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.

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

Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on … backwards?????

This is what happens when your 2 1/2 year old puts his pants on “by all myself”

So cute, I just had to share!

Dramatic title, huh? Maybe not- if it’s YOUR truth. As moms, we hope, dream, wish, and pray for nothing but health and happiness for our kids. From the time they are in the womb we are dreaming big for them. We are tenacious in our love, and fierce in our instinct to protect them at all costs. Is it any wonder that we are then shattered when we are told they are sick? Can we help but feel that there is no hope for all the dreams we had for them?

Let me tell you something, mama. Don’t stop dreaming.

When my sweet little boy was diagnosed with an ultra-rare disorder, I felt robbed. Robbed of the ability to kiss all the boo-boos away; robbed of a “normal” life for him and for me; robbed of the dreams that I had for my little boy. I cannot tell you how many nights I literally lay on the floor in his room, sobbing and praying and asking “Why?” And then I realized…

If I stop dreaming for him…I am robbing him….I am robbing myself. So, I looked around at the blessings, the joys, the wonders of all that he is. And, I thanked God for every good day we had and made plans to have as many of those good days as possible.

It’s not easy having a child with special needs. We don’t fall into the “normal” category, but we make it work. We’re okay with being “special”.  Today, I dream of a cure, a holiday season without a hospitalization, a transplant and a life without a dialysis machine. In the meantime: we take family trips, we play, we LIVE and we DREAM.

We have vowed to make everyday count. We will not let this disease define our family, our son, or how we live – and we will never stop dreaming.