we already see our babies grow up and

stop coloring so much. and stop wanting to go to the park.

and stop napping so much. and stop clinging to our arms.

so we take those pictures to remember it!

and that is OK.

actually it's more than ok.

if you are that mom, hang in there.

don't stop taking those pictures.

if you want to share it, share it!

because time is fleeting and all too soon,

i promise you, those quiet days of little giggles,

and "MINE!" will be gone so fast.

they will be replaced with full on mini-adult debates,

punching, yelling, wrestling and

every other difference you can possibly imagine.

because 2 older boys are not interested in tinkerbell and 

they will let the whole world know it when 

poor sister wants to watch it.

BUT. they will also be replaced with this...

brothers that share the love of football and the same team.

brothers that play football in the living room all day.

brothers that help each when times get tough.

or this...

a big sister that helped her little brother hold a butterfly

because she realized he had been struggling with it.

a big sister who treats her little brothers like her

own babies. who loves them with all her heart.

so when i look at another moms photos now,

i'll stop to appreciate the fact that they

had a good moment and captured it.

chances are, before or after that "moment"

was some chaos that gave them a headache.

so who am i, and who are you, to gag at that mom?

don't gag at me! hahahaha.

in a lot of ways, it gets even better.

it gets more stressful, but seeing your children

grow and learn and have relationships with each other...

it's almost better than easy park days.

but it's not better than naps.

.erinthemom.