Being a Mom is overwhelming

No one tells you that there will be days where you sit and cry about everything you have to do. Or perhaps you don't cry, you just sit there staring at the wall or your phone knowing you should be switching the laundry or cleaning the kitchen, yet you can't pull yourself from doing nothing. You are so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things that need to get done you're paralyzed to do any of them. Sure you would feel better if you just got one thing off your list, but that list would still be full, it will ALWAYS be full.

Yesterday my son was sick, minor sick. Sick enough I had to stay home with him, but not so sick that I was cleaning up vomit. I had to take off from work (add that to the list of things I'm behind on), but figured I could still be productive. I organized my kitchen. I got so sick of seeing just stuff everywhere that I finally organized it. I went through cabinets and threw out expired spices and old Tupperware. I made a pile of donation items, like the 394,291 cups we seem to accumulate. I even wiped off the front of most of the cabinets and cleaned the counter tops. But as a Mom, do you know what I saw? The floors that I didn't touch, the drinks that still have no where to go, the lunch boxes on the counter, and then I turned around and saw the rest of the house. At this point I wanted to sit down and drink wine. But, I didn't, I did laundry! I put away laundry in my kid's rooms. But you know what I saw, two more rooms that are in need of purging, another laundry basket of sheets, despite doing 3 laundry baskets of linens the day before.

I get kids are messy, I get we're a busy family, but why can't I ever have or keep that feeling of accomplishment? I feel like I need to take time away from work to even get close but at the same time I want to give up because I know it will last for a day, MAYBE a week if I'm super lucky.

All the pressure from Facebook and Pintrest doesn't help. Here's a list to help you keep on top of things, yet that list often is for stay at home Moms or for a Mom that isn't super busy, or better yet a Mom who doesn't sleep. I often wonder if I should just forgo sleep to stay on top of things.

I have two happy (most of the time) kids. I feed my family, I take them on fun adventures, I try to make sure they have clean clothes (even if they are digging in the laundry room for that days outfit). I try to keep the dust bunnies and dirty dishes to a minimum. But I feel like a failure. You go to your spouse to vent and they tell you that you're over committed and you need to not do so much. But all you hear (even though they don't mean it this way) is "don't hang out with your friends or don't do anything fun, instead stay home and clean". Yes, there is a bit of adulting to do and you must stay home and clean sometimes, but you know it would have to be all the time in order to stay on top of it.

I can't stay home all the time, I need people, people are my life source. Well them and church. I can't stop bible study, I need those ladies and the clarity they give me through the Word. I can't stop PTA, there's only like 10 of us anyway so if I don't do it who will? I like being connected to the school, since I work full time and can't be more of a presence. I can't stop camping, we're making memories and we spent a lot of money on this camper, we need to get our value!

BUT now I'm failing family. I'm not spending enough time with them. My parents moved up here to be with me, not never see me. My Mother-in-law LIVES to take care of us, not be pushed off until who knows when. It's hard. It's a struggle. It's overwhelming.

Camping Trip #4: My Parents choice

Chris and I wanted to be able to take my parents and his Mom on one of our adventures in our camper so we asked them where they wanted to go. My Mom had heard about Chincoteaque and mentioned that, so we looked into it. Well they swim wild horses from one island to the other once a year, however it's in the middle of the week and we're only doing weekend trips. So, we figured we would just go to the island and see them at least. 

We found a KOA, and since I bought a KOA membership we figured we would let it pay itself off (you get 10% of stay and by our second stay we were saving money!). The KOA was really nice, completely shaded, and 10 minutes from the beach! Score! 

We pulled in, set up, and went straight to the pool. The pool that felt like bath water! Gross! At least it got the sweat off. 

We then changed clothes and decided to explore the town some before our dinner reservations! And look what we found!

Ponies! We were driving and passed the Chincoteaque Pony Centre! The kids absolutely loved it!

While Kinsley was taking her turn Parker turned to me and said "Mom, I'm so excited I get to ride a horse, finally my dreams are coming true!" Ha that kid! 

Here is is living the dream apparently. 

For dinner we had an amazing treat from my parents of a crab feast! We're from Maryland so we eat crabs whenever possible, luckily my kids are getting on board with it!

Don't you love his tshirt? 

This trip was especially epic since this little man learned to ride his bike without training wheels! So proud of him! Haven't been able to get him off since!

The full day that we were there we went to the beach. This little man was determined not to go in the waves, then he saw his big sister enjoying them and I couldn't keep him out of them! Eventually chris and I just brought our chairs out to the surf so we were closer, and my ankle was still recovering, and little man thought sure sounds like a great idea! 

My happy place. 

Goofballs. Why do kids enjoy being covered in sand. It gets In the worst places. 

