I will never be supermom. I want to be…but I can’t make it there.
Annie wants to play matching cards with me. I’m busy in the kitchen. She gets upset and yells at me. I yell back at her. Great. Now I’ve lowered myself to a 3 year old’s standards.
Mommy Fail.
Annie wants to help me in the kitchen. I tell her no. I’m too busy and I want to get my work done. She leaves and returns sadly to her room.
Mommy Fail.
Andy is crying in the bouncy seat. I’ve had him in there for too long and he wants his Mama. I’m busy folding laundry and so I leave him just a bit longer.
Mommy Fail.
Barry gets home from work and wants some quality time with his wife. I’m tired. I don’t feel like talking. I’m worn to a frazzle and just want a cup of coffee and chocolate. Barry works on his computer.
Mommy/Wifey Fail.
I am so weak. I’m tired. My children don’t sleep well. I hear stories of other super mom bloggers – bloggers who get up early in the morning and do all their work – bloggers who hire mommy helpers so they can get their blog work done. I just can’t do that. I can’t hand my children over to someone else so that I can “get my computer work” done. I’m a Mommy. THAT’S my work.
I am so weak. I just want to get up early and have some quiet time with God. I want to watch the sun rise. I want to take a hot shower with no one yelling at me. But instead, the minute my feet hit the floor, one or both of my children are up with me.
“But he said to me [STACY], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
I don’t need to be supermom. I don’t WANT to be supermom. I want my children to see me messy. I want them to see me mess up and to hear me apologize to them and ask for forgiveness. Won’t that also teach them that they need forgiveness from their Heavenly Father? Yes.
I don’t want to give up time with my babies so that I can work on Facebook. I don’t want to tell Annie that I can’t play matching cards with her because I’m reading a new article about Twitter. She’s precious. My time with her is precious…my time holding Andy is but a breath in my life.
Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. Proverbs 127:3-4
As I start to extend grace to myself, let me also extend grace to you. We don’t have to be perfect – we just have to be Mommy. I can’t be a super-blogger and play with my babies at the same time. I’m a Mommy first. So, if blogging takes a back burner sometimes because I don’t have time to write when/if my kids are asleep, then a post doesn’t come out. Big stinkin’ deal. I’ll get around to writing a new post or catching up on Facebook comments when I get around to it.
Yes, I might not get extensive quiet time with God each day, but instead I can have devotions WITH my children and teach them about the love of God – all the while learning myself.
Yes, I can blog…when it’s convenient. Sometimes I might not get around to my computer work. That’s okay. Some days I might not get anything done except feed my family and take Dottie out to pee.
One day I won’t remember the dust that didn’t get cleaned up or the pile of clutter on the counter – but I will remember making my son giggle for the first time. I will remember Annie standing in her learning tower mixing up muffins with me.
Sometimes I might not get to take a bath…and sometimes I might forget that I didn’t brush my teeth today – or the day before. Uhhh, oops? Who cares? As long as I’m not stinkin’ up the house, I should be good to go, right?
God shows me grace. He loves me. I must also learn to show myself the same grace. And I must also show that grace to my children. After all – that’s my job.
Who wants to be supermom anyway?
“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31: 27-30
Join some of my best friends on the web as they also impart grace to Mommies.
Intentional By Grace
When Your Quiet Times Aren’t So Quiet – Do you struggle to find some time that is quiet so that you can spend time with God? Yeah – me too. LeighAnn says you just have to get creative. And she’s right. Don’t let your time with God suffer just because it’s a free-for-all at your house.
The Humbled Homemaker
Why I Gave Up Going to Bible Study – Do you feel pulled in every direction? Do you feel like you SHOULD go to Bible study at church when all you really want to do is stay home with your kids? You’re not alone. Sometimes staying at home is best.
Day2Day Joys
Making Time for Quiet Times – Sometimes you just have to MAKE the time. Let something else go.
