I’d so be IRL friends with this week’s guest blogger. I love her approach to being a mom. Please welcome Janae from Diaries of a Grumpy Grateful Mom.
I’ve had some amazingly embarrassing moments.
Like when I got the great idea to limbo under a volleyball net back in my junior high gym class. My braces caught on the bottom net wire, came unglued and made a loop above my upper lip. The orthodontist exclaimed, “In all my years, I’ve NEVER seen anything like this!”
Then there was the short-lived time I was a TV news anchor and accidentally started laughing hysterically on the air. Surprisingly they fired me, excuse me, I mean didn’t renew my contract. Also embarrassing.
I can laugh about these things now, though at the time, I believe those incidents were worthy of my embarrassment.
Yet, there are other everyday happenings that are not so worthy of my embarrassment. I try to be open about some of my faults, though I feel that if people knew too many of my shortcomings, I might have to hide under a rock. But I don’t want to waste any more energy feeling this way.
So For Now,
It’s OK that I’m a bad–actually terrible–home loveliness maintainer. Those extra germs build immunity, right?
It’s OK that I ate more junk food than healthful food yesterday. I did cut back from three bowls of ice cream to a mere two. Woot! Woot!
It’s OK that I haven’t made it through church ONE time without having to take one or more of my kiddos into the hall for disorderly conduct. They’ll make it through someday, at least by the time they’re adults.
It’s OK that sometimes I have a hard time focusing in church too. That one may even be normal.
It’s OK that I don’t make close friends easily. Feeling completely comfortable around someone takes time for me.
It’s OK that I still don’t know how to tweet from my phone. I’m certain I will bravely conquer this task in the distant future.
It’s OK that I’ve been too lazy to make sack lunches for my daughter this year and that she tells me, “I’m the only one in my entire class that NEVER takes a sack lunch!” Hopefully, she’ll still grow well on her lunch diet of french fries and chocolate milk. Scratch that. I may have to change this soon.
I’m not good at thank-you notes, or staying in touch with extended family. I’m not crafty or budget abiding. I put my foot in my mouth all the time, and I only bath my children when they start to smell.
I could go on, though I’ll stop here, before I truly embarrass myself. I still want to improve in these areas and progress, but I don’t want to be ashamed if I’m not the healthy, organized, sweet, and domestic epitome of motherhood perfection that I would like to be.
I’ll get there. And if I don’t, at least I’ll have my ice cream to console me.
Please leave Janae some comment love here and then go follow her blog Grumpy Grateful Mom. You can also find her on twitter @GrumpyGrateful and on facebook.
Don't be embarrassed, I have a son who literally only eats "cakes with syrups". Everyday, every meal, if he chooses to eat!! I am personally keeping Aunt Jemima in business.
It's post like this that made me follow your blog. Just to know someone else out there is not perfect too makes me feel not so alone!
Baths are totally overrated! At least for the kids 😉
awesome guest blogger! I love Grumpy Grateful MOM!
Cute post – and I love to read posts from moms that are honest.
Can't wait to visit her blog. I too am terrible at the cute house stuff and can find a million unique ways to embarrass myself.
We don't bathe everyday either. Well, JDaniel doesn't.
Oh my gosh. the story about the braces and the volleyball net?? Priceless. I'm also good at embarrassing myself.
love this!
(And bring on the ice cream!)
Janae, awesome post! I'm not crafty or budget abiding either. Oops.
Awesome guest poster!
I think we are kindred spirits – extra germs DO build immunity! Most people don't believe me when I say that.
I am a craft person, but that's probably why I'm not budget abiding. That and shoes.
Off to visit the blog!
haha…great post…I am all of those things and more and more and more….already a follower always love your posts…now am a follower here….great blog!!
m
Boy do I relate…
Was running in and out of church with my kids too, pew by the door was a life saver!
So funny. It is nice to know there are others out there. I thought I was alwaysin the minority. Now we need a secret handshake.
