Momfessionals

Andrea at Momfessionals does a fun Show and Tell Tuesday twice a month and yesterday's was momfessional moments. Even though I'm late and not participating in the link up, I still wanted to post my own. I'm all about keeping it real. =) Plus it will be fun to read these one day and remember. Ha!

Even though being a mama is the BEST thing ever and I'm living my dream staying home with my babies and it's the biggest blessing and honor I've ever been given.... we are pretty much a hot mess around here. At our house things are almost always loud, often wild, possibly dangerous, probably funny, sometimes gross, occasionally not so nice, and generally just totally crazy. But I love it. Most of it anyway. =)

So here are my momfessionals...

*I really despise the after school hour/time stretch. While I LOVE picking up Garrison from school and having the privilege to be home with all my babies each afternoon, the after school hour just about does me in daily. We come in to a snack that's waiting on the table for all of them, I hand Garrison his homework while he's eating because at our house getting homework done as soon as possible works best, I go through his book bag and sign, read, clean out, etc whatever I need to, I pull out his sometimes gross lunchbox to clean out and wash, the littles finish their snack, they run wild and crazy while I yell loudly ask for them to get out of the kitchen so Garrison can finish his homework, I help and assist with homework while also keeping tabs on the crazy littles who are well rested and ready to play since naptime wraps up the second we need to leave to pick up Garrison, AND I get Baby A ready to go home... change his diaper, get his bag ready, clean up messes from snack time or any other time of the day so his mama doesn't think her child was playing in a disaster zone all day, and finally wrap up homework with Garrison. It's just pure craziness until Garrison is free to leave the table and I don't think I exhale until Baby A goes home and my own children are quietly watching their afternoon show or playing in a room away from me. Hahaha. It's a doozy. One day I'll figure out a better system. I'm counting on it.

*I definitely eat cookies or candy in secret. Regularly. My boys all have a sweet tooth. Garrison's is the biggest although Layton is a close second and Austin just has favorites that he really loves and can't resist. So if I'm ever in need of a little snack or cookie or maybe leftover candy from Christmas, or Valentines, or Easter, or Halloween... it must be top-secret. Or I'll have to share. And the timing may not be appropriate. Because it could be before 9:00 in the morning. Or it could be 30 minutes before lunch or supper. OR, it could be around their bedtime. Clearly I need to work on my self control given the times I sneak in a top secret snack. 

*Our kids don't really ride bikes. So sad. Between dune racers, playing soccer or football or baseball, a new playground, and all sorts of other things they like to do outside, they just aren't that interested in riding bikes. And it's hard getting outside time during busy sports seasons too. Is this a lost art? A lost childhood pastime?? What should we do??? I've wanted Garrison to learn to ride without training wheels for a while because of his age but he's just not super interested. Austin still can't ride one with training wheels because we don't practice enough and he has a hard time pedaling. Are we dropping the ball?? I feel like learning to ride a bike might be a requirement at our house. I don't want to force it... but I sort of do. Time will tell I guess. 

*I've put Layton down for a morning nap a few times even though he doesn't take one anymore. Sometimes if he's super ill, tired, or whiny and I can't come up with ANYTHING that works or improves his mood and I can't do ANYTHING right or get ANYTHING done, I'll put him to bed. He gets his paci, has his little things he sleeps with with him, plus he gets to have a book and everyone is happy and peace is restored to our home again. He usually doesn't go to sleep but he's happy. IF he goes to sleep, it's good for him. It might interfere with his afternoon nap but it's usually worth it. 

*I watch the clock like a hawk some afternoons and can't wait for the minute daddy walks in the door. This is just the cold hard truth. Haha! I typically don't hand the kids over to him the minute he walks in but he's such a good daddy that as soon as he can get changed and have just a few minutes to himself, he's all theirs. He plays with them or gets them occupied away from me and the kitchen so I can finish supper and have a little peace and quiet. Some days the clock goes so slowly I'm afraid I'll literally meet him in the driveway with the herd. But some days they are playing really well together or coloring at the table and things are super peaceful and wonderful when Terrell walks in. Those days are few and far between though. Haha. Some days we're outside playing when he gets home and he takes over for me while I go inside solo and some days I'm hanging by a thread when he walks in and just about ready to lose my mind. No matter what, my eyes are on the clock and I'm ready to celebrate the second daddy gets home! =)

*I go in my room and lock the door when I need a minute... of peace, of quiet, of escape, to take a quick phone call, to make a quick phone call, to gather myself, to hide for a minute or two, to take a deep breath, to go to the bathroom alone, to say a quick prayer in private, to get away from the craziness. It doesn't happen every single day, but definitely every single week. =) 

*We throw away little happy meal toys or small "junk" toys or school papers and art when they aren't looking. If we kept it all it would take over. The end. When it comes to things I want to keep, it has to be sentimental and special. Otherwise I may take a picture of it to post here, but then toss it. And I honestly have no mercy for the toys. Terrell has been caught a time or two throwing away something without permission, but my record remains clean. Haha. 

*On Sunday nights we let our kids pick whatever they want to eat for supper... within reason. We didn't really plan it but Sunday nights have become the night everybody just eats whatever they can find. Everybody eats something different and it's a huge variety and not very healthy, but whatev. The boys typically choose instant grits and a frozen waffle. Sometimes they want cereal, sometimes peanut butter and jelly, but usually grits and a waffle. As long as they're good with it, I'm good with it. No cooking on a Sunday night, super easy, and we all just eat whatever we're in the mood for and we can find in the fridge, freezer, or pantry. Works for me!

*We don't give our kids a bath every single night. Gasp!! We typically always skip Fridays. Plus Wednesdays because it's choir night so they don't go outside and play and aren't super sweaty or dirty or gross on Wednesday nights. And in the summer it just depends on where we've been that day and where we're going the next day. I do like Layton to have a bath every night because he's still in diapers but we definitely don't sweat it if we don't get to it. 

*We don't let our kids have ice cream cones. So sad. When we're going out for ice cream, no cones allowed. They're messy, they're easy to waste, they're just not worth it. We give them choices of all sorts of ice cream to choose from... but no cones. Ha! 

Those are the only ones I could think of this morning but I'm sure there are more. Possibly lots more. At the end of the day, you do what you gotta do and that looks different for every family. We're just doing the best we can and praying hard every day. Things may be wild around here but our adventures are priceless memories I want to savor and enjoy. Messiness, craziness, loudness, and all. =)