Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

{No More Perfect Moms} Let them eat pizza

February 6, 2013 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I’d say Jill Savage wrote “No More Perfect Moms” just for me, but as part of the book’s launch team and Holley Gerth‘s God-sized Dream Team, I’ve learned I’m not alone in both craving perfection and wanting to rid my life of perfection. It’s in this spirit of community I’ve invited fellow mommas to share their imperfect lives this week. 

Also this week you can have a “mom university” delivered right to your computer when you buy Jill Savage’s “No More Perfect Moms.” Buy the book and receive FREE resources worth more than $100. This works if you buy the Kindle version too. Here is the list of what you’ll get when you email your receipt to NoMorePerfectMoms@moody.edu.

Jenn King is here today sharing a glimpse into her life. And today is her birthday! Jenn and I became friends a couple years ago because we kept running into each other around our small town at birthday parties, in the preschool hallway, and when we picked up our CSA vegetables. My life is richer with her in it. 


________

I’ve spent more time thinking about lunchboxes than I like to admit. I bought my kindergartner a fancy monogrammed one at least 6 months before she started school.  She would have been happy with the tin Hello Kitty option from Walmart, but no, I needed her to have the state-of-the art Land’s End Cadillac of lunchboxes.

Only the best container would suffice for all of the whole-grain, organic, junk-free goodness I would lovingly create for her each morning. And for the first couple months of school, we all had what we needed and wanted: Chloe was happy taking her lunch and eating whatever I packed, and I was proud to tell whoever would listen that my daughter took her lunch every day. Each afternoon on the way home from school I would ask Chloe who she sat with at lunch and what the other kids near her had brought. Knowing that the lunch-bringers sat down together before the lunch-buyers, I made secret mental notes of which moms devoted the time to sending lunch. Those were the lucky kids, I thought. The kids I wanted my kid to befriend.

And then it happened. Chloe got in the car one afternoon, probably in October, and said she wanted to buy her lunch the following day. Pizza Day. I’m not exaggerating, I was devastated. At first I told her I would think about it; Daddy and I would talk about it; the three of us would discuss our options. And then I couldn’t hold my tongue. Bringing lunch is so much healthier, I say. It’s so much better for you. The school pizza is a greasy, fatty mess.

And don’t even get me started on the accompaniments. Sidekicks? What the heck are sidekicks? They’re french fries, Chloe tells me, but she doesn’t like them because they’re too crunchy. Well, at least I can hang my hat on that!  But then she says my fries are much better, and it’s at that point that I know this is much bigger than cheese pizza. I don’t think I’ve ever made fries, so I know she’s just trying to make me feel better. I take a deep breath and tell Chloe she can buy pizza. She is pleased, and I am left to sift through what’s really going on with my (over)reaction to her request.

Turns out, I am a food snob and I totally judge people’s food choices. Ask my husband about the Diet Coke death glare. And the arguments over him not liking asparagus or goat cheese. And let’s not forget the times I would have rather gone hungry than order Dominoes or succumb to the golden arches. Add to the eating-habit judgments a large dose of control-freakishness and self-doubt, and you have a recipe for disaster.

I used to pride myself on being a foodie. I would turn my nose up at the local restaurant options and insist on making everything I could from scratch. But when the Pizza Day drama brought everything to a head, I realized that my beliefs about food and how I should feed my family were keeping me from being the person I want to be. And I finally admitted that I don’t like myself very much when I’m trapped inside my need to be perfect and feed just right. There’s a reason I live in town where you can’t get a good burger or a homemade tortilla.  There’s a reason some of my very best friends use mixes to make brownies and others hand their kids a bag of chips at snack time. There’s a reason the love of my life recently requested that I make corn dog casserole and chicken fingers. And there’s a reason Chloe’s lunch bag almost had to be thrown away recently because of an applesauce explosion.

