Play ball!

Now that tee ball season is here, I am reminded just how difficult it is to be a parent and a coach. I always try to get out of coaching but that never seems to go my way. Instead, the teams are always short volunteers, and I end up helping. Not that it isn’t rewarding, but coaching my own child is very difficult. She doesn’t listen to me and it makes for a frustrating experience for both of us. While I am coaching tee ball, I was able to find a very helpful list of “6 steps for coaching your child” from the USA Football blog. Even though it is a different sport, the tips can really apply to any support.

The one most important tip that has really stayed with me is to not coach my child at home unless they ask for it. It is hard for me when we practice at home not to be the coach but rather the supportive parent. I am hopefully making strides to be better at home.

Are you a coach to your child? If so, please leave any helpful tips in the comments.

Stressful Holidays

Holidays can be stressful on families with small children. Having to travel with kids and their gear in tow isn’t always easy. For us, we have to travel during the holidays to visit my husband’s side of the family. While it isn’t an 8-hour drive, it is still a significant time in the car for little kids. I pack tons of snacks, the iPad, and other toys for entertainment but sometimes that just doesn’t cut it.

Once we arrive at her house and unload all of the gear, we just need a break but we all know there is no break at the holidays. Also, our kids don’t sleep very good out of town so the next day, we are always zombies. I know there are other parents who travel for holidays with young kids. In looking for advice, I found his blog post. I am going to try incorporate some of these tips next holiday season. If you have advice on how to make the holidays less stressful traveling with children, please leave a comment.

Hot mess mom

Along with feeling like a failure as a parent, sometimes I feel like a hot mess mom. You know, that mom that can’t get it together. I am guilty of that on occasion. I try my best to be as organized as possible, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Balancing the kids, work, and school is challenging at best, and I end up being a hot mess mom for a day or two.

I love watching parenting videos from Cat & Nat on YouTube. No matter how bad of a parenting day I am having, these two always seem to pull me out of it. Cat & Nat’s video on hot mess mom’s is a favorite of mine. Maybe some of my hot mess moments are teaching my children to be more independent. After all, I can’t do everything for them all the time. Watch the video and let me know your favorite hot mess mom moment!

Be prepared for the unexpected

As a parent, I try to always be prepared for the unexpected including toddler meltdowns, Kindergarten girl drama, fitting siblings, and so much more but I am not sure anything could have prepared me for our neighborhood drama this week.

When it was warm last week, I saw many of the neighborhood kids out playing. Normally, we would have been outside, too, but we had an event we had to go to that night.

As we left, there was a Maryville City police officer outside speaking with two of our neighbors. Of course, this is not an everyday occurrence in our neighborhood. I went on about my business until one of my neighbors saw me the next day.

She proceeded to explain that the neighbor that lives next me to called the cops on her kids because a ball went in to her yard. Say what I said? Who in the world calls the cops after a ball gets in their yard. It is certain to say, I wasn’t prepared for this unexpected occurrence. My neighbor went on to say that the lady has also been taking pictures of our kids while they are playing outside.

Why didn’t she call the police when we were celebrating 4th of July with real fireworks?

So, now I am an angry mom. I am trying to not lose it on my neighbor who called the police and is taking pictures of my children without my permission! Any advice on how to “play nice” with my neighbor is welcome.

Why is parenting so hard?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I thought that I had enough babysitting to know what to expect. My sister is 12 years younger than me so I practically helped raise her. I thought I was fully prepared, but I soon found out I was way wrong!

No one can quite prepare you for the adventures or hardships of parenting. It truly is a rollercoaster. Most days I can handle the stress and chaos but others I just feel like a parent failure. For example, my daughter asked me the other day why I had not been to any of her school parties. I felt so bad, but I am honestly having a hard time juggling being a great parent, employee, and student.

Luckily, when I am feeling down and out as a parent, I have other parents to turn to. A blog post from Scary Mommy helped me turn the parenting corner today by making me remember that I am not alone in this journey.

So, if you are having a bad parenting day, turn to one of your other parenting friends or groups because you are not alone!

Pick Three

When I first heard author Randi Zuckerberg speak on her concept of picking three and being lopsided rather than balanced, it finally clicked with me that you can’t possibly be the best at being a mom, wife, employee, student, and more each and every day. Watching her interview on the Today Show this past May really changed my perspective on balance, which I had been trying to achieve for so long.

In her book Pick Three, she describes how each day you must pick three – sleep, family, fitness, work, or friends. Your priorities change each day, so your top three choices can change. I relate so well to this method because each day my top three priorities change based on the situation. As I have painfully learned over the years, I just can’t do it all. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I sacrifice sleep to work out at 5 am so that I can still be to work by 7:30 am. Seven Saturdays in the fall, I put work before family because I do a special tailgate for alumni donors every home game. On Wednesdays, I work through lunch so that I can see my little girl practice gymnastics before dinner.

Asher and Paislee joined me for the Little Vol Walk during Homecoming.

Each day, picking my top three means I can focus on being good at just a few rather than spreading myself too thin. What I have taken away from this method has truly helped me let go of some of the mom guilt and be a better parent. I encourage you today to pick your daily top three and see how it changes your parenting life.

My Favorite Mommy Blogs

One cannot start a new blog without first paying homage to those who have paved the way. These blogs are not only entertaining but also educational and relatable to my current life status. For anyone looking for parenting advice, I recommend you take some time for yourself (gasp, is that even possible with kids?) to review my go-to suggested blogs.

Scary Mommy

While Scary Mommy started out as a blog, it has now grown into a brand of its own. Scary Mommy is a place exploring situations that all moms can relate to. With stories on pregnancy, kids, living, news, beauty, and more, there is something for every mom.

The Working Mommy’s Manual

This blog might be my all-time favorite because I relate to it so well. Author Nicole is a workaholic mom who tries to find balance while confessing she can’t choose one over the other.

Today Show’s Mom Blog

The Today Show Mom blog is a wonderful community that I love to follow. The plethora of content is refreshing and inspiring.

The Mommyhood Chronicles

“Laughter is the best medicine” is the theme of this mommy blog from part-time dentist and mom Melissa. I love her funny stories and how I can relate to much of her content.

Mom Trends

Less stuff and more time is the motto of the Mom Trends blog. Beauty, travel, and style are just a few of the topics this blog covers to help moms find inspiration.