My family definitely fits into the “don’t like coffee” category of people. In fact, they really don’t understand why I’ve suddenly started loving the stuff. Okay by me. It’s the one and only food/drink in this house I get all to myself. Ha! It’s mine. All mine!! (she says, lovingly.)
So for all the “don’t like coffee” people out there, including my family, who thinks my Homemade Chocolate Frappe looks really good but tastes really bad – here’s what I’ve come up with as a delicious alternative. Icy Cold Milkshake Treats. Instead of starting out with coffee ice cubes, simply start out with regular ice cubes. Instead of adding cold coffee and milk, simply add cream and milk. Instead of adding chocolate…oh wait. We’re still adding chocolate. Unless you want straight up vanilla. That works too.
2 cups ice cubes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use about 10 drops NuNaturals brand)
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (omit if you prefer a vanilla milkshake)
Blend ingredients together until slushy-like. Serve right away.
You’ll love how easy this is, how “real food” this is, and how it’s a treat completely void of sugar. It doesn’t get any better. (Unless you add coffee, but we’ve been through this already.)
Most of the ingredients in the list are in “give or take” proportions. You’ll figure this out if you actually try to measure 2 cups of ice cubes. Rectangle shaped ice cubes don’t cooperate very well in a round measuring cup.
In addition, you may want your shake to be creamier, smoother, sweeter, chocolatier, or with coffee. Oh wait. This one doesn’t have coffee in it. Well anyway, feel free to add more or less of any of the above listed ingredients to make this shake just what you want it to be.
As for me, I’m going to stick with the Homemade Chocolate Frappe. And I’m going to drink the entire blender of coffee goodness all by myself because no one else in my house likes it so I don’t have to share, so ha! (she says, with kindness.)
What do you think? Which will you like better? And which will your family members like better?
Original article and pictures take heavenlyhomemakers.com site
I’m Not Afraid to Use Essential Oils with my Kids Anymore
Sometimes, knowledge is power.
Other times, it’s just paralyzing.
When I finally started really digging into essential oils and learned that many of them aren’t recommended for kids, I freaked out a little bit. I had already used many on the list around and with my kids!
I felt like a horrible mom, like I might have hurt them while only trying to help. (I bet a lot of parents feel that way when their eyes are opened to Big Pharma and food processing realities, too…but that’s getting off subject here.)
My first instinct was just to pull back.
To quit, mostly.
I didn’t want to use any oils that might hurt my kids, so I didn’t use any at all for a few months.
Then I finally regained the bandwidth to read a bit more, and I added a few super safe oils back to my repertoire.
I ordered some White Fir to use instead of eucalyptus for congestion, and some Thyme for cleaning and antibacterial sorts of applications instead of the “hot” oil blends.
Now just this month, I finally feel equipped to really invest my time in using essential oils – and just in time, too, as cold and flu season is rapidly approaching.
The Boy Who Breathed Too Fast
Last year, whenever my then two-and-a-half-year-old would get a cold, it seriously affected his breathing – and even his heart rate.
Like, scare-the-parents-out-of-their-wits fast, inhaling about once every two seconds or faster. And his heart would just race like crazy, probably about 2 beats per second. You could hear him struggling to push out his breaths while talking, and while it didn’t hurt him and he didn’t complain at all – he pretty much acted like a normal boy with a little cold – it seemed really serious.
I could tell almost as soon as he got the sniffles if it was going to “go into his lungs” as I described it. What would start as a simple cold acquired from his sister would turn into a hot mess for this one.
I used whatever natural remedies I knew of for the first 24 hours of the cold and then felt compelled to take him to a doctor to make sure nothing uber-serious was going on. It was no big deal, and I learned what to watch for as far as breathing rate (over 40/second and we should call the doc so she can hear it herself).
I couldn’t help but wonder why this kid’s lungs seemed to be so weak – he had pneumonia twice as a toddler and whooping cough. So were those causes or effects?
Did any of the essential oils I had used in a steamy shower during his coughing episodes, some of which are not recommended for kids, permanently impact his lungs?
