Things You Take for Granted Until You Become a Mother

There are A LOT of things, most totally run-of-the-mill and mundane, that I absolutely took for granted until I became a mother.  If you're reading this and you're not a parent, you might as well hit the "next blog" button, because this will be totally nonsensical to you and you will probably think it's boring or that I'm crazy.  But I'm pretty sure that I'll get an "amen sister" from every parent with a kid under 6.

And these are in no particular order....

1.  Going to the bathroom ALONE.  Hell-o!!  Privacy means nothing to kids under 4' tall and younger than 2nd grade.  From the time they could roll my kids have both felt like they need to be with me every time I go to the bathroom.  We have one of those separate rooms for the toilet in our master bath, probably about 3' wide, and usually when I'm in there, so are my 5 year old, 2 year old, and the dog.  No privacy.  And the thing that gets me is that Jack closes the door and won't let me come in when he's doing the dooty.  But do I get the same consideration?  N-o!!

2.  "Running in" to the store to get a few things.  Usually when I "run in" to the store to grab 5 things I come out with $50 worth of stuff.  Snack food, chocolate milk, coloring books, sippy cups with princesses on them.  All things that were not on the list!!  Oh and that "running in" takes at least an additional 30 minutes due to the fact that you're getting kids out of the car, in the cart, stopping to give them suckers and wipe their noses, taking them to the bathroom, getting them back in the car......you get my drift here.

3.  Being able to listen to whatever music I'd like to in the car.  Usually on a long car trip we have a Disney movie on.  And Sarah's too young to wear headphones, so we have to have that Disney movie playing through the entire car.  So thank goodness for Pandora and Ford Sync so Jason and I can listen to something besides Batman or Dora.

4.  Being able to take a weekend trip with just a small suitcase.  It seems like the more time passes, the more extra junk people invent that we all have to have for our kids.  And of COURSE we have to travel with all of it.  The Nap Nanny, video monitor, bumbo, pack and play, travel swing, boppy, stroller, toys, bows, diapers, swim diapers, SPF 85, Children's Advil just in case.  The list goes on and on....

5.  Going out on a date with your husband or to dinner with friends.  This now takes the help of grandparents or other family members, or the equivalent of what you spend on dinner to pay a babysitter for that length of time.  Haha and a  lot of the time that you're away you're talking about the kids or the house anyway...it's a conscious effort sometimes to put those things to the side a bit to have a conversation.

6. Waking up on the weekends whenever you want to.  Even when I'm away from the kids, I still wake up when they do because my body is totally trained not to sleep passed 7:15 anymore.

7.  Flushing the toilet, running the vacuum, closing the door without fear of waking a sleeping child.  How many times have you gotten up in the middle of the night to pee and decided not to flush just in case you could wake a sleeping beauty?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!

8.  Painting my fingernails.  Part of the reason I love getting solar nails done is that I can never seem to have the hour it takes to sit still and not touch anything in order to paint my fingernails!!  Someone always needs help with socks or wants a book read or a toy fixed right when you've finished the first coat.

9.  Taking a shower and getting ready (and eating a meal) from start to finish without stopping.  Usually when I do these things now I rush like I'm trying to run from the cops!!  I need to be able to get it all done as quickly as possible because someone is going to need something.  Or I have to stop 6 times and it takes 30 minutes longer than it should.  Haha...this totally happens every day.  Some days I just don't even try...you know, those scrunched hair, yoga pants, sports bra kinda days.

10.  Quiet time. Before we had kids and I was in a room alone, I usually had the TV on the Fox News or some sort of talk show.  Now, though, when it's quiet, it's quiet!  I haven't watched the news in months.  

11.  Going to a public place without having to consider the noise level of the establishment before going.  Quiet restaurant? No-way.  Museum....not unless it has "Children's" in the title.

Now please do not read this and assume that I don't enjoy every minute with each of my two precious babies.  But I can tell you this: when my kids are over 4' tall and older than second grade, I will LOVE my quiet potty time.  It will almost be like a mini vacation.

So I'm dying to know....what did you take for granted until you became a mother??  Leave it in the comments section so I can send an 'amen sister' your way.