No Supermom Here
I am by no means an expert parent but there are a
few things I've learned about parenting that have got me through many tough
situations.
#1 be
flexible!
You can NOT control everything!
This is a particularly hard one for me. I like to plan, plan, plan.
If you are a planner you will understand how my
head works. If you aren’t, you may think
I'm a little crazy. I know My Jason
thinks I am. Here is an example.
Packing for an overnight stay with the kids...
I start by checking the weather. If it looks like it will be a sunny day, I
pack a pair of shorts, shirt, underwear, pajamas, socks, and a pair of
shoes.
This seems very normal, right? The craziness kicks in later, when I start
over thinking.
Like, remember the time when my son got a blister
from a pair of shoes and we had to carry him at the zoo? So I pack an extra pair just in case. Let's not forget
about the time he spilled honey all over his shirt and thought the bees were going to
smell it. I better pack another
shirt. On that note, I better pack
another pair of underwear, just in case.
Well if there is an incident were we need that pair of underwear then we
would have to shower ASAP. I'll need an
additional pair of underwear and a new outfit.
Should these items stay in the hotel or stay in the car? If we are out and about, they should stay in
the car, right? So I find another
bag. Problem solved, I'm packed and
ready to go!
NO, No, No, What if it gets cold? I'll put a sweatshirt in the car. What if the weather man was completely
wrong? I better pack for a cold day as
well. That means another outfit, change
of shirt and then another pair of shoes.
One thought leads to another, which leads to
three suitcases packed for one overnight stay.
Have you ever read the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (or is it pancake)?
This is how my crazy mind works. I feel like being prepared allows you to be
more flexible, but I also understand I would never leave the house if I
continued this pattern.
With my first child, I definitely was prepared
for any and all disasters that could come my way. Now that I have two and they're older, I
find myself successfully fighting the urge to over-prepare, for sanity sake! Plus the kids out grew the diaper bag and I
really just wanted a cute small purse.
I started this transition slowly by keeping an
"emergency" bag in the car at all times. This was more for my piece of mind than
anything. It's ok if the kids spill a
little. It's ok if the weather man is
off by a few degrees and really if it's an emergency, I can go to the closest
Walmart and pick up some supplies. I
needed to chill out and be flexible. I
couldn't control everything.
So what got me thinking about all this? Well we were planning on following My Jason
on a 6 day work shoot. We would be there
over St. Patrick's Day so I planned ahead.
I made up a scavenger hunt for the hotel and planned to go all out. At the last minute, the shoot was shortened
to two days. I broke the news to the
children gently and packed up our suitcases.
Once the packing was complete, my mind started to
over-think. We would be
spending the majority of the time in the car and that didn't seem appealing to
me nor the kids.
Change of plans...
The kids and I decided to stay home! I had to re-think all my St. Patrick's Day
plans. I quickly made up new clues for
the scavenger hunt. Once the kids were
in bed, I put streamers all through the upstairs.
I was mentally beat after re-thinking the event. Yes, this over-thinking thing is exhausting!
Somehow I pulled it off. The kids had a great time chasing the leprechaun
through the house by following the clues. I
however, under estimated my 8 year old son.
He found 2 grammatical errors on the clues. I was just too plain tired to reprint them
the night before and didn't think they would notice. Lesson learned.
Here are some pictures of what that silly leprechaun did to our home.
This was the kids favorite!
Thinking on my toes, I decided to make cupcakes
shaped like shamrocks. I saw the pin on
Pinterest and thought I would give it a whirl.
I didn't have enough marbles so being the
"flexible" mom I was trying to be, I used glass stones. We didn't have white icing and I was too lazy
to make any, so being the "flexible" mom I used chocolate.
So this is where the second thing I've learned
from being a parent kicks in.
#2 You
Need to have a Sense of Humor and Laugh at Yourself
(A very smart woman once told me this)
The funniest moments come when you least expect
them.
As I'm looking at these poor excuses for shamrock
cupcakes and trying not to be too annoyed with myself for not putting the
energy into doing them right, my daughter says, "These look like Lollipop
(her dog) pooped on broccoli. She was completely right! We laughed
until we cried.
I am not an expert mother by any means, but I’ve
learned to be flexible and to laugh at myself.
Every day I try to roll with the punches and have fun while I do it. So we do a lot of laughing here at the Bee Hive. I am constantly making mistakes.
I am only human after all.
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