Stacy this absolutely is incredible, I’ve been struggling with my boyfriends ex wife and how she has it all together, and I’m like I’m just me. I fail. I don’t do the dishes everyday. Laundry gets ignored, I go to work. I come home and sometimes we eat out more than we should. But she is this lets think of this and this. And I’m not like that. I don’t plan the way she does. And me I feel like I’m failing as a mother because I cannot do the things she does.
So glad this post was helpful to you. Always remember, no one has it altogether – even if they might look like it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Angela!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
Hi Stacy,
I was reading this and the link you posted from Humbled Homemaker regarding giving up things like Bible study when it is not in the best interest of your family. My husband and I struggle with going to church with our small kiddos. They both dislike the nursery, and honestly, it is not fun to just leave them with people who are sometimes strangers to us. Our kids are definitely distressed when we pick them up always. Also, we have tried bringing them into the service, but at their ages, they are disruptive and can’t sit quietly even with all the best busy books, snacks, etc. I just don’t know what to expect sometimes. Should we give up church until our kids grow a little? It bothers us so much. Please – any thoughts, advice, comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
That’s a hard one…and I understand where you’re coming from. We’re very blessed to attend a church where I can keep the kids with me. I’ve been told on multiple occasions by older church members that they enjoy having the young ones in the service. That’s a load off this mama. We used to attend a church with a nursery and I only took Annie a few times – I hated every minute so I stopped.
I think it’s very important for young children to be with their parents in church – Sunday School is a good time for fellowship with peers, but CHURCH should be with family – and that’s just my hard headed opinion. 🙂
I would encourage you not to give up church – the Word tells us not to give up meeting together. You might just be on the lookout for a family-friendly church. You could probably ask around and find one easily. 🙂
I so needed to read this post today. Even though my children are older (youngest is 15), I still have to remind myself that it is ok if the dishes sit in the sink while I watch a movie with my family, or that email goes unread because my son wants me to play a game with him, or that a blog doesn’t get written again because I’m listening to my daughter who needs moral support on her grown up decisions. Again thank you for this post I helps to know that I’m not the only one.
I think I need to make myself read this post every day of my life.
Stacy,
Like so many others, I just love your blog, too! And this post is perfect for ALL of us Mommies out there–SAHM, working, it doesn’t really matter! I’m sure we are all pretty hard on ourselves sometimes.
Right after the birth of my first child I remember telling my husband, “Being a Mom is the hardest, lowest paying job I’ve ever had, but it is definitely the most rewarding!” Almost 15 years later I’m a full-time homeschooling mother of four, I *still* feel this same way!! Life as a wife/mom is a juggling challenge EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. but I wouldn’t change MY life’s mission for anything! 😉
I have found that getting into (at least somewhat of) a routine each day/week helps me accomplish so much more than just trying to wade through each day, unplanned, though. For example, a friend once told me that she always changed the sheets on her beds on Mondays. I tell you, that was like a “lightbulb” moment for me! Duh! What a GREAT idea! Pick a task, assign a day, get into routine, create a HABIT…PROFOUND!! Tasks go undone a lot less often around here now and everyone it happier because of it! 😉
God bless all Mommies (and Daddies, too)! And thanks for keeping it REAL, Stacy! 🙂
Whew girl. Whew.
Hi Stacy,
What really struck me while reading this post is your insatiable love for your babies. I, too, have small children and I often feel that I am pressured to “let go” a bit (put child in preschool, church nursery, etc.). It’s like it is the “in” thing to do. I have succumbed to these pressures and have always regretted it when I did. I only I’d the church nursery a few times and now my husband and I have decided to keep our kids with us even if it means not attending church for now during this season if our lives. We both still find those quiet times and teach our kids about God and how to have a relationship with Jesus. In saying this, I am thankful to you for your frankness in posting about this. In my world,
I am the only breastfeeding, keep my kids at home kind of mom. I always feel as an outcast and feel that I spend a lot of time defending myself and my values. I feel that motherhood is my number 1 priority an it is Gods chosen job for me. I love my kids! Thanks for posting. Your words are comforting and inspiring!
