Appearances.

This post idea has been rattling around in the brain for a few months now. Over the summer I heard someone say they quit reading a mutual friends blog because she always looked like she had it all together, life was dandy, nothin' to see here except shiny happy people holding hands. Those weren't her exact words but you get it. It got me thinking. I'm sure we all do it to some degree.

While at the pumpkin patch with friends we rarely see, we noticed them laughing after watching us attempt to take a pic of Eliot. They made jokes about how after seeing all the cute pics of him we have, they thought he walked around posing perfectly for pics. Then after I posted some of our patch pics on facebook, one of my friends even commented this: "It must be so fun to photograph such a good-looking kid! So stinkin' cute in all of these!!"

Well, let's see...

Take 347? Nope.

And take 2931. Nope.

So, yeah...let's just set the record straight. Eliot is just like every other 3 year old. We take hundreds of pics hoping for 2-4 good ones. The digital camera was created by a parent, I'm sure of it.

We certainly don't have everything figured out as parents, and for sure not in marriage. Everyday life can get pretty stressful around here with all we have on our plates and I'm not even talking about how often Russ wrestles a block of cheese out of my hands. But I rarely post about that stuff. I should more often, even just for myself, but also for you. While some unhealthy part of me really wants you to think I have it all together, the reality is pretty much the opposite.

Some blog examples? 90% of gymnastics so far has looked like this:

But that's not what I led you to think, and the five minutes he actually participated I bossed Lisa around making her take a million pics.

And that cute little chocolate chip? Believe it or not, he spends a good amount of time like this:

That's a time-out. At the pumpkin patch. The place of utopia-like paradise for a 3 year old. And don't fall for the brown face of innocence, he deserved it and more, frankly.

So, don't be deceived. Things are not all sunflowers and bubbles around here. More like bubblewrap. (As usual, I'm not sure what that means.) We're pretty much making up this parenthood thing as we go, I fail daily at wife-hood, I consistently drop the ball in friendships, I can't stop drinking soda and I would like to take this opportunity to admit publicly that I don't know the last time I mopped the floor. (Let me think...how long have we lived in this new place?)

And while I'm admitting stuff, if you were in the stack that didn't receive a thank you card from our wedding 11 years ago, please know that we really were thankful for those _____ that you gave us.

In conclusion, know that we're not as polished this here blog may suggest and may need to throw in a few more 'keepin it real' posts. Oh, and, don't eat anything off my floors.