Mommy Wars Are Exhausting

Earlier this week I took a cute picture of my 18-month-old and immediately when to Instagram it (because I Instagram everything) and began to worry about the placement if his chest clip in his car seat and what if people though I really drove him around with a low chest clip. Then I was going to write about how I was sick with the plague a stomach bug and how I took the baby to daycare but then I realized I could not admit that I took the baby to daycare when I was not at work. Yesterday I was sitting here thinking about some funny things that my children have done/said that I want to remember. Well, one of those stories involved the kids drinking soda and I started thinking about how bad I would look for letting my kids have soda on occasion.

People, mommy wars are exhausting.

The truth is the my house is messier than I would like. I cook 90% of the time but sometimes driving through McDonald's is so much easier after eight hours at work and then another two hours on the football field chasing my toddler. Last week I had a stomach bug and spent my day sitting on the bathroom floor puking my guts out...my husband recognized I was sick and took the baby to daycare even though I was home. I yell more than I should. At least once a week a I forget to sign my 9-year-old's school agenda (those damn agenda's and reading logs are the bane of my existence). I let my kids have soda once a week. I take car seat safety very seriously and call me crazy but I worry about chest clip placement when actually driving and not so much when snapping pictures.

I really want to stop explaining myself. I feel so pressured to explain myself all the time because I am not that ideal, stereotypical mom. Explaining myself all the time makes me unhappy. And going back to Making 2014 count I vowed to work on happiness. I am done with that (well, trying to be done). I can't and will not explain myself all the time.

I hope at least one person reads my blog and sees my messy house and store bought cookies and thinks to them self, "Thank goodness, me too."

Here is the thing, I am me and that is all I can be. I am never going to please everyone. It is not possible. But at the end of the day, I love my kids just as much as any other mom. I work hard to take care of my family, just like any other mom. How I get there may be different but in the end, the results are the same.