The other morning, as I went to wash the dishes after the boys’ breakfast, I noticed a Christmas sticker expertly adhered to the side of Rhett’s bowl. Thanks to my always-increasing arsenal of mom products (in this case, Goo-Gone), the sticker went away quickly but I was left laughing about some of the unexpected “gems” of motherhood that pop up in my day-to-day life. As I thought more about this list, it grew and grew and I figured it might make a semi-entertaining blog post to share with the parents, caregivers and grandparents out there who find their lives blessed by little “gifts” from children that pop up all day every day.
You know the saying, “You’ll miss this one day?” I think that likely applies to every single thing mentioned below… except for maybe watching my kids grip the sides of a toilet seat in a public restroom. I don’t think I’m going to miss that one.
Unexpected Motherhood “Gems”
Have you ever been bored in the bathroom? Because you won’t be anymore! A new little BFF will be with you at all times to keep you company.
Your ability to do things one-handed will reach new heights. So much unlocked potential.
Your child will express gratitude on Thanksgiving for many, many things. You may or may not be one of them.
Wasn’t it adorable when your baby first said, “Mama?” Good news! You get to hear it 5,000 times a day!
Stickers will be found in the most unexpected places and, if you’re lucky, you’ll find them on your clothes after you wash them and they’ll be with you forever! What a way to bring more color into your life!
Did you know you can color on more than just paper? The possibilities are endless!
You probably already knew this but teachers make the world go ‘round. Bless them, bless them, bless them. And bless them some more for the discernment they use after listening to the stories they hear about your family.
You will discover a plethora of surprises from nature in your laundry — rocks, acorns, special sticks! Who knew unintentionally cleaning random items from the wilderness would be in your repertoire?
Ever been curious about what it might be like to live in a nudist colony? Good news, you’ll get a front row seat to more nakedness than you ever could’ve imagined!
Does owning a reptile or a fish or a small rodent sound exciting to you? Because it is!
You will become immensely familiar with the toilet seats in public bathrooms. Watching your child grip onto them for dear life will make you appreciate the toilets in your own home on a whole new level. Bless the home potty.
Great news! Your hair and/or jewelry makes an awesome toy for your baby.
Remember the crust you never ate off your sandwiches as a child? You have the opportunity to make up for it now when you ravenously unpack your child’s lunch. Eat up, buttercup!
Did you know your purse can double as a snack factory or mini toy store? So many purposes.
Oh and your coffee table has multiple purposes, too! A craft studio! The perfect race track for a million cars and trains! A performance stage! And the sharp corners are a wonderful way to sprinkle a little anxiety into your life.
All that memorization you practiced in school will really come in handy as your eyes start to close during story time. “Horn went beep, engine purred. The friendliest sounds you ever heard.”
If you thought you and Google were tight before, your everlasting bond will only strengthen over queries about the “fastest shark” or “no fever but won’t stop crying.”
Additional Motherhood Blog Posts
- What I Wish I Knew Before My Baby Was Born
- Motherhood is the Best Because…
- Transition from 2 to 3 Kids
- Life with Three Kids 1.5 Years In: Part One + Part Two
- Enjoy Them
- 7 Months Postpartum with Baby #3
- Postpartum Life: Transitioning to Two Kids
Question of the Day
I’d love to read about some of the unexpected “gems” children have brought into your life. Please share below!
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Towards the end of the day as you believe you have finished all your duties for the day and just as soon as you sit down to relax and prop your feet up for just a moment your potty training cbild yells out from the bathroom “Mommy, I’m done!”
You’ve got the whole crew calmed down doing a nice quiet activity so you step away for just a moment to take a quick potty break and you come back to find all chaos has broken loose!
You have read Llama Llama Red Pajama a bazillion times and could read it with your eyes shut.
Just a few gems from me and my crew of 5!!!
Thank you for doing this post!!! It was such a good start to my day this morning!!!
💙
No matter how many times I wipe it, my dining room table is forever sticky! Also, my 4 year old will not hear me calling her when I am right next to her but if I say the word ‘juice’ from the other room, she hears it!!
Love this post! Thanks Julie!
Haha yesss! Or I swear they have sonic ears when it comes to hearing the sound of something like a bag of candy or a pint of ice cream opening 😆
When your child says “come on, move faster” while sitting in slow traffic or suddenly spurts out a 4-letter word and all you blame is yourself. . . ..
Costumes are not just for Halloween, they become regular attire to go to the store, the park and pretty much anywhere
Merriest everything to your family, Julie
This is so sweet! I am a teacher and LOLed at the teacher one – it’s soooo true, I hear way too much about my students’ families private lives – but I am also a mom to a toddler and will no doubt get payback soon!
The other one I would add: Christmas tree decorating will never be the same again….
Hahhaa truth!! I mean isn’t it great to have 15 ornaments crammed into a 3-inch section of the tree?!?z
HAHAHAHA! This is hilarious!! Gosh, what funny scenarios and ones I know we’ll experience. Thank you so much for sharing this. I love your wit and sense of humor.
