so i was about to post some facebook status/instagram pic of the christmas tree we put up today and some sort of allusion to our perfect night watching christmas movies by the light of the tree.
but that wouldn't be fair.
because it would be lying.
today was one of the hardest days of my life.
sure, now i'm sitting in my jammies with a bottle of hard cider and some christmas carols playing, but mere hours ago i thought i was going to lose my mind.
and it's normal to feel that way sometimes.
but looking at facebook, it's all snuggles and educational activities and early bedtimes and homemade snacks and crafts and workouts in between.
we, as parents, put on a charade to the social media world that our parenting experience is bliss in a handbasket and it's not.
and we ALL are aware of that fact.
so can we all just be a little more honest with each other?
i'd be lying if i said i'd never sat crying on the living room couch because the word "poop" held endless possibilities and entertainment for a certain pair of preschoolers who were supposed to be asleep an hour before.
sometimes, our kids can drive us to the edge and all but push us off.
as my friend so perfectly put it: it's something as simple as bedtime, but your sanity hangs in the balance.
it's excruciating, because you can be so unbelievably upset and furious with them but at the same time they're your kids and you love them like nothing you've ever experienced before so you're trapped in this torturous middle region.
and as much as my insecure self wants to tell me that "oh it's just you" i know it's not.
i know every parent's days are filled with good and bad.
sometimes lots and lots of good.
sometimes lots and lots of bad.
so, in an effort to make some other moms and dads feel better about their own daily struggles,
here is what our day consisted of:
1. woke up to the joyous sound of children's laughter before my alarm went off, the boys were playing some version of "house" with their stuffed animals.
2. came out of the bedroom to realize that liam had eaten an entire plate of cookies the neighbor had dropped off.
3. meltdown ensued when i informed him that we could not have candy for breakfast.
4. finally ate breakfast, donovan starts crying because it's bathtime (we usually bathe at night, it's out of the routine, understandable).
5. two-five minutes of cooperative bathtime play, followed by screeching and stealing toys and the decision that bathtime is over. tantrums by both parties.
6. while washing a tearful donovan up, liam decides to retaliate for the shortened bathtime by pouring a plastic watering can full of bathwater on my leg. hand is given a swat, watering can is taken away, indignant tears follow.
7. get donovan dressed, proceed to attempt to get liam out of the bathtub. there is much feigning of weakened limbs and inability to be mobile.
8. everyone is dressed, playing nicely, until the announcement that it's time to put on jackets. as if by magic, liam has once again lost all of his motor skills.
9. with coats finally on, liam is lying facedown in the doorway. he's given a small push on his tush by the tip of my boot, and suddenly he awakens and will not stop screeching "you hit me! you hit me!" so the neighbors can gossip about the one on the second floor who beats her kids.
mommy. is. not. amused.
10. the boys are dropped at daycare (after missing the turn and having to backtrack), and upon arriving at school it comes to my attention that i don't have my books or binders. at least i made it. a half an hour late.
11. pick-up from day care. liam has had numerous time outs for hitting his friends and saying no to his teacher. donovan had to sit by himself at lunch because he wasn't listening.
12. get home, liam's peculiar extremity affliction returns and he's "unable" to transport himself inside. this results in his getting to lay in bed for twenty minutes to "regain his strength" while mommy and donovan rearrange furniture to make room for the tree.
13. bring christmas supplies up from basement. donovan won't stop throwing pillows around, injures liam by accident.
14. liam gets scissors and tries to open smaller tree box (brilliant ingenuity) but when finished tries to cut his own shirt and won't give mommy back the scissors. time out session:
"why are you in time out?"
"NO!" walk away. wait. walk back.
"are you ready to listen?
"NO! i don't listen to mommy!" walk away. wait. walk back.
"are you ready to listen now?"
"i don't remember!!"
"well let me know when you remember." walk away. wait. walk back.
(this goes on for a good ten minutes)
we eventually had dinner, watched a christmas movie, and got to bed at a decent time. but even those things weren't without the occasional tantrum and time-out.
but if i had just posted the picture of us snuggling by the tree you'd get the idea that we were somehow blissfully happy with one another all day, and that wasn't even close to how it went down.
so if you see me post some touchy-feely snuggle picture:
yes, in that moment i was blissfully lost in the wonder that is my beautiful children.
but two minutes before that we probably had a catastrophic meltdown over sibling crayon distribution.
it happens.
and you're not alone.