We had to delay a trip to Florida when my dad got cancer, and then we delayed our Disney day because John was breathing so fast…grateful we finally got to celebrate together here!
I had a lot of mommy guilt, even though I know it’s highly unlikely that his “weak lungs” could have been prevented or were caused by anything we did.
As we head into sick season again, I admit that I’m nervous for him.
I’ve found that if I catch the cold at its earliest, before it really digs its claws into him, and knock it out with heavy probiotics, immune boosters from TriLight Health, and immediate essential oil diffusion, I can usually “win” before anything sinks into his lungs. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of chances to test my theory since he’s starting preschool on Monday.
I’m determined not to let his heart rate get so high, so I’m going to have some kid-safe essential oil blends on hand – and I’m learning to make them myself.
I gained access to a 3-hour course on blending essential oils for cold and flu season (put on by the Aromahead Institute), and I admit I was hesitant at first. I saw the list of 5 essential oils to be used and instantly recognized one of them (eucalyptus) as a no-no for kids.
Do I really want to bother with this course? I thought.
I ended up emailing the instructor, certified aromatherapist Andrea Butje, and asked her how she addressed EO safety for kids.
Her answer was above and beyond.
She not only assured me that every blend in her course has a child-safe alternative (and now that I’m in it I see most have two!), but she also sent me an article she’d written all about aromatherapy oils and children.
That’s where I learned about hydrosols, which are healing aromatic water that’s a by-product of the essential oil distillation process.
Hydrosols have a lot of healing powers but they’re much gentler than EOs. Babies’ systems are very delicate and they don’t need a very strong substance to influence them to healing. Andrea uses German Chamomile and Lavender hydrosol – they can go on baby’s skin for a diaper rash or in bath water or on a blanket for aromatherapy.
She did say that one could use EOs with babies but that diffusing those same 2 very gentle ones for only about 15 minutes (before bed, for example) would be plenty. No need to leave the diffuser running overnight.
See below for a separate list and uses for EOs for children.
Did you know that essential oils have a shelf life?
Katie here, popping in to tell you that those essential oils that have been sitting in your cabinet for a couple years and are still half full may have expired. Read more about what I learned when researching this topic, and you can even have the handy printable I made to help me remember how long which oils last.
My New Wish List Oils Instead of the White Fir
Now that I’ve poked into Andrea’s course, I learned that Cedarwood is a better substitute for Eucalyptus in respiratory blends. It’s on my list for my next Plant Therapy order!
Want to see what I learned? I took a minute this morning to give YOU a sneak peek into the Aromahead cold and flu course so you can see exactly what you’re getting. Check it out:
If you can’t view the video above, see it on YouTube HERE.
More in Aromahead
If you’re wondering what you’d learn in the Aromahead course, here’s a bit more:
The Recipes
EACH recipe has an adult and child version!
No One Gets Sick in This House, daytime diffuser blend
Everyone Gets a Good Night’s Sleep, nighttime diffuser blend
Your Sinuses will Love You, daytime inhaler blend
Sleep Without Tissues, nighttime inhaler blend
We Love Being Germ Free! an aloe vera hand cleanser
Ready to learn more about using Herbs & Essential Oils so you can choose natural options instead of conventional ones?
My friends at Ultimate Bundles have put together an amazing package worth over $769 for only $47!
With 10 ECourses, 15 Ebooks and a printablethis is the ultimate resource to give you the skills, know-how and confidence to protect your health with natural remedies!
The Oils
If it seems like buying enough oils to blend your own would be too pricey, I have found Plant Therapy to be very inexpensive compared to other equal quality brands, and they have free shipping offered everyday. See for yourself:
Thyme ct. linalol (Thymus vulgaris ct linalol) (but I’m not positive this is the right one – it doesn’t say ct. linalol!)
Favorite Essential Oils for Children
I promised I’d share these tips from Andrea on essential oils that are recommended for kids under 10 and even some uses for them. It’s a chart I’m printing to hang inside my medicine cabinet!
