I’m that mom. That one that you love to roll your eyes at. It’s OK. I get it. Really, I do. I go overboard. I have seasonal decor for holidays that most people find ridiculous to decorate for. I mean who really decorates their house for St. Patrick’s Day? Me. I actually do that. I love to go overboard for birthday parties and holidays (big and small). In our house, we do the messy crafts. We pour paint, we make slime, we paint rocks. I love creating memories for our daughter and making the most of every moment.
I blame Pinterest. I mean, it makes it so easy to pin everything from the next birthday party idea to the best ever chocolate chip cookie recipe. I love to pin fun new recipes, kids craft projects, and pretty much everything I see. All of my boards are carefully categorized and organized. It’s lovely if not a bit OCD.
I mean sure I pin that ridiculously complicated recipe that takes 28 ingredients and I know I will never make it, but mostly I stick to the things that I really will make and the projects that I honestly will do with my daughter.
I totally get it. At this point half of you are rolling your eyes so far back in your head that it hurts and the other half are nodding totally wanting to share your own carefully crafted Pinterest boards with me. For the first half of you, give me a chance to explain.
Making the most of our holidays and our weekends have always been a big deal to us. I don’t know if it’s because our daughter is our rainbow baby or that she is our only one in our home, but we have always wanted to make sure that her childhood is as full of memories and magic as we can manage. Since we both have full-time jobs outside of the house and a daughter with a schedule that keeps us running from activity to activity until 8 p.m. most nights of the week, I often need something to help inspire me.
That is where Pinterest comes in. I can pin 30 minute recipes and meal prep ideas while waiting for dance class to get end. I can come up with the entire birthday party menu plus ideas for games and crafts while sitting at t-ball practice. I can find the perfect weekend craft project to do with my daughter while waiting in the school pick up line. Scavenger hunt for a nature walk – check. Best ways to organize my daughter’s closet – check. A fun hairstyle for Crazy Hair Day during spirit week – check. Best ways to work on sight words – check. Pinterest has helped me step up my mom game and made me feel like I have it all together even on days where I’m too busy to remember that we need a last minute idea for dress as your favorite storybook character day – check.
Let’s face it, this mom gig is hard. Trying to balance mom-life, home-life, wife-life, work-life, social-life, life-life is a lot. I know we live in a world that is constantly telling us to put down our phones and step away from the screen time, but I am here to say that I think social media, if used appropriately, can be such an amazing tool in our mom toolbox. I know I would be lost without the sounding board of advice that I have received over the years from my Facebook mom friends. And if it wasn’t for Pinterest, I’m not sure any of my daughter’s birthday parties would have ever come together as well as they have.
So be responsible, but pin away, my friends, pin away.
