Keepin' It Real

I tend to have a whole rainbows & unicorns approach to this blog of mine. I'm not one who likes to focus on the negative--I mean, we've all got a little of that, right? And who wants to visit my blog & hear me complain about mine, anyways? Every once in awhile I'll throw caution to the wind & let it all hang out, but for the most part, I like to keep it light. I enjoy highlighting the joy, the fun, & the hap-hap-happy moments in our lives. Afterall, those are the times I want to remember in the longrun.

But every so often, I think it's a good thing to keep it real--to show the happenings that sometimes fall between the cracks of the hap-hap-happy happenings. The moments that make me a real mom, a mom who struggles & stresses & has crazy days like every other mom on the planet. Sometimes I don't mind letting you have a little peek into our lives to see that we're not dancing jigs, singing along to Christmas carols, & watching the world pass us by through rose colored glasses--at least not always, anyways. 

Take last night for instance. A little keepin' it real adventure for ya...

It was business as usual. Jared gave Jett his bath, where he splished & splashed & acted like his completely normal self. After bathtime, I heard Jett fuss {completely normal for him to get cranky right before bed} & when he called for "Momma" I ran in to rock him. We rocked for a bit & I kept telling Jared I just felt like something was off. Jared kind of shrugged it off & we went about getting him dressed in his jammies. He fussed & cried a bit longer & then sure enough, as soon as Jared picked him up, Jett coughed & threw up down the back of Jared's shirt. No biggie. We're parents. We can handle a little bit of puke from time to time. I grabbed Jett from Jared so that Daddyboy could change his shirt & I bolted to the kitchen to get Jett a drink. Teamwork at its best, baby.

Then, all of a sudden, without any notice, teamwork done went & packed its bags & got the heck out of Dodge. In a blink of an eye, quicker than that, actually, I realize Jett is projectile vomiting ALL {yes, all caps is completely necessary} over me. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Keep in mind I'm pregnant & have a super-psycho hyperactive gag reflex going on right now & it is rearing its ugly head at this point, as well. So Jett is barfing uncontrollably & I am gagging uncontrollably. Nice, right? Jared runs in, jerks Jett from my arms & proceeds to order me to "Get out! Get out! Go find a toilet or trash can or something, Holly!" I stood there paralyzed as I looked down at my sweatshirt which was completely COVERED {I actually at this moment considered finding my phone & taking a picture, but I knew Jared would kill me}. There I stood heaving & gagging, wondering how in the world I was going to get a hooded sweatshirt off of my body without getting puke in my hair. Jared rushed Jett to the sink, holding him over it where Jett continued to spew & where Jared continued to boss me to "Get out of here with the gagging!"  Where went the lovely teamwork we were sharing just moments ago? Oh that's right. Bags packed. Out the door. Check ya later, Dodge.


Eventually, the fiasco fizzled out & the smoke cleared. We stripped our stinky clothing, gave Jett another bath, sanitized floors & laundry, & ourselves & we rocked our sick little boy into a deep slumber.

Shoo-wee, what a night.

My stomach is still doing flip flops over the whole ordeal.

You see there? Real life. Parenting 101. The stuff you don't read about in the What To Expect When You're Expecting books. I have a feeling we're going to have a lot more real moments in our parenting down the road. Ones where we'll plop down on the couch at the end of the day, look at each other like, What the heck just took place, & die laughing, wishing we had that keepin' it real moment on camera to play over & over again.

It ain't always pretty around here. It ain't always rainbows & unicorns, & sometimes the overpowering stench of Lysol & vomit wreaks throughout our home.

Call me crazy, but I wouldn't trade a single bit of it.

I'll gladly forfeit my weekend plans of play dates with friends & a big date night on the plaza with my husband if it means I get to have a sweet baby attached to my chest, breathing heavily, knowing there's not a place else in the world where he feels more safe or secure. 

So this weekend we'll stash away the rose colored glasses, we'll play the Christmas tunes a little quieter, & we'll save our dancing jigs for another day. This weekend, we'll embrace with open arms the real that life is sending our way.

Here's hoping for a hap-hap- happier tomorrow!

Have a great weekend, friends.