Over the last few weeks, the topics I have been writing about have been very heavy, such as Cy Baby’s developmental issues and my own issues with depression.

So for my own sake and my selfish reasons, I am changing it up today. Yes, I like to be real and talk about real life issues. But I also try to be a glass half-full type of person. I try to look on the bright side. I let myself have my sad time on the couch crying, but pick myself back up, put on some pants that don’t have an elastic waistband, and pull my shit together after searching for a ponytail holder for 45 minutes.

Because what is the point of living life if all we do is cry about the bad things? There are so many other awesome things going on that we need to be thankful for.

I’m not going to write out a list of all the things I’m thankful for because that ish would bore you. But just in case you want to buy me a present, I love a vanilla latte from Starbucks. Call me basic but they’re the best.

Any who…I’ve decided to return to my roots – my mom guilt roots. The reason I started this blog over a year and a half ago.

When I wrote my first mom guilt post, I was the mom to a two year old little boy. Now I am the mom to a four year-old little boy and an almost one year-old little boy. And my life has once again spun out of control. I am in charge of keeping two tiny humans alive and that in itself is absolutely terrifying. And a lot of times, I feel like I completely and totally suck at parenting.

So here is my list of things that have made me feel guilty as a parent lately. Once again, I am going to blindly type these without thinking too hard about them.

• My four year old had to ask ME to put sunscreen on him when we went to the pool the other day.
• Sometimes I let my baby wear his pajamas to bed, then to the sitters and then back to bed again.
• One day, I left Henry and Simon in the living room alone together and when I came back Henry had shoved Simon under the coffee table. It was a tight squeeze and he was very stuck.
• I still skip pages when I’m reading books to them at night.
• I feel guilty when I don’t read books to them at night. It makes me think that their brains aren’t being stimulated enough and they aren’t going to be smart.
• They don’t get baths every single night.
• I bribe Henry with candy ALL THE TIME.
• I handed my baby to a random stranger in a store once because I needed to rearrange items in my cart so he would fit.
• My four year-old’s bedroom smells like urine. I’ve changed his sheets, washed his clothes, and I don’t know where it is coming from. Hopefully not the vent he likes to hide his toys in.
• My one year-old’s bedroom smells like poop. Especially when I pop open that diaper genie. The smell could make your eyes water.
• I don’t feel guilty when I go out and leave my kids with their grandparents or a babysitter.
• I laid the baby down for tummy time one day and he just laid on the floor and cried like usual. When I picked him up, there was black dog hair stuck all over his face. It was disgusting. Like he had a little baby dog hair beard.
• Henry still doesn’t brush his teeth every night before bed. I even bought him an electronic Batman toothbrush but when he screams “NOOOOOO” and throws himself on the ground after a long day, I just don’t have the mental capacity to put up a good fight.
• Two words – SCREEN TIME. They get too much. It needs to end. But I also need to finish the last season of Gossip Girl.
• Henry laid down in the crosswalk at Kroger about six months ago because I wouldn’t let him take his foam sword inside the store with us. Total dead weight. I had to practically drag him across the blacktop while a line of cars waited for him to move. That was most definitely a highlight of my parenting life.
• And I would not allow the sword because the last time he took it in the grocery with him, he used it to knock down displays and any and everything else he could reach. It was clean up on aisles 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8 before I just gave up and left.

So yeah, you definitely can’t call me Mom of the Year. But I do the best I can while juggling a full time job and a million other things going on. And that’s all anyone can expect of me.

So I shouldn’t be so hard on me. And you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself either. Because I am sure there are far more things we have done right. Hopefully.

Until Next Time,
Jamie