I told myself I wasn’t going to yell…just for today. That’s all I had planned. Stay calm.
Count to ten, take a deep breath, do a quick downward dog… but it didn’t happen for me.

I just get so annoyed… way too easily these days. Maybe it’s the amount of activities we have, the plans I make, the unrealistic expectations I have with my children, with me, with the goals of the day.

I have simple desires. Very simple. Just do what I say! When I say! It’s really not too much to ask… I’m not asking these girls to mop the floor or even clean their rooms! My requests are fairly simple like “Brush your hair.”

It’s hard to control three kids, each with different personalities, with their own set of interests and agenda.
Gia wants to be the boss.

Arianna wants to be silly.

Lexi just wants what she wants at that split second and screams and cries.

So… when things aren’t going according to plan, I get frustrated and raise my voice.

And then come the consequences…I hate the way I feel… guilty, out of control, and chaotic.
It just doesn’t feel like a happy, organized day.
I feel stressed, defeated, and out of control.

It’s like a tug of war between the girls and me… with me falling down … a lot!

The thing is, I don’t want to be a yeller.

I don’t want the girls to have memories of mom being angry all of the time…

I need to be the pillar of strength and comfort and compassion. I’m pretty sure children of angry parents have way more anxiety and insecurities.

I am on a mission to deflate the balloon of frustration… I am saying goodbye to the stress!

The girls and I made our first video on our revised YouTube channel. They are no longer the Baking Brats because they didn’t want to just do baking. Now they are The Girly Reports…and I will be changing my blog name soon so I can be separate from them…I don’t want any of their little friends stumbling upon this blog while searching for The Girly Reports!

Anyhoo, the video (link below) is a silly skit about stress reduction tips… it’s super ridiculous and goofy. After watching it, I cringed at my plain Jane face, my voice, and my general annoying chatter… but we uploaded it anyway- making public the annoying mom. My husband graciously called it “interesting…”

I was thinking about people viewing it and how embarrassing it was going to be… I felt a little uncomfortable at first…and then I thought, you know what…I don’t care and I think this is a key first step in deflating the stress.

Uploading the D grade video, thinking about viewers shaking their heads, maybe thinking negative thoughts… and then sitting with those feelings and being ok with it, made me kind of empowered… less focused on what others think. And as a trickle down effect, less stressed…

Hopefully, as I discover different ways to feel less on edge, my kids will enjoy a calmer, cool as a cucumber momma!

Key #1 Be messy and embrace imperfection.

Let your kids be imperfect as well…and be ok with it. Don’t get this confused with letting your kids be unkempt and dirty …I’m not into the rats nest hair style or long fingernails with dirt underneath… man those nails grow fast!
Just less focus on perfection.
I actually have been wearing the same pair of leggings for a week straight! And it feels …well, like exactly what I said – messy/imperfect! And I haven’t had my nails done either in weeks…Woo hoo!
I am nailing this down!

Look out for my next post on key number two for deflating the stress balloon.

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THE GIRLY REPORTS VIDEO ONE