I was at the mall yesterday with my boys and some other moms from PittsburghMom.  At one point we were waiting for another mom to come back and our three boys started chasing each other in the food court. They were making laps around the garbage can, laughing and screaming a bit.  We asked them to "use their inside voices" but did not stop them from running.  Maybe we should have, I don't know, but they were being good, they weren't fighting, they were giving us two minutes of peace,and so we let them run.  A woman walked by at one point and made no effort to hide her look of disgust, her eye-roll and her head shake.

A couple of weeks ago I was in another mall and my kids were being a bit loud and overactive. So I made them stop and sit down. Matthew took it like a champ, but two-year-old Ben went into full tantrum mode and laid on the floor screaming and kicking his legs. I let him "work it out" rather than give in to him.  Then, too, some women walked by and gave the same disgusted eye-roll and head shake. 

What the hell is wrong with people?  I would think women, of all people, would understand that it's HARD having kids. And with judgmental people, we just can't win. If we let them play, we get the eye roll. If we dicipline them and heaven-forbid they cry, we get the eye roll. 

I ask you judgmental people "What would you have us do?"  Stay home?  Probably their answer, I'm thinking.

Well, I for one, am tired of it. I'm *this close* to stopping one of these "judgies" (my new nickname for the eye-roll crowd) and tell them about my day.

I'll tell them how many noses I wiped that morning, how many diapers I've changed, how many time outs I've given, how many spills I've cleaned up, how many boo boo's I've kissed, how many fights I've broken up, how many tears I've kissed away, how many tantrums I've handled, how many times I've heard "mommy!", how many shoes and socks and coats and hats and gloves I've put on, how many car seats I've buckled and unbuckled, how many toddlers I've chased through the mall as they've run away from the play area, how many times I've carted the three-year-old to the bathroom after we JUST went and he said he didn't have to go, how many times I've said "no you can't have candy for breakfast".

Then I'll remind them that it's only 11 a.m. and I still have approximately 7 hours until my husband gets home and if they are bothered by my kid running happily around a garbage can while I get three solid minutes of peace, then they can trade their designer bag and fancy car keys for my orange juice-stained diaper bag and mini van keys and spend the next 7 hours with my kids while I sit in judgement of them.

Whether the "judgies" just don't have kids, can't remember what it's like to have kids that young and energetic, or just had perfect kids (yea right!) I just ask that they stop for one minute before that head shake and eye-roll, remember (or imagine) what it was like in those days and cut us a break, then just walk away. Walk away with the knowledge that you are surely a better mother than me, and let me enjoy my damn coffee.  

It's hard enough being a mom, we don't need you to remind us of our imperfections.

OK, I'm getting down off my soap box now.