My Very First Post!

So I have jumped on the blogging bandwagon. This is my very first post and this was my New Year's Resolution that's taken me a month to start. I take lots of photos for other people and then forget to take many photos of my own life. I started this blog for that reason, remembering my own life and my own kids at every stage. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Because this is motherhood and life and sometimes it’s downright ugly. But, it can also be pretty beautiful too. It is not a photography blog and most photos on here are probably uploads from my iPhone or Instagram. I tried for awhile to think of something witty and cute as a blog title but came up empty handed. I am a mom of boys and kept replaying ideas for blogs celebrating raising boys, “Helmets and High Heels?” “Three guys and a mom?”  But, everything seemed like it didn’t work. I was about to give up and sat down on the couch to make a phone call, (yes, as a mother I realize this is a gamble at any time. We all know the second you get on the phone all hell breaks loose, even if the kids are sitting quietly eating breakfast.) “Mommy….MOMMY….I have oatmeal in my haaair and it won’t come out!” Ugh, get up, go over to the table and yes, there is in fact oatmeal. Stuck right in my 2 and a half year old child’s hair. Like, lots of it, and it won’t come out. When oatmeal dries it’s like glue. Welp, I guess that will do. Voila. Blog name with meaning, right?! ;)

 This past year has proved to be one with lots of highs and lows for my family. My biggest, bestest high was of course the birth of our sweet little Bennett who was born on April 25, 2012. However, after Bennett’s birth everything else seems like a complete blur. Go here, go there, be here at this time, don’t forget this, etc. etc. etc., you know the drill. I feel like much of my day is spent in pure survival mode….mental lists in my head, “Don’t forget to let the dog back in before you leave, are diapers changed before we go? Do I look too scary for the Starbucks drive thru?” Around 2pm every day is the heavenly time. The boys, (if I’m lucky enough), will go down for a nap. AT THE SAME TIME!  Mason is pretty hit or miss with naps these days, but at least I’ll force him to have quiet time in his room which usually consists of a good 20 minutes of time before banging on the door and saying he needs something. During this quiet time I will catch up on mindless shows like “Kourtney and Kim take Miami”, then get instantly depressed about my wardrobe and looks, and then check emails and Facebook to see what’s going on in the outside world.

This has led me to believe there is often the “Facebook life” and then there’s the “real life.” It goes something like this….Facebook life = log on and scroll through photos of smiling children, perfectly manicured families with hair brushed, matching outfits, etc. If they are not pictures of children they are vacation photos with pretty sunsets, palm trees, big tall glasses of wine, or something of the sort. If they aren’t photos and they are status updates they usually say something like, “So blessed to have the best husband ever who sent me huge flowers at work!” You get it, capture the pretty moments in life which, trust me, I am ALL about! If my husband sent me flowers, (God love him, but he is not typically a flower-sending-I’ll-surprise-the-hell-out-of-you-today-for-no-reason  type of guy), I would probably take a photo and upload it too. I have a ton of photos of my kids in super cute outfits, pretty sunsets, weekends at the cabin with big smiles around bonfires, and vacations. But, then there is real life. It’s the everyday life that we all live. Real life = My house is a mess. I clean it and then it’s a mess again in about 9.5 minutes. There are handprints all over the fridge. I seriously can’t make a pot of coffee without moving from the coffee pot to the cupboard without a baby crawling up my leg and clinging and hanging on for dear life who ends up coming along for the ride because I’m too tired to peel him off. A dog that won’t stop barking, kids that won’t stop talking or yelling or whining, a 2 year old who is weirdly obsessed with Les Miserables and sings it at the top of his lungs all morning until I successfully have a migraine, hockey sticks scattered around the kitchen that I trip over constantly, pinterest inspired crafts covering the table that look cute online but are always, “my-pinterest-craft-turned-out-like-crap,” a husband who asks what he should wear whenever we go somewhere because, God forbid, he dresses himself. (Hold on, wait wait, I take that back…this is a good thing. Nobody wants to see what he wears if he chooses his own outfits. Trust me. Think old flannel shirts and jeans with Birkenstock sandals that are totally hideous but he refuses to throw them away and still wears them in public.) He will say, “What is wrong with this? Flannels are back, baby!”  Oh, no, not those kinds of flannels. The cute, fitted, Urban Outfitters flannels are cool. That baggy mess is from American Eagle circa 1999 honey, but good try! :) And jammies. I am a huge fan of jammies.  Who cares if my baby stays in his jammies all day? I mean really, who wants to take a baby out of warm, cuddly jammies that have cozy feet built in? Who wants to put them in stiff, tight jeans and uncomfortable button up shirts when it’s -10 degrees outside just so he looks super cute and trendy while strolling through the aisles at Target? Oh wait, I did. That was me every time I took my older son, Mason, anywhere. In fact, Mason had to be perfectly accessorized as well.  “No, no, we can’t leave yet…I need to find a matching newsboy hat that goes with these super cute boy-capris and Minnetonka mocs, and this wayyy overpriced Polo shirt that I just had to have for my 3-6 month old”….poor baby Bennett. Bennett usually heads out of the house in Carters jammies that may or may not have banana squished into them somewhere from breakfast. But, his coat is over it so it’s fine, right? Ugh, okay maybe not but, that’s “real life”. Don’t worry, lots of my Facebook photos are of sweet little Bennett in cute distressed jeans, button up shirts, and fedora hats, (granted, most of them are now hand-me-downs or clearance rack items because I have been forced to be a bit more practical since the days of only-one-kid).

A typical day in my house - Bennett still in pajamas, Mason naked, (do I have the only two year old who is impossible to keep clothed? I'm starting to worry!) The big empty space where Christmas tree once was but now it's a toy-dump corner. Oh yeah, and my bra on the ottoman that was left there from a shower I was thinking about taking hours before this but realized that possibility was squashed when the baby woke up.  

So, the point of my blog is to celebrate the mess and beauty of everyday life. To remember my family’s milestones. Every mistake and hiccup at a time.  To embrace all of the imperfect moments that make life sort of perfect. My future posts may or may not include a 3^rd birthday in which the ONLY thing on his wish list is a freaking guinea pig that he talks about constantly. “Mason, what do you want to do today?” “Oh, oh, let’s go to Petco and visit my guinea pig I get when I turn 3!” Me: “How about a bike instead when you turn 3? Bikes are super cool and I think you would LOVE to learn to ride this summer?!” Mason: “Wellll, how about a bike AND a guinea pig because I really really want my guinea pig.” Also, a trip to Florida solo with two kids, (bound to be a complete sh*t show), my baby’s first birthday, and all of the unpredictable stuff in between. :)

They're plotting against us...as usual. #stopfreakingsplashing

Mealtime!

A Pinterest craft that you can't really screw up!