This needs to be a mommy judgement free zone, people.

Hi friends! Sorry for the radio silence the last 48 hours, but it's been a busy few days. (typical) Today's post is going to touch on how hard mommies judge each other and how we just need to stop. Like seriously, STOP IT. There will never be a "perfect" mom. There is no magic formula that turns you into a June Cleaver, Marge Simpson or in some cases, Lucille Bluth. Here's a small confession about me: I was never going to have children. Yup, you read that right. In the words of my absolutely eloquent 27 year old self: "Ain't nothing comin out of my hoo-haw" Yes, I actually said that and now have 3 examples of how God has a sense of humor. I never thought of myself as particularly maternal or being v nurturing. Could you imagine me, Marie, as a stay at home mom? I value and respect EVERY woman that makes this choice, but that is not what I want to do. It's not in my "wheelhouse". In fact, I think being a working mom actually makes me a better mom. (more on that in a later post!) So, what spurned this blog post and it's title? I'll tell you: A mom apologized to me yesterday for not being prepared. SERIOUSLY. We were at the doctors office with Vivi and Ellie for some speech testing, and while in the waiting room, a mom actually felt the COMPELLING NEED to apologize to me because she gave her kid a receipt to play with while I gave Vivi a Leap Pad. Now, I know what your thinking. Yes, I came prepared, but you know what, I lucked out. Half the time, our diaper bag is depleted of toys, crayons and yes, even freaking diapers. The fact that I had something to occupy Vivi was probably proper planning on my husband's part and sheer dumb luck. What struck me was that this was a woman who had THREE kids with her in the waiting room, clearly had a lot on her plate and her instinct was to APOLOGIZE TO ME for giving her kid a receipt to play with. Which, I should add, kept him totally occupied and happy. That's a win in my book, sister. What kind of judgmental and competitive mommy culture are we creating here? It certainly doesn't feel nurturing or supportive. With the invention of Pinterest (a personal obsession) mommy one upping has gone to incredible heights. Women pin on boards unattainable images of parties, organizing tips, crafts and menus that in reality, barely make it on the pages of Martha Stewart, they are so ridiculously prim and proper. I mean, really? You are single handledly going to hand make 27 PICTURE valentines with lollipops for your PRESCHOOLERS class? Really? Yeah, they are totally going to sit there and say, hey mom, look at this amazing picture of Charlie and how incredibly creative it is. Child please, those heathens are gonna tear into that card and go for the lollipop. They can give two poops about the insane amount of man hours and time you spent crafting this card. And PLEASE, for the love of all things holy, do not sit there and falsely say, oh it was nothing. It didn't take me that long. Liar. That took you 15 hours and doesn't even count driving time to and from Michael's and Target. But anyway, I digress from the original story (surprise). Basically, I just felt a sudden pang of sympathy and sadness for that mom. She has four kids and was able to bring them BY HERSELF to the doctors office. ALIVE. That's a win in my book. We moms need to stop trying to attain perfection and realize we have the to be the BEST VERSIONS OF OURSELVES for our kids. We need to stop comparing and judging and gloating and being competitive. Yes, being judgmental is part of human nature and I am not saying I haven't done it myself. (You dressed your kid in that????!!!! is usually my thought, but whatevs) Being a parent is not easy, and adding this UNNECESSARY level of complexity and competitiveness is downright silly. Care about what should really matter. You know, like, is my kid getting enough of my attention. Am I being the best mom or dad I can be to them. Am I really making time for them? Am I providing the safest and most nurturing environment I can provide for them? The list of questions is endless, but what needs to matter is what kind of mom YOU want to be. Not what Pinterest says you should. (now Pin that, mofo's!)