First of all, hello and welcome!!!! You’ve found PoopieMommy and we’re so glad you did!!!! You might be asking yourself, what kind of a woman names herself something with “poop” in it? Well, please, allow me to explain, as I gave this a lot of thought and there are actually many reasons why I’ve annointed myself (or at least my blog title) the “poopie mommy.” Some of them are literal reasons and others more symbolic, but either way, it is definitely who I am at this moment in my life! And thanks to my followers and subscribers, we are definitely building an online community of amazing, smart, funny, witty, compassionate and REAL mamas (and dads) who are Poopies too!
One of the things I noticed in my house last summer was that my kids couldn’t get enough of saying “poopie.” Every chance they got to bring that silly word into the framework of whatever we were saying or doing or singing, they would. And, no matter the context in which it was being used – “poopie sister,” “poopie dog,” “you’re a poopie,” “poopie baby” and my favorite, instead of Katy Perry’s anthemic “Baby, you’re a firework”, in our house, yes of course, you guessed it, all together now: “Baby, you’re poopie poop!” You get the idea – and it never ceased to crack them up each and every time. I mean, they hear or say ‘poopie’ and it’s a total gigglefest.
I’m thinking to myself: what is up with this ridiculous word? Why does it crack them up so much to say it and hear it? I mean, after all, in its literal definition, we’re talking about a rather private transaction between you and your bowels and the toilet. Ick! But that’s not how a 3 and 4 yr-old see it. Nope, to them it’s the holy grail of naughty words, as they can just barely get away with saying at their age. Hence, the big attraction. They know they really shouldn’t say it. It’s the first taboo, forbidden word that they are trying to push the boundaries by saying in their limited, naughty vocabularies. My girls get that it’s a yucky and not very ‘lady-like’ as I like to tell them. But by my repeating this to them, it just encouraged them to say it even more and each of my daughters actually called me “poopie mom” on more than one hostile occasion. So, I began to have a new approach with this little word that’s become so prevalent in our daily lives. After all, I can remember how much fun it was as a child to see what you can and can’t get away with. It’s all a part of testing mommy and daddy, which is a completely normal part of childhood! Therefore, I stopped lecturing them on their “potty mouths” and repeating to them how they’re too smart to say such things. I’ve given up worrying what the check-out lady at the grocery thinks of me when my kids are saying it over and over again in the little car cart, pointing to the candy rack, saying, “mommy, that’s not a candy bar, that’s a POOPIE bar” and then squeal with delight and roar with laughter! And, I have noticed that, lately, the “poopie talk” has tapered off a bit. I’m sure they’ll be on to the next naughty buzz word that catches on at preschool soon enough, but for now “poopie” will remain the original in our house and remain the title of my blog.
Now, onto the more serious reason I annointed myself PoopieMommy. I did so because I sought a name that was completely antithetical to so much of the perfectionist, Martha Stewart-worshipping, tailored, polished perception-is-everything mommy blogs that project this image of motherhood being all about doing everything just right and doing it right all the time. What do I mean by this? Well, if you get up at the crack of dawn to make artistic lunches with the crusts cut off symmetically from corner to corner on your kid’s sandwich and your emphasis is on making sure not a single hair is out of place on your child’s head or that their nails are so clean they actually looked groomed and manicured or that their outfits are so well-coordinated each day that your child looks as though a celebrity stylist picks our their clothes…then, well, I’m afraid to tell you, this blog may not be for you. And the reason is: this mommy is a mess! And, seriously, what is messier than poopie? I am flying by the seat of my pants every single day and just when I think I’ve got something figured out, my kids will find a way to throw a serious curve ball at me. My hair is never done, my make-up lies dormant in the bathroom drawer pining to be on my face but with its pleas unanswered everyday. I snooze as long as possible in bed in the morning and I stay up way too late at night. And it’s not because I’m sewing monogrammed labels on my daughters’ clothes or prepping the next night’s all organic, trans fat free gourmet dinner or planning the most spectacularly-themed birthday party with no detail left undone. Hell no. It’s because I’m playing Words with Friends on my i-phone and watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Talk about trainwrecks. Ha! But anyhow, you can see now how “poopie mommy” suits me well.
Man, life is super messy. And my mommy philosophy, thus far, has pretty much been to just embrace the chaos and go with every last glorious mess we make. I don’t pretend that I have my act together all the time and I’m OKAY with it too. There’s enough pressure from society, our children, our spouses/partners, friends, extended families, the economy, global terrorism, global warming and every other possible doom & gloom thing happening in the world, that I simply refuse to be one of these ridiculous moms that pretends I’ve got it all figured out and want to make you feel bad and judged if you don’t. That, simply put, ain’t how Poopie here rolls. My hope and intention is that Poopie Mommy will serve as an outlet for you to feel better about yourselves and the amazing job you’re already doing! Kids aren’t easy and I want this to be a place where you can seek a daily dose of honesty and humor and feel free to express exactly what you’re thinking. ‘Cause chances are, we’re all thinking it too! What we do every day is tough. We are not sitting on our asses eating bon bons despite what some people may think. We should be supportive of one another and stop trying to make each other feel lousy. Quite frankly, that is some distinctly juvenile bullshit perpetuated by a faction of moms who have nothing better to do or say, and their insecurities motivate their behavior. Poopie mommies like me want nuthin’ to do with them! I say, Poopie Mommies of the world unite! We’re real, we’re human, we have one another and WE ROCK.
p.s. oh, and I cuss. A LOT. So if that offends you, then well, shit, there’s really nothing I can do about that : )
