Lest you think I have it all together

A friend of mine recently shared some thoughts with me from the book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson. This guy runs through a literal gamut of comparison and envy issues plaguing moms.

Check out the list of lies he says we believe:

• Everyone else's kids are better.
• Everyone else's home is cleaner.
• Everyone else fixes better meals.
• Everyone else is more disciplined and more spiritual.
• Everyone else's marriage is better.
• Everyone else can do it all.
• Every other mom loves homeschooling.
• Everyone else is more capable.

Yup.  I've definitely fallen for several of those whoppers in my weaker moments.

Summing the book up, I'd restate these unrealistic comparisons this way: Everyone else has it all together but me. 

And let's face it, judging by my online persona, I certainly seem to have it all together.  Snagging deals, making homemade fruit roll-ups, and creating crafty projects to correlate with our homeschool studies paint me as some homesteading do-it-all mom that is whistling a happy tune and enjoying every moment of domestic existence.

And that is NOT me.

I'm not purposely trying to fool you all.  I just get more excited about sharing my successes and mountain-top experiences than my low-points.  I mean, c'mon do you really want to hear about how my youngest broke our $250 air purifier?  Or how my floor hasn't been thoroughly mopped for 2 months?  Or how it took me NINE hours to bake said stupid homemade fruit roll-ups and then my husband was so miffed at my excessive use of energy that he went out and bought me a dehydrator?

Honestly, most days I feel fairly overwhelmed and tired.  There are always toys on my floor to be picked up, noses to wipe, dishes in some state of uncleanliness and unsightly scattered paper piles on my desk.

So, lest you think I have it all together let me assure you - I DO NOT.  And below there are pictures to prove it.

I'm inexpressibly thankful that regardless of my failings and inability to get my act together, God never lets me down.  I'm living proof that His grace is always enough.  

How about you?  Have you fallen for any of these lies?

Our dining room table mess during a typical homeschool morning. 

My son drinking milk from a bowl on the floor while playing puppy.

Trying to keep Solomon occupied by putting dry spaghetti noodles into a sieve.  Great idea, pinterest!  Now if only you would have warned me about what a mess this was to clean up. And how frustrated Solomon would get when the noodles broke.  (An even better picture would have been capturing what happened next.  Clive decided he was hungry for peanut butter and shared it with Solomon.  Both boys eating peanut butter out of the same jar with their fingers.  All this happened in the span of 2 minutes while I was working with Chloe on schoolwork.)

Yes, I let my son play with sewing pins.  While perched on the edge of my bed.  Not my wisest decision as a mom.  But he's my fine-motor-skill guy and he didn't prick himself even once!  Honest!

Chloe is my sweet angel.  But I'm afraid she might suffocate while she sleeps beneath her obsessive collection of stuffed animals.

We have an estimating winner!

CHRISTINA HAIRGROVE

You win the prize!  You came the closest to guessing my actual total in paying for the lot of brand new shoes pictured below.

Christina guessed $12.  VERY CLOSE, girl!  I actually paid $12.84 for the above 8 pairs of new kids' shoes from a Payless going out of business.

The rest of the guesses ranged from $15 to almost $30.  Nice try, people.  I wasn't kidding when I said I was Cheap (yes, I capitalized that word on purpose - I'm cheap with a capital C).

I fully realize my ignorance of retail prices in the twenty first century.  I'm usually the gawking shopper in Target who is talking to myself about "how expensive things are these days".  If this is me at 34, how cheap and annoying will I be at 64?  (Don't answer that.  That was a rhetorical question.)

Christina wins a fun little goodie package.  Contact me via FB or email (aliciamhorn at gmail dot com) with your address, Christina to claim your prize.  Way to estimate!  :)

Happy birthday to me! (and an exercise in estimation)

Happy birthday to me!  We celebrated my 34th birthday this weekend and though I didn't get to sleep in and I didn't wake up 10 lbs. lighter, it was a good day regardless.

I woke up to sweet and thoughtful gifts from my Matt.  New and improved travel coffee mug -- yes!  Then I got most of the morning to myself (HEAVEN), took Chloe to lunch and out shopping to spend some birthday cash.  Then I cooked up EXACTLY what I wanted for dinner.  Steak with mushrooms, homemade wheat bread, oven-baked potatoes topped with plain yogurt and cheddar cheese, pear/cranberry/walnut/blue cheese salad and peach cobbler for dessert.  And while I LOVED partaking in last year's dark chocolate and cherry pavlova I didn't feel like putting forth that much effort this year.  (If you've never attempted a pavlova, I highly recommend it!  Read about my pavlova journey here.)

It's good to be 34!  I don't even care that I'm seriously close to the 30's midpoint.  Whatever.  I could care less.  My life is stuffed to the gills with blessings; the biggest being that all my sins are forgiven.  What can top that?!?  If my life had a theme song, Psalm 32 would be it!

So, on to the exercise in estimation.  During my birthday shopping spree I happened upon a Payless that was going out of business and liquidating their inventory.  I almost didn't stop.  I was seriously disappointed with Borders' so-called liquidating sale and was skeptical that the Payless sale would yield any actual bargains.  It's tough to impress this super-cheap-coupon-clipping-bargain hunter.  But the sale was indeed worthy of my time.  8 pairs later I was one happy cheapskate!

What do you think I paid for these puppies?  Closest guess to my actual total will win . . . . something.  Really, I promise to put together some kind of fun mystery prize for the winning estimator.  I won't divulge the percent off I netted here but I'll give you a tiny clue.  Think more than 50% off.  Put on your estimating caps and give it a go!

Solomon was very excited about the new pile of footwear.  He spent a good 20 minutes (which is nigh an eternity for my busy boy) trying on shoes and stomping around the house in them.  Cuteness!

New Year's Hopes

I'm not making resolutions this year.  I'm making a list of *hopes* instead.  And I'm making my *hope* list small and simple in the hope that I'll actually accomplish a few of them in 2012.

Hopes for 2012


1. Get my hair cut.  I can't even remember the last time I got my hair cut.  Seriously, it's probably been a year and my mane is looking mangy and limp.  And I'd like to up the ante a bit and actually get my hair cut at a real salon and NOT a place with the word "Best" "Clips" or "Famous" in the name.

2. Get to bed before 11.  I'm a much more pleasant mommy and wife when I get a full eight hours rest!  And if I sleep a full eight hours at night, there's a greater possibility I won't need a nap in the afternoon and instead I can spend that time doing enrichment activities with Chloe.  Poor girl has been rather neglected in the afternoons.  That's time I envision us reading aloud, playing games or working on craft projects.

3. Exercise consistently.  I'm not putting a lot of pressure on myself here but I do want to be more physically active in 2012.  My mom gave us a Wii for Christmas and the Wii Fit games are a blast!  I'd love to shed 10 pounds but my overall *hope* is for a healthier more energetic and active me.

4. Read more.  I've got a stack of classics waiting for me on my dresser.  Once upon a time, I used to read for fun.  For hours on end!  I realize I won't be able to read for hours at a shot but I can certainly plow through some good tomes if I designate 10-15 minutes as reading time before bed.  I've been reading a few pages each night of Mark Twain short stories and it's been whetting my appetite for more reading.  This is one goal I'm going to thoroughly enjoy.

How about you?  Did you resolve, hope or make any goals for the new year?