You’re not the only one. 🙂 I’m a “breastfeeding, keep my kids home kind of mom” too. We have an important job to do – let’s embrace it and forget what everyone else has to say. Remind me of that okay?
This was exactly what I needed today, Stacy. I’m trying to get better on top of my household routines (as in, actually know what needs to be done rather than wondering why it’s all a mess). I was feeling good about what I got accomplished this morning, but needed the reminder that the cry from my sick, teething, 7 month old daughter is not a distraction from my mission, but a call to my mission. And the Lord will help me complete it. Thank you!
YES! I love how you said that! A call TO our mission! Excellent quote!
Stacy, thank you for being so honest and transparent. I feel like God had you write this for me. I am a SAHM of two boys ( 3 1/2 & an almost 2 year old). My husband travels nearly every week out of state for work and there are days when I am putting too much pressure on myself to be super mom and then beating myself up at the end of the day because I didn’t accomplish it. There are days where I am so weary and exhausted from the normal day-to-day stuff, from playing referee, and from the non-stop disciplining that I find myself not enjoying my boys and almost longing for the day they are in school. Then I feel guilty for thinking that. I am so grateful that in my weakness, God is my perfect strength. Only He can give me peace that passes all understanding and His grace is sufficient for me. I pray for His patience and mercy every day in handling each day. I am so encouraged by this post because I could have written it myself. It is comforting to know that someone else struggles with all of the things that pull us moms/wives in a million directions. I find myself dealing with the same issue of not letting my older son help me do things because I just want to get it done, and quickly because my mind is already thinking of the next task I have to do. I have to ask God to remind me that he is so young and wants to learn and just spend time with me, whatever I am doing and that one day soon, he won’t be around to offer his help and may not want to spend so much time with me. I just need to slow down and love on my boys.
Thanks for your blog Stacy. I enjoy reading it and learn so many wonderful things from it. God bless you and your family!
I knew I could get some support if I posted that…and then I realized we could all support each other. This life is so short and we don’t need to spend it being guilty – let’s encourage each other every day! 🙂
Oh how I needed this post today! 5 min. ago I was running through my day and thinking how nursing my 4 week old baby overwhelms me because how much time out of my day it takes me… and then the guilt sets in. She is already 4 weeks old. I’ve already told my 4 year old I’m too busy more than once in a day by now. I’m rushing through bed time with my 6 yearold so that I can have some time to myself before midnight and praying my 2 yearold will take a nap so I can finish cleaning my room. Life passes to quick and most days I can’t put down the to do list to spend the time my kids need with me.
Already today I’ve had to smack myself and I think I might have to start doing it on a daily basis. I know when I quit nursing Annie I missed it SO BAD.
Love, love, love it once again!! I just love your blog and your down-to-earth, reality-based approach. As someone else noted, you are always honest and raw, and I appreciate that.
We have recently taken a huge leap of faith and are transitioning now to me being a stay-at-home mom. I always thought I’d work forever, but you can only ignore God whispers so long, so here I am.
It is not easy to admit that I really can’t juggle a job that sometimes meant 12-14 hour days at the office (plus the hour commute each way), and 3 kids, and husband, and dependent brother, and an elderly grandma who needs lots of help, and house duties… sigh… the list goes on & on. Kudos to those working moms who make it work as I did for years, but it’s time for me to give up the idea that I’m Superwoman, and let something go.
This post was just so wonderfully timed. I have big dreams and plans of what life will be like now, but I also I realize my house will not be perfect and every day will not go as planned.
Thanks once again for the encouragement right when I needed it!
I’m convinced that staying home all day keeps you busier than a full time job! I have worked full time before…and man, being at home is just as busy if not busier! 🙂 Good luck and blessings on your new venture in SAHM land! 🙂
Thank you, thank you for this post. So beautifully written. But I felt like you were taking the words right out of my mouth, or the thoughts out of my head. I found your website while reading a post at ‘The Humbled Homemkaer’, and I am so glad I did. Being a mom is THE BEST EVER, although I constatnly have to keep reminding myself that I can’t do everything. It helps to know there are so many other moms who struggle with the same feelings.
