Cereal for Breakfast

My kids eat cereal for breakfast. The other day I woke up to cereal spilled all over the floor — the dog, cats and all 6 kids were on the ground eating it. Just kidding…not all 6 kids.

They usually wake up at 7am, walk into our room, grab the iPads and go upstairs to make their pancakes and eat their cereal while dad and I continue sleeping. AND that’s ok. My kids’ rooms are always a mess and their beds are never made. AND that’s ok. They live in pajamas. AND that’s ok. When we are in school, we rush out the front door in a crazy mess. AND that’s ok. Sometimes we even have three tv’s and a projector with the big game on in the living room. AND that’s ok! We have been to the ER at least four times. AND that’s ok (well we try to keep that to a minimum!).

I was reading something recently where I started feeling bad about myself as a parent. I had just sat down on my chair outside, sighed in a deep breath to relax. The kids were asking me all morning to go swim with them in the lake. So I put on my swimsuit, a pair of shorts, changed my glasses into contacts and got Mia dressed. With Mia trailing behind me, the big kids running down the path, I walked out the back door to our patio. I put Mia in the wagon, with all the towels, my book and phone, grabbed her life vest and an inner tube from the metal racks outside and handed them to Mia to hold. Finally with Bo running in front of us, Mia and I make our way down. It is not a long walk, but with a broken wagon wheel and tree roots stuck out of the ground, it takes a bit of my energy to pull down the path. We reached the pool chairs and I take Mia out to strap on her life vest. I spread out my towel, explain to the kids I want to relax a minute before I get in and then open my book.

It was the second or third chapter. This mom author was definitely trying to relate and say it is ok to turn on the tv at 5pm for her kids so she could rest after a hard days work. Instead of making me feel better, I was like, shoot, the tv is on and off all day long at my house! I have six kids. I am screaming shut the door all day long. I am screaming don’t hurt your sister, stop hitting your brother, stop sitting on the dog, stop peeing outside (to my daughter!), etc. all the while cleaning the house, folding the clothes and changing my 3 year old’s diaper! It’s exhausting.

I started thinking, ladies, when did we stop enjoying life and start feeling ashamed for turning on the tv?! We need to rest, go for a run and breathe every once in a while without feeling this way. BECAUSE IT IS OK!

I remember being a first time mom. Charlee Mae had no sugar, no bread, no meat before she was one. She only had breast milk for the first seven months of her life, on demand! She never ate cereal, well unless someone snuck her some! We did the cloth diapers even on vacations! We had the glass bottles. We did the wooden toys. We did the baby wearing, oil loving, in bed by 6pm. She was walking before 1, potty trained before 2, blah, blah blah. I researched all.the.things. which is ok, but I was stressed all.the.time.

AND then Levi came around. Our sweet, big-headed (literally) baby Levi.  He scooted on his butt until he was 18 months. He loved sweets and all the toys! We tried cloth diapers until he leaked all over the place and I gave up. I felt like a failure.

AND then Mia came along and she changed everything. She did everything on her own time. We started slowing down and going with the flow. Our perspective started to change. We still believe in her and will expect her to do her best, but my expectations came down to a normal level.

AND then the three big kids came. All things went out the window…BUT guess what?! I find myself looking up in the sky and breathing more. I find myself taking walks around our yard, laying in the hammock drinking a glass of wine while my kids sit inside and watch their tv and iPads! AND that is ok. My kids are also more independent, fun-loving, breakfast-making, make-believing, fish-catching, lake-swimming, trouble-making kids! I am still exhausted, but I can breathe. AND that it ok!

We are called to raise our kids to know and love Jesus and love others. Momma, that is the most important thing. Let’s start encouraging each other to focus more on the eternal and less on the day-to-day. Let’s remember to tell each other how wonderful we are. IT WILL ALL BE OK! This post is just as much for me as it is for you. We are good moms! Let’s start enjoying life, NOW!

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!” Luke 12:27-28.