Before I Was A Mother...

Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t watch more than 30 minutes of TV a day.

But when your high energy three year old stopped napping at 2 1/2 sometimes you gotta put in an afternoon movie.

And by sometimes I mean Monday through Friday. And sometimes it works and he falls asleep.

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t eat anywhere but the dining room table.

But the dining room is all the way downstairs. We have snacks upstairs in the playroom, multiple times a day.

We do eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the table. And yeah, that's Cheetos and a candy cane in the last picture.

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t be spoiled with tons and tons of toys.

But my kids don’t go to daycare, so they’ve got to have stuff to keep them occupied all day.

What am I saying? They are spoiled.

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t have any stuffed animals.

But they actually love them. I think stuffed animals are the most pointless toys on earth, especially for boys.

I saved a few of my childhood stuffed animals, they’ve gotten a few as gifts and yes, we have even bought three.

 (Fun fact: that little white teddy bear is this Britney Spears bear.)

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t have temporary tattoos.

But they make a fun treat. I still hate them. They only look good for the first day then they get gray and dirty.

They look trashy and are hard to wash off. Luckily Nolan doesn't really like them.

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t wear character clothes or shoes.

But they make getting dressed a lot easier on a difficult morning, no matter how ugly they are.

Plus, how can I say no to his favorites when I dress him in these?

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Before I was a mother I swore my kids wouldn’t wear shoes with lights.

But Nolan was so excited when he spotted them while shoe shopping.

I regret it though. He stomps around and kicks the back of my seat to get the lights to flash. Never again.

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I’m a mom. I love my boys. I am weak. But there are things I have not and will not budge on. No pacifiers after six months. No bottles after one year. No sugar before first birthday.  No candy before second birthday. No gum before fourth birthday. Organic milk only. Organic fruit snacks only. Very strict bedtime routine. No toys or books in cribs or beds. No Sponge Bob Square Pants. Ever.