Hey it's more than ok! You have a house full of 4 kids…you are doing a heck of lot better than I do with one! Glad to see you over at Shell's!
Wait, you mean you're "real"?! J/K This just makes me admire you 🙂 Seriously, I think all women have much more 'real' to them then they let on!
I love Janae!! I love her goals of the day…they are awesome, as is her blog!
Great feature, Shell 🙂
I have a friend who gives her two boys a bath every single night. She's worried she'll end up with the stinky kids. Annabelle's lucky to get two a week.
And I've eaten a whole bag of Doritoes by myself in two days. I tried to eat carrots but they weren't doing it for me, so I ate a different orange food:)
Great guest and great post! I think I was nodding along with everything saying "me too"!
Janae is great, I love her posts! Thanks for featuring her!
she sounds like a sweetie.
Just an honest woman, telling the truth, when so many put on a fake show.
Love the people you bring here, Shell.
Janae, we are soul mates. Move back to your native state so we can hang out!
It's only 9 am here and I've only consumed a donut and three handfuls of frozen chocolate chips….
Ummmm…all I know is that I NEED to see the tape of the uncontrollable laughing…cuz I do that too. Only at funerals and stuff. UGH!
Okay, I think we are soul mates….
Janae,
I promise, as I was reading this, I was laughing with you not AT you. You and I would get along wonderfully! Especially over a bowl of ice cream or 2 or 3 :-)Can't wait to head over to your blog. Shell has led me to so many wonderful bloggers!
Okay. First, thank you.
Thank you because now I know that I'm not the only one who only bathes their child(ren) when they smell or are visibly covered in dirt.
I'm horrible at thank you notes. I have one I think about writing every morning as I get ready, to give to my boss' wife for a bottle of wine she gave me. It's been a month and half of thinking about it in the mornings…
I don't keep up well with distant family or friends. Even my closest friends I don't keep in constant contact with.
Love Janae! She does an amazing job with her blog…head on over.
Sandy
I hope all of these things are okay because I do a lot of them too! Definitely nothing to be embarrassed about for sure!
Ahhhhhhhh my twin I swear!! All of these things are true to me too…..and as of today you can add orders drive thru and realizes she has NO money! Then finds kids change and pays that way! 🙂
I have been following Janae's blog for a while now and I love it. Everyone loves it. I am so glad you featured her today.
Blessings and Happy Weekend!
LaVonne @ Long Wait For Isabella
—- The orthodontist exclaimed, "In all my years, I've NEVER seen anything like this!"
You ROooooCK! xx
One of my favorite bloggers too! Yay, you Janae for being a feature today!
Great message too.
I think we all have some delusion that domestic goddesses are the majority, with their perfectly groomed and well-behaved children, their impeccable makeup and hair, their spotless homes.. Frankly? I call bullsh*t. People only think my house is clean because I clean it before they come over. Heaven forbid someone just "drop in." *shudder*
Excited to come to your blog and meet ya!! Janae has great taste in blog pals and I'm looking forward to seein your future posts! 🙂
Love that Janae is such a real mom and it actually gives me comfort to see she isn't perfect but I think that's why I adore her so much!! Hard to believe she doesn't make friends easily, I'd be her BFF in a heartbeat!
One of my favorite bloggin' Moms too!
I think I could top some of your embarrassing stories though, like having my chair pulled out from me, to find myself completely back rolled and upside down, while blinded by my skirt up over my head, in front of my entire 5th grade class. Can you see it!?
Great post, and don't sweat the Martha Stewart stuff;)
and this is why I read your blog… hilariously real!
Wait, you were a news anchor on TV? That's so cool!
It's really nice to hear from other moms who have some of the same issues that I do. We're all in it together! And I agree, ice cream is always a great consolation prize 🙂
I think I agree with at least half of those! It IS Ok.
OK, I am cracking up over the volleyball net. That is hilarious!
Thank you for posting this. I fall into many of those catergories too, and knowing I'm not alone makes my day.