Ahhh I love this. I remind myself a million times how I will miss this stage one day. My 7 yo and I have this ongoing game where we hide a plastic cricket somewhere where it will “scare” the other person. We don’t even discuss it we just keep taking turns. And I love finding my daughter’s dolls around the house all lined up for “school” or tucked into sleeping bags she made out of socks. Or their little hand prints on our picture windows. Ok, I could go on forever…
The endless comments or questions about mommy’s body (from two little girls). What are those ornaments on your chest? Why is your butt squishy and mine isn’t? Can I see where the doctor took me out (c-section scar)? You get thick mom skin quick😀
Oh my gosh Chase asked me why I had a hole on my butt cheek one time and I was like, “Ohhh, no no, that’s just cellulite” 😅😂
Didn’t you find worms in the laundry one time? Too funny!
YES!! And they were ALIVE — how they survived the washing machine, I will never know!!
Such a sweet post Julie. As a soon to be mother of 3 I relate to this so much. I especially laughed at the line about memorization and “Horn went beep, engine purred. The friendliest sounds you ever heard,” because I knew exactly which book you were talking about! It’s so true. I’ve memorized just about every book, show or movie we’ve only repeated about a thousand times! Thank you for reminding me to cherish all these motherhood gems.
I read your blog on the regular and I can say that may be my favorite post ever. So relatable (mom of 3 – 2 are boys). My “gem” contribution is quite umm gross… when you walk into a room to tidy it up and see what looks like chocolate or could be something else on the wall. When asked “what is this” the answer is “well I thought I farted but wasnt sure if anything came out. I checked, it did, so I wiped it on the wall to get it off my finger.” This applies to boogies too. Such a treat. Scrubbing the walls for all sorts of things – from things from their bodies or crayons, peanut butter, oh the endless scrubbing. We can add pro cleaner to our resume. ha!
I just laughed out loud because YEEEEEEP, I get it! We’ve coined that a “poop toot” in our house and the boys now know they have to immediately tell Mom or Dad when that accidentally happens — LOL!
And the booger on the wall thing — WHAT IS THAT AND WHYYYYY!? I was venting about this to a friend when Chase was a toddler and we legit had a text thread of pics going back and forth of random boogers our kids smeared on the wall throughout the house.
I don’t have children but this post was so sweet read! You have such a lovely family Julie and I love following along ♡
I’m glad I’m not the only mom who reads the Little Blue Truck about a thousand times a day. When my two year old is playing pretend, about half the scenarios start with a dump truck stuck in the mud 😅
Beep beep beep! I’m stuck! I’m stuck!
You will always look great in a mirror full of smudges and fingerprints!!
And smudges on your windows and glass doors add character to a home!
This post is just perfect!
We are knee deep in potty training right now, so I would add that I never realized how much I would talk about bodily functions. All day, everyday.
And just all the legos. Everywhere. And stepping on said legos, all the time lol.
Awww I love this so much! Speaking of stickers on clothes, HOW do you get that out? I washed my favorite black work dress with a princess sticker on it, and I have no idea how to get the remnants out.
Unable to finish your drink? Your 2 year old will find your drink wherever and drink it no matter if it’s the same drink that’s in their cup, yours is just better 😉
The numerous stall tactics to not have to go to bed yet, rub my back, I need a hug, a bigger hug, I need water, I need to poop….
Making sure you grab or bring the right cup or our son’s current obsession, a chip clip 🤣 if you forget to bring it in the car, oh man!
Also the number of toys you find under the couch or in the most random places
Ps. I’m slightly afraid of the public restroom seat grabbing as we just started the potty training journey 😬
You’ll still have songs stuck in your head but now they are children’s show theme songs!
Your child will be come infatuated with the one thing they can’t have/you need. Chapstick. Hair ties. Pens.
Love this post. Life with little boys is always interesting! ❤️
OMG I can recite Little Blue Truck Springtime from memory lol
Another gem – my 2022 Wrapped on Spotify is like 50% Disney & the cast of Encanto were my top artists.
Also, how often to people point out to you that your children have the same name as Paw Patrol characters?
Julie! I have often thought we’d be best friends in real life – we’re the same age, both have three kids almost identical ages, share many interests and some of the same struggles (ex. trying to get our 1st percentile babies to just freaking EAT; clearly I’ve been a long-time reader!) – but never have I felt that MORE than while reading this post!! 😉 Every single one of these – SO SO accurate! My contributions would be:
-You’ll find yourself saying things you never thought would leave your mouth, such as: “I have to go get you a new plate because you peed on this one.” (Potty training…??)
-If you’re ever trying to do something discreetly – say, adjusting your underwear in an empty aisle of the grocery store – there will be an announcement to the entire world: “MOM WHY DID YOU JUST PUT YOUR HAND IN YOUR PANTS???”
-You’ll celebrate with your child when they learn to read/spell… and then realize you can no longer spell out “grown up” words with your spouse while the kids are in ear shot. 😉
And so many more. Haha! Thanks for the laugh today!
Your tolerance for stains on your clothes will reach new levels. Food stains? No problem, you can still wear that. Snot and drool? Oh, just wipe it off with a bit of water, I’m sure no one will notice. Baby peed on you? I should probably change, right? Or should I…?
Also: Nothing like a foot massage from the Lego, toy car etc. you just stepped on.
Laughed when I got to, “Horn went beep.” My son loves the little blue truck books and I have that one completely memorized. 🙂
Sweet post. I appreciate the reminder to remember and appreciate the small things!