Thanks to Andrea at the Aromahead Institute for permission to share this info with you!!!
EDIT: I’m surprised to see peppermint there because I’d always heard that it’s not recommended for little ones. In this post the note on peppermint says not to use it on kids under 6 in any fashion, so I’d stick with that! Always better on the safe side.
There’s a Vintage Remedies Course too!
If you wanted even more info, Vintage Remedies is also offering an essential oil class that is extensive – you’ll be amazed.
Vintage Remedies is well respected in the field for being a very balanced source of information, and in fact the entire first module is on how to properly find information. Love. That!
Wanna see inside?
If you can’t see the video above, click HERE to see it on YouTube.
This is the real deal – Andrea, Jessie and Amber, your instructors in both courses, are all certified aromatherapists.
I want to hear from you – what holds you back from using essential oils with your family? Or if you love them, why?
Disclosure: I am an affiliate with Aromahead Institute, Vintage Remedies and Plant Therapy.
Original article and pictures take www.kitchenstewardship.com site
I used to be one of those people who felt like you could get all the nutrition your body needs from food alone. But my husband encouraged me to start taking a high-quality multi-vitamin on a daily basis years ago and after I experienced the difference that it made in how I felt, I was sold and have been a faithful vitamin-taker ever since!
The truth is, when I take my vitamins, I operate so much better, get sick less often, and have so much more energy. Every once in awhile, I’ll be out of vitamins or forget to take them for a few days and I’ll begin to wonder why I’m feeling more lethargic and run down… and then I’ll realize I’ve not taken my vitamins in a few days!
If you’ve not been taking vitamins and you’re wanting to possibly start, here’s my encouragement to you:
1. Commit to Trying It
I encourage you to try taking a high-quality multi-vitamin for three months and see if you feel any difference. If you don’t, at least you know you’re not hurting anything to be getting some extra vitamins and minerals. ��
2. Do Your Research
There are lots of other vitamins out there to consider taking, but do your research before you just start popping pills. Too much of a good thing can sometimes be just that — too much.
In addition, I would recommend scheduling an appointment with your doctor to have routine bloodwork done to see if there are other vitamins or nutrients you’re deficient in. It’s very possible that your lack of energy is due to anemia or some other vitamin deficiency you’re experiencing and simply adding some additional vitamins or supplements might make a major difference.
3. Make It Part of Your Routine
I used to be really, really bad about consistently taking vitamins. Then, I learned a trick: I had to make it part of my routine. Instead of just trying to remember to take my pills sometime during the day, I made vitamin-taking part of my evening routine.
Now, it’s become such a habit, that I pretty much can’t go to bed unless I’ve taken my vitamins. And I feel so much better as a result!
Note: Many people will say it’s best to take vitamins in the morning. Because the multi-vitamin and 5htp sort of make my stomach queasy if I take them when I’m awake, so that’s why I’ve opted to take them at night.
Plus, I actually remember to take them then! I figure it’s better to actually get them taken — even if it’s not the ideal time — then not taken at all. ��
The Vitamins & Supplements I Currently Take
Over the years, I’ve come up with what the perfect vitamin combination is for me. I occasionally tweak it, but for the most part, I’ve kept it the same for quite some time. My favorite multi-vitamins are the NOW Foods Special Two Vitamins. I’ve been taking these for a long time and they really make a difference.
I also LOVE essential oils! Some of my favorites are Balance and Calming, Immune Strength, Thieves, OnGuard, and Tummy Rub. I don’t use these daily, but more on an as needed basis.
Day 14 Project
1. Do you take vitamins and supplements? If not, I encourage you to consider adding at least one quality multi-vitamin as a daily habit.
2. Do your research and decide what multi-vitamin is best for you. Order or buy it.
3. Decide when you will take it as part of your daily routine. Let us know in the comments!
Looking for some more practical help?
Want to work on getting more vitamins and nutrients from your food? Check out these Top 10 lists from Dr. Axe for ideas of what foods you should be eating.