Don't feel bad, I'm also dreadful at sending thank you cards and such. Luckily I make up for it by being horrible about remembering birthdays and acting inappropriately at parties.
with this being my first introduction to you?? I can definitely say that you will be someone I will be following from now until forever… or ya know, as long as possible anyway.
I'm so there, on so many of those same points… the condition of our house is a constant source of irritation to my husband, I eat like crap more often than not, I actually had to think about the question when Hubs asked last night when Goose last had a bath, and thank you cards? I still have some from baby showers… yes, Goose will be 3 in January (COMPLETE FAIL!!)
Can we be friends? 🙂
Okay this could be me- except the lunch thing just because Lucas doesn't like most of the things they serve. Some weeks I wonder why we bother going to church or at least sacrament meeting.
I love this! It's so nice to hear that we all have some of the same imperfections. I think I should add Shell's blog to my reading list. Thank you for the introduction.
I would just love to see you laughing histerically on air. And also the reason behind it.
And I swear that if we weren't involved in the first part of church so much, we would probably skip it all together way more often than we should. My child is amazing at creating great fiascos. Most of the time we take off during the second half of the service anyway.
I love her already! Going to check out her blog 🙂
Great post! Interesting and fun..love it. And to know that everyone else isn't perfect either. Going to check out the blog.
I think all of this makes you my twin sister separated at birth AND FABULOUS!
You don't have to be perfect, just you!
Ok, you do know you are my twin, right?
I ditto everything that you said. Although, I have made Jake a "cold" lunch every now and again. He demands it. I'd rather him just eat at school.
I use Dexter as my "get out of jail free" card for Sunday school and RS. I'm going to hell, right?
I've been a big fan of yours for a while now. But you knew that. Lol!
Apparently we share a lot of flaws…or are they really just quirks? Looking forward to getting to know you better.
Yeay Janae! I've been a big fan of the GGM blog for some time now. Janae always has the funniest stories of household 'mishaps' – and she just rolls with it all. Love that.
Yes, Janae, it's OK, you're wonderful as you are! Great post and I can totally relate to being okay with a lot of these.
You got your braces caught on a volleyball net?!!! Bahahaha. Love it!
Great post! So glad it's OK not to bathe your child(ren) every night. Who has time for that?!?!
I cannot even imagine being brave enough to limbo under a volleyball net. That was awesome. 🙂
I cannot even imagine being brave enough to limbo under a volleyball net. That was awesome. 🙂
Janae, you are awesome! I love your blog and I'll say it again, we would most definitely be friends if we lived close to each other…we could take turns having playdates at our unlovely homes…my kids have the strongest immune systems in town! hahaha! Congrats on your post here…fun as always!
~ Jill
I loves me some GGM! Telling it like it is.
I love your relaxed attitude about this stuff, Janae.
I always have a smile on my face when I read Janae's blog. I love that she's real and not ashamed about it.
Grumpy Grateful Mom, I enjoyed this because you are real. My kind of mom!
I can't believe I'm not familiar with this blogger yet. Thanks for changing that, Shell–what a riot! And I totally think that extra germies boost our immunity (as I sit on top of a mountain of dustballs).
Janae – you rock!! I like to think of these types of things as endearing quirks. You know?
I'm reading this wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap from embarrassment. I once told the usher from church when asked why he hadn't seen me around was I came at funny times.
I love this blog, yay for your feature here! I, too, am a serious ice cream lover and quite far from perfect. You are, however, perfectly funny. Thanks for the laughs!
I can give you phone tweeting lessons but that's probably all I can help you with on this list.
Yay! So happy to see GGM here! One of my absolute favourites. and so evident here why I love her. keeping it real, just letting it fly….. never leave her blog without a smile on my face. You cannot have a bad day after visiting her.
she inspires such loyalty…I totally would have followed her under that volleyball net!
I love your embarrassing moments. You're my kinda girl (ie I can relate).
I'm so happy our church has kids class, starting at age 1. Granted I have to teach on rotation, but at least 3 out of 4 Sundays I can peacefully listen.
Fabulous!