by dazeychic on EtsyOn days like this, when the laundry basket is sitting on the kitchen table, filled with crumpled {clean, yet to be folded} clothes, and my living room floor is trashed again with crayons and raisins and receipts and an old moldy carrot I found beneath the sofa, and I have so many pressing tasks to do on the computer for our small business that my toddler has to watch The Muppets Take Manhattan for the millionth time and I almost cry because I feel terrible, I have to stop and remember something:

It is going to be ok.

When I purchased this print for Luci Belle's nursery as I prepared a place for her while I was still pregnant, I had no idea just how often I'd have to remind myself of this simple phrase. Oh, around 55 times a day, it turns out.

Motherhood is wonderful and taxing. On top of that, it's important not to neglect my husband and to help keep my marriage thriving, I have a neverending list of jobs to do for Urban Acres, two very needy Dobermans, and dishes and laundry and dirty bathrooms and a list of friends I wish I could invest in right now. I seem to flake out lately and feel frustrated because I can't juggle everything. I haven't done anything creative in a week and I feel like my soul is dying, so I stayed up until midnight writing this post.

On insane days like this, I take a deep breath, remember I'm not perfect, and remind myself to love my husband and my child the best I can. And when all else fails, I stop and have one of these:

Yes, at 4pm today, I finally stopped running around like a crazy person and realized that neither I nor my child had eaten lunch. So, I did what any desperate mother would do and whipped up a large, frosty, rich chocolate shake and chugged it down like there was no tomorrow. Then, I put my daughter in her high chair and gave her a few spoonfuls of the chocolately goodness and watched her eyes fill with delight. Then, I let her take the spoon from me and "feed" herself until a chocolate mustache formed over her lips and chocolate dripped all down her shirt {no bib today, of course} and probably stained it forever because I'm out of OxiClean.

These are the moments to remember - the mess and all.

When my husband comes home from work and kisses me all over my face, I remember,

It is going to be ok.

When my dear friend Linda buys me a $20 bottle of my favorite wine because she knows I need to loosen up a little, I remember,

It is going to be ok.

When my 18-month-old folds her hands in prayer before dinner and can say "Jesus" ("Shee-shus") already with sign language, I remember,

It is going to be ok.