Mini Mama Madness: Blooper Reel

I take pictures.....like ALL the damn time. During breakfast. At the park. When the kids are coloring. Playing sports. Swimming. Doing something silly. Smiling. Yawning. Sleeping. Wrestling. Hugging. Cuddling. Special Occasions. Days when we don't even get out of our pjs. I'm ALWAYS taking pictures. With the technology we all possess in the palm of our hands, why not? Why not capture a moment in time, a very brief moment in childhood, that can be cherished forever?

There seems to be this misconception that pictures must be taken to upload to social media immediately in order for the world to see our fun. Do I upload to social media? SURE! Some are very glad I do upload pictures almost daily...since we live far away. THAT is the wonderful thing about the whole social network, people can see your children every day. I LOVE to share our babies....I LOVE to share their beautiful faces...I LOVE to show our beautiful children off. But, that is not the reason I take a billion pictures...errrr, 4,711 that are on my phone at this moment to be exact. Those 4,711 pictures are for me. My life is hectic, SO, SO hectic. I WISH I could capture just how hectic...the pictures do not do the chaos justice. I probably look ridiculous when I'm out, holding 2 kids' hands, babywearing, Joseph has food all over his face, and I stop, phone in hand, to take a picture. But, I really don't care what bystanders are thinking, honestly. That is for me, not them. For me to sit down after a long (SO long) day and pull that picture up on my phone, think of that moment that felt like complete chaos, and see that adorable face. I love to reflect after the fact. During my moments, I DO feel stressed, I often don't show it, but I am....and that's ok. But, I also get excited that I captured that moment...one day, our children will laugh so hard that I did.

I don't take my pictures for the "highlight reel" posted on social media, I take them for me...for my kids... and if I end up with a good one (or two) that I may post, great. Although, I like to post some of my crazy times too because that's life...MY life...my chaotic life. I feel like I should be posting more of the blooper reel than the highlight reel because I want people, women, MOMS, to know it's okay to live in what feels like a blooper reel because we all do! Every moment you display does not have to be portrayed as perfect, with perfect children, in their perfect clean clothes, playing in perfectly clean houses, having a perfectly wonderful day listening to Mom. If this is truly happening in your home, PLEASE, I beg of you to get in touch with me...we will team up and conquer the world. Really though, I hope no one ever sees anything on social media that makes them feel like they are not living up to their motherly duty. Just remember as you are looking at that picture, one of those kids was having a tantrum, eating dirt, dumping a cup of water, milk, and/or snacks all over the damn floor (errr day, y'all, errr day), pouring out the mop bucket...ok, let me stop making this about my home... just 5 damn minutes before that lovely picture was taken.

For those moms that feel me, I urge you to post just ONE picture of your blooper reel. It will make another moms day, trust me.

P.S. Changing your photo to black & white can truly take it from a blooper to a highlight. HAHA!

Also, this is seriously just within the past day, so one can only imagine......