Mommy Burnout...

Top five signs warning signs you are leading up to a mommy burnout:

1) Dozing off to sleep while waiting at a red light is the closest thing to a power nap you will get this month.
2) You immediately answer "NO!" to everything your child requests, because you are frustrated.
3) You immediately answer "YES!" to everything your child requests, because you are sick of whining and power struggles.
4) You dream of Dr. Dobson and Supernanny coming to your rescue, or Calgon actually taking you away.
5) You think hearing even one more knock-knock joke containing the word "poopy" in the punchline, will cause irreversible mental damage.



Every (honest) mom occasionally deals with it. I have only dealt with it a couple times in the past, but never this bad. I could feel tension building all week. I would ignore the kids bad behavior until I couldn't ignore it any longer, and finally blow my stack. From the moment I would hear them wake up in the morning, I started counting down the minutes until nap time. When they woke up from naps, I started the countdown to bedtime. I would send them to their bedrooms and make them keep their doors closed. I don't have the emotional strength to last through even one more episode of Dora or Diego, much less the obligatory argument of: "I want to watch Dora/Dora is for babies, I want to watch Diego/You always watch Diego, it's my turn to watch Dora".

Last night the kids were begging for poptarts and popsicles an hour before dinner. That was the straw that broke the Camel's back. I left dinner cooking on the stove and walked away. I drove the to Dollar General and bought two packages of disposable diapers, and a Kit-Kat. 

For the next 3 days, I'm trading in made-from-scratch organic meals, cloth diapers, dieting, and homeschooling. We will eat frozen pizzas, the boys will wear pampers, I'm drinking Dr. Pepper, and I'm not reviewing colors, shapes, or consonant blends with anybody. I'm going to read some books that have been on my nightstand for a while, finish a couple sewing projects, and reseed the front yard.

I love my kids. Repeat: I love my kids. I'm not wishing they were older and more mature, I'm still thrilled I get to stay home with them everyday. I'm not giving up...I don't give up that easy. I'm simply emotionally checking out for the weekend.

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