Mamma Said There'll Be Days Like This

Have you read the article Instagram's Envy Effect by Shauna Niequist? You might have seen it circling Facebook as "Stop Instagramming Your Perfect Life." Don't let the title fool you. It's a great article about how we can use technology to build community rather than curate a perfect appearance to our lives.

I've wrestled with this for a while. I'm a photographer, I love taking pictures and adding an effect to one so easily definitely gives me a thrill. But I have rules for myself. I don't post pictures of my kids butts or E with her shirt off (even though she is only 2 and a half). I try not to post pictures of my kids crying or angry or vulnerable. I ask myself before posting "when my kid is older will they be mad that all of my/their friends and family saw this picture?" These guidelines really only leave room for the good and happy. We are at the forefront of all of this technology and as parents we have yet to see the backlash of all of our posting and picture taking. I just want to be very careful and I hope I haven't done something yet that I will regret. 

All that to say I still want to be real about my life. How do I showcase the good and bad? How do I be honest without being revealing or leaving a digital footprint I am going to regret? I don't know the answer to that. 

So the best I can do at this point is to start my "Mamma Said There'll Be Day Like This" Posts.  A way to give you a peek into the realities of my day to day as a mother of two little ones. This is NO way to make light of the serious things that are truly happening in our lives. 

My husband always makes fun of hashtags so when I was telling him about this he sarcastically asked "will there be a hashtag?" Sam you are a genius. I'll start hashtagging my mamma said moments and tag it #mammasaidms. Are you on instagram? I'd love to see your momma said moments as well. You can follow me @linn33.

So here is a start.  

1. E came up to me with a canvas in hand and said "I painted you a picture!" Paint, we don't have paint? I asked her to show me where she painted me a picture. Thinking she would lead me right to the art corner, she lead me left to the bar. Apparently there was paint in one of the 3 drawers she emptied. Paint got on the rug and floor. 

2. Our 80lb puppy broke through his electric fence and dug through our neighbors trash. Twice. 

3. Said puppy chewed through our internet cables. 

4. E and I were both sick on the same day. Moms don't get sick days.