Drops of Awesome

As a mom, wife, sister, daughter, neighbor, and friend I often feel inadequate.  I am a guilt person.  I feel guilt about everything.  I feel guilt about forgetting to sign my kids up for basketball.  I feel guilt when we don't have enough groceries in the house.  I feel guilt when I sleep in late and am still a zombie when my kids leave for school.  I feel guilt when I think negative thoughts about my husband and children, especially when I say them out loud.  I feel guilt when I can't get my jeans on.  I feel guilt when I chose sleep over the gym.  I feel guilt when I can't make it through the day without a Dew.  I feel guilt when we don't have any clean spoons for breakfast.  I feel guilt when I yell at my kids.  I feel guilt when I'd rather watch "Say Yes to the Dress" than play Slap Jack with my daughter.  I feel guilt daily.  And I have always just assumed that most women and mothers are the same way.  I still like to believe that because for some reason it brings me peace and some added confidence to feel like I'm "normal".  Why is it so hard to admit and recognize that I'm not as bad at my job as I think I am?  I don't know.  But it is.  So when I read the following blog post from a woman I've never met, I realized that 1) I'm not alone in my feelings, and 2) I need to celebrate the many things I do well each day and let my so-called failures slide off my back.  

Especially with Easter tomorrow I wanted to share this story.  Please take the time to read it.  It will not disappoint.  It not only expresses how I often feel as a mother but reminds us all that we are not alone in this journey.  Happy Easter!  Help yourself to a few extra drops of awesome!

Gasping For Air

It has been a long long long time since my last blog post.  There is part of me that has really missed jotting down my thoughts and the random happenings of my life.  But then there is that other part of me that didn't miss Squeaky-Poo one bit because I've been too busy NOT LOSING MY MIND!!!!

Okay.  That might be overly dramatic.  But I will say that since my last post I have mothered 5 children on a daily basis, worked part time, been an extraordinary wife (cough, cough, exaggeration), moved into a new home, rocked the holidays, waited out the winter, and, well, ya know.......survived.  Yep.  That's the most important.  Survival.  Cuz the truth is, there have been days (more than I can count) in the past year that have been so crazy, so stressful, so chaotic, and so challenging that it has taken every ounce of patience and Mt. Dew that I could gather to just survive.  Who knew?  I suck at this!  And I am neither joking nor fishing for compliments.  This is 100% raw honesty at it's finest for all you over achiever mothers.  Moving is hard.  Having a new baby is hard.  Having 5 kids is hard.  Working from home is hard.  Being a wife is hard.  Cooking and cleaning are hard.  Shaving my legs is hard.  Zipping up my jeans is hard.  Getting out of bed is hard!  But I'm proud to say that I have pushed through the hard, and yes, not only have I survived but I am quite enjoying the journey.  Love it in fact.  

Love it!

I'm not quite sure how long or how often I'll be able to keep up the blogging.  I'm quite awful at it in fact.  But it is somewhat therapeutic for me to unload some of my thoughts.  So I'm not throwing in the towel yet.  I can not, however, promise or commit to how often I'll blog or even that my posts will be worth reading.  But I can promise that they will be completely truthful.  Because life is hard.  I do suck at my job.  But my monkeys haven't fired me yet (knock on wood) so I'll be back at it in the morning.  And let me just applaud all of you women out there whether you're a stay at home mom or a working mom or both.  You are amazing!  How do you do it?!!!!

Photo Shoot

Adjusting to 5 little monkies is still taking some getting use to, hence the lack of blogging.  But I love it!  Is it possible and even legal for me to have 5 children?  I guess so because all 5 little people are still in my custody.  (knock on wood)  Our little Emmy is the sweetest little girl.  Between the four older kids and Handsome and I we fight over her constantly.  I just can't get enough of her!  So in contrast to my regular blog posts, here are a few pics of my little ones that I think turned out quite fabulous.  Yes, I'm pulling out the good old blog bragging.  Deal with it.  My good friend Clarissa is one of the most talented and creative people I know.  I honestly couldn't be happier with how these turned out.  To see more of her work and learn about what a stud she is, go to

 http://clariphoto.blogspot.com.