Motherly Advice

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.