{Life Before Kids}-Guest Post

Moms with super twins amaze me.  Christy is no exception.  Mom to FOUR with a set of triplets, imagine how much fun she must have each day!  You can find her at Trippin’-Life with Triplets.

Not long ago one of my Facebook friends who doesn’t have kids noted “Went to work without my earring and felt naked all day.”

All I could think was: “Ah, yes. Life before kids.”

Because the other day I ran errands for a couple hours and it wasn’t until bedtime when I realized I had forgotten to put my bra on that morning. Clearly, earrings are the least of my concerns.

Then there was the ongoing Twitter conversation about how no one’s toes are ready for spring. Everyone was talking pedicures and cute sandals. I was thinking that of all the other parts of me that aren’t ready for warm weather. Does anyone know if you can wear Spanx with a swimsuit?

In light of the rest of me, my toes look pretty darn good despite no polish and months crammed into heavy socks and boots.

Face it, everything changes when you have kids. You swear to yourself that it won’t change. That you won’t become the mom who is running errands with her kids and suddenly realizes she’s still wearing her pajama pants. That mascara won’t be something you wear only on special occasions. That you’ll still care enough about yourself to get a pedicure when spring arrives.

But then the reality of too little sleep and too many responsibilities and the general craziness of raising little people and a thousand decisions to make every day sets in. And well, something’s got to give.

I know there are many moms who still manage to be put together every day. I just can’t figure out how they do it!

After my triplets arrived, I went from worrying about which earrings to wear with my day’s outfit to wondering when I last showered. And if what I wore yesterday was still clean enough to wear again. I gave up on only wearing my long jeans with the boots that make them a perfect fit and was just grateful that I had a pair of jeans that didn’t have spit-up or jelly smeared on them.

I’m not sure if it was rock bottom or a stroke of genius when I bought the dry shampoo to use on days when I couldn’t fit in a shower.  I was thinking it was a great way to freshen up, and not an excuse not to bathe, so surely that must count for something, right?

As my kids get older I’m slowly reclaiming a little time to take care of myself. I still don’t bother with makeup most days, and I don’t always get a shower. My toes are unlikely to see a pedicure this year, but I am hopeful that a few weeks of chasing my kids around the yard will eliminate the need to wear Spanx with my swimsuit.

Now if I could just figure out what earrings go with holey sweatpants and a sticky-handprinted sweatshirt, I’d be in business.

*And don’t forget that a little comment love goes a long way in winning a few of my favorite things!

This is the last guest post in the series………..which means………….I’ll be back.  Can’t wait to see you.

About Angie

Angie is a CRAFT dabbling, recipe making, WORD loving, sunshine hording, book DEVOURING, Mama to a lot! She's kind of in love with Instagram right now, so if you want her attention, go find here there. {smiling}

Comments

  1. Yes! (And I only have two kids.) I ran errands the other day without realizing I was wearing my husband’s much-too-large Crocs. And I had a dryer sheet sticking out of my shirt. Banner day. =>

  2. I’ve so had days where I’ve realized after the fact that I forgot something pretty major. Like my bra or maybe a kid–OK I have NEVER forgotten a kid but I may have considered it once ;P
    .-= beth aka confusedhomemaker´s last blog ..Esme Chair =-.

  3. It’s funny because I was telling a friend with no kids, that I have to schedule in a shower, and she just laughed. “You can’t be real. Everyone has time in their day to take two or even three showers.” I can’t wait until she has her first kid, so we can revisit this conversation.

    Hugs and Mocha,
    Stesha

  4. Awesome!! LOL I so remember the days when taking a shower was a luxury 🙂 I have learned to fit in my daily shower, earrings, haha, that’s an entirely different luxury.
    .-= jennyleite´s last blog ..Wordful Wednesday =-.

  5. Well put! There was a time when I was running errands and stopped by my moms house. I took off my shoes and when we were leaving I couldn’t find 1white tennis shoe. We searched the house. My mom ended up finding it but it didn’t match the one I had. I had been wearing 2 different white tennis shoes the whole day. Thinking back….. Thats why those people where looking at me funny! Little did they know (I know) I was starting a new trend!

    • LOVE it! I once wore two different black pumps to work after I had my first child. I like to pretend that no one noticed. HA! I finally figured it out because my hip hurt and I realized one heel was a half inch higher than the other. Talk about being lopsided.

      Christy
      .-= Trippin’ Mama´s last blog ..Life’s A Circus =-.

  6. They make dry shampoo! I’ve got to get me some of that. I do wear earrings every day but I’ve worn the same pair for probably 6 months straight. Oh, well – my son likes them because of their shape and it makes for excellent distraction during long lines in the grocery store.

