I was finishing up writing a post for Home Educating Family about Grace for the Crazy Days {when it publishes I’ll send you the link}. In it I shared about how we need to not be surprised when a day seems to go off track – instead it’s in realizing that most days, in fact, go off track according to the perfect ideal day plan. The days that could be written about in Family Fun happen every so often – remember them – but don’t use them as a barometer for determining whether or not your day was successful.
So today, today, I’m sharing with you a list of some normal everyday motherhood events from my life. Now, of course, these don’t all happen everyday {thank goodness}, but I’m just listing them so we can get it in the open that this stuff? Well, it’s normal. And, maybe we need to add space in our day for these moments of little ones putting bubbles on their chin and ignore the water and bubbles all over the counter and floor and then brush ourselves off and just keep going.
Some everyday motherhood normals.
Any kind of spill {read I love you more than spilled milk for my experience}.
Early risers.
Late risers.
Up in the middle of the night all nighters.
Days when all of a sudden nothing fits right for your kids.
Days when all of a sudden nothing fits right for you.
Light saber battles in the middle of the living room.
Light saber battles in the middle of the living room with Ironman
Days when drawers are emptied when your littles are digging for clothes.
Days when your laundry basket of folded clothes gets dumped out.
You’re out of coffee
You’re out of creamer.
You’re house might be very very loud.
You run to the store quick and the car is almost out of gas.
The phone isn’t charged.
You can’t find your cell phone which you left on mute.
No one likes the cereal that you have available for breakfast.
You are analyzing cereal bowls to make sure that everyone has an equal amount.
The trip to the park didn’t go as planned.
Your hair is in a pony tail.
The amazing craft that you planned was over in five minutes.
The glue spilled.
The glue got in your toddler’s hair.
There’s arguing over who gets the pencil.
You don’t have any sharp pencils.
The sharpener is lost.
Any electric sharpener that you buy breaks within weeks. {true to my life}
The toys get dumped out in one big pile
The toys get dumped out in one big pile which then gets mixed together.
The mixed up toys are referred to as the best experiment ever mom.
There is laundry to do. {never ever put laundry on the to-do list – put it on the every day list}
You’re late.
You’re really early but it’s too early to do anything but sit in the car and wait.
You forgot what time you’re to be there.
The invitation that you saved on the fridge is now gone.
You don’t know what to make for dinner.
You’ve had pbjs for lunch every day this week.
You forgot to read those books {read dear in a minute mom}.
The sliding doors and windows that you just washed will gain fingerprints within minutes.
You love your kids.
You love them mega {that’s my favorite way to tell me kids I love them – I love you mega.}
You love them mega and sometimes you forget to slow down and tell them.
You start to learn to extend yourself grace.
You keep trying.
You remember that the stuff on this list of normal is, well, normal. It’s not failing or bad.
You embrace the little things, the joy, the gift of today.
Normal.
My normal day? Starts early. With coffee. With almost a dozen spills and dumped out toys and issues over pencils or math with pbjs for lunch and my hair in a pony tail and a living room that once was clean but now is messy because the little boys decided to play their perfect game there and with a load of laundry waiting to be folded and one waiting to be washed and a gigantic basket of mismatched socks that never seem to be caught up – my normal – is simply the beauty in the everyday.
And so is yours.
We’re in this normal everyday motherhood together.
to receive finding joy via email simply click subscribe.
12 comments
Gorgeous blog–just discovered it. Lovely pix, wonderful sentiments! I feel the same as you on so many days. I had to chuckle at quite a few of these… thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the reminder…real life is messy 🙂 even though lots of days I wish it weren’t!
I’m glad i’m in this with you! Lovely post.
Love, Traci Michele
Thought I’d add a few of “unplanned” special moments to celebrate: you’re exhausted…but find the energy to sing one more verse of the “I love you” Barney song before leaving your little one in his crib;
You finally find the sippy cup you looked for last week: now a mould experiment in the bottom of the toy box;
Your little one has discovered how to climb out of the crib…but has forgotten the fact that he wanted to climb out in the first place!
One last “moment to celebrate” you find evidence that your little girl is learning her letters…all written out in the bathroom sink with toothpaste.
:o)
Great post. Glad to know that my life is normal!
My life is more normal than I thought! x
love.this.
{and seriously. what is UP with the sharpeners?}
I know! WHY do pencil sharpeners inevitably BREAK pencils?–and then, the sharpeners break, too?
And I love your normal, I guess, it’s my normal too. I don’t WANT it to be normal to have messes-
I try so hard! But every last thing you mentioned, and then every last thing Kimberly in the comments mentioned, happens to me every single week! Sigh, I guess, I just have to embrace this ‘normal’, like you said! 😀
I gave up trying to find where the track is a long time ago…
Praying right now!
Ephesians 3:16-21 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
My email address
This was so well said….Thank you. 😉
It makes a HUGE difference to “expect” these things so that we don’t feel inconvenienced by them…perspective is everything. Right on.
God bless-
You are Awesome! Thank so much! Anything of yours I read it makes me really like you (o:
It is so refreshing to know other mom’s can’t keep the mismatched socks all caught up…
And oh my goodness, spilled a bit of my coffee reading the comment about the sippy cup you searched for now a mold experiment…
one time I bought bologna for lunch, had it on the counter, went into the fridge to get condiments, it disappeared from the counter, I looked in every hiding place i could think of, played if i were 2 where would i have put it… found it 2 weeks later, with bites out of the package, in the most mundane and abstract spot… an experiment of epic proportions…
so glad my crazy is someones version of normal.. going to try and take a deep breath and try to enjoy the rest of my day. Thank you