The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

Sometimes I’m the Mom Who Gets Annoyed With Her Kids For Just Being Kids (But I’m Working on it)

3 Minute Read

By Stephanie Brophy

kids running at home www.herviewfromhome.com — Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

“I JUST got this shirt.”

I sighed loudly as if the kids would notice I was annoyed.

My 2-year-old was not phased as he continued to dig his electric toothbrush into my new button down mere minutes before leaving for day care and work.

I had just gotten the shirt in question the day before. It cost $10 so I shouldn’t have been that upset. Nor surprised that it would have been stained so quickly.

It’s just that I was finding myself starting a lot of sentences with, “I just . . . ”

I just vacuumed the living room and the monster truck is now being used to crush Goldfish crackers into the carpet.

I just folded the laundry and the kids are now making it rain tiny socks and Paw Patrol undies.

I just got that shirt and I know it was only $10 but it’s the first new shirt I’ve gotten for myself in I don’t know how long and darn it if I wanted to wear it once in mint condition.

The thing is, I’m really not very tidy, and don’t like cleaning very often, and messes usually don’t bother me because, well, I have toddlers.

So saying “I just” at the beginning of my sentences was bothering ME. Because it was a sign that I was becoming THAT mom. The mom who gets annoyed at her kids for being kids.

Please tell me I’m not alone in using those words?

Are we trying to emphasize the brief period of time that something was not a hot mess? Does it somehow rationalize our annoyance? Aren’t we well within our rights to announce we had done something to better the overall appearance of our homes?

Probably, but I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Toddlers don’t appreciate clean spaces, or folded laundry, or shirts without stains. They’re the very reason why we can’t have nice things.

I don’t want to be the mom who rage cleans the crumbs on the floor. Most of the time, I kick them under the fridge or couch anyway. And to be honest, I can hardly find the time to do the laundry, let alone fold it. I’m perfectly content pulling clean clothes out of the basket each day.

So I’m finished with the I justs even if they seem justified in the moment. For me, those words breed resentment and general discontent for situations that just aren’t that serious in the first place.

At the end of the day, I’m OK with the mess, because in some ways it is saving my sanity.

You may also like:

Dear Mama, This Part of Motherhood is Your Beautiful Mess

Two-Year-Olds Aren’t Terrible, They’re Just Trying to Understand Life

So God Made a Toddler

Want more stories of love, family, and faith from the heart of every home, delivered straight to you? Sign up here!

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Stephanie Brophy

Stephanie is a wife and mom to two kiddos with a third on the way (3 under 3 club, here I come!) I'm an Associated Press Award winning former news reporter and met my husband when I interviewed him for a story. I have had the opportunity to meet the Pope and have even appeared as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.

Robotics Kids Are Building More than You Can See

In: Kids

These robotics kids are going to shape our future. I think this every time I watch an elementary, middle school, or high school competition. My thoughts go back many years to when my middle child, who was six at the time, went with my husband to the high school robotics shop. They were only stopping in briefly to pick up some engineering kits, but my child quickly became captivated by what the “big kids” were doing. He stood quietly watching until one student walked over and asked if he would like to see what they were working on. My son,...

Keep Reading

Foster Care Kids Are Worth Fighting for

In: Kids

Sometimes foster care looks like bringing a child from a hard place into your home. Sometimes it looks like sitting at a ball field with a former foster love’s mom and being her village. He’s the one who has brought me to my knees more times than my own children. He’s the one I lie awake at night thinking about. He’s the one I beg the father to protect. He’s the one who makes me want to get in the trenches over and over again. It’s our Bubba. So much of the story is not mine to tell, but the...

Keep Reading

We Aren’t Holding Her Back—We’re Giving Her More Time

In: Kids

When we decided to give our preschooler another year before kindergarten, I thought the hardest part would be explaining it to other people. I was wrong. The hardest part was the afternoon her teacher asked to talk. In that split second in the pick-up line, my heart sank. I assumed the worst. I braced myself for a conversation about behavior, about something we had somehow missed, about whether her strong personality was causing problems. Instead, it became the moment that confirmed what we already knew. We were not holding her back. We were giving her time. Our daughter is bright....

Keep Reading

A Life Lived Differently Is Not a Life Less Lived

In: Kids

My life changed on that beautiful autumn day. The thing is, nothing really happened. Not really. My life kind of went on as usual. A fly on the wall might even say it was a great day. I brought my 3-year-old son to an animal farm for a Halloween event. He was quirky as usual and a bit ornery that day. Aloof. “Come feed the baby animals,” I pleaded. No, thank you. Crowds of excited children? Absolutely not. Buckets of candy? You can keep them. My heart ached watching my beautiful, blonde-haired boy wander into a field alone, away from...

