Nobody’s perfect, right? And here’s a list of my top five motherhood confessions just in case you had any doubts about me…
1 – I’m utter and complete crap when it comes to putting my kids to bed. By the end of the day, I’m just done. I’m tired, and while I’ll go thru the motions, getting jammies for everyone and demanding they brush their teeth, mostly, I let my kids go to bed on their terms. I’ll make them lay down, but if they’d rather lay next to me and watch cooking shows to fall asleep, I’m okay with that. We have designated bedrooms and beds, but almost never does everyone sleep alone in their assigned beds all night. I let kids conk out on the couch, my bed, Sam’s got two beds in his room, so if he wants a buddy, Marc sleeps in there with him. Julie uses her bed mainly for jumping purposes and sleeps next to me. It’s just not a battle I’m willing to take on. Everyone gets a good night’s sleep, but we don’t do it the way most people do, I guess. Life is short, too short to make your kids cry themselves to sleep, in my opinion.
2. I clean up, not all the time, but frequently, by throwing their toys away. Not the biggies, mostly, but crayons, barbie clothes, polly pockets, army guys – yeah, I get sick of picking them all up and every couple of days, I just throw a bunch out. This makes no appreciable difference in the amount of toys they have to play with (which, in and of itself, is probably an issue) and none of the kids have ever noticed. It’s liberating – I recommend that everyone do it.
3. I’m not good at feeding them. Not always. If they don’t tell me that they’re hungry, I’ll frequently forget about breakfast or lunch if we’re all home. I try and get some food into them before they go to school, and generally make the connection when Julie starts melting down that I haven’t actually given her breakfast yet… but I know I’m not good at it. Dinner – I’m good at dinner, and I always feed them before I feed myself – but I frequently skip meals or forget to eat when I’m busy, so they’ve learned to remind me to feed them.
4. I don’t always make them go outside. I’m a lazy girl – and there are days, when it’s really hot or really cold, or I’ve got a headache or everyone’s crabby – when I don’t make them go outside and run around. They don’t sit in front of the television, I make them play independently, but every time I read studies saying that kids need hours of running around outside, I feel guilty.
5. I think waiting with all the other parents to pick up your kids at the end of the day feels just like trying to find a seat in the cafeteria in high school when all of your friends are in a different lunch period. It’s my least favorite part of the day.
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