• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

When Crazy Meets Exhaustion

My attempt at adult conversation.

  • Home
  • My Book

Proof That I’m a Terrible Parent

By Stephanie Jankowski 8 Comments

This morning, after I actually told my son to wipe his snotty nose on his shirt sleeve, I realized that I may suck as a parent. I’m almost certain moms and dads (especially moms) from generations past would shake their heads in mass disapproval at some of the crap I have done and will continue to do to my kids:

When we’re in public, I look at other kids and silently see how my own measure up: “Brady isn’t as tall as that boy, but his eyes are definitely bluer!” “That little girl’s hair is so much cuter than Ella’s, but my gal’s smile is so much brighter!” Why do I do this? I don’t know. I even annoy myself with it.

For fun, we burp each others’ names. Gross? Yes. Entertaining? Hell yes.

I use fear to force my kids to do what they don’t want to do. Brady has an irrational fear of stink bugs so if he refuses to come in the house at lunch time, I just tell him, “Good luck–I’ve seen a few of those stink bugs flying around your sandbox.” He’s on my heels in .3 seconds.

Just the other day, someone asked me if I had picked out the kids’ Easter outfits, and I found myself scrambling to answer, pretending I care about clothes like a proper mother: “Oh, yeah! Adorable!!!” I lied, and then made a mental note that the kids should not wear their PJs to church on Easter Sunday.

I insist on keeping my old clothes that no longer fit. They are currently smashed into a closet that is supposed to be for Ella’s stuff. The fact that I refuse to get rid of these things and that they are taking up space meant for my daughter makes me selfish. The fact that I believe I will one day shove myself into the jeans I wore as a high school senior makes me pathetic.

There are nights when we put Brady to bed in the clothes he wore, played in, and sweat in all day. Whew. Feels good to get that off my chest.

Ella no longer fits in her infant car seat carrier, so I researched convertible and 3-in-1 car seats until I was blue in the face. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that my child would not have the “best” seat because it was so friggin’ expensive. Ella is now chillaxing in a car seat that didn’t make the top 3 on The Car Seats Parents Who ReallyLove Their Children Buy list. She and Brady are, however, in 5-star safety rated matching boy and girl seats, and they look pretty adorable so I should at least get points for that.

I admit it: there are times that I wistfully reminisce about the days before I became a parent. Happy Hour. Saturday afternoon naps. A smaller waistline. Ahhh the good ol’ days. But then my daughter gives me an open-mouthed, sloppy kiss or my son tells me I’m his favorite buddy, and I am reminded that Happy Hours resulted in Horrible Hangovers, I’ll sleep enough when I’m dead, and Spanx are my friend. So, yeah, maybe I’m not that crappy of a parent after all. I’ll let Brady and Ella be the judge of that. Them and all of those other parents who are undoubtedly sizing up my kids just like I size up theirs in the cereal aisle of Giant Eagle.

Please share my crazy with the world:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Like this:

Like Loading...

Filed Under: Parenting

Subscribe to my newsletter for more fun...

My book!!!

Schooled by Stephanie Jankowski
cheap baby boy clothes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. memyselfandkids says

    March 30, 2012 at 8:28 pm

    I think many of us look back and sometimes wish for those pre parent days.
    Comparing – definitely do that. The fear thing – it workrd and probably did not cause long term damage.

    Reply
  2. momshieb says

    March 31, 2012 at 12:48 am

    When my kids were little I constantly compared myself to other moms (Her kids have on coats that match their mittens: She remembered to bake for Open House at school….). What a waste of energy! Brady and Ella sound happy and well loved; glad you are letting them be the judge of your parenting skills!

    Reply
    • whencrazymeetsexhaustion says

      March 31, 2012 at 12:56 am

      Today is the first time I’ve gotten comments from and/or had someone other than friends acknowledge my blog!! I am so excited! Thank you for reading!!

      Reply
      • momshieb says

        March 31, 2012 at 1:09 am

        You’re welcome! Isn’t it a cool feeling when someone from “out there” finds you?
        You’re a really good writer, very witty and crisp. I’m sure you’ll have lots of visitors, and I’ll be back for sure!

        Reply
  3. whencrazymeetsexhaustion says

    March 31, 2012 at 1:17 am

    It’s definitely a cool feeling!! And I really appreciate your kind words about my writing–thank you! Seems like you and I are on different end of the parenting spectrum: I’m new and clueless and you’re a wise veteran! I shall follow your blog and hope to learn from you! Haha! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  4. stormdan says

    April 4, 2012 at 2:44 pm

    I was just writing about being a terrible mom yesterday! And I have a Brady too! Maybe moms of Bradys are just awful ๐Ÿ˜‰ Hey, as long as we love them and feed them and give them confidence it’s got to turn out alright…right? I compare my kids ALL THE TIME too. I try so hard not to. We started Brady in martial arts recently and every class I’m there thinking, well that kid is more coordinated, but Brady is faster. It’s maddening. As long as we don’t tell them, I don’t think it’ll hurt anything.

    Reply
    • whencrazymeetsexhaustion says

      April 4, 2012 at 3:18 pm

      Awesome! Sucky moms unite!! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. It’s Been Real, WordPress « WhenCrazyMeetsExhaustion says:
    January 27, 2013 at 8:03 pm

    […] about 33.3% of the time. And finally, thank you for a platform on which to voice my opinions, admit my transgressions, and vent about the crazy in my […]

    Reply

Your two-cents here:Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

****waves, trips over dog****
Hiya! I'm Steph, English teacher by trade, smack-talker by nature, and mother of three who lives by the mantra: life is too short, LAUGH! I hope you'll stick around and check out my musings!

Schooled

Schooled

My book!

The Teacher Career Coach

I Write For

I Write For

LOLs for Parents

LOLs for Parents

Snoop Around…

#NakedMoms birth story BlogHer Bored Teachers Child Birth Conversations with a Toddler cyber school education faith Families in the Loop Family Stuff flu Funny Stuff giveaway guest post inspiration kids Know Your OTCs Listen To Your Mother Pittsburgh Love March NaBloPoMo marriage Menopausal Mother More Than Mommies More Than Mommies mixer Motherhood Oversharing Parenting parenting humor Parenting is hard Pinterest Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Project Optimism Questionable Choices in Parenting Same-sex marriage Scary Mommy sponsored post sponsored posts Sponsored Stuff teacher humor vlogging Walmart We Are Teachers writing

Copyright © 2025 ยท When Crazy Meets Exhaustion ยท site design: Jamie Jorczak ยท Professional photos courtesy of the incredible Autumn Stankay of SkySight Photography ยท Log in

%d