Today has been one of those days. I have been ‘Owning then OMing‘ my way through motherhood this fine Thursday. What the heck am I talking about? I’ll explain. You know those days that go completely wrong? You can’t catch up (or a break) no matter how hard you try? Your babies (while so freaking cute) are driving you bonkers? You’re throwing together a healthy meal only to find out the chicken isn’t fully cooked (eeew) and your kids WILL NOT eat black beans or chicken anyways? (Who knew? They ate it last week.)
These are the times where instead of pulling my hair out, throwing things, and screaming at the top of my lungs – I remind myself to breathe. Yes, breathe. I bet you’re thinking, “Ha ha ha, yeah right loony toon.”
No really, I’m dead serious. When the world is against me (I swear it is sometimes!) I challenge myself to rise above the chaos that is consuming me, recognize where I am, then pull it together. In other words, “Own it then OM it.” Does this mean I never get angry? No. Does this mean I never raise my voice or get completely frustrated? Hell no. It means instead of sinking into the frustration, angst, and anxiety that seems to rear its ugly head routinely in motherhood – I try to own those feelings as they occur and then do my best to let them go. OMmmmmmmm.
It works, I swear. It also has the tendency to backfire in certain situations. I’m not gonna lie. Example: Sometimes my husband will see me on the verge of going ballistic and utter the words, “Own it then OM it Lisa.” I look at him in disgust. Really? Seriously? You’re gonna start with that right now? As our child is knee-deep in toilet water? Never mind why I was ready to go crazy before, now all I want to do is kick your ass. But then again, I know he’s right.
Some more ~Own it then OM it~ times in my life:
When my purse is overflowing with yogurt and goldfish and crayons and Lego’s and stray noodles and cheese sticks and pony tail holders and all I really want is to find my damn wallet and keys –
Own it then OM it.
When my little one thinks that 4:00 am is ‘wake up for the day’ time and my daughter “can’t” go to school because there might be sharks in the fish tank (thank you daddy for introducing our five year-old to Shark Week) and the house is a mess and all I want is the baby to go to SLEEP NOW –
Own it then OM it.
When I finally have date night and I forget how to carefully walk in heels amongst a houseful of toys and I trip and fall flat on my face in my pretty new dress –
Own it then OM it.
When my daughter goes in and out of the house 100 bazillion times in ten minutes and keeps asking me for the same thing and my fire alarm is going off because I’m a terrible cook and my little one is eating cake off the floor –
Own it then OM it.
You can read part 1 here.
Share some of your ‘Own it then OM it’ moments below.
lisa
Mommy OM 
Oooooooh boy have I had days like that!! And am still having them, with one teen and one almost-teen!!
The one that comes to mind immediately is when Jessi was 3 & 1/2 and her brother was just sitting up on his own. I had them both neatly dressed in nice clothes to go and visit with Gramma and maybe get a nice lunch out and hit the library (Jessica’s all-time favorite place, still is) on the way home. I set Arek down on the (light-grey!) carpet in the living room for just a moment while I went to get something from my bedroom…
I came back to my little boy absolutely doused in chocolate syrup. As in… the ENTIRE bottle. And my daughter standing over him, grinning. “Look, Mommy! I made Arek a sundae!”
You know, I don’t remember what that out fit looked like. The carpet is long-since gone to wherever carpets go when they’re too worn, stained and embarrassingly oddly-odored to stay in your home any longer. The chocolate syrup washed right out of Arek’s baby-fuzz hair, but I will never forget the mischievous little grin on my daughter’s face, or the way Arek laughed and clapped his hands, with brown goo dripping down his forehead.
Do I cherish the memory? Absolutely. Do I ever want to raise toddlers again? Not on your life.
LOL Good luck, Moms. These moments too, shall pass, I promise. 🙂 Motherhood doesn’t get easier, mind you… just different… But it’s worth it. Even the chocolate-covered baby moments.
Love these posts! Cracked me up and helped me to calm. With a 6 year old and a 9year old, you would think things would get somewhat easier…..NOPE! Just a different! But all the same elements are there and the same solutions work!-kinda!
Oh, I love this!!!! You always bring me back to mommy reality when I’m suffering from “why am I the only mother that seems to get this over whelmed” syndrome!!!!! The cake on the floor pic and comment……priceless!!!! Had me rolling with a good ol’ belly laugh 😉 that’s soooo my 13 month old!!!!
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Too Funny! As a mother of 3 boys, I can completely relate. Mine are 13, 11, and 8, so it is starting to get slightly less hectic, but I have not gotten far enough away from the days of little ones to forget the craziness my life was. Thanks for your posts.