Looking for a gummy vitamin for your kids to take that is also fairly high-quality? We love the SmartyPants Kids’ Gummies.
(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
For 15 days, we’re exploring the topic of making our health and well-being a priority as part of the 15 Days to a Healthier You series. You can read Day 1 here.
Before we go any further in this series, I think it’s important that we define self-care. It’s a term that gets bandied around a lot and I think it is often misused and abused.
The reality is this: I don’t want to just survive life. Thus, I’m not looking for survival tactics.
I want to thrive. I want to live life as my best, boldest, and bravest self. I want to live up to my fullest potential.
Yesterday I talked about the importance of making our health and well-being a priority, but I want to be clear: I’m not making self-care a priority so I can cope with life. I don’t want to limp along through life just trying to make it.
I want to prioritize self-care so I can succeed in life. So I can grow stronger, embrace life more fully, love more enthusiastically, live more generously, and serve others more wholeheartedly.
The Difference Between Self-Care & Self-Comfort
I heard Megan and Kelly on the Sorta Awesome show recently discussing the differences between self-care and self-comfort and I thought it was really profound. I think it’s important that we define what this looks like in our own life. It can be easy to confuse the two.
What Self-Care Is: Making our health and well-being a priority. Listening to and attending to what our body and soul needs so that we are able to live our lives with energy and purpose.
What Self-Care Isn’t: Numbing ourselves from reality, using coping mechanisms, or turning to addictive behavior to try to survive life.
To help you understand where I’m coming from with this, let me give you a really practical example. Let’s say your child fell down and skinned their knee and it was bleeding pretty seriously. Yes, you should comfort your child, but you also need to care for your child by getting the bleeding to stop, getting medical attention (if necessary), and bandaging up the wound.
Comfort can be very important, but it’s not enough if our souls are bleeding. We can’t just slap a warm hug or chocolate ice cream and a chick flick on as a bandage labeled “self-care” and think that all will be well.
No, we need to stop the bleeding. And often, that means we first need to determine where the bleeding is actually coming from in the first place.
To me, this is what self-care is. It’s not a temporary fix that might make you feel better in the moment but does nothing for you long-term. Self-care is dealing with root causes, healing from deep wounds, and working on permanent solutions to struggles.
Pay Attention to the Pain; Listen to Your Tears
Until you are willing to admit there is pain, you can’t figure out where it’s coming from or how to fix it. So today, I want you to get really honest with yourself and ask: What’s bleeding? Where does it hurt? Am I trying to cope with life because I’d rather avoid a painful situation? Am I self-medicating in some way in order to mask what I’m really feeling deep down?
That’s how you get to the heart of what’s hurting and discover where the pain points are. These answers might not be obvious at first. They might require some intense soul-searching. They might dredge up things you’d rather stuff down and pretend don’t exist. They might invoke tears or a knot at the pit of your stomach.
Pay attention to the tears. Pay attention to the anxiety rising inside of you. Don’t dismiss it. Don’t run from it.
Instead, when you feel the tears or the anxiety, stop and let yourself stay in it. Ask yourself, “Where is this coming from? What triggered this? Why am I feeling this?”
What Does Your Soul Need?
Remember how yesterday we talked about how taking care of ourselves will look different for different people and I encouraged you to make a list of what energizes you? Today, I want to drill down further and I want you to really ask yourself, “What does my soul need?”
This is a question I’ve really been asking myself the past 6 months as part of my Year of Rest.
I’ve talked about the Year of Rest multiple times on the blog and on social media. So many people have commented with things like, “I’m sure that’s been amazing!” Or, “Are you feeling all rested and refreshed?” Or, “It must be so incredible.”
The truth is: It has been wonderful — but not at all in the way I was expecting. I was expecting a year of rest to be filled with more sleep, more time with my family, more fun, more reading, more time for things I love. And it has been that… and that’s been wonderful.
But what has completely caught me off guard is that it’s also been a year of ugly crying. I’m not a crier, usually. I can be the only one in a group to experience something deeply touching without ever shedding a tear. I’m known to be stoic and non-emotional.
