Mom Humor: 18 Ways to Spot a Mom of Little Ones

Being a mom to little ones is amazing. I LOVE these little guys, but it's not always easy, right? Sometimes, it's just downright stressful and exhausting. On those days, I've found it's best to find the humor in the situation. So, here are several ways to identify someone else who may be in your shoes. I've compiled a list of situations from personal experience that will make you feel better. ;)

My mom thinks I'm morbid for making this picture

You know you're a mom of little ones when:

1. You are at a doctor's appointment, and start to roll up your the leg of your pants only to find tiny little Cheetos fingerprints around the knee area. You and the doctor have seen them, and then you have to explain, "I'm a mom."

2. You have at least 3 toys in your purse or diaper bag at all times.

3. You always carry snacks in your purse or diaper bag.

4. When everyone actually likes dinner and eats it promptly without complaining, you consider it a major victory. 

5. You LOVE being able to run errands by yourself and insist on only carrying your keys, a small wallet, and your cell phone instead the giant mom purse or diaper bag that you normally have.

6. You find small chalk hand prints on one of your cars. 

7. Eating by yourself and taking an uninterrupted shower is a luxury. 

8. If you keep a small potty in the car, because you never know when your toddler might announce the need to use the bathroom and pulling over for a potty break is so much better than washing the car seat cover.

9. You put on a sweater that you thought was clean only to find a small sections of dried food on the sleeve left by your toddler. Instead of taking it off, you say, "Oh well. I'm a mom. This is expected. I'll look like this by the end of the day anyway." And then you wear it.

The time he tried to change the Scentsy warmer in the bathroom. Not blood, just wax. No burns. Just a big mess to clean up. A big mess that he was required to clean up.

10. Regardless of how often you clean out your car, it never seems to stay clean. There will always be a collection of cracker crumbs, empty juice boxes, random toy parts, and fingerprints on the windows.

11. Making dinner without any interruptions or meltdowns from your children is a major victory. 

12. When you get home at the end of the day only to realize that you have been sporting a collection of stickers on your shirt, placed by your toddler when you weren't paying attention.

13. When you find your cell phone in the toy box, but not because you put it there.

While I was busy, Cheese found a way to entertain himself

14. You look forward to the days that you get to stay home because you don't have to look presentable to go out in public. Yoga pants, no make-up and wet hair.

15. "Sleeping in" is when you don't have to get up until 7 AM.

16. When your kids' toys always seem to end up in your own bedroom instead of theirs, regardless of how often you make them put them away.

17. If at least one of your kids has dropped your cell phone into the sink, tub, or toilet full of water.

18. You have a mountain of clean and unfolded laundry piled somewhere inside your house, that rarely disappears. AND your family is so accustomed to sifting through the pile for their clothes that when you actually manage to fold ALL the laundry and put it away, replace it with a pile of dirty clothes to be washed, and your kids STILL go to the pile for clothes instead of checking their drawers. 

Can you relate? Please, feel free to add to the list! 

By the way, I pulled all of these photos from my Instagram account. Check it out for a regular dose the mom humor and shenanigans. ;)

Thoughts about Birthday Parties for Little Ones Under 5

Can we talk about birthday parties? Let's talk about birthday parties. I have birthdays on the brain because Cheese (aka the younger son - read the About Me section for a better explanation) is turning one. Exciting and sad all at once.

Birthdays are typically a big deal. Kids' birthdays seem to be a huge deal. After 4 years of planning birthdays, I have a come to a couple of conclusions.

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Hosting a birthday party at your home is a LOT of work. Often times it's easier and cheaper to pay a venue to host a party.

I hosted Mac's first and second birthday parties at my house. It was a LOT of work. In addition to making sure our house was spotless, there were endless hours googling birthday theme ideas, food prep, and party details. Details, details, details...

When Mac turned 3, I was pregnant with Cheese (Such a weird sentence). Since I felt like sleeping (or puking) most of the time, the last thing I wanted to do was plan a toddler's birthday party. So, we ended up hosting his birthday at Chick-Fil-A, one of the most inexpensive places in town to have a party. Win!

Mac's birthday party was so easy and inexpensive that we returned for his fourth birthday. This time, though, it was at his request. (LOVE this kid).

We ended up spending so much less money by hiring a venue than we had by hosting it at our house. The decorations, activities and food ended up surpassing the cost of simply paying someone else to do it all!

The birthday party probably won't be remembered by your kid or their friends for longer than a couple of weeks.

Pinterest is awesome, but it also gives unrealistic expectations for hosting events. Specifically, kids' birthday parties. I've seen AMAZING birthday parties on there. The problem is after seeing those ideas, anything less than the immaculate parties you saw are going to seem lame. There's no way you want to give your child a lame birthday party, right? Let me ask you something, do you remember each birthday party you attended as a child? What about the cakes and decorations?

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If you are anything like me, you can only vaguely recall two or three, but that's about it. I certainly don't remember any parties before I turned 5.

Every parent wants the best for their child, and birthdays fall in line with that desire. So, we spend hours upon hours planning, baking, cleaning and setting up for a birthday party. The thing is, they probably won't be able to remember it for longer than a couple of weeks. So, maybe we need to rethink how much time and energy we put into the inconsequential party details.

That hand-painted pendant banner probably won't be remembered by your guests and will end up sitting in your closet for a couple years before you finally convince yourself to toss it. Instead a couple of decorations from the Dollar Store will still provide a fun and celebratory atmosphere. Plus it's so much less work!

Keep your life simple and provide an easy and inexpensive party. Skip the hand-made decorations and hand-crafted party favors. 

At this age, (like under the age of 5) most kids aren't going to care WHAT you do at a party, they just want to play. And what about party favors? Really, party favors provide temporary amusement, but little else. Honestly, most of the party favors end up in the bottom of the toy box or trash sooner rather than later.

As a mom, some of my favorite party favors are fruit snacks and play-doh (Though I do have a couple mom friends that despise play-doh).

So, what am I saying? Give your kid a crappy party, because they won't remember it? Skip the party favors, because they'll end up in the trash anyway? Not at all! Let's just tone it down some. Immaculate parties are just not necessary, especially since most of it won't be remembered anyway. Let's simplify. The purpose of a birthday party is to celebrate a birthday. You can still celebrate without a meticulously detailed party.

Above all else, don't exhaust yourself over party details. It's just not worth it!

Cheese's birthday is in a couple weeks. We plan to invite both sets of grandparents over to our house, sing Happy Birthday to him, and eat cake. However, as my boys get older and if they want a spectacular themed birthday party, I'm totally game. But they're going to have to help. ;)