Amazed

Would you believe that I have become an expert on mommy type issues? Yeah, me either.

But the other moms in our little Wednesday singing group at church seem to think that I have all the answers for baby/toddler problems. Once they found out that I had three kids (they only see Liam and Evan since Sydney is in school), I have been bombarded with questions:

"Where did you get that pacifier clip?"
"How do you get green bean stains off of a baby-sized collar?"
"Is separation anxiety at 6 months normal?"
"How did you get him to sit up by himself?"
"Where did you get that snack carrier?"
"How do you get him to be so friendly?"
"How do you go to the bathroom with a toddler and an infant?"
"When do you eat?"
"How do you do it all?"

I answer as many questions as I can, but some of them stump me, like the "How do you do it all?" one. I usually just say, "One day at a time," and they laugh, but I seriously don't know what to tell them. And when I'm answering something easy, like the green beans on the collar question, I want to shout, "If only you knew how incapable I am of getting my baby to sleep through the night!" But I don't shout that because it would scare the babies and more importantly, I don't want to shatter their image of me. :)

I'm amazed that in their eyes, I am the expert. Would they still think this if they saw me bribe Liam with a cup of juice or snap at Sydney because her room is a mess? Probably not. Would they still think I'm a Super Mom (I have visions of a woman in "mom jeans" with a spit-up covered cape) if they knew that the toy room is a perpetual disaster area or saw the frying pan that I just can't seem to scrub clean? Nope. By the way, anyone know how to get dried/burnt barbecue sauce off of a supposedly non-stick frying pan?

It seems like yesterday that I was the one asking all of the questions and I realize now that the moms from whom I was seeking advice were probably thinking that they weren't experts on anything mommy related, either. But I guess there are no experts, just women who don't mind sharing the wisdom they've gained from their experiences. It's just crazy to think that now I'm one of the wise ones.