I know what you are feeling Lightning.
This Christmas I made a list, and it wasn’t for Santa. It was for all us MOPS out there.
One evening several weeks ago, as I picked up a fallen photograph and stuck it back on the fridge using one of my son’s alphabet letters, I heard a still small voice in my head. It whispered… “You might be a redneck if…”
Au contraire, I thought. I am not a redneck. I am a suburban stay at home mom. Not only that, I am a mother of two toddlers.
Are there any lists out there for us?
Well, I haven’t heard of any…not that I’ve done my research. I’ve been doing my laundry.
But like the Rednecks out there, we Mothers of Preschoolers could use a little humor because let’s face it, it’s a daunting and exhausting profession… much like being a redneck. Okay, not at all.
Actually, being a mom is like nothing I have ever experienced before in my life. It is wonderfully difficult, causing me to often wonder if I am rising to the challenge.
There are days in which I am exasperated and in awe of my children all at the same time. At one moment, I might feel that my top is going to blow, only to be applauding and cheering my son’s latest mastery of memorizing a new book ten minutes later. It can be an emotional roller coaster.
In short, motherhood is filled with joy, tears, meltdowns, diapers, and lots and lots of peanut butter.
So, to give myself a little laugh, and hopefully you as well, I’ve come up with a list of “you might be’s” for all the mothers of preschoolers out there.
Without further ado, here it is:
You might be a MOP if…
1. You find purple crayons in the pocket of a sweatshirt you haven’t worn in weeks.
2. You post about your child’s eating, sleeping and yes, other bodily functions on Facebook. Here’s a real post I wrote a few weeks ago:
“Jacob just went pee-pee on the potty!! In the words of the all famous Luigi from Cars, ‘I must scream it to the world from the top of some place very high.”
Which leads me to my next point…
3. You have at least one Disney movie, Dr. Suess book, and/or nursery rhyme memorized.
4. You use alphabet letters as magnets on the refrigerator. (I mean…they are magnets, after all.)
5. Sleeping until 7:15 is considered “sleeping in.”
6. Going to the grocery store without children is considered a break.
7. Running out of peanut butter is nearly the equivalent of running out of milk. Your children wouldn’t know what to eat without it.
8. It’s hard to find a shirt in your closet you like without a stain on or a hole in it.
9. The Christmas/ Birthday present you were most excited about was a steam mop. (Maybe that one’s just me).
10. Somehow, even if you don’t own a television and have never watched a Sesame Street episode in your life, somewhere there is something in your house with Elmo on it.
11. You write blog posts on a Saturday night. 🙂
What can you add to the list? I’d love to hear. Whether you’ve been through it years ago, or are just beginning, send me your list and I will repost!
Brooke Frick 
Great list! Sorry I don’t anything to add yet.
12)You find a really good Mother’s Day Out program and use it atleast once and week, and you might feel guilty, but it’s actually false guilt which must be fought, because you see the connection between your mental and emotional health and your childrens.
13) You’ve had to memorize the names of all the race cars from the Cars 2 movie, so that you can tell your son every time he asks, “And what’s his name?” (maybe this only applies to a MOP with boys.) =)
I’m passing on the Versatile Blogger Award to you 🙂 http://ksnapped.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/do-i-get-a-sparkly-dress/
14) Sometimes you lock yourself in the bathroom with an egg timer and a book so you can have five minutes of relative peace.
…or perhaps that’s just me (aka random blog creeper)
You find yourself making compromises you never thought you’d make: “It is white with bright red waist- and leg-bands, so it should be washed in cold. But it is poopy. So it should be washed in hot. Warm it is.”
The only thing I can add is:
I am soooo glad I’m done with that phase of child rearing….
Wait for the teen years, you’ll be blogging your head off, like me…
Nice post!
Ha! This was hilarious! Loved it. And as you may know, I’m a parent of two preschoolers. Hmmm… Something to add to your list? I’m not sure. It was great, made me laugh out loud. How about, “You might be a MOP if:
1. The library cards in your wallet aren’t yours.
2. You have three different multi-vitamins in your cabinet (2-3 years old, 4 and up, adult).
3. During phone calls you say things like, “It is not okay to jump from the windowsill!” “Quit flushing the toilet!” and “Yes.” (That last one will come back to get you every time.)
Ha! Love it! It is so hard to have a phone conversation these days! Loved your additions! Thanks for stopping back in! 🙂