Before the Phone Booth Quick Change

Warning: This post contains shocking images. Proceed only if you're not afraid of messes.
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I have a confession:

I'm not Superwoman.

I work. I have an almost 10 month old baby. I have a home to clean, pets to take care of, a family to make dinner for. I try to semi-regularly write. Needless to say, there are a lot of things to get done in the day.

What I want people to think of my life

 

I was on Pinterest a few weeks ago in one of the rare moments I had some free time (or in one of the not so rare moments that I was not doing something I should be) and I saw a pin that made me laugh out loud.

A more accurate portrayal

 

It was a picture of a gorgeously made up, perfectly dressed, baby-wearing mama out for a walk. Underneath the pinner had captioned "That's going to be me when I'm a mom- stylish!"

I cracked up then went and told the Facebook world about it.

Stacks of fabric that have been on my table for two weeks

A year ago, I probably would have said something like that. In fact, at one point I started a Pinterest board called "Mission Stylish Mom." Let me tell ya, I aborted that mission months ago.

As much as we hate to hear it, we can't do it all. I'm not saying that you shouldn't work, take the time to put together a gorgeous outfit, or spend your kiddo's naptime writing a blog post. What I'm saying is something has to give.

Dishes from last night's dinner

Pinterest especially (and the Internet in general) has fed into this notion that we should be able to do everything. We see all these moms doing fabulous craft projects with their kids or wearing an amazing outfit and we're so hard on ourselves when we don't measure up to the idea we have of what a perfect mom/wife/insert appropriate title should be.

What we don't know is what's going on behind the scenes though - the mom in the cute outfit might have a pile of laundry that needs to be done and the crafty mom may have put off grocery shopping to do that project with her kids.

Loads of laundry - at least it's all clean!

When we're online, we want to present the best, most polished, perfect version of ourselves, but that's usually just a little glimpse of the whole person, and it's easy to get down on yourself when you feel like you're failing to live up.

Sometimes I don't put any makeup on, there are days when I wear my yoga pants from morning to night, and it's not uncommon for there to be loads and loads of laundry in my hamper. But I'm learning to extend myself grace, just like I would a friend who may be struggling to juggle all that motherhood (life, really) brings.

No, I'm not Superwoman. Sometimes I'm just Lois Lane. And I'm fine with that.