Don’t Sacrifice Your Pineapple - A Day In The Life Of A Working Mom & Entrepreneur

Lately, one of the most common questions I’m asked is “Wow, you are a super woman ... how do you do it ALL?” After all, I work as an Animal Control Officer, a Realtor, a Brand Ambassador, and … to top it off ... I am starting a shiny new marketing company. Now, let’s add my roles as mother, wife, and circus wrangler of four dogs and a cat. For the most part I shrug it off and say something to the effect of “Oh, it’s no big deal.” 

I am here to share with you, whether you are a working or stay-at-home Mom or Dad … it is a big deal. Kids are NO JOKE. Especially toddlers. They will take you on and leave you begging for mercy. 

A few weeks ago was particularly interesting. Fridays are my day “off.” (It’s ok, you can laugh. I think it’s a joke, too.) Anyway, other than my goal to write a blog post, I didn’t have too much on my plate. We were having dinner guests over but the house was already pretty clean so I thought Savannah and I could go on a quick mommy-daughter shopping trip. I may have had the selfish intent of wanting to indulge in perusing Marshalls but regardless, you catch my drift. I should have known though. Savannah had that special … wait, I mean sassy ... twinkle in her eye before we even left the house. I should have listened to my gut but I didn’t. 

I am sure you know where I am going with this. Everything was going fairly well outside of a few unwanted items in the cart. Then she discovered the shiny bottles of room spray. Nope, not the stuffed bunnies or the Halloween costumes ... not the makeup or fun games … the room spray. I think it was lavender-scented, which I can appreciate. It was what happened after that which was the issue. She dropped the glass bottle. By some grace of the Marshalls God, the bottle didn’t break. However, I am not a fool. I said my Hail Marshalls and asked Savannah to not touch them anymore. She begrudgingly agreed for a moment but then went back for more. It was like the lavender put a spell on her. She refused to leave that shelf! I played along for a good ten minutes but it was time to go. And now that we had spent so much time playing with room spray, I knew I was flirting with nap time. That sassy twinkle mixed with a lack of napping ... oh, I was asking for it. And that is precisely what happened. 

I told Savannah we needed to leave. Even offered to buy the stupid spray bottle. But no. Full. On. TANTRUM. To the point a Marshalls’ employee asked if everything was ok. “Yep, everything is just fine and dandy.” [Insert sarcastic A-Okay emoji here.] I promptly abandoned my entire cart of gorgeous goodies, hoisted the screaming kid over my shoulder, and made a run for it out the door. When we got home, Savannah promptly informed me she was NOT taking a nap. She then proceeded to go on a full out spree of pushing my buttons (including trying to kick the dogs, which is an absolute no-no in our house). 

For whatever reason, I thought Google might help. I mean, come on, Google knows it all. I quickly Googled “how to handle a defiant toddler.” I was directed to babycenter.com where I was presented with, “Defiance: Why it happens and what to do about it.” I mean, I guess I get it. Toddlers are crazy little rebels … testing boundaries and trying to find their place in the world. BabyCenter assured me it’s normal. Thanks … I felt better now. However, I was still stewing about that gorgeous pineapple candle holder I had to sacrifice at Marshalls. Was that normal too?

Don't give up.

And don't sacrifice the pineapple.

I know we have all been there. We have all had these embarrassing moments. I just want you to know you aren’t alone. I think it’s cute that I come off as so well put together. I think it’s great that you think I am an all-star mom with 75 careers and my days are flawless. Well, that’s what Facebook says … and Facebook is real life after all. (I’m winking.)

Here is the truth. That day I was on the verge of tears thinking that I must be a bad Mom. I questioned whether I was the problem because I am not a stay-at-home mom. I wondered if I was out of touch on how to handle my own kid because I have so much going on. Then I re-centered and realized I was letting the crazy in. I am a GREAT mom. Perhaps not a Mom that has time to make Pinterest projects or document every milestone but, at the end of the day, I am who I am. And I love my daughter with every morsel of my being.

I get up each day with a dream in my heart and a mission in my mind. I hustle because I want to create a better life for my family. I play this whacky game of a balancing act because I refuse to give up on my dream of using creativity to pay my bills. I sometimes lock myself in the bathroom for a moment of peace so that my daughter doesn’t smell my fear. (Don’t act like you’ve never done it.) Guess what though? I am super woman. I don’t know how I do it all but I do … and that’s what matters. It will pay off. 

So to you, my friends. Don’t give up and don’t sacrifice the pineapple. You too will survive having a toddler and a career. At least that’s what Google told me. 

I will have you know that I did finally get my daughter to take a nap. We won’t talk about the fact that it didn’t happen until 3:40pm. In addition, I wrote my blog post, too. While it wasn’t on the topic that I intended, this seemed way more appropriate.