On Bad Days & Failure

Have you ever had one of those days…

Where the only thing you have eaten is your children’s leftovers that they didn’t finish at that meal?

Where your patience has been tested in more ways than one (or two or three…)

Where you are still in your workout clothes (whether or not you worked out) and your hair is still in that mom bun?

Sometimes I feel like I have no room to complain. I have two beautiful, amazing boys and I am beyond blessed that I get to stay home with them every day. There are a lot of people out there who are struggling to have children or who have to go to work when they would rather be at home with their children. I love being a stay-at-home mom and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have bad days.

Sometimes I struggle with being able to be a stay-at-home mom. Am I patient enough? Do I let them watch too much TV? Am I not taking them out enough?

And there are even days when NOTHING seems to go right. I can start the day SO positive and (seemingly) patient, and then the little things tear me down.

• The toddler has wet in every pair of pants I put on him until I give up and leave him naked.
• I decided to let everyone cuddle in my bed and milk get spilled all over the iPad and the new sheets.
• The toddler fell asleep surprisingly fast and the baby falls asleep a few minutes later. Then I open the bedroom door to lay the baby down in his crib in the room they share and the dryer goes off and wakes them both up.
• The very active baby plays in the dog water and soaks his clothes once or twice.

All or some of that may have happened in one day. And I am not using this as a way to complain about my day but more to show how my life isn’t perfect and I am far from being a perfect mom.

In fact, I fail A LOT! There is so much I can say about failure.

Some days I feel like crying because I feel like I am not living up to the mom I always pictured myself to be.

However, there are 3 things to remember when you are feeling like me.

1. Check who you are trying to measure up to? If it’s Jesus – that’s ok. You will always fail compared to Him. If it’s Pinterest moms or your neighbor, that’s not ok. Never compare yourself, because you will always fail in your mind.
2. I heard something recently that said “if you are worried at the end of the day that you failed or made too many mistakes as a mom then you are doing something right.” What they meant by that was that at least you are worried about it and you want to change or promise to strive to be better. In better words, “THE VERY FACT THAT YOU WORRY ABOUT BEING A GOOD MOM MEANS THAT YOU ALREADY ARE ONE”.
3. We are all doing the best that we can with the information that we have! I try to continually educate myself on how children’s minds work. I keep up with the psychology of children because I do believe that it helps me understand my children more and then that helps me to be a better mom. Follow Daniel Siegel. His work is amazing!

***Bonus: Bubbles help bad attitudes. Even a mom’s. 😉

Overall, just try your best and remember that it is okay to fail. Do your best, show your children love, and always be learning about your children! <3