The picture was perfect.

Our four little blessings, all dressed in their Easter best, with their infectious smiles beaming right at the camera.

I posted it on social media and was quickly showered with such nice comments: “What a good-looking group! You’re so blessed! They’re the sweetest!” An old college friend even messaged me, asking: “how they heck do you do it all?”

I was so flattered but it’s time to come clean: the picture…was a MIRAGE 😉

Before I have to return my “mother-of-the-year” certificate, let me say this: I am BEYOND BLESSED. I’m THANKFUL. I’m GRATEFUL.

However…

That picture does not accurately tell the whole story of the chaos that is our life. So in a world where we find ourselves often comparing our lives to others because of what we see on social media, let me pull the curtain back on Easter 2019…otherwise known as s***-show 2019.

In the moments leading up to the perfectly, perfect picture…it was WrestleMania up in our house. The youngest two, who are 3 and 18 months, were pulling each other’s hair over a chocolate peanut butter egg. Forget the fact that there were PLENTY of those eggs to go around…but apparently this particular one was the most coveted. The fight led to melted chocolate in their hair, on the rug and all over their matching dresses. Thankfully their dresses were black floral so it hid the chocolate well. Score!

Then my oldest walked upstairs wearing some cutoff jean shorts and a t-shirt.

Ummmm…??

She rolled her eyes when I informed her that we were going to Easter Sunday mass and not to an amusement park to ride rides and eat corndogs.

My son then went from 0 to 60 when he thought the littles had been stealing his Easter candy. He publicly vowed to never share another treat again.

There was shouting…pulling…pushing…crying…and everything in between.

You know…they were being KIDS.

I bribed with more Easter candy and laid out my best mom guilt for that perfectly, perfect picture. “Mommy didn’t get any candy from the Easter bunny. All Mommy wants is a picture of my favorite people.”

Yep.  It worked.  I used bribes and guilt and I am not ashamed to admit it.

But I wanted to come clean just in case someone out there thought that I lived that perfectly, perfect life. As I told my friend, I am the CEO of Chaos.

Social media has, unfortunately, caused us to do a double-take on our own lives. Whether we want to admit it or not, we compare…houses, cars, jobs, spouses, kids. I’ll admit it…I sometimes have some pangs of envy when I am scrolling through social media. Especially during Spring Break. So many of my friends were on these amazing vacations and I was at home covered with used tissues and smelling like Lysol disinfectant. While my friends were frolicking on foreign beaches, I was distributing antibiotics to all four kiddos.

Let’s be real, social media is often only “catching” us on our really good days. Lord knows I’m guilty of it.

So it was in fact the perfectly, perfect picture…of the most perfectly, imperfect children from perfectly, imperfect parents.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

xx