The Humbled Homemaker is one of my best pals. 🙂 Glad you read her blog!
Amen and amen Stacy! I appreciate this post SO MUCH… which is one of the reasons why I have your button on my blog. I appreciate you!
Have a very blessed day loving on your children (and your little guy is getting so big! Wow!),
Janet…mamachildress
Wow! You do?! I’m SO honored! 🙂 🙂
Stacy,
I’m not sure how I stumbled across your blog, but I’ve been reading it for several months now. Every post is valuable to me, but I have to say that this one today is by far, the most valuable and one I SO needed to read today. God bless you for writing it. I’m a writer by trade, and a SAHM mama now. Every word of this post was so relelvant for me. Thank you for your honesty and for speaking truth. There are so many memories we need to cherish, and our children will be so blessed for the time we spend with them, for we only have them as wee ones for a short time. I will not worry about the pile of dishes right now, or the laundry, or the posts I’ve yet to add to my own blog. I will however hug my little one, pray with him, and play. Thanks again! God Bless you and your precious family.
I’m glad you stumbled across me….I’m usually in the way and that’s why I get stumbled over. 😉 At least Annie always tells me I’m in the way. LOL
Stacy one day your children will be teens (like mine) and you will miss the little ones they once were(sometimes) 🙂 ok maybe always, but there will be a time for yourself.Sometimes too much time. Once they begin to sleep all night and become self sufficient, you will have much more time. I do get up at 6:30, spend time with God and force myself to workout, but I put my kids in public school and went to work after 10 years, so for me 6:30 am was my only option. It’s great that we have a God who reminds us how much He loves us even when we fail. Have a great day. It’s Grace is new.
And how glad I am – I need it new EVERY day.
I absolutely needed this post right now! I’m a new mom to 3 month old twin boys. Our babies were 10 weeks premature so we spent 59 days in the NICU before bringing them home at the beginning of December. Because of what I considered “lost time”, I came home thinking I would jump right in to my Pinterest inspired mommy journey with photo shoots each day, scrapbooking and homecooked meals. Uh… not so much! Thank you for being a voice of truth and helping me see that other mommies have their moments of feeling less than perfect. Your blog is such a blessing!
Whew girl – give yourself a BREAK! Andy is 4 months old and I still can’t get anything done….and there is only one of him. 🙂
Simply put. You are amazing!!
These “mommy fails” are me to a T and I’m so happy we aren’t all pinterest mothers!! It would be like stepford wives. No thank you! I’m just so lucky to have a husband who enjoys our time as a family together and appreciates the fact that I can leave my messy kitchen till later 🙂 even if it’s a week later. Ha 😉 I always say I might have a messy house, but it’s clean!!! 🙂
I think I’ve resolved to let my house be messy sometimes – playing with my kids is more important. 🙂 I can clean when I’m old.
Thanks for posting. I am having one of those days today . Joggin two jobs and taking care of the household is very stressful. Esp when im not near any families..
Give yourself a break. 🙂 And later, remind me of the same thing, okay? 😉
I don’t think I have ever commented before, but I LOVE your blog. And I can tell from reading it, you are an amazing mother! There is tons of reading material here for me. I keep finding new stuff I want to read and can’t keep up haha! So don’t feel guilty in slowing down some 😉
🙂 I’m so glad to meet you! I hope you’ll comment more often.
Hi Stacy
Thank you for the reminder. And the relief. Things have fallen apart a little at the edges for us (we’ve been living in a small caravan and a tent for 3 months), but we are about to move into a rented house. It has been good to read this and feel that at the end of it all, we all ate (though not always what we should have), and we coped. God has been so gracious to us! Yay for us not being super mum’s!
Yay is right! 🙂 And just think – that’s an awesome thing you’ve accomplished and your kids will remember it forever. 🙂 Good job, mama!
How encouraging for this definitely-not-a-super-mom mom to read! A great reminder that sometimes when I feel like things aren’t getting done but I’m spending quality time with my kiddo-s, I’m actually being a super-mom to them; and that’s what really counts!
