Everyone knows that what people post on social media sites isn’t actually an accurate snapshot of your life.

You put your best foot forward, your best pic posted.

It’s all smoke and mirrors.

This is never more true than for parents of toddlers.

Here are pictures of my husband and I on daycare date night.

It might look like we’re having a lovely evening, but we actually spent the entire dinner try to hail our waitress. We watched other diners arrive, be served and finish dinner and we couldn’t even get a second round of Sake.

That b*&ch interrupted our Sake cycle.

Instead of riveting conversation, we were busy glowering at the staff, pleading with our eyes for assistance from the hostess. (who was equally oblivious to our plight)

I considered luring her by dangling our food because she was all skin and bones, but my husband noted that she clearly wasn’t interested in eating. Maybe Meth would’ve worked?

The next morning, here’s a picture of my precious daughter hugging my dog. (Yes, he looks terrified. He’s old, partially blind and has Addison’s Disease. He’s always terrified.)

What you don’t see is my son screaming in the background because he’s sick. Our punishment for a miserable night on the town was waking up early to face a feverish toddler.

My son is a real jerk when he’s sick.

I feel bad that he doesn’t feel well, but I don’t exactly feel like babying him when he’s constantly trying to throw heavy objects at my head and screaming “NO WAY” when I’m not even touching him or talking to him.

A fun day at the park? I think not.

It poured the night before so the whole playground was a soggy, mulchy mess.

We had to cut it short when my son decided to run full speed through a mud puddle in canvas shoes.

I did find it amusing that Alma wouldn’t stop berating an older girl who was playing barefoot in the mud.

“She’s gonna get her pants wet! She doesn’t have shoes on! She can’t go in the puddles!”

Her mom was nearby.

I just said, “That’s up to her and her mommy or daddy to decide honey.” (as I continued to yell at my kids to stay out of the puddles… awkward, awkward, awkward)

Here’s what else there AREN’T pictures of:

1) Our kids both instantly falling asleep as we drive off for lunch, so we have to drive around for an hour being quiet.

2) My son crying when we have to wake him up because we HAVE TO EAT.

3) My son demanding to walk outside while we’re trying to eat at Chilis, throwing all food offered to him across the room. (even slimy segments of mandarin oranges)

4) Mommy downing two margaritas.

5) Daddy saying he needs to work on the computer and mommy nearly having a nervous breakdown considering time alone with the kids.

So, I took Alma to buy white poster board to draw on with markers outside.

Look how adorable she was playing with the neighborhood kids.

What you don’t see:

1) Huck stealing all balls from the neighbor’s garage. Bouncy balls, plastic softballs, a football.

2) Huck repeatedly kicking said balls toward the road.

3) Alma looking shocked and appalled when the neighbor’s little girl wouldn’t let her have a turn at basketball. (awkward, awkward, awkward)

So, we go back inside and I serve up the kids an enviable spread of fresh fruit, Gouda and ham.

We watch Monsters Inc. for the 30th time.

I give the kids a bath, which means I get soaked from head to toe, chase around a naked maniac who refuses to put on a diaper and occasionally pisses on the carpet and manhandle my cranky daughter who screams at me to get her into her PJ’s and then screams even louder that she CAN DO IT HERSELF!

At this point, my husband is still on the effing computer and I shout downstairs, “Are you DONE YET?”

He storms up and says no, but takes over. So, then I feel like a shitty wife.

My husband can’t get his work done and I am already trying to figure out if enough time has passed since lunch for me to start drinking alcohol again.

Let’s just say the night ended with me breaking my diet to eat a Lean Cuisine and my husband telling me I had purple teeth. Wine drinkers feel me.

No pictures of that folks.

Smoke and mirrors friends.

Posted by ScreamerDreamer in Children diet, Children's television, Family, Family humor, Family life, Funny family, Motherhood, Parenting, Toddlers, Working mom Tags: date night, sick kids, smoke and mirrors, social media