Thursday, September 15, 2011

Mother Thoughts

I've had a lot of random "mother thoughts" lately. Thoughts that I would never ever have if I didn't have small children mucking about. And they're not deep or profound or life-changing, they're just taking up valuable real estate in my pregnant brain and I need that space for other things -- like remembering my children's names.

1. It is far more advantageous for me to park near a shopping cart receptacle than close to the doors of the store.

2. I am no longer surprised to find my children completely naked at random times during the day. I just wish they didn't choose to change their entire outfit right before we had to run out the door.

3. I'm having an inner debate as to how worried I should be when my son dresses up in pink sparkly dress-ups and announces, "I feel beautiful." The answer is: not very.

4. If you don't rinse or wipe off oatmeal or shredded wheat from your counters and dishes before they dry...your day will be ruined.

4. It doesn't matter how clean your house is at the end of the day, it will be trashed again tomorrow...even if your children do have their own chores.

5. Being apart from each other for portions of the day can make for a happier family, especially sibling rivalries.

6. My kids are very good, I just forget it sometimes.

7. My house is never perfect, or even acceptable...but if I completely threw in the towel, it would be even worse. That's why I keep plugging along.

8. My kids can help more than I realize.

9. I never thought I'd live in a place where we all needed rain boots. But we do.

10. If you fight for good routines for your kids, they'll help fight for them later on when you're burned out...like reading scriptures and brushing teeth.

11. I might have to start doing more than five loads of laundry each week, but I'll fight this as long as possible. It seems wrong to have more than one of the following categories: whites, lights, brights, mediums, and darks. (This does not include my other linens; sheets and towels are another day.)

12. I will never again get a dark kitchen floor. Crumbs shine like bright stars in the night sky.

13. I have no patience for ugly clothes anymore and I'm embarrassed as to what maternity clothes I used to wear. I'm getting rid of at least half of them.

14. Sometimes the practicality of a house is more important than the beauty of it.

15. I want my kids to love and like me, (not at the expense of discipline) but sometimes I feel like a big mother bear growling through life.

16. This is hard.

17. Why does dust exist?

18. I hope I still have time to can some peaches this year.

19. Sometimes a walk to the mailbox is my exercise for the day.

20. I'm glad my kids still give me a hug and kiss goodnight even though I just finished yelling at them.

21. I'm glad I say "sorry" to my kids if I'm wrong.

3 comments:

  1. I loved all of these and have thought of quite a few of them myself. I have a couple friends who do all the laundry twice a week! YUCK. I refuse to surrender 2 days a week to laundry. (sheets/towels are a separate day but they dont count.)

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  2. I ALWAYS park next to the cart corral. ALWAYS. Not only is it easier, but it shields one side of my car from people swinging their doors open and denting the side of my van.

    Also? I tell my friends that if they want to see my house in its cleanest form, they need to arrive between the hours of 11pm and 7am.

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  3. LOVE this post. I feel exactly the same way...minus the rainboots part.

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