P.S. I loved seeing the picture of your devotional “Our Daily Bread.” My husband and I use the same one to start our day and really are blessed by each one!
Thanks so much!!
I guess we just all need to re-define “supermom.” Someone on Facebook said, we might not be Supermom but we are Super Moms. Amen! 🙂
Thank you so much for your honesty. I am one of those mommys that has to have all the laundry and ironing done, house clean, yard clean, cars clean, dishes washed, meals cooked… I will go go go until I do not have an ounce of energy left to drag myself to bed. My children are now grown and I missed out on so much with them because I was so busy trying to keep a “PERFECT” home :\'(
I am sure they have lots of good memories about their mama! And now they know how to keep a tidy home. 🙂
Happy 2013! I have been missing in action for a while.
You are just being a momma and last year this is the message I send to my mommy friends. May God bless us with the Spirit of wisdom and Grace while we care for our family and a friend of mine added patience! lol cause I know we need it . I do totally understand and as for Annie let her help, even though you feel you will be running behind it’s OK because when you will be ready to ask her to help you, she might not be interested anymore, and will be running away and keeping herself so busy…. lol. So long as at he end of the day people are still breathing, fed and there are clothes for the next day I’m super satisfied 🙂 we beat up ourselves way too much sometimes.
I know I do…I have resolved to let her “help” me more often. 🙂
THANK YOU SO MUCH for writing this!! Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only Mom with days like that!!! It’s such a relief to know I’m not!
Great post! Thank you!
You’re not the only one – and if you get down about your day, just think about me and smile. 🙂
OMG! i am so grateful to have found this website on pinterest. just reading this first page has overwhelmed me to tears. I can relate on some many levels, i am so blessed right now to be reminded of what i already know to be true.
We Mommies have to stick together and encourage one another. 🙂
Great post… My word for this year is PEACE… peace to myself, peace to my household. It’s not a race.
One thing I have learned in this blogland, is that no one has perfect days EVERY day! What you see as a perfect day in a blog may have been the ONLY perfect day in that week, or that month. I also learned that I do not have to COMPETE with anybody but myself. I need to be better than I was yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, a year ago… but that is it. I don’t have to be better than some other mommy blogger or homeschooling mOm. I have learned to keep my priorities straight. For a while now, I have wanted to post more than once a month, but I have not been able to. And the reason is: I got 4 kids, a house to take care of, a husband and other things that are more important than blogging.
So yeah, grace to myself!! I got to be busy about doing what God has called me to do and right now is being a wife and a MOm … the rest is the rest. 🙂
Grace and peace…..two awesome words!
Ok, I feel kinda bad asking this question here after all of the warm and fuzzy talk this question seems waaaay to practical. However, along the lines of housekeeping/parenting and being a wife, one must cook (usually, at least sometimes…) and so I have a question regarding organizing recipes. I do not have Internet at home (I live in the boonies) but do have an iPad and I connect about once a week to check email and follow the blogs that I like (this is one of my favorites!). I want to copy recipes that you post on your website and paste them into some kind of organizer that I can use offline so I don’t have to hand-write all the recipes I want to try. Is there any kind of document organizer or recipe organizer that you know about that can be used offline after the recipes are entered? I am really enjoying your blog, too. This one in particular really hit home with me! Thanks!
I asked Barry because he has an iPad. He said: Two thoughts: Evernote (free) and on iPad, there is the same “notes” program that you have on your iPhone. Either would work. Evernote allows you to save pictures and everything. That would be my preference.
Stacy this post was raw, beautiful and so encouraging! I rely heavily on my quiet time being a noisy time at breakfast with the girls. I know it blesses us all despite the fact it doesn’t look how I expected!
I’ve had to change my idea of an ideal day – and I’m cool with that. I just had to come to that realization. 🙂 You should have knocked me around and told me earlier. 😉
Stacy,
God bless you and your babies! Your babies will grow up too fast! Yes, your time with them is most important. The dust will be there tomorrow. I am an empty nester. I love my grown up kids; but I miss them being little and here with me! Enjoy this time!
