Rosie to the Rescue: Mommy’s Wackiest Day Ever

In case you missed it, here is a recent post from “Rosie to the Rescue”, my blog for Parents Magazine.  I often get asked how I am able to manage it all, but the truth is, my mornings sometimes turn into a version of Dr. Suess’ “Wacky Wednesday”.  Here I give you a snapshot of a wacky morning in the Pope household.  Don’t miss the rest of the “Rosie to the Rescue” posts, available here.

Have you ever read the book Wacky Wednesday, by Dr. Seuss, to your kids? Mine absolutely love it and I’m starting to think it’s because every morning is “Wacky Day” in our house.

When I’m riding to work, face on (mascara at least), hair coiffed (or at least pulled into a ponytail), teeth brushed (thank goodness), looking kind of like I have it all together (I hope), I look around at the other people riding the train with me who I presume might also be moms and dads. All looking equally as ready for the day, and I wonder what whirlwinds ensued in their homes that morning. It’s as if a hurricane happened between wake-up and leaving the house, and then somehow we still seamlessly transitioned into the world!

People often ask me how I manage to juggle everything: three kids ages 4 and under, a maternity line, my stores, my MomPrep studios, writing books and filming. To be honest, it makes me smile because half the time I think I totally don’t have it together, and end up shedding a few tears in the shower! So I thought I’d share with you my Wacky Monday this week, and all the things that happened between getting up at 5 a.m. until dropping off my son for school at 9 a.m. and boarding the train for work by 9:15. I’m hoping it will make you laugh and next time you don’t feel like you have it all together, remember, neither do I!

So here we go…

I found my 2-year-old wondering around the apartment at 5 a.m. (he has just transitioned to a toddler bed). Shortly afterwards I broke a glass while unloading the dishwasher and frantically screamed at my barefoot babies to stand back. The garbage bag then broke all over the floor while someone got into the bag of cereal I was planning to pour (before getting distracted by the garbage), and it exploded. So I tried to fly over bouncers, bikes, and scooters that were all parked slap-bang in the middle of the room in order to stop my 8-month-old from shoving Cheerios in her mouth, as she’s still learning how to chew. Meanwhile my 4-year-old decided to get all (I mean all) of the toys out of the cupboard I had just finished cleaning up; then my 2-year-old pooped all over his pajamas, followed by his sister pooping all over the Exersaucer. (I’m sure you, too, have figured out bouncing and pooping are not a good combination.)

I finally got to clean up the poop, managed to get everyone dressed, and the waffles ready on the griddle (breakfast attempt #2) when my 2-year-old tried to fly and planted facedown on the floor, and his nose started to bleed everywhere. Everyone started freaking out, I started freaking out, and then we all collapsed on the floor laughing in hysterics and decided to eat our waffles on the couch (a little something I call picnic breakfast) and watch me dance (always entertaining for breakfast). When we finally set off for school it was raining out and the wind howled; as I struggled to hold umbrellas and push the stroller, I crashed into a garbage can. Why was I holding two umbrellas? I couldn’t find the plastic cover to the stroller, and my son was refusing to hold one because it wasn’t his special froggy umbrella!

That’s when he peeked out from the stroller, gave his priceless grin, and said, “Mommy, don’t you think it’s wacky Monday?” Well, I couldn’t agree more.

So the next time you feel defeated, don’t! Feel triumphant in all that you juggle, and that you can still have a smile on your face.

Tags: multi-tasking, rosie pope