Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day! To all you moms out there I want to offer some encouragement on this most special day.

One of the reasons I’ve put off starting a “Mommy Blog” for so long—you know, all 2 years that I’ve been a parent 😉 —is because I didn’t want it to become something that stole from my time with my kids. When you go onto Pinterest and start drifting through the endless pictures of perfect little mommas with their perfect little children finding the perfect little time to do perfect little crafts and all while remaining perfectly clean and happy, it sometimes gets a “Real Mom” down. Sure, it’s mostly inspirational, but it also makes one start to think, “I could never be as good as that mom, so instead I’ll just let my kid watch Toy Story for the hundredth time while I do this craft so it looks perfect.”

But here’s the thing: Mommy Blogs are being created by Real Moms, too!

Case in point: ME!

I was recently talking to my BFF (who lives way too far away from me with her 3 adorable children) and I was telling her how I loved her idea of a positive behavior poof jar and how it had worked wonders with Bean (more on that some other time). Her response? “Oh, gosh, I had forgotten all about that!” You see, in the Real Mom world, her brilliant idea she’d shared on Instagram had been drowned out by the chaotic truth of motherhood. “We’ll have to start using that again, because, yeah, it really worked!” she said.

Then we started talking about how the things we post on Instagram and Facebook tend to lean toward the more positive moments in our mommy parenting, rather than the moments we’d rather be forgotten. This is mostly for ourselves, to remind us while cleaning up the puddle of poo that just squirted out of the diaper for the 3rd time today (what did this child eat?!) that there are positive moments, and they’re what will be remembered in the years to come, and we’ll laugh about those blech-ier moments someday, probably at that child’s wedding (snicker, snicker)…

So I’m here to say, I’m a Real Mom and even though I may post a lot of happy little crafts and happy little smiles, I’ll try to remind my readers of my reality from time to time to encourage you in the daily straits of Motherhood. Because nothing is more encouraging than hearing another mom’s tale of woe to remind you We’ve All Been There.

Along those lines, I want to say that with Instagram and Facebook and “Mommy Blogs” galore out there, it’s even easier to find some poor momma to judge. But the fact is, we’re all just trying to do the best that we can with what God has given us. Some moms earn a living outside the home, while others work their budget to the core to be able to stay at home. Some moms make the time to clean, some moms make the time to craft. Some moms enjoy cooking and baking and meal planning, and some moms enjoy ordering in pizza—oh wait, that one’s true for EVERYONE…

The fact is, in the end, I admire you, Momma, for doing what you can to raise a healthy, happy individual in this chaotic, messed-up world.

I wanted to take this time to tell you why I admire some of the mommas in my personal life.

My BFF is the mother of three—2 girls and a boy. Her family finds the time to sit together and sing worship songs. Both she and her husband play guitar and sing, and I’ve seen pictures of her kids each playing a different instrument along with them—from keyboard to drums to rattles. She’s inspired me to find the time to do the same thing with my kids from a young age because music, and especially worship, is SO important to remind you Who should be at the center of your life and family.

My sister-in-law is the mother of two—a boy and a girl. She finds the time to do the most amazing crafts! Seriously, you name it, she can make it. Her knitting and crocheting is incredible. You can follow her at https://onespecialhat.wordpress.com/. She inspires me to find the time to craft every day.

My other sister-in-law is the mother of one little girl. She has, at times, had to work three jobs (one is as a Jamberry Nails consultant which you can find here: https://kaarinmvp.jamberry.com/us/en/ ) while her husband also works three jobs to provide for their family. I am repeatedly reminded how thankful I am to be able to stay at home with my kids.

My mother-in-law has raised three children and now encourages them daily as she enjoys her five grandchildren (which she somehow managed to get to all live nearby 😉 ), frequently saving us mommies who need last-minute babysitting. I look forward to the day I can offer the same encouragement and help to my kids as they raise their own.

My own mother somehow managed to ensure most of my memories of my childhood are filled with games and crafts and fun-filled adventures (though she’d be the first to tell you there were plenty of Real Mom moments in there, too!). If she’d raised us today, she most definitely would’ve been a mommy blogger. I am so excited to continue that tradition with my kids.

I admire all of our grandmothers for their ability to somehow entertain children without television or screens of any kind, and to not completely lose their sanity when they hadn’t heard from their children in days because they hadn’t been near a phone. How did they do it?!

In closing, I’d like to tell you something a good friend told me when I started getting overwhelmed at the thought of being a mom and all the choices I would have to make for my kids (i.e. breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, sleep routine or let baby decide—and my kids are still 2 and under, so I can’t imagine what will come up as they get older!—and the other myriad decisions out there that for some reason become make-or-break decisions when you start talking to other moms (and believe me, every mom has an opinion on The Right Way to Parent)):

God chose YOU to be the parent of your children. 

Doesn’t that just bring a smile to your face? It makes me sigh and think, “Okay, I can do this. I can’t screw them up too badly. God won’t let me.”

So instead of feeling bad when we see the latest on our Pinterest feed or comparing ourselves to another mom in a completely different situation from us, let’s build each other up as Real Moms, and remember We’ve All Been There, even the Mommy Bloggers! 🙂