I lost it today and cried in front of the kids. Surprisingly, this hasn't happened since I became a stay at home mom. I've locked myself in a bathroom or closet and cried, but that has maybe happened a handful of times. This time? I just flat out cried. The reason? They started unwrapping Christmas presents.

I know. Really? The Christmas presents Ashley? I mean, they've done really great so far but I've always been expecting it to happen. So why did it get me so hard? I don't know.

It probably doesn't help that in the last 3 days it's been a comedy of errors. Max spilled his milk, wiped it up, and after all of that Rory decided she too wanted to spill her milk and dumped hers out. (There's been numerous spilled drinks this week, I have no idea why.) Don't forget about the night Rory decided to sleep in her big bed again, but also decided to strip naked and have an accident resulting in a whole queen bed set and mattress needing to be washed. Then there was the day Max had not one, but two accidents, within 30 minutes of each other. And the back talk has become especially terrible lately. So bad that Dusty was completely shocked at how Max was acting when he got home from work, which rarely happens, so at least I know I wasn't hallucinating in my already bad mood.

But really? None of this is that big of a deal. I know that. I also know it's just a stressful time of year. So when I posted on Facebook this morning about how I was the world's worst mother because I would not make more oatmeal, even though there was still quite a bit of oatmeal in his bowl? Which of course led to a screaming crying mess. I had no idea what a good mood it would put me in. I have a good amount of family and friends that are also mothers to toddlers right now. And their stories of how their kids completely lost it on them over something just as mundane? Helped me remember that kids are kids.

So hopefully I can keep it together. I was able to fix the damage on the gifts, get Rory down for her nap and plop Max in front of the TV. Because today? Mama's taking a much needed break from parenting. Maybe tomorrow I'll try again.