Mommy Needs Timeout Too
29July 11, 2012 by CassieCravings
mamacravings
There are days when you find an entire box of cereal poured into the cat’s water bowl.
There are days in the office when the printer jams, the computer freezes, and a bug runs across your office floor.
There are days when your child runs through the department store yelling about potty chairs and tee-tee, and you think, “I will never give a cross eye to another mother again in the history of the entire ever.”
There are days when Mommy needs time out too.
It’s funny how some days moms can feel that we can have it all. We can conquer this world, with a baby on our hip and a gorgeous shoe on our well manicured feet. And then there are days when we wonder if we brushed our teeth, or if we had the toothbrush in our hand and dropped it to put out whatever fire needed extinguishing.
I used to feel like such a failure on those teeth questioning days…”Used to” to are strong words. I still feel that way sometimes, and those are the moments that I have to check what I actually crave for my family. Those are the moments when I need timeout.
Timeout can be a few deep breaths or it can be a piece of dark chocolate hidden away for such occasions. It can be a few stolen moments away with that book that I am dying to finish. Sometimes I simply need a moment. Sometimes I need a few moments closed up in the bathroom with some tears and a good prayer.
For my son, timeout is about reevaluating. It’s the same for myself. I remind myself how fleeting the moment will be. I remind myself how lasting my reactions to the moment will be. I ask myself what do I crave for my son and myself to get out of this moment.
I remind myself that I am not perfect, nor can I be. No matter the color-coded lists, master schedules, no matter the intentions or the books I’ve read about parenting, perfect isn’t an option.
I am a mom, but I’m still human. I run on caffeine and love. And every now and then I need timeout.
mamacravings 
I never had so much caffeine as I have now! I’m definitely running the same race with my coffee in hand and my love in heart.
Me either! And I thought I had a lot in college! Lol
🙂 We’ll run this race together!
This post made me giggle…and then tear up. Every word is so true. Beautifully written.
Thank you so much!
Sometimes I feel like we feel like we’re the only mamas going through it. It is reassuring to know that someone else understands an entire box of cereal in the cat’s water bowl. 🙂
So true! Lately, both my son and I have needed a lot of timeouts. Thanks for sharing.
Us too! …this also means that I have had quite a bit of dark chocolate and extra coffee. 🙂
Thank you for reading and commenting!
love is infinite, but caffeine is my crutch during this painful potty training thing. Time outs are so necessary!
I toast your caffeine. 🙂 Let us all take a moment and bloggy hug one another through potty training.
I so understand needing a mommy time-out! Especially during potty training when things get frustrating very quickly. I’m with you on coffee (my “time-out” coffee includes dark chocolate syrup and half&half). I survived all through college without coffee, and then mommyhood made coffee a necessity!
We are smack in the middle of potty training as well.
You know, I never craved coffee until I became a mom. It’s a life source, as sure as air. 🙂
Sometimes people tell me I’m intimidating. Usually I respond with something along the lines of “you don’t know how often I end up watering plastic plants” but the tooth brushing questioning happens a lot too. That’s going to be my new example – “you don’t know how much time I spend wondering if I’ve forgotten to brush my teeth…” I think it’s worth it though… that’s why they make chewing gum (and plastic plants)
So perfectly put! And, I completely agree – a timeout while I am having my coffee would be perfect right about now – ha!
Thank you!
I’m going to take a time out, and I’m going to shower. Then I’m going to stand at my vanity and finish my diet Dr. Pepper very slowly. 🙂
so true. i posted about ‘me time’ a while back… so important to take a break from it all and just do something that relaxes you and lets your recharge your batteries. sadly, I hate coffee, so i run off tea at work and at home, my nightly snack is a bowl of strawberries with some chocolate on top… 🙂
Me time and time for ourselves is really necessary. Sometimes all it takes is a few extra moments before the house begins to stir.
I mostly run on diet Dr. Pepper. I adore a huge bowl of berries with a touch of whipped cream. Yumm! 🙂
I love this. I enjoy little chocolate breaks, too! There are so many times I actually want to put myself in time out. One minute for every year, that’s just over 30 minutes…I’d hate to see what my house would look like when time out was over. 🙂
Lol! I think that we should get extra time for time out. We really need time to reflect, 2 minutes for every year? …We may need a babysitter to go with this time out. 🙂
I think sometimes we moms feel guilty about taking that time “just for us” – even if it is a few minutes to read a chapter or catch up on Facebook. We forget that those few minutes provide us with the things we need to be good moms, rather than making us bad ones. I know I feel that guilt in the back of my mind when I sit on my lawnchair in the backyard and tell the kids to play together without Mama for a few minutes while I read or return emails. But then I feel more ready to play with them after that time and am not as impatient because I have the to-do list (or my want-to-do list!) running through my mind.
And I think Pull-ups and potty chairs should be sold with complimentary Starbucks gift cards! There is not enough caffeine or chocolate in the world for some potty training days! 🙂
I completely agree!
Pull-Ups and potty chairs being sold with Starbucks gift cards is a million dollar idea! I am in love with it 😀
Caffeine and chocolate makes the mommy world go round 🙂
This is so sweet; profound. 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
So true! My timeouts usually involve ice cream. Thanks for liking my post at whenworkingstopsworking — I’m soooo enjoying your blog!
Thank you so much!
Yes, ice cream makes any time out so much better! :))
Oh yeah. Right there with ya. I run on caffeine and a a healthy dose of chocolate. My time outs usually involve a good workout and some crafintg. 😉
Oooh! Crafting is a wonderful, necessary time out. It’s such a great creative outlet. Of course caffeine, chocolate and a good work out are great too! 🙂
Oh and thanks for liking my posts! 😉
Absolutely! Thanks for having great posts!! 🙂
I just had a conversation with my kid’s nanny. I stated that my biggest fantasy at this point in my life was not insert fabuluous getaway, shopping spree, gorgeous actor, but one evening in a mediocre motel with good blackout curtains and a killer AC system. By myself. I just want 8-10 uninterrupted hours of sleep. My friend looked at her 8 year old son, sighed, and said she had been wanting the same thing for 8 years. Time out, indeed!!
Ooohh! 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep makes me salivate just thinking about it! My mom has always told me that when they let us sleep again, we’ll stay up worrying about why they’re sleeping so much. Lol