Keep Reading

Enjoy the Ride, Kid

In: Kids

Two people running up from the water at the beach

Last night I watched an episode of Shrinking. If you haven’t jumped into the series yet, it’s one of those that hits the heart hard- at least for me. The episode centered on the birth of a baby, while one of the characters grappled with the closing years of life. Spoiler alert: as the elder of the group cradled this new life in his arms, bridging generations across the hospital room, the moment of realization of how fast life goes hit like a ton of bricks. “Enjoy the ride, kid.” The final words of this episode are sitting with me,...

Keep Reading

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

In: Kids, Motherhood

With four kids at three different schools, our days are full. Between sports practices, music lessons, clubs, rehearsals, games, meets, and playdates, it feels like we’re constantly heading somewhere. I love that my children are involved in activities, but occasionally, it’s nice to have some downtime. When I get a text or email that a practice has been canceled, it’s usually a huge relief. Last week, after-school sports were cancelled due to heavy rain. When I picked up my youngest son from school, I told him we’d be going straight home for the rest of the afternoon. He looked surprised....

Keep Reading

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

In: Kids, Motherhood

I have a confession: Yesterday I let my 11-year-old play with fire. Like literally. We live in the country, there is still wet snow on the ground, and he’s done it with his dad at least 20 times. But yesterday was the fifth consecutive day of no school, and probably the twentieth consecutive day of him asking to have a small fire without dad. Part of me did it out of laziness. Part of me did it out of selfishness. And part of me did it out of nostalgia. Here’s the thing—when I was 11, I was already babysitting (like...

Keep Reading

A Big Brother Is His Little Sister’s First Friend

In: Kids

Big brother and little sister smiling at each other

He doesn’t remember the day she came home.But she has never known a world without him. From the beginning, he was there first. The first to reach for her hand. The first to explain the rules. The first to decide what was fair and what absolutely was not. He didn’t know he was being assigned a role. He just stepped into it. Big brother. She followed him everywhere. Into rooms she technically wasn’t invited into. Into games she didn’t fully understand. Into stories she insisted on hearing again and again. She wanted to do what he did, say what he...

Keep Reading

7 Is the Bridge Between Little and Big Kid

In: Kids

I was in the middle of the post-holiday clean-up chaos when something hit me. My oldest daughter is seven, and while it feels like an age that doesn’t get talked about much, it really is turning out to be such a sweet spot. It hit me as we were redesigning her room. A change that occurred when she broke my mama-heart a few weeks prior by saying she didn’t think she wanted a princess room anymore. While everything in me wanted to try to convince her to keep it, stay small and sweet just a little longer, I knew I...

Keep Reading

So God Made a Gymnast

In: Kids

God made a gymnast with fearless grace, strength in her heart, and a fire in her spirit. He molded her courage, steady and true, and quietly whispered, “We believe in you.” He taught her balance when life feels chaotic and messy, to leap into her faith and stick each landing just right. When she stumbles, He is always right there to help her rise back up with faith in her soul and a spark in her eyes. Each floor routine with the grace of a swan; each move is a dream, all built on dedication and grit. God made her...

Keep Reading

My Heart Was Waiting For a Daughter

Child

My Heart Was Waiting For a Daughter

I'm a Christian Mom of Four, and I Considered Abortion

Baby

Sometimes I’m the Mom Who Gets Annoyed With Her Kids For Just Being Kids (But I’m Working on it)

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Stephanie Brophy

Robotics Kids Are Building More than You Can See

Foster Care Kids Are Worth Fighting for

We Aren’t Holding Her Back—We’re Giving Her More Time

A Life Lived Differently Is Not a Life Less Lived

Enjoy the Ride, Kid

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

A Big Brother Is His Little Sister’s First Friend

7 Is the Bridge Between Little and Big Kid

So God Made a Gymnast

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

Sometimes I’m the Mom Who Gets Annoyed With Her Kids For Just Being Kids (But I’m Working on it)

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Robotics Kids Are Building More than You Can See

Foster Care Kids Are Worth Fighting for

We Aren’t Holding Her Back—We’re Giving Her More Time

A Life Lived Differently Is Not a Life Less Lived

Enjoy the Ride, Kid

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

A Big Brother Is His Little Sister’s First Friend

7 Is the Bridge Between Little and Big Kid

So God Made a Gymnast

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like