I am not supposed to judge, and I am not supposed to hold myself and others to ridiculous standards of perfection.  It’s OK if it’s not organic. And if every plate I serve isn’t overloaded with Super Foods. Sitting with my family and laughing while enjoying some Sonic corn dogs is a heck of a lot healthier than me yelling at my husband for wanting said corn dogs and forcing a my 4-year old to choke back one more kale chip. I don’t want someone to like me or my kid because of which lunchbox she has, and I don’t want my kids to feel like my love depends on what they want for breakfast.

Since my food-related come-to-Jesus, new gastronomic adventures have become available to me, right here in our little town: There’s a place where I can order healthy stuff in bulk, a group of juicers I may join, and Kroger even got a sushi bar. I like to think these changes waited for me to be ready for them. I’ve also discovered an even cooler lunch box, and I will probably go ahead and buy it. But I don’t feel like it has to be used every day. In fact, today’s not even Pizza Day and Chloe wants to buy her lunch. I’m saying yes to chicken nuggets (they come with a whole grain roll, after all!) and I’m not worrying a thing about it. But you’d better believe tonight we’re eating in!

________

Jenn is a 36-year-old mother of three lively daughters, ages 6, 4 and 13 months. She and her husband chose the small (to them!) town of Murray, KY to grow their marriage and their children, create a home and build a neurology private practice, in that order. Jenn doesn’t work outside the home, but there’s not much staying in the house involved, either! She enjoys being in community, cooking, creating any- and everything, and capturing life through picture-taking.
________

Disclaimer: Compensated affiliate link used, but most of you know by now that embracing imperfection is the theme of my year and “No More Perfect Moms” has been a huge part of that. Want more? Subscribe to get “Insights” in your inbox. Or follow me on Twitter.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: books, friends, guest post, motherhood

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • How to enjoy motherhood
  • How & why to travel with kids
  • From snow to sand
  • Books of 2022
  • How to enjoy winter days at home

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

The world feels heavy & broken because it is. Pare The world feels heavy & broken because it is. Parenting has me at my max emotional capacity because it takes much soul and mental work. Spring soccer season started in the cold tonight. 

Even so, God is good and wants us to live abundantly here on earth while we wait for heaven. This week that looks like church league basketball games, dinner with friends, apologies, sideline encouragement, prayers, middle school humor, theological conversations with friends, tears, and laughter. 

Now it’s time to rest and do it again tomorrow. These are the rhythms of grace and goodness, heaven and earth, sorrow and joy. 

#livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #soccermom #thirdchild #momlife #reallife #faithlife #PorchStories
I sat on my porch beneath a blanket and finished t I sat on my porch beneath a blanket and finished this book today. Yes, I’m fully invested in this Cuba saga involving the Perez family. “The Last Train to Key West” by @chanelcleeton is the third in the series. I have the fourth on hold at the library for pickup on Monday. 

I wasn’t sure I was going to love this one as much as I did Cleeton’s first two, but it was a slow-building story that turned stormy. I loved how the three women were in Key West for their own reasons, developed meaningful relationships as they navigated their lives, and managed to survive the storms of their lives and an actual hurricane. 

The historical fiction story offers hope:

“It’s strange how your life can change so quickly, how one moment you can barely eke by, desperation filling your days, and suddenly, out of the unimaginably horrific, a glimmer of something beautiful can appear like a bud pushing through the hard-formed earth. There’s so much broken around us; maybe all we can do is try to fix each other, do what we can to preserve these precious moments in a world where there is so much sadness and loss. … Maybe some would say my dreams are too small. Perhaps they would dream of railroads that go over the sea, great, wonderful things. Maybe others want riches and jewels, a chance to travel the globe. For me, this is enough: A corner of paradise in this wretched world that I am able to call my own.” — Helen in “The Last Train to Key West” by Chanel Cleeton

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #librarybooks #historicalfiction #weekending #favoritethings #choosingJOY #bookquotes #bookreview
This morning there are three “holes” in Wright This morning there are three “holes” in Wright Road after the creek flooded it overnight. The Calloway County road department responded quickly and is working to pack in various kinds of gravel so it will passable again soon. I’m thankful for their work, but these Band-Aids aren’t an actual solution. 

