That Mom

I never wanted to be That Mom.  You know, the One I'm talking about.  The one that looks more like an extra in a zombie movie than the adorable starlet in the latest romantic comedy.  I thought I was immune, but I guess watching two extra kiddos and being pregnant with your third child makes you lose it, just a little.

Last night, I found myself wandering the grocery store a little after 5:00 pm (the time I should be starting dinner...) with two little boys in tow.  I hadn't showered, I'm not even sure if I had time to brush my hair.  At least I had on some make-up (to cover up the sleep-deprived circles under my eyes).  I was wearing a floral print dress that would have been perfect about 10 years ago, but is now woefully out of style, unless you can really pull off the cute vintage look in a pinch.  (Apparently I couldn't.)  Add a big black sweater on top, just to cover up some of the massive flowers, a black pair of crocs (at least they're cute ones), some used-to-be-silver hoop earrings (I attempted to accessorize), and there you have a little snapshot of my appearance.

On to the children.  At least one of them had their hair combed (at one point in the morning to go to school).  I did insist on shoes and socks and pants.  Mr. Two had been up the previous night throwing up (three bed sheet changes and two sets of pj's later, a good sleep-for him, not me- on the couch, and he was pretty much back to himself) and was in pj's all day.  I did put some clothes on the child before leaving, although his hair and face needed some serious attending to.

So, back to the store.  Why was I at the store anyway?  Well, because I wanted to "use up" some of the items in the fridge, and had found the perfect recipe to do it with.  Something that would satisfy the adult palatte and the child's picky tastebuds as well.  (I was not going to resort to another box of mac and cheese.)  Something Mr. One would actually eat without protest, since I wanted him to eat quickly in order to enjoy FHE together afterwards.  The only snag?  No pizza dough in the house.

 Image from Millie Motts

 

Now, a really good mommy would just whip up a batch of dough on the spot and continue on, dinner made, table set, hair coiffed, pearls on, just in time for the Handsome Husband's return from work.  That was not in the cards for us.

So, to the store for pizza dough and a few other sale items.  With a half of a free bakery cookie in hand (at least I only let them have half right before dinner), we cruised the isles.  Cruise isn't really like it, with squeaky shoes, a waddle, and two whiny boys, it was more of a "Squeak, waddle, whine" through the isles.

Bagged salad.  On sale?  Yes.  Check.  Pomegranate.  On sale?  Yes!  On list? No, but still Check.  Pizza dough.  On sale?  No.  Quick, is there a store brand? No.  $3.19 for a little tube of additive-filled, not so tasty pizza dough!  I could make two whole pizzas from scratch for that amount of money!  Arrggghhh!  As I stood there, looking crazy, holding the tube of dough, children looking on in puzzlement, I started thinking.  Well, this is why I came, and I'm trying to get dinner ready before 9:00 pm...

I bought the ridiculously over-priced dough and the other various items.  (Hey, at least I remembered the milk, which was on sale, thank you.)  Then we trekked home.

Mr. Two fell asleep in the car.

Mr. One and I had a fabulous time making pizza rolls.  Handsome Husband came home in the middle of the mess, and entertained Mr. One while dinner finished, giggles included.  We ate together and then had a wonderful family home evening, ending with tasty turkeys for dessert.  (By the way, the pizza rolls were delicious, and Mr. One liked them.  Although they would have been better with homemade dough.  Drat.)

After putting Mr. One to bed, I finally got my shower and a few blissful moments alone with Handsome Husband, before...

Mr. Two woke up and thought he should be eating dinner.  Enter the family room couch, Handsome Husband on one, me on the other, and the late news and the Tonight Show while Mr. Two happily ate cereal and drank juice...

Lessons learned:
Sometimes you just need to put up with being That Mom in order to create some moments of happiness for your family.
And in the end, you will still get your shower and you can try again to look put together and on top of it tommorrow.
And be grateful for a helpful, understanding, Handsome Husband in the meantime.