When mom is preoccupied the kids are in full force destruction mode. I don’t like being distracted through the day but some days it just happens with whatever is going on in my head. Have you ever been there? They destroy everything in sight and decide the best time to get into fights or make a mess is when mom is on the phone to a bank or a long lost friend from across the country. Today was one of those destruction days. My house has been in less than company clean status lately. You know the clean my mom used to say “I want this house clean for the president of the united states”. So here we are already in mess mode and mommy is distracted and the toddler decides she wants some strawberries. So I cut a few and put them in a bowl and sat them on the kitchen stool but was that enough for her? Nope. She climbed back up on the chair and began using the knife to cut more strawberries. (disclaimer: She didn’t have a knife very long). So I take the knife away to a safe place and clean up the strawberries. Here are some other destruction pictures and stories.
This particular day I was trying to make fun memories during Christmas break. I had made a bunch of cookies for the kids to decorate and then made frosting for them to decorate the cookies with. It was going great until little J decided to crawl up on the bar stool while I wasn’t watching and get into the cake frosting dye. It was put away and the lids were screwed tight (obviously not tight enough). She also had just learned to climb onto the stools and I was just getting used to this “New” phanomino . So now shes covered in food coloring and its a church night so I put her in the bath. Miss J went to church with pink streaks in her hair and VERY pink lips. I did laugh and take pictures of this moment because I have learned from past mistakes. I also have learned to keep records of these moments because they will be funny later.
The next story happened a few years ago, my youngest boy C was a newborn baby and the other two W and D were 2 years old and 4 years old. All of a sudden they come in the house and D is covered with black paint. After I screamed a little and then started cleaning the boys up I called my husband in tears “Please come home” I begged. That day I couldn’t laugh I actually got very angry. W said D wanted to be painted and W decided it was up to him to paint him and his entire front of his body`s . I can laugh about all these times now but in the moment especially the painting story was NOT very funny. D recovered his skin color and we all recovered when daddy came home.
I have learned that you can either laugh or cry during these moments. Now I try to laugh more. But there are the times I get overwhelmed and cry. These are some of the ways I have learned to deal with these moments that make you angry at times.
Stay calm! If you are calm everyone else will be calm.
Pray! I know some of you who read this may not have the same Christian faith I do but prayer helps for me.
Write it down! This is exactly what I am doing here!
My house being clean makes life run a lot smoother. (I will share my cleaning methods another time)
Have a plan! If you don’t have a plan chaos will overtake everything.
I have been in the chaos mode of living for a long time and I hope through the days that I write I will be able to tell you more about my motherhood journey. Now I feel like my house is no longer in chaos and I hope to be able to share the ways and things I have done and tried and failed at and succeeded at throughout the next posts on this blog.
For now I’m signing off
From one woman to another
Jenny Ren