Wright Road needs a permanent solution for when Wildcat Creek rises. A bridge seems to be the best idea, so the creek can rise and flow beneath the road rather than flowing across it and washing out the gravel on top of the culverts. 

I know it’s an expensive fix and would take local government working with state government, but I wonder how many times the road has to break before it can be truly repaired.

#callowaycounty #kyweather #kentuckyweather #countyroads #countryliving #reallife #murrayky
In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, In a week filled with all the parenting emotions, God has provided conversation with friends who understand, new mercies, a few walks and talks with a friend, and cinnamon rolls on a rainy Friday afternoon. I’ve been reminded when we are vulnerable and share our real lives, friends bring truth and goodness — often in ways we don’t expect but bless us anyway. 

#bettertogether #createdforcommunion #reallife #momlife #weekending #parenthood #choosingJOY #favoritethings #livingfaithfully
People ask when I have time to write. The truth is People ask when I have time to write. The truth is I like to make time to write, but sometimes it happens in the cracks of my days — at Panera, in the Notes app on my phone, at the library before I pickup my kids, or while I’m waiting on kids at activities. This week I edited my manuscript while Rachel practiced soccer. 

#momlife #writerlife #selfpublished #bloggerlife #authorlife #soccermom #thirdchild #createdforcommunion #bettertogether #favoritethings
I needed this weekend. The UK Wildcats didn’t I needed this weekend. 

The UK Wildcats didn’t win this afternoon like I had hoped. But following our house full of people on Friday night, I’ve spent a lot of time on my couch, under a soft blanket, with a book, while I watch #MarchMadness. 

Yesterday I pulled “When We Left Cuba” by @chanelcleeton from my to-be-read stack and then realized it was the second in a series about the Perez family. Thanks to @libby.app, I was able to get “Next Year in Havana” immediately. 

I finished it today during commercials and timeouts. And now I’m going to start “When We Left Cuba” as another basketball game also gets going. 

#KHTreads #basketballseason #weekending #bookstagram #reallife #booklover #librarybooks #KindleOasis #Kindlebooks #favoritethings
What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends What a fun night! Basketball is best with friends and food. So thankful for all these provisions and others in my life. Oh and a Cats win is icing on the cake. 

#MarchMadness #weekending #basketballseason #bettertogether #choosingJOY #BigBlueNation
You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor pos You know it’s #MarchMadness when Greg Taylor posts on Facebook — and a picture at that! — and puts his radio/TV degree to work figuring out how to improve the viewing setup. 

#reallife #basketballseason #wifelife #choosingJOY
I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected I had no idea just how deeply I would be affected while studying Genesis 1-2. Going back to the beginning and seeing how God created, ordered, and filled the earth has been exactly what I didn’t know I needed, especially as a mom. 

For quite a while now, I feel like I’ve been living a day at a time. I used to be able to see my life in larger chunks of time and anticipate and prepare accordingly. Now, I slap things on the calendar and then deal with them as they come. Navigating life with two teenagers and a first-grader is the best and hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Honestly, this moment-to-moment living has been good for me and helped me rely on the God who created the stars and rivers that still exist in our world. Focusing on where I am helps me take slower steps, trust God to provide, and remember I’m not in control. I’ve felt an internal shift with my relationships — with my husband, kids, and friends. I’ve felt behind on laundry and dishes and piles of papers. But I’ve also felt a refreshed nearness to God. 

I’m going to rest here while believing God created life and light when there was only darkness and continues to order my days. 

#livingfaithfully #choosingJOY #momlife #faithlife #preceptstudy #genesisstudy #genesis #beginnings #reallife #PorchStories
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM