I was not a great mom today.

I was up most of the night with W, and spent most of my day here, holding a fussy baby who would not nap for more than 30 minutes at a time.

I was beyond exhausted, and I swear the big kids were operating at their loudest levels possible in every game they played today.

The bickering felt never ending and if W wasn’t crying, someone else definitely was.

(Myself included.)

The kids had a lot of screen time today.

Pretty sure they ate a lot of sugar too.

And I definitely yelled a lot more than I like to.

By 7:30pm I was just… done. I put them all into their beds and closed the door so I could walk and bounce W in peace in the hopes he might fall asleep and I might get 5 minutes to myself.

So, no. I was not a great mom today.

But I also know that this won’t be every day. I know that with the good days come the bad, and even if I wasn’t a great mom today…

…it doesn’t make me a bad one.

It just makes me a real one.

So yes. I let them eat a bunch of crap and they watched more TV than I’m proud of. They cried. I cried. I yelled and wasn’t as patient as I could have been. It was a day.

But I also got through a hard day on my own while M was at work. Everyone was dressed and possibly brushed their teeth. Everyone got fed. They kids loved their movie day. They played outside.

And as I tucked them tonight in I apologized for not being at my best and told them that I loved them.

Sometimes, that’s enough.

I know I won’t be “Super Mom” every day. Today I was more like “Super Tired and Cranky Mom” and that’s okay.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

So, if you had a hard day too, you’re not alone.

And you’re not a bad mom.

Sometimes, this is just hard.