Snapshots: A Celebration of Real Motherhood

This morning I had a brilliant idea to photograph and write about as many little moments from our day as possible--the good, the bad, and the crazy ones--and make them in to a blog post. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted, but I captured the important ones. It wasn't until the end of the day, though, that I realized that I didn't get very many pictures of Bethany (oops!) so maybe I'll try this again and focus more on her.

I'm calling this "a celebration of real motherhood" because I often give too much glory to the moms I see on Pinterest--the bikini-body-after-having-five-kids-moms, the DIY-Pottery-Barn-House-moms, and the I-make-everything-from-scratch-moms. I compare the worst sides of my house, my kids, my cooking, my clothes, even my body to the best things I see on the internet, things I don't and can't have and do right now, causing me to forget the generous amount of beauty that already exists in my life. 99% of the time, a mother's life is not Pinterest-perfect, nor should it be. Moms spend a lot of time doing things that are fairly mundane and repetitive. But hidden within our daily labors are precious little moments that should never be forgotten--moments that make it all worthwhile. I believe that both the mundane and the precious moments deserve celebrating every once in a while, which is why I'm writing today. Enough explaining. On to my account of our day.

8:15 am: Noah and I are sitting down to eat breakfast together. Bethany is playing in her bouncer. I start cleaning our breakfast mess.

8:42: Just as I'm turning to do the dishes, Noah randomly starts puking on the kitchen floor. No idea what caused it. When it's all over, Noah starts crying because he wants to be held, and Bethany starts crying because she's tired. But there's puke on the floor. All over the place. What's a mom to do? I clean it up and try to comfort both kids at the same time.

9:45 Bethany wakes up from her first nap, and we have story time. Noah and I choose 6 or 7 books (some short, some long) and settle down on the couch to read. Of course, both kids clamor to be held. Luckily, they're still little enough to squeeze on to my lap. I don't know what I'll do when they get bigger.

{note--this picture isn't from today. This was another story time that took place a few months ago. My arms were too full of kids and books to pull out my phone to take a picture of this moment today.}

 

 

10:30 Snack time! This picture actually marks an important moment in Noah's life. See that cup he's avidly drinking from? That, my friends, is cow's milk! The supposed dairy allergy is out, and we've been earnestly trying to get Noah to like cow's milk. It tastes so different from the rice milk and coconut milk he's used to drinking, so he hasn't exactly taken to this new taste. Today was one of the few times he's been willing to drink it (with the help of some strawberry Nesquick...)! Good job, Noah!

 

 

 

11:00 I put Bethany down on the bed for a few seconds. I come back to find her chewing on Daddy's (freshly washed) sock. Yummers. About five minutes later, I notice Noah cuddling with something on the bathroom floor. Is that...? Yep. A package of toilet paper. Apparently it's very comfortable. 

 

 

 

 



12:00 pm--Noah is again playing in the bathroom while I iron something for a craft project. His game of choice: trying on Mommy's necklaces.

 



 

 

12:30-Lunchtime. I'm trying to broaden Noah's palette a little, so today we have tomato basil pasta salad and avocado chicken salad on the menu in addition to the more-familiar cheese and hot dogs. I hope he will be interested in trying it. 

 

 

 

 

12:45-No dice. A few bites of hot dog and cheese. It seems this little boy was too tired to be patient at lunch, so we ended it early. Off to bed. 



 

 

1:50-That was a short nap.

 

 4:30-Noah is literally running around in circles while I'm trying to teach my piano students. I'm surprised my students can concentrate at all through the racket he's making.

 

 

7:00-Bethany's bed time. Diaper change, pajamas, and then nursing in the rocking chair. She's been doing this odd little humming thing today when she's nursed, and she proceeds to hum and suckle with great gusto. Noah, understanding that it's time to wind things down for the night, brings a blanket into her room and curls up with it on the floor.

 

 

7:30 Bath time for Noah. We've had a busy day--I'm exhausted by this point, and I had imagined Noah would play happily in the water while I sat and tried to find some sanity for 15 minutes. Instead, he throws a tantrum because he wants me to turn the faucet on again. How are you supposed to discipline a kid who's throwing a tantrum in the bath tub? You can't do time-out, you can't just end the bath without washing them, and you can't leave the bathroom to let them cry it out and blow off some steam. Suggestions? Anyway, I quickly washed my thrashing, screaming toddler and threw his pajamas on as quickly as I could. I had hoped to end the evening on a high note--a nice cuddle, maybe do a puzzle or something--but he wouldn't quit whining, so straight to bed he went. I tucked him in and said good night.



 There you have it--our day in a nutshell (I spared you the more unnecessary and boring parts). I hope that you enjoyed reading it, and that you feel a little bit more inspired to celebrate and cherish both the precious and the mundane in your own life! Thanks for reading!