Mindy and "Wart Reports"

Mindy Caldwell is my cousin-in-law. Get it?... David's cousin. One of the many blessing of marrying David was marrying into a wonderful family of girl cousins. They are a terrific bunch. I really admire Mindy. She is beautiful, gregarious, engaging, and can harmonize like no one else. She is the mother of six children; including a darling down syndrome daughter and a set of twins. Her husband Steve is an ER doctor and professional athlete who regularly completes triathlons, hundred mile bike races, and has even climbed Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro.
They have a great marriage and I admire them both.

Maybe I feel a connection to Mindy because we both have children with special needs. Maybe its because I look at her sweet twins and think longingly about the multiples I conceived and then miscarried around the same time she found out she was having twins. Maybe because, like the other Rasmussen cousins, they have welcomed me into the family with open arms.

Regardless of the specific reason, I think she's great and recently I was getting caught up on her life through her blog. There I found a feature she calls "Wart Report". In her wart reports she talks about real-life moments that may not be so fun to share. I think it's a great way to report on the things that are not so pretty, and a great way of keeping life real.

Following her lead, here is my first "Wart Report":

1. I had a melt-down this week. My dishes were piled in the sink and overflowing onto the counters. The laundry needed to be folded. The floors needed to be vacuumed. My kitchen floor was so dirty that the crumbs stuck to my feet. YUCK! I was feeling totally sleep-deprived, and all I could do was hold a fussy baby. It was all too much. I felt like crying. I think the hardest part is the expectation that I will actually get something done...and then I don't. Disappointment is never good company.

Part 2. Nataleigh's hair is beautiful. But fixing her hair is one of the banes of my life. I feel like it has to be perfect all the time. I feel like I have to keep up with all the other cute mommies whose daughter's hair is a work of art. We work at it. We really do. One of Nataleigh's daily chores is "Do My Hair". She get's a check for doing it. Really. I've learned some very helpful techniques from my patient friends. We still have a long way to go.

Lately David has taken the kids to school before I wake up. He is so kind to let me recover from late-night episodes with the baby. On those days, Nataleigh's hair is whatever she can come up with. Pony tails are her favorite...and she is getting pretty good at doing them.

On the mornings when I do get to do her hair, I am always critical when she comes home with messy hair. Often the first words out of my mouth are not ' how was your day?', 'what did you learn in school ?', or 'who did you play with at recess?'. No. I usually say, "Where's your hair clip?". Somehow it always seems to fall off.

The truth of the matter is I feel like it is some kind of badge of honor to have her hair well done. I do believe it is important and part of instilling in her good grooming habits.

We're working on it.

Thanks, Mindy for giving me the courage to keep it real. :)