Cathy
The dust will always be here – my babies won’t. 🙂 Thanks for the support and kind words!
I just subscribed to your blog and I’m so glad I did. Lovely, thank you
Supermom is overrated! I never aspired to that title either. I once went a whole month w/o eating a home cooked meal. (Three kids in one sport each w/a husband working evenings and me working full time.) I vividly remember sitting and actually moaning with pleasure when we sat down to eat a roasted chicken for dinner. Life can get crazy (I did make sure it never got that crazy again.)
You said it all, spot on! Hug those little ones. The time does go too fast, even when it feels like your churning your wheels!
I’m hugging them both super tight today! 🙂
When I read that I thought you must be young and your kids are little. I remember feeling like that when my kids were little. Don’t beat yourself up. It will all get done and what doesn’t, doesn’t really matter. When I get your emails each morning I think Wow! she is up early! It is tiring trying to be Supermom… You are doing great so give yourself a break! 🙂
No kidding. I’m tired of trying. 🙂 I’ll just be ME.
Stacy, this is exactly what I needed to read today! I’ve been cutting way back on blogging and just computer time in general and was beginning to get the “I should be posting more… I should be on FB more… I should be…”. It’s so silly, because I started blogging to share our experiences when we have them, not to entertain the masses three times a week. 😉
My girls are my most important ministry, after my hubby, and they time and attention focused on them is much more precious than blogging regularly or keeping up with FB.
You’re a good mama and I’m so blessed by you sharing your struggles. *hugs*
You’re a good mama too – and I’m blessed to know you. 🙂
I so needed to hear this today. Thank you.
🙂 Thank you for reading!
Excellent post! I have to remind myself of this all the time. Nothing else matters when you’re a mommy, well not “material” things, at least.
Amen…you can’t take that STUFF with you, but you can sure take your children with you! What a great thing to aspire to! 🙂
Thanks for sharing Stacy! Working 2 jobs and being a fulltime mamaw keeps me going constantly and I needed to be reminded of the correct priorities! Love ya girl!
You’re AMAZING!
Thank you! It’s so true! The dust, clutter, laundry that waited until the next day to be folded…it wont matter down the road! Those milestones and quiet moments with your kids are precious and you cannot get them back!
Nobody’s perfect, and that’s a great lesson for your kids to learn right from the start, just do your best and know what’s important in life!
Thanks so much for sharing this:)
You hit the nail on the head – we can only do our best.
It’s great to hear that I’m not alone! When I was done reading this I decided to comment and then saw all the other comments. I thought maybe I didn’t need to say what others had already said, but I will…thanks, Stacy, for being real and sharing your heart! I fail so many times but God’s grace is sufficient!
Always, ALWAYS leave a comment! I love hearing from each one of you! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to do so!
Thank you so much for this, I have had a week of feeling like I just am “not enough “. Thank you for reminding me of HIS GRACE and to slow down and enjoy the important things in my life, God,children and my family. God ‘s grace is sufficient!
None of us are enough – but thankfully Jesus IS! 🙂
Woooohooo! Thank you Stacy. My goals for this year were all about trying to be more super and not so much was in them about having grace (or fun)! The best prayer time DH and I have had is when the kids woke too early yesterday so we only had together prayer. My 5yo DD hugged my hubby when we were done and later repeated some prayers. And you know what…we had he best worship rehearsal that night,had a more productive day and yelled less. God’s grace really is amazing. Thanks for the post, I needed to reflect on my laundry pile- no biggie, time to play and pray and cuddle more!
Cuddles all around!!! 🙂
I have a 4, 5, and 15 year old and it IS too easy to say: “just a second”…but, that “second” can sometimes be too long, especially when a teenage boy wants to talk. I am learning to stop what I am doing and to turn my back to “it”, so my children/husband have my whole attention, not just my glance. I am still working on it though. Thank you for the post. It’s nice to get a boost sometimes. 🙂
Yes – I need to do that myself. Just stop what I’m doing instead of saying “wait.” They won’t “wait” forever.
