The non-highlight reel #banperfection

Matt has always referred to social media as an opportunity for people to show the highlight reels of their lives.

Whenever I'm having a jealous moment (look at where they just traveled to, what she just bought, what their family does for fun...), Matt reminds me of the highlight reel.

It's true. And we're no different really. Our #nelsendays2014 photos show the moments I want to remember- the funny moments, the sweet moments, the picture-worthy moments. For me, taking a daily photo to chronicle our year is for one day looking back and remembering the simple moments of this stage we're in. Of course I have days that are less than ideal and moments that would be better started over or just skipped over completely, but do I want to look back on this stage and remember those times? Nope not really!

When I was little, I used to journal every night before going to bed. I have over 10 years of my life documented- sometimes what I was praying for or planning for, but mostly a response to what happened during my day. The crazy thing is that I never wrote about the bad parts of my day. For me, I just wanted to one day look back and remember the good parts of my days. And writing about the good parts, even on days when there were things that happened that weren't good, made me focus on the positive of each day. I also used to make myself smile into a mirror when I got down because it was hard to stay mad when you made yourself smile- strange kid, huh?! 

But that being said, I think there definitely is something to letting people see the real reel, if you will. Those moments that are less than ideal during our days.

So when Samantha emailed me to ask if I would participate in her #banperfection project, I told her I would be happy to.

Let me real quick interject that I feel like there's a fine line between sharing your less-than-ideal moments and airing out too much of your dirty laundry, or trying too hard to "be real" to elicit a response. (Was that harsh?)

But I do love the idea of sharing my not-so-perfect self and especially seeing other people's not-so-perfect selves because it makes me feel better. ;)

SO- here are a few of our less-than-ideal moments from the past couple of weeks:

I posted this on instagram a couple of weeks ago- a sweet pic of my little man peacefully enjoying a trip to the mall with his mama. Thirty minutes later, he had an all-out melt down while I was checking out at Banana. One that evoked more than one person in line (cashier included) to ask me what I thought he needed (translation- "Can you do something to make it stop?"). I refrained from answering with, "He needs you to check me out faster so that he can eat..." (one hour earlier than he should have, mind you)

Walking through the grocery store the other day, I kept thinking that the place smelled a little off. It wasn't until I saw my reflection in my car door that I realized the odor was me. Well, Ryan, but in turn, me. The little guy had somehow managed to silently poo through his diaper, his outfit (and therefore my outfit) and the wrap. Awesome.

Pre- and post- clicking in the car seat base in the car. Sweet boo.

Pit stop on our drive home: Ryan doesn't mind falling asleep his carrier as long as he is vigorously swayed back and forth in it while he dozes... since that's possible while I'm driving. ;)

And lastly, what our house looks like right this very minute:

I'm not sure if I count it as victory or defeat that I am now willing to let things go a little. Sometimes it's easier to do one big clean than keep it tidy all day/week long.

You can share your less-than-perfect moments (you know you want to ;) ) on social media using hashtag #banperfection.

To check out other #banperfection posts, visit Samantha's blog here.