    And spit up has just become an added accessory/fashion statement around here.

    • Yes, they make dry shampoo. And while I mocked myself a bit for buying it it’s great. My stylist actually recommended it. She says we all wash our hair too much anyway. It’s super for a day when I don’t get to shower, or for freshening up on a day when I’ve been running around outside with the kids.

      As for spit up? Wear it proudly sister!

      Christy
      .-= Trippin’ Mama´s last blog ..Life’s A Circus =-.

  7. This post was HILarious! I work part time and when my kids see me putting make up on, they aske me what time Ih ave to work…how sad is that?? Most the time, when I leave the house w/o makeup and in sweat pants, hair not quite brushed, I think to myself, “No one here knows me. For all they know this IS me at my best.” It is at those times when I see someone I know who is the PERFECT mom, who doesn’t go down to her own kitchen without a shower and make-up. Oh geeze!!!
    .-= Stef´s last blog ..Good Question =-.

  8. I have loved each of the guest post’s this week! What amazing women you have found to keep us occupied! This post was great – I am slowly reclaiming my right to the pedicure – still no time to go out and get one — but I did find some time to do it myself! 🙂
    .-= Mellisa´s last blog ..Six Word Saturday – Guilty TV Watching =-.

    • Glad to hear that pedicures will once again be in my future. I envision giving myself and all four kids — including the boys — a little polish at the same time!

      Christy
      .-= Trippin’ Mama´s last blog ..Look, Mom! =-.

  9. Hi. Found you through Christy’s blog. This made me laugh. I am a working Mom of triplets…. I have gone to work without a shower for 4 days, really. Baby powder in the hair is a must to absorb hair grease:) Also, saw a facebook post from friends with no kids about which color to paint toenails for trip to Vegas. Are you kidding me? Ha.
    Abby

    • Abby, thanks for coming over from Trippin’ to have a look around Angie’s place. You’ll love reading about her adventures as a mom. Enjoy!

      Christy
      .-= Trippin’ Mama´s last blog ..Look, Mom! =-.

  10. Spoken like a true vet.

    I was shaking my head as I was reading your post. I found I was going to have spontanous twins a little over 2 months after I got married. They’re now 6 and as I type this I’m potty training their little brother whose 3. Having 3 kids really shakes any of the high-maintence (hell, make that just plain maintenance) out of a chick. Sometimes I have to stop and review just to see what the experience has done for (and to) me.

    This is one of those times.

    So far I know for sure:
    – Shower can be option. But not much past day 3, unless it’s a blizzard or a natural disaster has hit your town, then everyone is scuzzy.
    – Live and love the uniform. Cops have’em, nurses wear’um, even the Dunkin’Doughnut Man who I scored my hits of caffeine from wears them- they might be on to something. Mine are Gap Trouser jeans and Gap t-shirts (long and short) with clogs. The clogs are key because here in the Northeast it is snowy, slushy and with 2″ platform base I can navigate easily. Those extra 2″ also makes me 5’10” and skinnier. And I can slip them off easily.
    – You don’t have to bathe your kids everyday. In the summer yes (sunscreen) but you can fill up a kiddie pool and Viola! bathtime. After day 3 again, things get gamey.
    – You wear your hair everyday. Spend the cash there.
    – Bobbi Brown make-up hides pretty much everything.
    – I’d sell blood for Bobbi Brown make-up.
    – Perfume is your friend.
    – Tag sales are your friend.
    – You will have a million new mommy friends but if you can cultivate 3-4 close in-the-trench friends from them, they will literally save your bacon with emergency babysitting. Also fab for venting, and sounding boards.
    – No one know what it’s like to have twins. Except those with twins. We give each other knowing looks and, yes, we have a secret handshake. Same goes for higher-order multiples.
    – With twins, things either get exponentially easier or exponentially harder. All learn the potty or everyone figures out how to dial 9-1-1.
    – If your blog comment become too long, you should consider cutting and pasting it to your own blog. I am.
    -Diaper bags can be anything.
    – Nice stuff gets pooped, peed, thrown up on just as much (if not more) than good enough.
    – The Baby weight won’t come off unless you have a hand in it. I know, Heidi Klum says she just breastfeeds, but the girl is LYING. She’s paid to work out and just assumes that subsisting on salad is the norm.
    – What works for one kid doesn’t work for all. In fact count on it. It make it less frustrating. And it’s a pleasant surprise when it does work.

    I’m sure there’s more but this is what I can do for now. Plus, the 3 y.o. just informed me he went potty all by himself. (Hooray!)

  11. Lady, there are days when I am driving home from work and I think,” Did I bruch my teeth?” And 99% of the time… the answer is no.

    Great post!
    .-= erica´s last blog ..A year ago today… =-.