Stacy, please be kind to yourself. From what I have seen and read of you and your family, you are doing an excellent job. Just keep on going. You are walking the right path. Sometimes we all have to stop and cuddle the little ones and our husbands and ourselves. We love you!
🙂 Thank you, Cynthia.
Stacy, this is your finest post ever. 🙂 It’s amazing to me how God uses our dear little ones, the ones who can touch our hearts in the deepest of ways, to cause us to crave His grace and find out there are deeper ways still. Bless you.
YES! I am not sure that I really understood grace until I had children.
Thank you so much for vocalizing how so many of us feel. Being a homeschooling/working mom of 3 (26, 19, 16 yo) with two grown and out of the house, I sure wish that I had tried harder to spend more quality time with my children instead of trying to ‘do it all’. Lesson learned and for the past few years I have been treasuring every moment I have with my kids. God still has to remind me of my priorities on a regular basis, but I am finally listening.
Thank you again for the reminder. You are a blessing.
I’m so glad to know that I’m not alone – because I’ll tell ya…this post was SO hard for me to write. But since I’ve done it, I’ve had a peace about things. Go God!
Wow – what a touching post. My daughter is 18 now and I have the time to reflect, but hopefully without too much regret. I look back and think how much more important it was to play Barbies instead of ironing the perfect crease in a golf shirt. I worked full time, and managed to do all the mommy, employee, wife things and in the end, I was tired (oh and divorced). And that isn’t good for anybody. Take the babies out to enjoy the sunrise that God created and enjoy it through your eyes and the innocence of theirs. Skip a blog day (GASP!) – we will be fine if you don’t send a post one day. Take it easy and let calm energy pass through you – it will get done, but maybe not in Super Mommy time, but in time. If Mommy is happy, then EVERYONE will be happy.
🙂 I want my kids to see me happy instead of stressed out. Thank you for the reminder.
No one is a supermom. You do the best you can do. If you walked into my house most days you would probably think that a tornado just blew through. There are nights that I just stop by McDonalds and pick up $1 burgers cause I know I haven’t had time to go to the grocery store or just don’t feel like cooking. I yell at my kids sometimes, and then I cry about it, and then I appologize and then they apologize to me. I have lots of supposed “supermoms” on my FB. I used to feel bad about it. Why can’t I wake up at 5:00 AM and have a three course breakfast for my family on the table, why can’t I find time to make 12 crafts a day with them, or why is their house always picture perfect with their picture perfect kids sitting around the Christmas tree dressed to the 9s? I soon came to the realization that people try to create a reality in which other’s preceive them to be. They post the perfect pictures and talk about how great their life is, and how perfect their children are, and make themselves out to be the perfect parents becuase they don’t want people to know the truth…..they are just as messed up as I am. Take some grace today and every day. My baby just turned 10. I only have 8 years of childhood left and I don’t really care how messy our house stays. It goes by in the blink of an eye.
You are SO right….the blink of an eye. I choose to spend time with my babies instead of dusting.
Loved your article so much!! Thanks for being real..we all love that about you! You say what we are thinking which makes us feel a whole lot better! 🙂 Your article reminds me of something I read one time…this is not the exact words but close enough…”(As a Mommy)If the whole house is clean all at one time, the laundry is all caught up and put away and you don’t have a hair out of place.. then your priorities are out of place!” Have a beautiful day with your precious little ones!
P.S. -My daugther and I yelled at each other yesterday. With both of us feeling terrible about it…it opened up a wonderful discussion about repentance and God’s forgiveness at bedtime last night. We both prayed together and asked God’s forgiveness and each other’s forgiveness. I love how God brings beauty out of things even when we mess up!
What’s the worst is when I yell at Annie and a few minutes later she comes over, gives me a hug and says “I forgive you Mommy.” Busted. From the mouths of babes.
Thanks for being real!
I remember those days with littles, and they do grow up so quickly. Make happy memories with your family. Everything else can wait.
And it WILL wait.
