The Life of Jennifer Dawn: This One Doesn't Even Have a Title

Thursday, July 12, 2012

This One Doesn't Even Have a Title

Warning! You are about to hear the distressed rantings of a frazzled mommy.  There isn't even a picture or title with this post.  And there is no telling where this post is going to end up.
Today was a hard mommy day!  Nothing big and completely horrible happened, but a bunch of little things all piled up together and resulted in a very stressful mommy day.  It was one of those days where I just felt like I couldn't do anything right.  I'm sure that a day like that is something every mommy can relate to.  We seemed to run behind schedule on everything from meals to nap time.  Umm...come to think of it...L.G. didn't even get a nap today.  The house was a wreck.  Lydia Grace was being the stinker version of herself.  (Just being real with you here.)  Eli was crying and needy most of the day which I was increasingly growing frustrated with until my sister reminded me that he was teething.  Then I just felt horrible because...
A:  I forgot about that being the reason for his distress.
AND
B: I felt like I should have held and cuddled him more due to there being a legitimate reason for the constant screaming.  
Nothing got done.   We were out of both juice and milk.  Super mom would have been able to efficiently load the kids up, make it to the store, and get the grocery shopping done.  I am not super mom.  I'm not even sure Eli wore anything other than a diaper today.  (The kids did both get baths.  Yay!  One thing got accomplished!)  My solution to the milk/juice dilemma was just to mix up Kool-Aid for L.G. because we were not out of that.

It was just one of those days where I felt like a complete mess and maybe even a bad mommy.  Have you ever had one of those days?  My sister who came over, of course, told me how silly I was being and that I wasn't a bad mommy.  But I couldn't help feeling out of sync today and like I had failed in the mommy department.

Maybe you stopped by the blog today to see a new craft project, activity for the kiddos, recipe, or something uplifting...
Sorry if what you are getting is me...
venting...
being a "Debbie Downer" and telling you what a mess I felt like today.

It was such a blessing that I had planned on attending a craft night hosted by our church with my sis tonight.  It was nice to step away for just a few hours.  Sometimes you just need a little mommy break to be able to put things back into perspective.  When I got home, I started reflecting on the day and how different life with kids can really be...

Here are some of my reflections this evening on motherhood...
I am no expert.  I am just learning this whole mommy thing as I go along and hoping that the kids don't figure out that I'm making it up as we go.
Being a mommy is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs in the world, but it is also one of the most rewarding and amazing jobs.
There will be days with tantrums, big messes, misbehavior, juice shortages, and frustration.  In between the tantrums and frustration...there will also be beautiful moments spent with the biggest blessing in my life--my kids!
There will be days when I feel like I've failed in the mommy department.  My kids won't ever think of me as a failure though.  They only look at me with eyes of love...even when the refrigerator is getting pretty bare.
To them...I'm a success just by loving them and being there for them.
I wouldn't trade being a mommy for anything in the world...even on the hard mommy days.

In the words of a legendary southern icon...
"After all, tomorrow is another day!"
lifeof

7 comments:

  1. Jennifer,

    Please don't be so hard on yourself! Every mom in the world feels like she is failing on any given day, but you know what? She isn't and her kids don't think that either! We are our own worst critics. You have a lot going on in your life right now, and you are a great mom despite all of it. Hold your head high and know that loving your kids is what is important, and you do that with all your heart!

    Please don't apologize for not having a craft to post today or feeling like you are a Debbie Downer for needing to vent about how you feel, that is part of what blogging is for, to have a virtual community to reach out to. No one expects you to perfect or "on" all the time, we certainly aren't!! Hang in there, tomorrow will be better.

    Hugs,
    Maureen

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  2. Thank you, Maureen! I truly appreciate those words of encouragement.

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  3. As Mommy we ALL those days and moments.. Chin up.. it's just a moment and it will pass. You do so much for your children and they will remember the wonderful things the most! And sometimes the best thing to do is just take a breath and a moment away!
    xoxo
    Amie

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  4. So glad I'm not the only Mommy that has these kinds of days! How did it all sound once you talked to your sister? Sometimes, when Troy gets home and I tell him about the day and all of the "failures," as it comes out of my mouth, it just doesn't seem all that bad. You have two beautiful, Healthy, Happy Children. Clearly, you are doing something right!

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  5. Oh Jennifer, we ALL have those days and lately for me they are happening more frequently than I would like to admit. Thank you for sharing... you help me be reminded that we as mom's DO SO MUCH and it's ok to have a bad day! I loved your final paragraph about how our kids see us... Beautiful! Have a better day!
    xo
    Julie

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  6. I read this post and let out a big breath that I didn't even realize I had been holding. I had one of those days yesterday too! I have 3 year old twin boys who were at each other all day, an 19 month old daughter who was into everything all day long, and a 4 month old whom, like your little one, is teething and was fussy because of it. When my husband got home I went to the grocery store just to get AWAY! :) I felt REALLY guilty too for getting fustrated and not getting anything productive done. I am so glad you shared. It is easy to hide behind a pretty facade, especially on a blog; but when we let people see beyond that God takes it and uses it in ways we can not imagine. Today He used your honesty to encourage me. So thanks for being real!

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    Replies
    1. Jennifer, Thank YOU for being transparent and real with me. It feels good to know that I'm not alone. I'm glad this post was able to encourage you. To be quite honest, I wrote it to just vent and wasn't quite sure I was even going to hit "publish". The moment I hit the button to put it out there for all the world to see...I cringed. I am very "thin skinned" and I started worrying..."What will people think of me when they read this"? I truly felt like it needed to be out there though. The blog design might be pretty, but behind it is a imperfect mommy just trying to love my kids the best that I can. As mommies we need to be honest, real, and uplifting to each other. I prayed for God to use this post to encourage at least one person out there. It seems my prayer was answered. Thank you for letting me know.

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Each and every one of your comments means so much to me. I love to hear from friends both old and new. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the world and thanks for taking the time to let me know you were here.

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