Monday morning came, and I set out for one of my first few grocery shopping trips with my baby boy. This Monday, I got to the store, through the store, and was almost through the line without Oakley making a peep – fast asleep in his carseat! My total came up, and I slid my debit card through the scanner. This shopping trip was going to be a breeze. Rejected. I slid it through again. Rejected.
I apologized, and the cashier suspended my transaction while I figured things out. I called my husband at work, and he quickly transferred funds for me. I waited a bit, and a few other customers went through the line before I tried again – just in case the transfer went through faster than we suspected it would. Most likely it would take several days since we had to transfer money from a different bank. Rejected.
I decided I could take care of the problem quickest by going to a bank and coming back with cash. I buckled Oakley’s car seat back in the car and hopped into the driver’s seat while I searched for a First Merit Bank nearby. My phone went black. Dead. Just great!
Unfortunately, I needed to go to the bathroom badly, so I stopped at the closest gas station for a bathroom and directions – both extra stops I was not planning to make when I set out on this shopping trip. Now, as a mom, getting in and out of the car, even for short stops, gets a little harder and takes a little longer with children in tow (especially when you are carrying a 100 ton car seat)! I made it to the bathroom, however, without my little guy getting too impatient and found out there was a First Merit right around the corner. Yay! I could finally get my groceries!
I have to sneak in a picture of this adorable little man from around the time of the story. Harried days for me don’t change his adorableness! Just look at those chubby cheeks! <3
Once I got to the bank, though, I realized what I ditz I had been!!! I was at the bank with the empty account…I wasn’t going to find any money there! The bank teller informed me that yes, indeed it would take a couple days for the transfer to go through. I got Oakley and myself back in the car once again just as Oakley began crying, letting me know that he was hungry again. I originally had hoped I would be back home to feed him!
As much as I didn’t want to nurse him in the back seat of the car, I grabbed my nursing cover and decided I better feed him here. My car didn’t have air conditioning; and if I did leave it on idle, it would overheat (It had done that on me the week before!). So I cracked the window to give us some air, situated myself in the back seat, and scooped Oakley up to discover wet, pee-soaked clothes. Oakley had wet right through his outfit in our excursions, even though I had changed him right before we left!
Awkwardly, I changed his diaper and outfit in the back seat. Then, I scooped him up again and began nursing him – just as explosions began erupting from his bottom half and ooey, gooey brown stuff flowed to where I could see it at the very edge of his fresh, clean diaper!!!
I was a hot mess, phone dead, feeling like a wreck, hoping my car wouldn’t break down next, wishing my brain was less ditzy, no groceries, feeding my child in the backseat of a car with wet clothes and a messy, poopy diaper.
Do you ever have days like this?!?!
Whether it’s your own self making funky mistakes all day, your child pooping through his diaper two or three or seven times, or all kinds of mishaps and muddles happening on the part of your children, sometimes we all have messy days. I discovered some things that helped me on that crazy shopping day, however, and a few other harried days since.
3 ways to survive harried motherhood moments:
- Laugh. I couldn’t help but laugh as I sat in the backseat of my dieing car with the contents of Oakley’s diaper threatening to come out on me. It was just too much! Sometimes life throws you some ridiculous moments, and the more things that go harried the harder you’re allowed to laugh. Really. Stop to enjoy the ridiculousness of it all! Turn it into a memory. Turn it into an adventure! Turn it into a moment for laughter with your favorite littles.
- Notice things to be thankful for. There is always something, no matter the situation – I promise! Though I wasn’t really thrilled to nurse in the backseat of an unairconditioned car, I realized how thankful I was that it wasn’t one of the 90 plus degree days we’ve had in Michigan this summer. I was thankful for how patience God is with my crazy, ditzy brain and that He had just enough money for me in a old bank account close by to pay for my groceries ($3 more than my grocery bill!). AND I was thankful I had a sweet baby boy to do my grocery shopping with regardless if that meant some extra work, baby cries, and dirty diapers too.
- Remember God is in the messy days too. Sometimes we seem to feel God more on a good day and find it easier to believe in His presence. But let me tell you, He wants to be and is intricately involved in every day of your life, good or bad. So when your heart starts to melt from anxiety, stress, or being overwhelmed with how a day in the life of your motherhood is going, then remember He’s there; turn to Him, and invite Him into that moment with you. Living life with Him aware of His presence is the best and makes it a whole lot more fun! 🙂
*Hey ladies! Comment below helpful ways you have found to make it through some of your crazy days as a mom or share one of your funny, hectic motherhood stories.
