Little Fingerprints Everywhere

Lately it seems that my life is consumed by everything related to my child. All pictures taken are of him. I am fairly certain I have 500 different pictures of my son coloring, 500 more of him eating, 500 more of him at the park. I saw this term "mamarazzi" recently.

MAMARAZZI:

1. Mothers who constantly follow their children around with several cameras and video taking equipment, snapping photos at each turn and documenting each milestone or event with at least two dozen photos and a video.
2. Groups of aforementioned mothers
3. When referring to yourself as described above

1. You can’t even get close to the swings because of all the mamarazzi.
2. I can’t believe how many photos I took of baby Madison on the slide! I’m such a mamarazzi!
3. What's with all the mamarazzi? It's just a bloody hair cut.
(Thank you www.urbandictionary.com)

Every second of the day revolves around my child- when I get up, what I can eat for breakfast (he is at that "I want whatever you have" stage, so I try to model good eating habits), when I can shower, whether or not I have time to do my hair or whether it gets pulled up, when I need to be home (too close to nap and too close to eating time and I might as well throw myself down a hill, the torture of his tantrums are that bad), and even what we can do in the evenings to make sure we don't pass bedtime. My clothes are covered with the crap he gets on me (which makes for fun surprises later on- is this chocolate, mud, or the dreaded P-word?), my hair is falling out from stress (I might be exaggerating just a touch), and his toys have taken over parts of our house. My phone background is his picture, my purse contains random toddler neccesities- kleenex's (possibly used who knows), a random pacifier, maybe a book or toy; I always dart to the kids stores or sections to find those great deals on diapers or toys or clothes. In all honesty, I have a hard time remembering what life was like before I had a child- and my son is only 22 months old!!! His fingerprints are LITERALLY everywhere.

So of course, it's only natural that I create a blog to spend some "quality time" with myself, only to end up talking about him the entire time. It's like that "date night" idea- you go out with your spouse to get away, to have some time just for you. And you end up talking about your children, worrying about what they're doing, calling the babysitter to make sure they are holding up. After all, you know how much stress your child can put on someone (ie- former mention of hair falling out).

It's amazing and beautiful how life changes after having a child. Right?? That's what we're supposed to think and say and feel, isn't it? After all, you're probably a "bad mom" if you feel otherwise. I should pause and say that life IS beautiful and amazing and wonderful when you have children. It truly is...but I praise God that my son still naps. PRAISE GOD. I have a bad feeling that the Lord has a twisted sense of humor and will take that away sometime soon though. And, seeing as how my son has mastered those "child proof" gates, locking him in his room isn't an option. I suppose there is always duct tape.

This is probably where I need some small print statement with an astrick (spell check is not helping me with that word) that makes sure you know I have a sense of humor.

So why is being a mom so stressful? It's so natural right? It's supposed to be easy, after all, my mom did it! (No really, mom....you ARE the best! Please don't take away my Christmas presents!) You see all those other moms with their well behaved, little angels while your child is spitting fire out of every orifice on his/her body. (My husband would be so proud of me....orifice! ha!)

I secretly smile, even giggle a little inside (and sometimes outwardly) when other kids are naughty. In fact, it makes my day! I almost feel like encouraging other children to be little brats. "Go ahead and kick her right in her shin...she deserves it. She stole your ball Johnny, KICK HER!" Because it's only the naughtiest of the naughty that will make my son look like that little angel. "Oh, well my son would NEVER kick someone just because their ball was stolen. He is such a good little boy, isn't he??"

I am pausing for a few moments to fully grasp the fact that I just might be a terrible person. But every mom (mostly moms, dads aren't so crazy) can relate to the whole child-comparing stuff. "Well my son can count to 20!" "Well my son knows all his shapes and colors." Ugh. Well guess what people, my son can't count, doesn't know his colors, and some days I wonder if he speaks English or Japanese. But he didn't just kick that little boy for stealing his ball, now did he? Although, knowing my son, maybe he did....moving on.....

This site is for all those moms who compare. Yes, that IS you!! You know you do it. You can't deny it. And you know you want to hear about how absolutely insanely naughty my child can be, just so you can feel better about yours. Okay maybe that isn't exactly true. He isn't that naughty. It's more about our daily struggles, as moms, and the huge role our children play in our lives. How we can make it better, what has failed us and made life harder, and it will provide mine and other parents' and children's points of view, tips, and stories. It will be honest, it may be scary or boring or entertaining at times, but I want to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. All of it. Maybe someday this site will be used in all high schools as a form of birth control.

Being a mom IS awesome and rewarding. I get to see my little child's fingerprints, literally and figuratively, on everything in his world and mine. And now, you can see them too!