Slacker Mom's R' Us.

Did you know that I never owned one of those cart thingamajigees that keeps babies safe from germs at the store?
Or that sometimes at night when one of the kids wakes up, I pretend I am sound asleep so that J has to get up? (I know that's just cruel.)

How about the fact that at one time, I had in my possesion six different strollers? I've since cut down and currently only own four. In case you're wondering, we only have one child who's even stroller riding size.

Did you know that in the summer and on the weekends I won't let T or M get up until 8am? I figure they need the sleep and besides the first few days of break they rarely even wake before that anyway. But if they do, they know that they need to either read or play quietly in their bedrooms until 8am. Even though H usually is up by 6:30, it gives me a little quiet time before the bustle of the day begins.

What do you think about character shoes? Me, I can't stand them. I have never bought any and have no plans too. There will be no Sponge Bob, Elmo or Dora character light up shoes.

I take my kids to the children's museum. I sometimes buy them a treat, just because. And sometimes we go to Target, just to go somewhere, walk around and enjoy a cookie and a coffee. H has never seen a zoo, just the inside of Cabela's.

Did you know that we actually own a Baby Einstein DVD? And I actually let H watch it? He could have cared less.

How about last Christmas, when M got a Bratz doll from a relative and instantly looked over at me and said, in front of everyone, "Please don't throw my doll away." ? (Before you start thinking I'm just plain heartless, I'm not that cruel, I just don't like street corner dolls.)
Do any of those things make me a bad mom or even a slacker mom?

My thoughts, probably not. They are just some of the things other parents think are less than perfect. Other parents don't approve of or think are bad, silly or just plain wrong.

I'm tired. Tired of hearing about the right way, the wrong way, the organic way, the all natural way.

I'm tired of hearing about the supposed perfect children that are growing up somewhere in this blessed country of ours.

I'm tired of the judgements, criticisms and issues that go along side with all of that.

I'm tired of opening up magazines or books or watching the news and hearing about what's now changed, what they formerly thought was ok and now is not ok.

I mean seriously, is there a reason we have to judge, critique, instill fear in our peers? The other people doing the best at their job of parenting as well?

So, in all seriousness, I don't consider myself a slacker mom. I've talked about this before and I know I'm far from perfect but I think the things I'm slacking on really aren't all that worrisome. I think we spend far too much time judging, comparing, trying to keep up with the Joneses than we need to.

That is why I was thrilled when Celia Rivenbark sent me a copy (*free*) of her new book "Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank."

I laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more.

Her book is great. Her sense of humor and writing style cracked me up.

From jokes about her trip to Disney, trying to do it all right for her little girl to the birthday party scenes. She makes being a slacker mom sound cool!

I especially loved that the book was broken into mini-chapters. It was like reading someone's blog. Seriously. Each mini-chapter was like a blog post. I could read one while waiting for an appointment. Read one before bed. I love to read but sometimes it's hard to find a big chunk of time to read a book and then I have to backtrack or remind myself what was happening where I left off, this book had none of that. It was great.

The book isn't all humor on parenting. She has a section on celebrities; 'Don't hate them cause they're beautiful when there are so many other reasons.' She has a section on husbands and of course has lots of humor on being a "Southern Belle."

It was a great read and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who reads and laughs on the go.

And the title, I couldn't agree with it more. I see more six year olds dressed like they are seventeen all the time.

Celia's book once again gave me insight and perspective on the whole war to be a perfect parent. I'm out.

So slacker or not, the good news for us is that despite the things we may not be doing the absolute "perfect" way, our kids are turning out just fine.

All pictures are from Summer 2007.