Letting go of the guilt

{alternatively titled - short cuts I take, mistakes I make, and not feeling bad about them because hey -- mamas aren't perfect and it's about time we acknowledge that.}

1. I regularly put one of my children (and sometimes two) to bed in his clothes for the next day (clean ones, mind you) so I can avoid the fight and the hassle of getting him dressed in the morning. Really, when you wear sweatpants on a daily basis, what's the big deal? (Why not all three? Because one of them sleeps in his undies, that's why.)

2. At least once a week, my kids have chips and guacamole and smoothies for dinner. If the avocados aren't ripe, it's a bagel with peanut butter. Throwing a handful of spinach in the blender along with frozen fruit, a banana and some yogurt goes a long way in easing my nutritional tally/guilt status.

3. I rarely wash our sheets. It's just not something that occurs to me. I know this is gross. I really have no good excuse for this one.

4. I gave up on folding laundry. Really, it is a waste of time. Ok, I still fold towels because it's the only way I can cram them into the linen closet. But clothes? Nah. I ditched the dressers in the boys' room and stashed open bins in their closet. Now I just separate types of clothes (tops, bottoms, socks&undies) and they toss the piles into their bins for ease of digging. So. Much. Easier.

5. I don't care if my kids match. I let them dress themselves. See Point 4 above, regarding diggable bins of clothing.

6. I don't vacuum enough. Last spring I rolled up the rugs and stashed them under the bed so they couldn't collect dog hair. Now I swoop through the house grabbing tumbleweeds of dog hair that collect in the corners.

7. That dog? He's much more efficient than a broom, at least in the kitchen.

8. I once kicked a hole in the wall. It was last summer, actually. I was absolutely losing it after total chaotic insanity had broken out and I kicked the freaking wall. And then stood there with my jaw hanging down to my chest when my foot went through the drywall. (To his credit, when I called John to tell him, the first thing he said was Did you hurt your foot? He's a good man.) We haven't fixed the hole - it's a good reminder to myself and the boys to keep our expressions of emotion and frustration in check. And it's an awesome spot for the boys to hide Playmobil guys.

9. On days I'm home with the boys, sometimes I stay in pajamas until 2pm. Or all day. Like today. Yep, I'm still in my pajamas. Which really isn't that obvious when your pajamas are just your comfiest clothes. But still. Confession-worthy, I thought.

10. I forget sometimes that I am not the only mom out there who does stuff like this. Sometimes I get hard on myself and think I'm not doing enough, that I'm too messy, not patient enough, too much of a slacker, whatever. But you know what? Nobody is perfect. And we all love our kids. And a lot of the crap we worry about or stress over and devote time and energy to really don't matter in the long run, the big picture, the grand scheme.

So now it's your turn. (You didn't think I would let you off without asking you to make me feel better, did you?) What do you need to stop feeling guilty for? What are your shortcuts, tips and tricks?

I want to know.