Keep Calm and Mother On

We are moms and we are principals.  On most days we do a pretty good job of being great leaders while also being super moms.  But sometimes, well, let’s face it, we don’t do such a good job balancing our two important jobs.  Yes, we have to admit that on some days, we are bad moms.  Inspired by the movie, Bad Moms, that is now out in theaters and a must see, we have compiled some of our favorite bad mom stories to share with you.  We can laugh at ourselves so we hope these stories will put a smile on your face and maybe you will be able to relate?!

Dinners come in a box to my doorstep, just like my Amazon Prime deliveries, only they come in a “PLATED” box. Each ingredient clearly labeled, portioned out, just as the recipe calls for, accompanied by a step-by-step recipe for a cooking-challenged “mom”….that is, when I actually know I’ll be home at a reasonable hour to “cook” dinner. The local pizza place usually greets me by name when they see my number coming through on their caller ID.

My birthday treat standby has become a Pizza Hut chocolate chip pizza…delivered. A few years ago, I was busy getting ready for parent conferences and completely spaced getting birthday treats picked up. Being late January and freezing cold outside, I started to panic. Since Valley Center is such a small town, delivery was limited to just Pizza Hut. As I was looking on their website to order a cheese pizza, I stumbled upon the chocolate chip dessert pizza. I quickly ordered, sent a check to the secretary via a star student, and prayed they were pre-cut! Turned out to be a win and declared “the best birthday treat ever” by my daughter. I now do it every year.

I went back to work when my daughter was three months old.  Of course, the job of a principal often requires evening hours and making appearances at events.  So there were a few times when my daughter was not yet one that our grade levels would have evening chorus concerts that started at 7:00.  My husband works nights so on a few occasions, I might have driven home, picked up my daughter, strapped her in the car seat and driven her back to school for concerts.  Even though it would technically be her bedtime…I took her to some of the concerts armed with a bottle and a pacifier and fingers crossed that we could make it through 3rd grade recorders without a crying session.  I remember on one occasion, she made it through the concert fine, but on the drive home, there was night construction, we were inching along the highway, and she was screaming crying and there was nothing I could do.  If I pulled over to soothe her, it would take even longer to get home.  Instead, we suffered through the commute together, the two of us crying and me promising I would not do this again to her.  At least not until next month’s concert!

My son was at hockey practice and fell on the ice. At the end of practice, he said that his arm hurt, and I took a quick look at it but was focused on getting everyone home and dinner on the table so I told him he was fine. Later that night, I checked in and he said it hurt a little, and I said well sleep on it. In the morning, he went to school, and then I received the phone call from his teacher that my son was complaining of pain. Sure enough his arm was broken! I felt like a bad mom, that I didn’t take him to the doctor right away.

As a wife, mom and principal, it seems like there is never enough time during the day! This means that the majority of the time I am trying to multi-task.  I will, however, be the first to admit that some days this is harder than others.  Let’s just say that there have been several occasions when my daughters have asked me to “play” something, and I have agreed, and later find out that that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.  For instance, please see exhibit A:  

This is what happened when my youngest daughter asked me if she could play dress up while I was working on a presentation for school.  I didn’t realize she was going to turn herself into a Smurf!

Exhibit B: Just like many mornings in the Allen household, I was running late and trying to make it to a meeting on time. I asked my middle daughter to quickly get dressed for preschool because my husband was taking her that day. This is a picture of what she wore to school.  Later,
she informed me that I told her to pick out a “pretty” outfit for school.  She definitely followed my directions!

One of our locals restaurants has gotten to know us well! I often plan out dinner but get so behind at work, and am running late that it is too late to cook. We have discovered “Weenie Wednesday” has $1 hot dogs, and this is often the stop when I am running late at work. 

If you followed me on Pinterest, you would think I’m a kitchen rockstar. I’ve tried it all: crock pots, freezer meals, half made; but in the end, I go back to what works: takeout. I secretly don’t want my kids to have social media because I know what it can do to you… Get addicted to it.  I’ve tried pairing socks and staying organized with laundry, but for some reason everything ends up in the jacuzzi tub on most weekends.  My kids know the drill: fish in the tub for your clothes. If you could get loyalty points from “El Paso” Mexican restaurant, I would be their vip customer. It’s a quick stop most nights when I don’t cook. Parent-teacher conferences are often by phone, and I usually have to call the school to inquire about my parent password.

For about a year now, we have signed up to get most of our groceries, especially all of our meats and frozen items delivered.  We get five months worth of groceries all at once.  We even had electricity put in our shed and added a freezer for the purpose of being able to store everything conveniently.  And on top of that, I go to the grocery store pretty regularly to fill our fridge with produce.  Yet, even with not one, but two, fully stocked fridge/freezers, I will still order out or suggest that we go out to eat at least twice a week.  I am just so tired when I get home that even with all the supplies at my fingertips…I just don’t have the energy or interest in cooking a meal.  My daughter is not yet two, but she certainly knows all about ordering off a menu!

My son has a name for the only convenience store between my home and school. He calls it “the Emergency Stop.”  My daughter (who is in 1st grade) told me on Wednesday, “Mom…I’m the only one in my entire class that doesn’t have a pencil box yet, can we stop at the Emergency Store on the way to school?”  So we stopped.  Zero pencil cases. I considered buying a tupperware container, but thought better of it. I suppose I know what we’re doing on Saturday!

My son’s school office has called me, a principal, to let me know that my preschooler wasn’t picked up from school on time and is sitting in the main office. My response, “Let me call grandpa.”

My daughter gets bussed from her school to mine for the after school program, which parents have to sign up for. Like clock work, almost every Monday afternoon, I get a call on my radio from the bus supervisor at my daughter’s school asking “I’m assuming you still want Chloe in the after school program, right? You just haven’t signed her up yet? I just like to make sure.”

My kids favorite meals are what they have named ‘free choice’.  This usually occurs when we have gotten home too late to cook, have no good ideas for dinner, are limited on our groceries, or I just simply don’t feel like cooking. The kids spread out a blanket in front of the TV and get to make their own picnic dinner – usually consisting of cheese puffs, beef jerky, and strawberries.

Time is of the essence. And sometimes, there is no time to shop at the store. That’s where Amazon Prime comes in handy. Even my 4 year old says, “you can just order it on Amazon.”  Amazon prime and subscribe and save are the greatest inventions that I know of and use for convenience.  The UPS person knows me by name, and has made comments on all the Amazon boxes he delivers each week. The UPS person and I have an agreement that each month when our subscribe and save order arrives they are to leave it at the bottom of our steps, because it is just too heavy and too many boxes.

Now that we have exposed our bad mom moments with you, do you have some stories of your own to share?  Feel free to comment below.  Juggling job, family, kids and home is definitely not easy.  Know that we have all been there and we understand.  Just remember to keep calm and mother on!