The Mommy Look

Yes, I now officially have the "Mommy Look". You know the one I'm talking about...messy hair, little or no makeup, wrinkled clothes with at least one formula stain, stubbly legs, and a frazzled look. I always thought that I would be a Mom who really had it together and put all the other Mommies to shame. Boy, was I wrong!

My time is so limited and so focused on Ethan that I'm lucky I make it out the door on a weekday morning on time! I wake up at 5:45 a.m. and pray that Ethan is still sleeping. Showers in the morning have become a thing of the past since my hair takes too long to blow dry. I shove my contacts in, brush my teeth, slap on a bit of makeup (just so I don't scare my co-workers), run a brush through my hair, and find whatever is in my closet that is the least wrinkled, the least stained, and the least tight. Then it's time to get Ethan up, changed, dressed, and fed. If he's fairly cooperative, this can be one of my easier tasks of the morning, but if he feels like sucking his toes while I'm trying to get him dressed, or watching the dogs play instead of taking his bottle, it can be a trying ordeal. Once Ethan's fed, if I have a few extra minutes, I'll wash bottles or clean up his toys, and feed the dogs. I swear there have been days that neither dog got any food!

Then it's out the door at 7 a.m. to take Ethan to daycare and off to work so that I can arrive by 8 a.m. WHEW! By this time, I am ready for my breakfast and a cup of tea! I work with mostly women, who all have children, and luckily they have all perfected their own "Mommy Look". We compare wrinkles, formula stains, and belly pooches like we were talking about the latest fashions. It's truly amazing how easy it is to join the "Mommy Club".

In the evenings, it's just as chaotic but in reverse, kind of like that roller coaster at Hershey Park that takes you forward and then backwards. I pick Ethan up from daycare and hope he doesn't scream all the way home. then it's time for him to be fed his cereal and bottle. Most nights, if Joe is working late (like he has been recently), I don't eat dinner until Ethan goes to bed at 8 p.m. Then I rush around shoving food in my mouth, washing bottles and labeling them for daycare, running a load of laundry, and trying to get myself ready for bed. Each day is a whirlwhind, that's for sure.

It's amazing how much I used to care about each hair and if it was perfectly in place, or did my outfit look okay on me. Now all of that just takes way too much time, time better spent playing with Ethan for those few spare moments in the morning, or rocking him to sleep in the evenings.

All in all, I guess you could say that the "Mommy Look" comes with its own rewards!