To give you a good laugh this Monday and to beat the Monday blues, my friend, Katie Clark (published author and a dear friend), and I thought we would share our hot mess mama stories with you. I’m a hot mess mama, but I’m not alone! Katie is too, and we own every minute of it. Well, I own it once I call her, because this recovering perfectionist can get really bogged down by the perfect images I see on Pinterest, social media feeds, commercials, and catalogs. More on that at the end of the post. Here are a few of our hot mess mama stories to make your Monday:
I once showed up to my son’s friend’s birthday party two weeks early… so it wasn’t really his friend’s birthday party at all. I only realized my mistake after my son sat down in the karate circle, looked around the group, and then turned around and mouthed to me from the other side of the glass, “These aren’t my friends!” I then slowly looked around at the other parents and realized none of them looked familiar. HAHAHA! I confirmed with the party head that I had arrived two weeks early, at which point I motioned to my son to come see me. We slinked out of there as quietly as possible. Do you think anyone noticed? Hahaha! When we got in the car my son said to me, “Mommy, I love you a lot, but right now I feel like hitting you.” I replied back, “Yeah buddy, that’s what embarrassment feels like. I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, that’s not the last time mommy’s going to embarrass you.” After all, it’s a right of passage, right? Roll with it! #hotmessmama
One time Katie forced her daughter to stay at the table until she finished her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Her daughter was being whiny (for a reason unknown to her mother) because the sandwich was “hot”. She said,”Mom, it’s burning my tongue”. WHAAT? Katie thought. That’s a load of garbage. Eat the darn sandwich. We’re not wasting food. “But Mom,” her 6 year old complained, “It really is HOT.” “Alright,” Katie said, “if I take a bite, you can take a bite.” So… Katie took a bite and her teeth sunk into Knotts jalapeño jelly. She immediately felt terrible, but owned the situation. Roll with it! #hotmessmama
Katie once sent to her daughter to school for a book character parade as Eliza Jane from her children’s book, River Royals. Her daughter was all decked out- mascara as freckles on her cheeks, two braids down the side of her head– the whole shebang. After she dropped her daughter off, she was talking to some other mom’s in the front of the school asking them what they sent their child to school as for the book character parade. Well, one mom kindly replied, “Oh, the book character parade? That’s next Friday.” Katie didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or throw up. Well, she did none of the above and instead sprinted to her daughter’s classroom. When she looked through the window in the door, she saw that her daughter had sunk down in her chair and was wiping the mascara freckles off with her finger. Katie felt absolutely horrible! The sweet teacher let her come outside, and Katie helped her regroup and get rid of her costume. Roll with it! #hotmessmama
I have a penchant for forgetting the most necessary items needed on family vacations. There was the time I forgot earplugs for my son who just had tubes put in his ears and couldn’t get them wet, and the time I forgot swim trunks on the beach vacation. “I promise boys, we can go swimming first thing tomorrow morning!” Not so fast! Oh, and the trip I forgot to pack the boy’s underwear and my underwear. I promise I make a list. I really do. I just don’t look at the list. HAHAHA! Roll with it! #hotmessmama
I have to be honest, I have a tendency to get really down on myself when I goof-up as a mom because of my own childhood stuff. I find myself striving to be this perfect mom that doesn’t exist. That’s when I call my friend Katie, who reminds me that life’s everyday imperfections with our children teach them to “roll with it”! She reminds me convenience doesn’t build character. In fact, these funny stories are the memory makers! Our children are going to have similar goof-ups, and it’s my hope that they look back on how we as parents handled these situations and realize that we “rolled with it”.
What are your #hotmessmama stories? Please share! We all want a good laugh! Maybe we can start a series!
Picture by Traci Ling
