The Kind of Mother I am

Yesterday afternoon as I was walking into the gym I noticed these are the outfits my girls are wearing. They picked out their own attire. Macy's is fine except for the fact that she wore that same shirt the day before and we had visited the gym the day before too. Kelsey started out the day with a pair of jeans, but an hour after dressing she found her favorite skirt and changed. I was a little embarrassed as I walked through the doors but quickly got over it and just chuckled because that is the type of mother I am.

This picture also shows you a little about my kids. Macy is goofy for pictures and Kelsey won't smile. She will say cheese but no grin.

*Warning the next part is not funny and is only for those who want to know me as a mom. You might even find it appalling and not worth reading. So you can make a choice to stop reading here or continue on. It won't hurt my feelings one bit. Just remember this is for my posterity so don't judge too harshly.*

It is often that my kids pick out their own clothes and I try to persuade them to be a little more fashionable, but really it doesn't matter to me (most of the time). I have also been known to take my kids places with food all over their mouth. I usually notice this after we are get somewhere and I don't carry wipes anymore so that is how it has to be. (I don't use my own spit to clean their faces. If I use spit it is their own.) Their hair isn't ever really fancy, but then take a look at mine not always the latest and greatest. And who has time for bows, besides my girls don't ever leave them in. To be honest I know their have been a couple of times that we ended up at the gym and I had forgotten to at least comb their hair. Since I am being so honest, I am grateful that Macy hardly ever wants her hair done all cutsy. Baths are every other day and sometimes every 2 days so we hit bath time on a Saturday because that is the day to get ready for Sunday. My kids will sometimes strip down after dinner and be in a shirt and underwear or pants and underwear. I am just happy they are not getting another article of clothing dirty. My kids also don't have a set bedtime. It is a general time frame and depends on several factors including my mood and how they are acting. I didn't work with Macy on knowing her alphabet or writing her name before going to preschool. She has learned that all at school. I also don't do regular play dates or take them to the park on a regular basis. I get too busy worrying about all that I have to do to schedule that stuff in (which is not a good trait, but I am working on it because I understand that time goes by too fast). I don't mind leaving my kids for vacations or to go on a date night, I never have. But I am always happy to come back to them. All these things add up to the type of mother that I am.

There are some things I feel that I am good at. They brush their teeth morning and night. They get stories and scriptures every night. I try to feed them whole grains on most days, throw in fruits at breakfast and lunch, and serve vegetables for lunch and dinner (this has been slipping lately but I try). I am not opposed to treats, anyone who has seen my sweet tooth can attest to that, but I try to limit their treats, including fruit snacks, during the day (Halloween has thrown this out the window). It doesn't really bother me when someone else gives them treats. My main reasons for not serving treats are: 1. I hope they don't become addicted like me. 2. They get plenty of sugar in their diet. 3. I don't like to spend my grocery budget on them. They can get expensive because Brian loves treats and helps reduce supplies. 4. I am the biggest culprit at reducing treat supplies. There is very little that I won't eat and I am so bad that when I buy candy I hide it and eat it all without their knowledge. I am a bad example of limiting sugar. I also try to be careful of sodium and fast food restaurants. I try to limit their TV/movie watching. But again I am not real picky about things such as this. I may seem a little healthy extreme, but really I am pretty laid back about everything and it doesn't bother me if things are not done the same way I do them. So I have no problem having other people watch my kids and never get upset if they do things differently with my kids. I would call myself more laid back than strict. These different attitudes also make up who I am.

There are times when I look at other moms and wish that I dressed my kids as cute or knew how to do hair like that. Sometimes I wish that I would take more time to spend with my kids (remember I am working on that) and do the regular park thing. But I am also coming to the reality that every woman is different and has her own ideas and attitudes about things and that doesn't make me wrong or right. In my mind I may not seem like the perfect mom, but I am doing my best and so is everyone else. Every mom needs to pick and choose the things that are needful, what are wantful, and what is worth the time. Hopefully I will choose wisely and make adjustments where necessary and laugh off anything that doesn't fit the idea of perfect.

PS I mainly wrote this so one day my kids will have an idea of the kind of mother I was at this time in my life.

PPS I also wrote it so that I would feel better when people saw my kids in crazy outfits and dirty faces.