Bringing back one of my fave blog posts to share with my new friends Let me know what you think!

I look around and there are so many moms that seem to have it all together. Their houses are clean, their kids are clean, they never lose their tempers or forget to put on make-up. They make up delicious recipes to serve their families every night of the week. And, of course, they eat at the kitchen table. Wow! They are so very balanced….or is it an act?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they are lying. But, do they really have it all together? Or are they just skilled at painting a pretty picture?

I wonder if I look like this from the outside? LOL, probably not! But, I’m sure that the way I seem as a mom and the reality are definitely at odds.

For example, today Aiden and I slept in. On a Tuesday–for no real reason other than we could. I won’t say what time it was when we got out of bed- but lets just say that we didn’t make breakfast, and our first meal probably didn’t even qualify as “brunch”. I’ve run around all morning trying to make it look like I’ve actually been up since 7:30. I’ve cleaned my house, dressed my little toot and even got dressed myself (minus the make-up). If you walked in now to see a clean house with me “working” away on my laptop and my little man riding his motorcycle around the house…you would think we were balanced. And I would let you think that.

Of course I want you to think I’m a great wife and mother, a dedicated housekeeper and that I am making a mental list of ingredients for a new recipe (one that I came up with on my own, of course!) in my head right now. But, that’s not the reality.

The reality is this:

• I stay up too late, and therefore sleep too late.
• I speed-clean more than I deep clean.
• Sometimes we eat Sloppy Joe’s for dinner.
• Sometimes we don’t get dressed until after noon.
• My son watches too much Nick Jr. most days.
• Sometimes I have really bad days and even lose my patience with my precious little man.

I’m not perfect.

The reality is this. I am balanced. It’s not an act. I am a perfect mix of perfection and flaw. To my husband, I am the wife he needs to balance him. He doesn’t mind Hamburger Helper now and then, because we are balanced where it is important. We stand together, face a disease with no answers, protect our son as best we can and love and respect each other no matter what. Our son is happy, silly, smart and beautiful. To him, I am Mommy. Is there any greater honor than that?

I don’t need to win admiration from my fellow moms and I don’t care if you are appalled at my lack of schedule and gourmet menu selection.

This is my life. Beautiful, chaotic, blessed, cursed, balanced or not… this is no act. This is my life.

I’ll admit, I’m pretty new to to the Twitter scene. I didn’t start “tweeting” seriously until the beginning of the year. I am always excited when Follow Friday (#FF) rolls around. I love new “tweeps” and like seeing mynumbers rise. Makes ya feel like the cool kid at school… But, I recently realized something about social media and it’s kind of busted my bubble. Even though my Twitter followers have grown substantially since December (from about 20 to about 35o-ish)–I still have very little connection with these “friends.”

I have made a handful of great cyber-friends through Twitter, but you would think out of 300 + people that I would be able to claim more than a handful. Sometimes I think my mic is not working. **tap, tap! Is this thing on?**

I’ll be the first to admit I am not the queen of Twitter. I don’t tweet all day long (most days). Some days I don’t tweet at all. Maybe I just have nothing interesting to say? Does anyone click on the links that we post? Do I need to be SEO savvy to tweet?

Twitter is supposed to be the “it” girl, er guy? of the Social Media world right now, and while I find that my followers are growing…my connections are not. And to me, that’s what it’s all about. I’m not interested in numbers, for the sake of numbers. I am interested in making real connections with real people and not just perusing, but HEARING what they have to say.

I don’t friend everyone that follows me. I don’t pay $19.99 for 1,000 followers. I want to follow people because I’m interested in what they have to say. In turn, I want people to follow me, because they are interested in what I have to say.

I’m truly curious to know what people with thousands of followers think. Do they connect with many of these “friends” or is it just a competition of numbers?

So…for me it goes like this. Follow me! Or don’t. But, if you do–let’s connect.

The question is so simple, yet we make it so hard. The answer can be found in a million little things, or at least 3,650 little things. My new friend, Marie, over at Spreading Joy inspired me to think about these little things–not just today, but everyday. Marie’s post was inspired by the desk calendar: 3,650 Things to be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer .

In the desk calendar (which I need to find during my next trip to the book store! I can’t resist!!) Ms. Kipfer has listed 10 things to be happy about for each day.

10 things.  Sound hard? It’s not, I promise!

Marie has challenged herself -and others- to try listing 10 things to be happy about for each day. You can list them in your journal, on your blog, on Marie’s blog, or even here in my comment section! Just do it. It will lift your heart and make you grateful for the little things that God has blessed us with — the things that so often go unnoticed in our day-to-day lives.

1. Spring
2. Wireless internet
3. Coffee
4. Hugs from my little man, and my big one
5. Hope
6. a sense of belonging
7. tulips
8. Guitar Hero
9. a true friend
10. salty McDonald’s french fries and, of course, Reese’s Cups! (but not together)

So, tell me, friends…What Makes YOU Happy?

Welcome to the new and improved home of Tales of the Toot!! Please bookmark our new web address: www.talesofthetoot.comand follow us on Google Friend Connect, Twitter and Facebook! If you are an old subscriber, I ask that you please subscribe to our new address so you can get all of the latest and greatest from Tales of the Toot! If you are a new friend, thanks so much for stopping by and please take a moment to connect and/or subscribe! I look forward to connecting with you all now that this move is complete!

Christy