True Mom Confession, alternate title Emma's Mom

I actually had to look through my posts to see if I've used this title already.. because whether you have 1, 2, 5, or more kids... we all have our moments of "True Mom" incidents to which we could confess.

I liken it to the story's my very good friend tells me about "Emma's Mom." Her daughter has been in class with Emma for a few years and at all the parental involvement options at school Emma's Mom is always there - looking like she walked off the cover of Glamor Mom magazine (I know, it's not a magazine, but shouldn't it be??). She always brings the best snacks, decorative art supplies, and has all the kids wishing "I wish my mom was like Emma's Mom." Emma's Mom also has Emma in about every after school activity you can imagine; sports, dance, girl scouts and somehow manages to still have all her homework in on time.

When you have someone like that in your life to compare yourself too you start feeling like you fall way, way, way short. I personally think Emma's Mom is a myth. Oh don't get me wrong, my friend doesn't lie. I know for sure that she has run ins with Emma's Mom. The problem is that while there are those out there who look like the Glamor Mom cover model, we ALL KNOW that no one can juggle a million impossible things at once. Unless of course she has figured out an alternate energy source to sleep... in which case..... if I find that I'll let you know ;-) **back to sipping my coffee**

But when we all admit to those less than stellar Glamor Mom moments, we become a true mom - our transparency is what makes us real. Isn't it funny how the thing we cringe to be real about someone looks at as "Oh, no one would judge you for that." And suddenly we feel a lot lighter? Not so far off the scale of Emma's Mom?

So as we all know, confession is good for the soul... and because I love all you souls out there I am confessing.. there by, in my very-humble-but-of-course-completely-accurate-opinion, being a true mom.

I fell off the bandwagon. I did. I almost made it... but I didn't. The gluten free diet. Wait! Before you gasp! The kids are still gluten free, it's true. I actually made it through November, past Thanksgiving - which is nothing short of a miracle. Pies & stuffing? Two of my favorite holiday foods of all time. It all happened on a very long, hungry, foodless day.

My van was on it's last leg.. or, what do you say? Wheel? It needed some enormously large repairs. I feel as though I can't complain about this because I put almost 70,000 miles on the van and never had to have it repaired for anything. So I was looking at a repair that was more than the van was worth. While nothing compares to being completely debt free, it seemed to be a better option to put the money into another vehicle I could put 70,000 miles on. So off to the best car dealership I have found.

They don't hassle or try to upsell you or rip you off in any way. That's my kind of place. Even going there in the morning, knowing exactly what I wanted, having the salesman waiting for me... the whole process still took well into the afternoon. In getting the kids arranged at their different places I forgot to eat breakfast. Then I was at the dealership past lunch.... and I'm pretty sure you can see where this is going. I was so hungry, my only options were fast food, and Burger King french fries (which are gluten free) can only fill you up so much. So I did it.

I ordered a whopper. With cheese. And I ate it. Ooooooohhhhhh.... it was so delicious. I savored every bite. And after that I was a goner. Christmas cookies - of course! Pizza and burgers here and there (I've really missed those!). Here we are in January and I'm finally admitting my indulgence of gluten.

The house is still gluten free. I still cook gluten free. So the majority of my diet is gluten free. But... I did, I strayed off the straight and narrow. Boy this makes me want a cheeseburger right now. So you all should feel a lot better right now, knowing I'm not Emma's Mom. :-)