Out there are the ponies they are going to round up. They round up the wild ponies for the swim, to check them over, give them any medical attention, and to sell some off to keep the population under control. 

After dinner at the camper we took Kinsley to a spot she had been "dying" to go the whole time. Build Your Own Cookie. It's a cute food truck where you pick your cookie, ice cream flavor, and then topping! Kinda amaz-balls. 

These are the wild ponies they rounded up. 

It was a magical trip and I'm so glad my parents got to go with us. Having lived in NC until recently I feel like they missed a lot, so it was nice having them there for this! Especially Parker and his bike!!! 

Camping Trip #3: Mom's Impromptu Trip

I didn't think my trip was going to take place until next year, but thanks to my husband's campsite stalking I didn't have to wait! 

HELLO GETTYSBURG! 

 Our Campsite was one of my favorite parts of this trip! We stayed at the KOA and it was wonderful! We had a site that was close to the action yet felt so private! Look at all the boulders surrounding us!

 The kids loved playing on them and it felt so Gettysburg!

 This KOA was exceptional! The customer service was top notch and it was so clean and well kept! Definitely want to return!

The kids had a run in with their first frog, meaning the first one they actually held.  

Parker was a little skittish! HA, it was comical, he tried again after this leap.  

 So we were here for the reenactment weekend that takes place on July 1-3. It was amazing, for me. For the kids it's still out to be determined. They thought it was interesting but hot, and a lot of learning. We found out that they were having church services in the morning and thought this was a wonderful experience, not to mention we were missing our service.

Kinsley met some important people. She and Mrs. Lee bonded over her dress~

 The next day we went on a tour around Gettysburg that catered a little to the kids. Chris and I enjoyed it, the kinds tolerated it for the most part. They enjoyed parts of it, but I'll make little historians out of them one day.

We got to ride in a 1930s bus and it was an adventure to say the least.  

Kids got to learn about how hard it was to be a soldier, i'll spare you the 3 minute long video. 

Kinsley met more influential people. 

The KOA had a lot of really great features that the kids LOVED. This playground was great and we could see it from our campsite so the kids could go "adventure".

Parker asked about every half hour if he could go to the jumping pad.

We mined for Gems.. enter eye roll, the crap kids want to bring home. Yeah we were all so excited that but the time we got home the kids completely forgot about the Gems, so exciting.

I would say this picture is proof of a good trip. Chris and I learned right away that for us to have a stress free evening we let them fall asleep on the table bed watching a moving and then move them to their beds later. 

Gettysburg was a great trip but next time Chris and I are going to go without the kids. It's still a little too much learning with too much heat for them to be interested. 

Camping Trip #2 Parker's Trip

So, when we first brought our camper home we allowed each child to pick a destination. Parker chose Hershey Park! Whoo hoo only two hours from us!

This was perfect because when we bought our camper the dealer gave us a free year to Thousand Trails Campgrounds. You simply pick your zone and then you can camp for free at any TT campground in that zone. What you don't know is that Thousand Trails is the Southwest of campgrounds. No assigned spots. You either get lucky or you don't. Despite the super packed campground we got lucky with a great spot. The sewer plug didn't work, but our neighbors taught us about spider-dogs! It's a win. 

Thousand Trails Hershey was a really nice campground. It was clean and the spots were a good size. The pool was big and clean and it had a nice playground. We saw ducks and turtles, but let's be honest, this trip wasn't for the camping. BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE! 

But first, mommy juice!

This is my White Sangria Concentrate. 

Here's the low down to help your day go better. 

Fill a mason jar with fruit, I used peaches, strawberries and blueberries. 

Pour in vodka till 1/4 full

Fill the rest of the way with white wine (I had pino on hand)

Let it sit in the fridge (I made it the night before we left) 

Once you are ready to drink it you pour it into a pitcher and mix in a jar or more full of Fresca or sprite, depending on the potency you want. I thought it was weak until I ate the fruit, Hello Spring Break College!

Well as you can see we made it to the park the next day and we're still smiling!

Parker is still not a fan of characters. He doesn't want to karate chop them but he also still won't touch them. 

This was our first time seeing the seal show and it was so cute! 

By the end of the day Parker wouldn't even stand in the same space as the characters. 

So Kinsley did us proud. This was for her Daddy. 

This one was for her Sasha! Sasha loves her Rolos. 

And then some shopping and a free tour. 

We spent a lot of time at the water park, but keep in mind I was still injured. Walking around Hershey Park in a boot #allthehills #sohot #killmenow. But I couldn't wear it at the water park and paid for that later. Uh! 

It was a great trip and left us all with smiles, and a few sugar meltdowns.