No One Told Me It Was Going To Be This Way

It's 9:00 PM, the end of the day, my kids have just been put to bed and I start to reflect on my day. Then I I think to myself, if anyone would've tapped into my house on a day like today, the perimeter of our house would've been surround by a SWAT team just waiting to attack the crazy lady who is inside the house apparently torturing the poor innocent children. I can only imagine what it sounds like to be a neighbor of ours or a fly on the wall at the Bryan residence

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined some of the words I have spoken to my children. It's like everyday they come up with something new to try, almost like its a challenge. Just to give you a glimpse, these are several phrases that I have uttered within these past few weeks:

Please don't play with the plunger or the toilet brush.

Please don't run with that screwdriver.

Dishwashing detergent is not a toy.

What do you have in your mouth?

Why are you standing on the counter?

Please don't lick the wall.

Poopie tush is not a nice word.

Sweetie, our toys do not go in the toilet.

Don't shake your naked tushie at your sister.

Bobby pins do not go in our ears.

Lady doesn't want to go swimming in the toilet.

Stop spanking your sister.

Once we bite something, we do not put it back in the bag.

Milk does not go on Mommy's phone.

Like a lot of things, you can envision the way it's going to be when you have kids, but just like labor no one can really prepare you for what all you are going to have to go through until it actually happens.

Living in the days, where mom shaming is prevalent and everyone wants to tell you their opinion on how parenting should happen, can I just tell you, it's okay to tune them out. It's okay to not listen. It's always easy to be on the other side. The side that Monday morning quarterbacks and speaks after the fact about how they would've or did do it differently. 

That's not the way life works. You can't go back and redo what you did yesterday. Forward is the only way to go.  Sometimes you just need to hear that you are normal, you are not crazy,  you are not alone, and your kids are just being kids. 

Live in the present, admit and learn from your mistakes, seek advice from the one and only true source, enjoy these littles that you have been given for they won't be like this always. But most importantly, laugh because it really is the best medicine.

Why Yes, Olly, we need every video/dvd we own put in our laundry basket and then dumped out on the living room floor.

She quietly snuck into my room, found my makeup case, and went to town.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4.

With love,
Tori