Flipping Perspective

Today was a rough day. Which unfortunately for me, I have these types of days more often than I'd like to admit. I even called Mike halfway through the day crying because I was totally and utterly overwhelmed. How's that for real life? The kids were cranky, it felt like no one was listening to me, it was hot and I had little to no patience. Today just wasn't what I would consider a good day.

I woke up this morning with a list a mile long on what I was going to get done. We are having a small party for Kamryn and Logan this weekend and I have so much to do. I had big plans for the day -- I was going to take the kids for a nice walk down to the pond, catch up on all my laundry, clean both my bathrooms and I was even going to prep my deck to be stained while Kensington and Tenley napped and the big kids played on the slip n slide. Yep, I had some huge expectations for myself.

Here I am it's 8 at night and guess what I did today. I did a load of dishes.....that are still in the dishwasher, folded only half of my laundry from yesterday and wash & dried a load of towels....that are still in the dryer. That's it. As I sit here I feel like I failed today. I don't even know what happened. I have no idea why I didn't find the time to get those things done. I really feel like this was the LONGEST DAY EVER yet I couldn't even get 3 things done on my todo list.

  

You see, I'm a very psychological person and most times I can talk myself out of these funks. I just did and I want to share how I did it for those of you who may be feeling this way too....

So, here's what I know I did do today....

I welcomed my 4 kids with a giant "good morning" smile and a kiss

I made them all 3 meals

I passed out about 500 snacks 

I gave them all clean clothes to wear

I worked with Logan on writing and spelling his name (for some reason we forget the A. LOL)

I told them I loved them approximately 6,456,921 times

I took 63 trips to the bathroom with Logan (rough estimate)

I kissed at least 4 boo boo's

I took all the kids outside in the backyard for an hour to get some fresh air

I DID set up the slip n slide for the big kids at nap time and they loved every second of it

We had a dance party right before I started cooking dinner

I sat at the kitchen table with my kids and laughed and laughed at dinner time

I gave them all baths...because being clean is important

I read 4 books

I snuggled them all so tight, did our bedtime routine and told them how much mama loves them

My husband came home and I gave him a huge hug and thanked him for working so hard for our family. Because I couldn't do this without him. Really and truly. Michael Sass is my rock.

Listen, this is normal stuff. This is what I do everyday and some days I forget how much it matters. It's all a matter of flipping perspective. My children are fed, dressed, clean, healthy, happy and LOVED because of me.Today was hard, it was so hard. I still don't know how I didn't get more done. I'm still upset that I lost my temper more times than I should have and I'm still aggravated I can't manage my time better but you know what, my when I put my babies to bed tonight they all wanted one more kiss from their mama. They all squeezed my neck so tight and they all told me they loved me (Okay, Tenley can't say "love you" yet but she meant it, I could tell. LOL!). I know for a fact that these are the very best days of my life.  I am so thankful for my little family.  At night, when the 6 of us are tucked away inside, no matter what kind of day we have all had, I have such a peace that God has me right where He wants me.

Motherhood is hard. I don't care if you are a stay at home mom, working mom, work at home mom, single mom, co-parent mom, married mom...whatever the case may be this job IS NOT easy. God gave us these babies because he knew we were the best one to do the job. So, give yourself a break. Know at the end of the day you are doing the best you can and some days that just a load of dishes, and that's perfectly okay. People ask me all the time "How do you do it?" I always tell them that I just make it day to day. I have 3 things I know I need at the end of the day....is everyone fed, clean and alive? We're good! It sounds simple but really, keep it simple. Don't set your expectations too high. These season of life with little kids at home flies by....do your best to just enjoy it. Your kids love you and are so thankful, even when they don't show it, for all that you do. I just know it!