That’s all changed this year, however. I’ve probably cried more tears than I have in all the past 20 years put together.
As I’ve been weaning myself off my addiction to “hustle” and intentionally sought quietness and stillness in my life, I’ve struggled to figure out who I am without all of the noise, the accolades, and the accomplishing.
I’ve realized that the busyness was a bandage I tried to slap on. Instead of addressing deep wounds and aches and longings in my soul; I tried to medicate with productivity.
It felt good in the moment. It numbed the pain. It filled the empty spaces. And as long as I kept up the out-of-breath living, I didn’t have to confront the reality or deal with the broken parts of me I’d rather hide.
I realized that instead of dealing with the pain and hurt and hard situations of life over the past number of years, I’d stuffed them down deep, pretended they didn’t exist, and heaped on more busyness to distract myself.
What Self-Care Looks Like in This Season for Me
As I’ve asked myself, “What does my soul need?” I’ve realized that self-care in this season has been me allowing myself to cry. Allowing myself space to really feel. To acknowledge the pain. To open up with safe friends in safe spaces about how much my heart feels broken by situations in my past.
Self-care has meant letting other people see the under-belly of who I really am. It’s meant welcoming people into the authentic messiness and rawness and not apologizing.
It’s been ugly and real… and oh so healing for me! Allowing myself the space and permission to feel, the permission to acknowledge the pain, and welcoming people in to see that I’m a broken, hot mess some days, has made me so much stronger, happier, and healthier than I’ve been in, well, probably ever.
Self-care has also looked like making weight-lifting a priority, giving myself permission to gain a little weight, becoming more spontaneous, working a whole lot less, experimenting with new things, saying “yes” to what once would have seemed way too crazy for me, sleeping more, and making space for a whole lot more fun in my life. {Read more about all of this here.}
Note: Want to talk more about this with me live? I’d love to have you join me on Periscope (around 8 to 8:15 a.m. CT) and Facebook live (around 8:30 a.m. CT) every morning where we’ll be discussing each day’s topics more in-depth and you can bring your questions, chat with others, and we can share together what we’re learning! (You can watch today’s Facebook Live video here.)
Day 2 Project
Is there deep pain or past wounds you’ve been trying to stuff down, hide, or run from for a long time? Give yourself permission to acknowledge these, cry about them, grieve your losses, and process the hurt with a safe person. {If you feel comfortable sharing in the comments section here, I welcome that. You are also more than welcome to email me privately if you’d like a safe place to share. I would be honored to listen and pray for you.}
Ask yourself, “What does my soul need?” Give yourself time and space to really contemplate and ponder that question. If you feel comfortable, tell us in the comments section what self-care looks like for you in this season of life.
I Don’t Want to Build an Empire; I Want to Build a Community
The year 2014 was huge for this blog and my business.
Social media numbers grew. Subscriber numbers grew. Relationships with other bloggers grew (at least on a surface level). Income grew. And traffic went through the roof to numbers I only dreamed I would one day see.
Other bloggers and even real-life friends began putting me on a pedestal. People said things like:
“You’re superwoman!”
“You’re famous!”
“You have built an empire!”
I even had people stop me in real life and say: “Are you Erin from the internet?”
Some people felt guilty or like they didn’t measure up when comparing themselves with their online image of me:
“Mmkay, I want to know how you run your blog, maintain a social media presence, work on a book proposal, cook all real food for your family, homeschool part of the week, read five books AND rest,” a college friend commented on one of my Facebook posts one day. “I really hope that’s what your book is about!”
When I look back over my 2014 blogging goals, I met them all.
When my blogging mentor–who is one of the top bloggers in the industry–told me she had not met many of her business goals for 2014 but had more margin in her life, deeming the year a home run success, I longed for what she described.
So for 2015, I designated my one word to be “deeper.”
Deeper online relationships (really pouring into a few specific online friends instead of the masses of acquaintances).
Deeper real-life community.
And, most of all, going deeper with my family and my faith.
