Many days the only adults I see are strangers (like at the grocery store) & so here's some questions I have about this situation:
So if I happened to smell like cheese all the time would anyone tell me?
And if there was a big blob of broccoli between my front teeth would anyone let me know?

The answer is No, not likely that any adult would, but Yes, one of my children would thankfully say "What stinks?" then every part of me would be sniffed then they would proudly exclaim, "Mom, you smell like cheese!" And they would definitely tell me about the broccoli.

On the flip side:
Would anyone noticed if I wore the same pants for multiple days or if I started looking like I have a comb-over because I haven't washed my hair in too many days & I am trying to hide the fact by brushing new parts of my hair over to look more "glossy" less "greasy."

The answer is a resounding "No!" None of my children would even notice, thankfully. Yet sadly, the reason they won't notice this stuff is because it has become the norm of how they see me most days.

(The above picture was taken by my 5 year old Tiger last October with her disposable birthday camera. I went in to edit the picture & decided to leave it as is because no amount of filters will erase the fact that I look bald in that hat & I have no makeup on, unless you count the mascara under my eyes from the day before...which completely proves the point of this post.)

Blast from the Past Moment:

Burger at the Beach 

This was taken on our vacation to California two years ago. I have to keep looking away from this picture while typing or else my cheeks will hurt from smiling too big.

Of all my responsibilities & drudgeries & have-tos, being a mom is not on the list. I feel so grateful these three little beings are in my life. I need to let that gratitude soak in more. 

(the above print is by Happy Doodle Land found here)

Tip #3 for Eliminating Mom Guilt

Keep it All in Perspective 

(And this is NOT the "perspective" that grandmothers who have forgotten what it was like as moms of young kids talk about) 

Here's some perspective-- Imagine if you went to work everyday at a place like this:

You went to make a company purchase & your Boss came with you and when you went to the check out stand he preceded to yell at you at the top of his lungs about how you should have purchased something that he liked & that he wanted. He did this for the entire transaction & then when you got into the car to drive back to the office he did not apologize and he turned his head away from you and fell asleep until you got back to the office.

It was lunch break & you had an agreement that you would make lunches for a coworker & when you gave her her lunch she took one look in the bag, threw it on the floor and stomped off to her cubicle muttering "I hate tuna fish sandwiches."

During a particularly hairy deadline your boss came up to you and starting asking if you would take some time out & read over a document with him. You kindly said that you could do it after this deadline, but that you needed to finish this. He then began to scream at you & started throwing rubber band balls and paper clips at your back & ran around in circles til he fell over then proceeded to bang his head on the floor saying that he'd stop if you would look over the document with him.

You got up from your desk and headed to the bathroom. On the way there a coworker ran up to you and threw herself at you, clinging onto your feet. She held on screaming that you needed to see this project she was working on right then.

Finally it was time to leave work & your boss carpooled with you. On the drive home he sang the songs from the radio at the top of his lungs and at every chorus he spat out at you and laughed hysterically....all the way home.

DO you think that ANYONE would try to make you feel guilty that you were not a good employee if under this kind of pressure you one day cracked and yelled at the top of your lungs that you have had enough or if during a a very trying time you were not 100% under control all the time if this is the random experiences you had every single day?????

So why in the WORLD do we EVER let ourselves get pulled down by Mom guilt when this is part of our work environment every day with young children? Now I'm not saying we shouldn't always strive for personal improvement & self control, what I am saying is next time you see a mother struggling with three kids in a grocery store & one is throwing a fit & one is running up & down the aisle & the third is whining about not getting a treat, that instead of thinking in your mind, "That lady needs to get her family under control" or some other extremely "judging a person on one moment" criticism, that you replace that thought with one of compassion & you help her for goodness sakes. Start dancing with the child running up & down the aisle. Introduce yourself to the one whining & tell her a fascinating tale. Or ask her if she needs you to grab her anything. If none of that works, (which often it doesn't when the kids are at "that point")  buy her a fun magazine & some chocolate & surprise her with it after she makes it through the checkout line as a reward for surviving the grocery store with 3 kids.

I am gonna print this post out & carry it around with me when I am past the young kids stage & re-read it if ever I start to forget what it is like with young ones. I am also going to carry around a flipbook of pictures of my house in utter chaos & show it to the young mom who is leery of me helping her put her groceries in her car,  not because I'm a stranger but because her car is so full of kid junk that she can't even open the door without some chicken nugget encrusted sundry flinging out and hitting her in the stomach. Then she'll know that I've been there & I didn't always (hardly ever) have it under control & I would have loved a little less guilt & a little more love.

(Tips # 1 & #2 can be found here & here)

Why are there so many adults who are germapohobic & SO MANY kids who LOVE GARBAGE?
I am not afraid of germs, but I know many who are, and my children definitely are not amongst them. They seem drawn to trash like a magnet. Even my older girls-- if there is the slightest chance of a treasure to be found, it doesn't matter where it is stuck in or what it is stuck to, it will be extracted and cradeled like a newborn babe.

I am painting our living room & so last night we moved our piano to the middle of the room & I discovered lots of junk behind it. I threw it all in  the garbage because it was mixed with mouse poop (aargh! those furry little mongrels!) & when I came into the living room this morning the girls had dug through the trash bag that I had mistakenly left on the floor & had created a wonderland out of all the bits & bobs that I had just thrown away! If I could be drawn to my doing my dishes as much as they are drawn to garbage I would hire myself out to do other's dishes for free just because I loved it SO MUCH!.

Japanese collectibles found at molly-meg

We went to the zoo yesterday. We saw the monkeys first & then we headed over to the elephants. While staring at these magnificent creatures my five year old daughter exclaimed, "Elephants ARE real!" She said this about the tigers as well, revealing that she had previously thought these animals to be just from fairy tales and cartoons. I love the wonder of children.

I am a peanut butter & honey kind of girl....on wheat bread, open-faced (without a top). I ate this practically every day throughout my childhood & I could eat it everyday throughout my adulthood.  I remember Sunday afternoons after church my mom would pull out the jar of peanut butter & the plastic bear full of honey and a bowl of fruit salad & we would eat an easy, stress-free lunch then all jump into our beds for a long snooze. I loved Sundays! I've gotten away from that... we now have a huge meal that my mom & I prepare every Sunday (I keep insisting we go back to the easy but my mom wants to stay big & I do enjoy the time in the kitchen with her) & now we go from church to my parents then to my husband's & we've done so every Sunday for the last thirteen years (we have missed a handful of times, but literally only a handful). This type of Sunday has now become something I love -- a day full of family-- full of laughing together & cuddling & chatting with the sister-in-laws while all the kids run wild....but I still miss those sweet, carefree Sundays of the past... with globs of 

pb & h stuck in my hair.