Hot Mess Mommy Express

How often do we find ourselves saying "I just wish I could stay home" as we navigate the craziness of our everyday lives. Work, school, parenting, sports, practices, meetings....before we know it another week has flown by and we shout TGIF. If you're like me, you like to stay home as much as you can on the weekends, because you feel like everyone else gets the other five days of the week. Fast forward....enter coronavirus. All of a sudden, we are tossed into staying home full-time. Our nation is in crisis mode. Coronavirus looms in the outside world. We are told to stay home (the wish many of us have expressed). Not only are we parents, but now we're full-time employees, filling the teacher role AND parenting all at the same time. I don't know about you, but it's extremely overwhelming for me. I've tried to remain as positive as possible while putting my full faith in God and the essential workers out there combating COVID-19. Lately I find my social ...

Yesterday I happened to be in Missouri as the Illinois Governor released a statement indicating that all restaurants and bars were closing. I couldn't help but wonder if stores would soon follow, so I thought that it would be beneficial to go get some grocery essentials, while in a different state. I'm normally pretty good at keeping my house stocked up in general, but being that our routine grocery week is this week, I thought I'd try and pre-plan. So I took a deep breath and pulled into Walmart with my nine year old in tow. I will admit that while I react rather lightly to situations of this nature, I couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension as I assessed the state of the store shelves, the packed aisles and the long lines. I held my son's hand and couldn't wait to get home to our safe space. However I will say this. This was the first time that I've immersed myself among the people shopping at this time and despite what the media and social media...

It was a day or two after Christmas and my kids starting asking when "Valentimes" day is. Some people think it's weird that my littles anticipate such a thing, however it's one of my favorite family traditions. To my kids, it's a legitimate holiday and I'm okay with that! We keep it so simple, yet my kids love it so much. I'll keep our tradition going for as long as they'll have it. Before kids, Valentine's Day was all about fancy dinner reservations, dressing up and date night. While we still plan for those things, we tend to make our plans for after Valentine's Day. Not only is there less pressure, but the restaurants are far less packed, babysitters are available and our date night is far more enjoyable. Valentine's Day is all about our little family of five. Typically I'll get off of work, swing into Papa Murphy's for a heart shaped pizza and cookie dough. In the days prior, I pick up silly little gifts from the Dollar Tree...

"My oh my what a wonderful day!" It's the "Most Magical Place on Earth" they said! "You must take your kids to Disney at least once," they said. And you know what? I completely agree with those things. We are very much a Disney family starting with my parents who try to go every year. We recently returned from eight days away in the land of Disney and though I've been several times myself, I find that each and every time I go, I learn something new and it's always a new experience. Taking three kids along for the ride renders new lessons, new opinions and new suggestions for parents everywhere who are in the planning stage, contemplation stage or who are heading out to Disney in the near future. As promised, I am going to share with you my most recent Disney Life Mom Hacks. Disney hacks will differ based on perspective and experience, but if you want my honest feedback, based on my experience with my family of five, then this is what you...

Today started with one of those  mornings. Things actually started out on a positive note. The kids woke up with smiling faces, willingly got out of bed, laughed and chatted through breakfast and had this momma beaming with joy. However sometimes moments like this are a prequel to something crazy that's about to happen. Do you know what I mean? It's like the second you think to yourself, "my kids are so sweet this morning. I'm totally rocking the mom thing," one of them decides to test your limits. A blissful morning came crashing down, literally over a pair of boots and a certain little five year old who decided she didn't want to get her shoes on when it came time to load up and head to school. We fought about it. I tried every negotiation tactic. She wasn't having it. She kept her foot flexed, refused to put it inside the boot and refused to listen to me. Maybe it was pent up stress from bottling up other things. Perhaps it was because I knew we were ...

There's just something about parent teacher conferences that make me so gosh darn emotional. Do you ever feel like you're about to burst into tears when talking to your children's teachers? I do for some reason, but it's not a negative cry. I'm just so proud of them, which is also combined with the feeling of "Holy crap! My kids are growing up way too fast!" This week we had three amazing parent teacher conferences for three incredible kiddos that I'm blessed to call mine. It just goes to show the difference it makes to feel supported by school staff and teachers. We haven't always felt that way, especially with our son who has had his share of struggles over the past few years. It made my heart explode to finally have a teacher say how much she appreciates him and how much progress he's made. In regards to the twins, their teachers have always been phenomenal, but this year is a little different. Instead of seeing them as a set of twins, t...

Fog. It's this thing I've been walking around in for the last couple of weeks. I haven't felt like myself in quite a while. Between the packed schedule at home and the packed schedule at work combined with all of the curveballs added on top, I have been one physically and mentally exhausted subhuman of myself. Last night I made my family go to sleep early; two hours earlier than I normally go to bed to be exact. Let me just tell you! Today, I feel like a new me. Perhaps it's because this week marks the last ballgame of the season and we will no longer be running to the ball field four nights a week. This week, my work calendar isn't overflowing with meetings. This week, we have a fun weekend to work toward. This week, I finally have time to squeeze in much needed workouts. This week, my meals are planned. This week, even my kids can take a breather.  The other day, I was so mentally tired that I didn’t even realize I didn’t fully start my car. I put it in re...