This sentiment was only strengthened during my family’s time in Costa Rica. Although we were just there for five fast weeks, we embedded ourselves with the people. We lived with a Costa Rican woman for part of the trip, and we embraced the culture and the language.
Coming home has been difficult and a bit disillusioning, if I am honest.
Costa Ricans, like much of the world, don’t live with the stress that comes with the desire for more and more and more. Their lives are simple. The vast majority get by with the basics.
Yet, with little material possessions compared to their North American counterparts, they are happier than most U.S. citizens who live in excess.
I’m tired of the American rat race for more money and more stuff.
It’s not a problem isolated to the corporate world and suburbs. The pursuit of more things at the expense of relationships, health, and sanity has infiltrated every aspect of our culture, including blogging.
When I started this blog 4 1/2 years ago, the entire online atmosphere was different.
It was about community and encouragement. It was a whole lot more personable. Yes, plenty of bloggers were making money at the time, but they did not cheapen their work or disregard their dignity in order to do so.
They were real.
The blogosphere has taken a shift in recent years. The focus now is on more pageviews, more money, more fame.
Rich content has been replaced with cheap copycat round-ups.
Deep connections have been replaced with quick click-throughs.
Encouragement and ministry have been replaced with more money-making ventures.
As I listened to the keynote speaker at a blogging conference a couple years back, I cringed as she stated: “So what if I’m not the mom who bakes muffins with my kids? I can laugh at those moms because I’m making 6 figures on my blog.”
God has provided more financially through this blog than I ever imagined possible, but I ask myself: “When is enough enough?”
I can always make more money, but I can never regain this precious time with my girls. They are growing up fast, and I don’t want their childhood memories clouded by their mother’s laptop and her index finger held up, saying: “Just one more minute. I have to answer one more email or respond to one more comment on Facebook.”
I have not kept it secret that my family runs this blog as a business (and, for now, we will continue to do so), but I have purposely distanced myself from those bloggers who see their platforms as nothing more than wealth-building stages.
I’ve left Facebook groups and have narrowed my circle of influence to those who share my same value system and who place God first, families second, and readers next–knowing that it’s the Lord who provides the income from our work.
I don’t want to keep building an empire as if this relative success comes from me. When I’m in the spotlight, God takes a backseat. This should not be.
I’m not abandoning blogging all together, but I’m praying hard about how this next season will look. My firstborn is about to enter 1st grade, and my younger two are not far behind her.
These little years are so fleeting, and after this summer, I am more convinced than ever that strong familial relationships start now–not when they are teenagers.
I will continue to write. And I will continue to run a business to generate an income for my family and to bring God glory.
I don’t pretend to have heard God’s voice audibly, but perhaps one of the closest I’ve ever got was in the newspaper office of my college campus during my senior year. I told God: “I want to be a foreign missionary.” Immediately, I felt Him impress upon me: “Erin, you will reach more through writing.”
And so, I write.
I don’t know exactly what that writing will look like from here on out, but I do know this: I am done with the rat race. My desire is to sink my roots in deeper to this community, leave the empire building to others.
Have you felt a shift in the online world in the past few years? How can we grow deeper communities in the internet age?
p.s.
Earlier this summer, I watched this video clip of Joanna Gaines of the TV show “Fixer Upper.” In it, she talks about God’s hand in her life and business. I hope it will encourage you–no matter your season in life.
Original article and pictures take thehumbledhomemaker.com site
I was great with child exactly five years ago, sweltering in my hugeness with heat radiating from concrete, counting down the weeks until. Then on a bright and sunny afternoon in September I birthed a child and took the title, “mother”, just like that. Boom.
For all of these years since, I thought I was just a mama. Just an average mama with three babies in less than four years and significantly less sleep. Arguably less sanity, to be sure.
Actually I’m not “just” a mom. As it turns out, I am supermom.
Today I heaved a 15kg bag of rice up to the countertop with one arm while balancing a fussy, chunky one-year-old on my opposite hip, jiggling and kissing his head while measuring two cups of rice and four of water without spilling a single grain.
