Realistic Mom Life

Okay, you see this photo? It took us 20 minutes to take because Oliver kept running away and Henry kept making weird faces or I was yelling at Oliver to get back there so we could take a photo. It was the only decent one in the 50 that we took.

That’s realistic, for me at least.

I’m just going to say this before I continue writing….When I say something in this post that is realistic, it might not be realistic for you…but it is for me. So, don’t get upset if you have the most perfectly behaved children or that you do your makeup all the time, etc. We are all different and we all parent differently.

Now, let’s continue.

Whether it’s a picture, trying to get everyone settled down for nap time, or even a feeding…it’s crazy. Oliver is very active. He wants to move, he wants to do things he’s not supposed to do, and he’s very much a strong-willed toddler. Now, Henry just wants to be held 24/7 and is a mama’s boy through and through…so trying to get everyone doing the same thing at once and as a family is difficult.

Realistically, it’s rare. Oliver and Jordon will eat while I’m walking around the house carrying Henry and tidying up the house. Then, once they’re done, I put Henry down in his bumbo chair or his swing and he’ll have a bottle or eat some bananas I just pureed the day before. And then I clean up whatever dishes they used and clean up the mess Oliver made in his highchair…once everyone has eaten and everything has been cleaned, I sit down and eat…which lasts about two minutes until one of them is begging for my attention.

Now, I’m going to talk about nap time and bedtime.

Oh, nap time…I just wish my kids liked to sleep. Getting them to sleep is like trying to put a stinger back on a wasp that just stung you…impossible. As least that’s how it feels. Henry will be in his swing or his bed and he’ll have a bottle and have his stuffed bear that he likes to cuddle but if Oliver is still awake, he’ll be awake because he just wants to play with his big brother. Oliver…well Oliver just wants to play 24/7 and get into things, but if he doesn’t have a nap, he gets very cranky—I mean VERY cranky. And he’ll go to bed at 4:30, which is not fun for anyone. Oliver is in a toddler bed right now, so sometimes we have to put him in the playpen to go to sleep so he doesn’t get out….well… he just figured out how to climb out of it. Now, everything I have so thoughtfully planned out has been shattered in seconds because he’s a smart kid. So realistically, it takes me a while to get them both to sleep at any given time.

And realistically, I don’t ever get any time to myself. Once they are asleep, I’m out like a light. I’m exhausted from the day, I’m burnt out. I sleep whenever I can, and I’m just sleep deprived.

BUT.

Then I remember that Oliver used his crayons on the walls because he thought it would make them look “pretty,” and Henry tore all the wipes out of the package, and I have to go wash up the dishes I forgot to do, and I have to sweep the floors so when Henry wakes up he doesn’t eat something gross off the floor that Oliver could’ve put there from the garbage or his toy box (he’s put everything in that thing), and then I have to figure out what I’m making for their next meal.

So, yeah.

That was a good five minutes of sleep.