Campbell Patch Mom Squad: Mommy Confessions

Before we were parents, we had parenting down cold. We knew what kind of parents we’d be, what we’d do and what we wouldn’t, and would NEVER have THOSE kinds of kids. But then we had kids, and guess what? It’s a WHOLE different ball game.

This week, we’re sharing our dirty little Mommy secrets.

Bethany:

1. I don’t keep my kids’ “artwork.”

My kids love to color, paint, and do stickers. They love it so much in fact that I just leave a box of crayons, safety scissors, glue sticks, and stickers along with a stack of construction paper and coloring books out on their little table. It’s become a permanent fixture in our living room.

They make creation after creation and if I kept them all, I would have either no space left on my refrigerator or walls, or a giant box full of papers. Neither one works for me. I hang some of them up for a while and then rotate them out when they make new ones. I do keep some of them, but I just don’t see the point in keeping all of them.

2. My (almost) 2 year-old still has milk in a baby bottle.

Yep, that’s right. Before having kids this was one of those things that annoyed me when parents did. It was something that I swore I’d never do when I had my own kids. Ha! “Before kids me" was so naive ...

In my defense, it’s not that he drinks from a bottle all the time. Usually he drinks from a sippy cup or a “big boy” cup.  He only has milk in a bottle before sleep and in the car. OK, OK ... and maybe a couple other times. But that’s it! My daughter did too until she was 2, then I cut her off. So I plan on doing that with him as well. The key word here is plan.

3. I use the TV as a baby sitter.

Hey, a Mom’s gotta shower some time! So they watch a show here and there, that doesn’t make me a bad Mom.

It gives me a break from the constant flow of questions and snack requests, gives them a break from bickering with each other over who had the coveted toy first, and afterwards we’re all ready to move on to another activity.

I can shower, or cook dinner and know that for about 20 minutes, they are in one spot and not getting into trouble.

4. I let my kids eat junk food.

Please don’t get all preachy on me for this one. I am well aware of the nutritional information for junk food and fast food. We don’t have it very often, but it’s nice to have a little treat now and then.

My kids are healthy and not even close to being overweight, they eat healthy foods all day everyday, so I don’t think it’s such a big deal for them to have a little something different once in awhile.

5. Sometimes I raise my voice.

I’m only human. Sometimes I lose my cool and raise my voice, even yell at times. It’s not my finest parenting moment, but it does happen. I always feel terrible afterwards and vow not to do it again, but as I said, I’m only human.

There are some days when I handle stress better than others, but then there are the days when I feel like it’s just one thing after another.

Life with kids is messy, stressful, noisy, and even really hard to handle sometimes. This is not to say that I don’t absolutely LOVE my life with my kids, it’s just real and real life is not perfect.

Nicole:

Well ... I have to say that almost all of the things Bethany does ... I do too! I’m not gonna lie, that’s just life. But here are a few more Mommy Confessions!

1. I bribe my kids.

Yup. I do it. I remember before I was a parent, I always saw parents bribing their kids and I would say “Oh I would NEVER do that.” Fast forward to now ... I TOTALLY do it.

If my kids are having a meltdown getting from the park to the car, heck yes I’m going to remind them there is an applesauce waiting for them in the car. Of course, I try and remind them that it’s not ok to flip out once we’re in the car, but getting them to the car in a calm manner is pretty important so we all don’t lose it!

2. Naptime is my favorite time of day.

OK I LOVE spending time with my kids ... absolutely adore them ... otherwise why the heck would I be a stay at home Mom? But sometimes I need a break and unlike parents who get out of the house during the day, there isn’t a coffee break I can take or a water cooler to hang out at.

So yes, naptime is one of my favorite times of the day. I get to restore a little sanity while my kids do too. After naptime is also one of my favorite times of the day because we’re all raring and ready to go!

3. Bath time is ... not as often as I would hope.

My kids are little dirtbags in the BEST way possible. They love to play outside, get dirty, muddy and gross! I think it’s awesome. Sad fact is, I don’t give them a bath everyday ... and sometimes ... it’s not every other day.

I promise they aren’t smelly or disease ridden. Sometimes 7:00 p.m. rolls around and they are a rip roaring mess and it’s just easier to wait until tomorrow!

4. I pick the shortest books.

Bedtime in our house is a pretty long process. Our kids LOVE to read so reading sometimes takes a half hour. Our kids each get 3 books ... and sometimes I pick the shortest books on the shelf so that it goes from a half hour to five minutes. Hey, at least I’m reading to them ... right??

5. Sometimes I hold a grudge.

Who holds a grudge against a 3 year old?? Oh ... me. Sometimes when my kids have done something pretty bad earlier in the day, they’ve been reprimanded, and they’ve moved on ... I haven’t.

I’m still so upset that they acted that way and I carry that anger through the day. It’s not fair to anyone, but I’m only human and I’m working on it!

We are not perfect nor are we “experts” on parenting or kids. We are real people and Moms doing our best, and that’s all any of us can do!

You can also check out the Campbell Patch Mom Squad on Facebook or Twitter! We share our articles, community events, thoughts on parenting, parent related current events, and more. We also welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions anytime!

What are some of your Mommy confessions? We’d love to hear from you all! Please share with us in the comments below.