Yesterday I boasted herculean efforts in patience as my three and five-year-olds were caught drawing all over the walls with crayon (again) and I didn’t yell.
I also spent the morning doing approximately thirty-seven things simultaneously while negotiating peace agreements in the playroom with repeat offender toy tyrants, all while keeping them fed and stocked with clean underwear, and the other day I even went *ahem* number two while holding the screaming, teething baby rather than subject him to the torture known as The Floor. I know, I know. Amazing.
It doesn’t stop there.
I am a person-growing, baby-birthing, human-being-raising woman who loves with ferocity. Like a tribal warrior only with less piercings and more yoga pants.
The other day I hoisted up my heavy 3 and 1-year-olds, each on one hip, because they were both wailing for goodness-knows-what. Each. On. One. Hip. Combined they equal half of my weight, and there I stood in the kitchen with a bubbling pot and a beeping timer and eleventy billion urgent tasks calling my name, shushing and hushing and swaying, kissing their sweaty summery heads until their hearts calmed merely by my presence and my touch. My heart exploded a thousand times like tiny fireworks and I felt like supermom.
A few weeks ago I took four kids 5 & under (one is my niece) to Costco for groceries. If that doesn’t earn you a supermom badge, my friends, NOTHING WILL.
I have had more poop and pee and boogers and snot (every mom knows there’s a difference between those two) and blood, sweat, and tears (oh, the drama and tears) wiped on my shoulder and beyond than what I ever conceived possible.
Without fail every evening I muster up the patience yet again to walk the wandering wee one back to bed for “one more kiss” and a good night.
I juggle the grocery budget like the CFO of a Fortune 500 and I make (usually) healthy meals and snacks every. single. freaking. day (dear God, why do they want to eat EVERY DAY?!). I can balance 46 things in my arms while entertaining multiple children and stirring something on the stove, multi-tasking the dishwasher unload and reload times eleven.
I let them “help” make dinner, and I clean up from their “help” while thanking them profusely.
Staying up late. Getting up early. Oops, trying to get up early… to work and earn some extra income for our family. Sun-up to sundown it goes, around and around and around again.
I buckle them into carseats. And out. And in. And out. And in. And out AGAIN. I trudge up the stairs for the diaper cream when he’s getting rashy even though my legs are oh-so-tired, I rock and I rock and I breathe deep and nurse and try my best to drink it all in while simultaneously trying to avoid feel guilty for not enjoying it more.
I keep hearing the collective cry of my mama friends saying that supermom doesn’t exist. Supermom is a myth.
I beg to differ, dear ones.
I see supermom every single day when I look into the mirror and cringe at the tired circles under my eyes and the jiggly junk in the trunk. I don’t just see a doughy soft, exhausted mom. I see supermom staring back at me.
Those eyes may be tired and the frolic may be all but dimmed but I’ll be darned if I don’t see a little bit of it showing through. It’s the supermom magic leaking out, peaking out from the mundane liturgy of laundry and diapers and gobs of patience with unreasonable tiny humans that we love so tight.
Also? I believe you round out the superhero team in plenty of ways I lack.
You are a working mom, a special-needs-mom, a mom battling depression with every fiber of your unshowered being. You are an overwhelmed and stressed out mom. You are sitting in the carpool lane because your kids go to public school or you are staying up late and bleary-eyed into the night to prep for tomorrow’s homeschooling. You are a quiet mom, a mom-with-a-yelling-problem-trying-to-change, a mom whispering prayers for her kids and for her sanity all at once. Dear God, please let us keep a teeny tiny bit of the sanity. You are the super-duper tucker-inner and you have secret superpower handshake hugs that make little boys’ eyes twinkle with delight.
You possess magical powers for ice-cream-eating after the kids are in bed, and for this – I salute you. And join you.
We do incredible, mind-blowing things that strangers “out there in the world” gape at, slack-jawed and amazed. We are mothers, and we are amazing.
I am supermom.
And so are you.
Original article and pictures take redandhoney.com site
