"Enjoy every moment."

I posted this on Facebook this evening:

Which led to me thinking for the umpteenth time about those women (with grown children) you occasionally run into in the grocery store who look at your child(ren) with a wistful smile and then tell you to "enjoy every moment."

For the record, I know how very, very fortunate I am that I get to be the mommy to my son and the little one we're expecting in September.

I am in a position to be able to choose to stay home with my children, and I know that there are other women out there who want to do the same and aren't able to; I realize what a privilege that is.

But I will tell you the truth: some parenting moments are more "have to" than "get to." Like cleaning up vomit. Or dealing with tantrums. Or waking up ridiculously early. Or changing poopy diapers. Overall, I wouldn't trade this job with anyone, but I'd be thrilled to have a pinch hitter or designated barf cleaner every now and again.

So when people tell you to enjoy every moment with your young children, just keep in mind that they themselves definitely didn't. They're looking back with rose-colored glasses at the parenting-of-young-kids experience as a whole. The cuddles, the wet kisses, the enthusiasm, the not being embarrassed to be seen with you in public. Those things are beautiful and wonderful and you should absolutely try to enjoy them as much as you can. But the moments (or days - or weeks) that you don't enjoy? Don't feel bad about them. That's not you being a bad mom; that's you being a human being. Being a good mom doesn't mean that you have to be filled with ecstasy by every single moment you spend with your child. And the more time you waste feeling guilty that you honestly just hate bath time, the less time you have to bask in the moments when your little boy pats your face and says "Mama best lady."

So if you're a little worn out by parenting today, give yourself a break, a pat on the back, and a piece of chocolate. And if you should happen to stumble across a company that has someone on call to clean up vomit 24 hours a day, could you please pass along the phone number? I'd really appreciate it.

Things I said...

...on the occasions when I was able to string two sentences together without being interrupted by a coughing attack.

While we wait for me to feel well enough to write something semi-coherent, here are some things I said elsewhere.

Things I've Said as a Parent...

...that I never thought I'd have to say. To anyone. Ever.

"Lawnmowers don't have hands."

"Please don't color on your face."

"Ok, you can take the lint roller to bed."

"No, Lucas, your peas are not lotion."

"Yes, we can go potty together."

"We don't eat paper towels."

"Please stop jumping on me."

"You have fish in your hair."

"Gross! Don't lick my feet!"


What's something you've said as a parent that you never thought would come out of your mouth?


Will you click the banner below? It won't hurt you or anything. I promise. It's very painless.

Texts I Sent While Pregnant

As I mentioned the other day, I'm pregnant with our second child! Yay! I'm genuinely excited and happy... but I've also felt pretty lousy. I wrote a whole long post about how bad my morning sickness has been. And then after I spent a ridiculously long time on it, I suddenly remembered that no one wants to read a whole blog post about throwing up. So this is maybe every-so-slightly less gross. You're welcome.

Wanna click this? Well, ok!

A few highlights from my day yesterday...

I was going to post this last night in the midst of my frustration, but my internet stopped working for no good reason. Of course.

Yes, I blurred out my friend's face. Not because she's anonymous but because it's a ridiculous picture that she took as a joke, and she's coming over to my house today, and I don't want her to hit me.

But on the bright side...

If you click the mommy below, I will not fling a cookie at you with a spatula.

Things I said...

...when I wasn't talking incessantly about my AWESOME GIVEAWAYS!

Whew! Hosting eight giveaways turns out to be more work than I anticipated (but also totally worth it, because, seriously, have you seen how great the stuff is?? Check it all out and enter here.)

Anyway, believe it or not, I sometimes was talking about non-giveaway things. Important, thought-provoking, uber-intellectual things. Like...

Maybe I will actually say something new tomorrow, but in the meantime... enter all the giveaways!! And also, maybe click this...?

Things I said...

...because I'm pretty much always saying something.

Vote for me? Pretty please with cherries?

Things I said...

...when I wasn't saying things here.

If you click this, I will say more things. But in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably tell you that I will definitely say more things even if you don't click this.

Because apparently I don't blog regularly...

Here are some highlights from my oh-so-thrilling life that you might have missed if you are one of my five readers who aren't Facebook friends with me...

So now you're all caught up on my life. Hope the excitement wasn't too much for you. Maybe you should go lie down.