that mom

so tonight for dinner, my kids had spaghetti-o's. my goodness, i never thought i would be that kind of mom... who fed her kids spaghetti-o's for dinner. how disgusting is that. (anthony wasn't home tonight. thus, why on earth would i cook?) ella liked them. bennett took one bite and said, "nasty!" i tried to redeem the meal by giving them broccoli and ranch dressing. i sorta felt better that at least there was some nutritional value. until later, i was cleaning the kitchen and found the broccoli under the table. so basically, bennett had ranch dressing for dinner.

i then took my kids to the park. i of course put a hat on because i never showered today. i also hadn't changed my pants from when mason spit up all over me. and as random pieces of plastic easter eggs came tumbling out of the van when i slid the door open, bennett raced over to get them and toss them back inside on top of the doll car seat and random pom-pom. (i pretty much never clean out my car. yeah, i'm admitting it. i'm trying to help you feel better about yourselves. the reasons: a. i know just how much anthony loves to do it so why would i rob him of that joy? b. i simply don't have enough arms to carry in my kids, diaper bag, and whatever other random items are in the way, and c. i tend to think that there will be some moment when i might need that diaper/pen/old church bulletin/monster truck/kleenex/torn magazine/plastic ball/shoe/ballet medal/broken sunglasses... and the pom-pom almost always calms mason down for at least 4 seconds when he gets fussy.) so there, at the park, i realized i was that mom again.

you know, the one you see before you have kids. back when you have all the answers about how it should be. she drives a mini-van and i will never drive a minivan. she hasn't fixed her hair today and i will always fix my hair when i'm a mom of 3 little kids. there is stuff falling out of her van. seriously, can't she pull it together? clean out your car, lady! oh, and look at her daughter. didn't anyone ever tell her that a purple shirt does not go with blue shorts? does that little boy have ranch dressing all over his face? how hard is it to wash your kids face? oh my goodness. look at that baby. umm, ever hear of a bib? does she ever bathe him? he has food chunks in his hair.

so, if anyone reading this out there isn't planning on becoming that mom (i.e. me) i just want to let you know that your priorities will change. and although it would be nice to shower, its even nicer to sleep. and a fancy car would be fun to drive, but being able to walk back to help your 4 year-old when she needs you is actually really convenient. and yeah, it wouldn't kill me to change my pants but chances are, i don't have anything else that fits and if i do, it most certainly isn't any cleaner. and someday my daughter will learn to match, but for now, she dresses herself. and she's quite proud of what she comes up with. and her confidence and independence is far more important than my pride. (i mean, most of the time. depends on where we are going.)

so yes, i am that mom. and really, it just isn't as bad as it looks.

(note: i would have taken pictures of my kids so that you would know i'm actually not exaggerating about their appearance, but by the time we got home, mason was screaming, bennett had pooped and i couldn't find the camera before ella changed out of her outfit into her pj's. but i'm sure the opportunity will present itself again...)