Thank you so much for this!! I really needed it this morning. I am so hard on myself because I don’t get everything done in a day that needs to be done. I just need to realize that the house is not going to fall apart if it doesn’t all get done, my children are not going to fail in life if we don’t get every subject completed in school. Just take life as it comes and live it for God. Thanks again so much you are a blessing to me!!!
Live for God! When we do that, and our children see it, our day is complete – even if there is a pile of laundry in the floor. 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I really needed to be reminded of this today!
Me too, girl.
You talkin to me?!?!?!? I do believe you are! After working ten and a half hrs yesterday I felt so guilty when I got home and just wanted to chill. There were dishes and laundry and wonderful stories of middle school dances and fourth grade year book forms. I didn’t want to do anything except go to bed. Once I got into bed I laid there awake bc I felt so guilty about not talking to my boys, but yelling at them all day. There were hollers to get outta bed, brush your teeth and get dressed in the morning. More hollers of homework, showers and teeth brushing in the evening. Then I get to wake up and do it again today followed by an 8 PM ballgame. Good thing my Father is a better parent than I am!!! Funny how He used your blog to make me feel a little better. 🙂
Lots of hollers over here too – and I’m working on that. I want to speak with a soft tongue…well, as soft as Stacy can do it. 🙂 I’m not soft spoken so I need to work on that.
Thanks for the encouragement this morning. It was perfect timing. God’s timing always right on time.
Have a great day!
Yes he is…but I am not. Kids make me perpetually late. LOL
Well said. Guilt can consume us as parents, but that does our children no good. Forgive, ask forgiveness, and move forward together. Great post!
I think that Mommy Guilt sets in as soon as the first baby comes out. I think next time I’m leaving it at the hospital.
THE GUILT….not the baby. Definitely won’t leave the baby at the hospital.
Needed this today. You have no idea. Thank you
Yes I do…because I need it too.
2 cor. 12:9 has been my mantra this past year as well. Parenting is so tough. But His grace IS sufficient. Thank you for sharing.
Parenting IS tough…but it’s the best job ever. 🙂
I agree! Parenting is hard work but totally rewarding. On the days that things aren’t going so well we have to remind ourselves that this too will pass and we won’t be stuck in a time warp. Kids really do grow up fast. Another good thing to remember is we can’t take stuff (material things) with us when we go, only souls go to heaven so we need to stay focused on God. I just read Matthew 11:28 this morning. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It’s comforting to know that Jesus knows exactly how we feel when are having a rough day and He can give us rest.
Amen…..and I need that rest on a daily basis.
Aw, mama, you do good! Hang in there. It’s at least partly hormones, I’m sure. And the rest? Well, you should see what our days look like. You’d feel better. I call it a good time if I have fewer than three crying kids at any given moment. 😉
🙂 Well, that’s a relief. Sometimes there is always crying going on here…and sometimes it’s ME! lol
A quote I saw on pinterest, “There’s no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one.” So true! Stacy, I know we all far short and in a way it probably makes many of us feel better to see one of our favorite “celebrities” admit and point out her own flaws. Thanks for this…I’ll bet it makes a bunch of us feel better 🙂
🙂 Good. I want to be a good mom.
Great post, Stacy! Our biggest ministry is “these 4 walls”. Blessings to you and yours!
Amen to THAT!
This is something I have to remind myself of often.
Whew girl. I just cried my eyeballs out writing this. When I forget again, you remind me okay? 🙂
Deal. <3 And ditto. 🙂
You got it, sista!
Sounds like you have your pryorities right(sorry about the spelling) We always say that kids grow up so fast and of course that is right,and now as a great=grand- Mother, the time really flies, and my memory is not as good as it once was but but i believe that all my little ones will have something good to remember when I am not here, now they share their memories with me and say “don’t you remember” I will try to kindly ask them to share their memories with me and we will relive it through their eyse. So yes time goes fast so take the time to serve Our God and take what ever time that you can with your family, computer is not that important
Thank you for saying that – I needed to soak that up this morning.