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Hiding in the closet with coffee

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Amy Betters-Midtvedt

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Hey girl, how about some pancakes? I can’t even with this kid.❤️ #pjs #heygirl #handsomeboy #myheart #carsforever #lighteningmcqueen #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee #boymomlife

A perfect pairing. #sistervisit #cheezballsandwine #thankyouplanters #bringingtheclass #alsothegrapes #planters #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

Hair conditioned by lake water. No make up. Also sweaty from a hot game of cards. And just read a whole book made of paper. (I love audiobooks but sometimes you just want to turn pages). This one was so good! What are you reading friends? And where are you reading it? Amy❤️ #cottagelife #readingislife #nevercominghome #illneverbeaninstagrammodel #keepingitreal #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

Today I took your phones away. It wasn’t a punishment, although I’m pretty sure you don’t believe that right now. You did nothing wrong, you were moving through your day just fine...and yet I know the allure of that little glowing screen when it is nearby. And for the love, it always seems to be nearby. So today I took your phones away, to offer you a gift my dear ones...the gift of freedom. I want you to move through your day with your head held high. With your hands-free. And with your heart open. I want you to look all the people in their eyes. I want you to notice the sun. I want you to get bored and then find something to do that you would never have thought of even if you had watched a million YouTube videos. I want you to be free from the beeps that distract you from large open times where your mind can wander or you can have long conversations with actual humans or where you can get lost in a book or in looking at the sky. I want to take you away from the temptations of sneaking a peek Instagram and Facebook and Snapchat which offer you windows into the lives everyone else is leading and where you might accidentally compare what you see there in the carefully curated feeds against the reality of your own world. I want you to know what it is like to live free...moving through your day not having to worry about what you are missing, about where your phone is, about what is happening in Fortnite. I want you to live your best true life. Unshackled from all that is vying for your attention in that small but mighty device sitting on the table next to you. So today, I took your phones away. It’s not forever. It’s just for this moment. To remind you what life is like when lived with your hands-free and your heart open. I believe this can only be done when your phone is tucked away, out of sight. It has to be far away from your body so no pieces of your mind are tethered to it. And my dear children may today teach you what you will find when you put your phone down all on your own. May you learn what a gift this is and that you can give it to yourself anytime. You do not need your phone to fill your time, your brain can live so free....

Behold the first of the lasts. Be still my heart. Buckle up readers. My firstborn is a senior and I will be bringing all the feelings and I don’t even care if it’s ridiculous. The world is not the boss of my mom heart and I have no chill at all when it comes to this girl. She just walked through the doors of her high school for her last school picture. She started as a freshman 3 hours ago so this is confusing to my brain. Also last week was kindergarten so really I’m quite disoriented and might need to ask some questions of God about why my life seems to be on fast forward. It’s our first last. And yes I will be naming all the lasts and writing them down and lamenting my baby. Any sane person would do the same. Also sorry in advance to kid #5 who will have no recorded lasts and no doubt drive himself to his own graduation calling us on the way to remind us to show up. We were good at other things with you last-born so just relax and remember how you slept in our bed until you were as tall as me. But I digress. This parenting job is no joke. I vacillate between being wildly excited for her and insanely sad for myself. I will miss her so and yet know this is the way it should be. Ugh. Just ugh. This word just feels like it describes my soul. Why do we have to make these amazing people that are just the greatest joy and then send them out from our perfectly good homes and away from our arms? And why don’t I live somewhere where the kids stay generation after generation in the same village so we could always have them near? And where is that village? And is it too late to move there? So many questions with no good answers today my friends. Excuse me while I try and remember the whole roots and wings thing while looking through her baby book and listening to Butterfly Kisses or some such nonsense. Whatevs, it’s my baby and I’ll cry if I want to. And to all those who have gone this way before me, I now have a glimpse of how strong you all are.❤️ #senioryear #parentingteens #handmeatissue #classof2019 #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

America’s Got Talent: Rope Swing Edition. I’m for sure Heidi and Sam is for sure Simon. #americasgottalent #spreadeagle #lakelifeisthebestlife #simoncowell #heidiklum #ropeswing #conqueryourfears #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

Why yes, my kids did just leave the kitchen, how did you know? For the actual love, they are like locusts that leave crap everywhere instead of clearing the place out. So let’s make this into a game shall we? Instead of Where’s Waldo we’ll call it Where’s Batman (can you spot him? He’s worth 5 points.). Also 5 points for finding each of the following: A purple unicorn. My car keys. Tent poles. A carpet rake(useful as a Harry Potter broom). Miscellaneous cereal bowls collected from teenager rooms. A red cutting board. The remnants of someone’s nectarine snack. Someone’s socks. A blue spatula. A box of chalk. My “rainbow checklist” of daily jobs one of which says, “Be sure the kitchen is clean.”. Good grief my friends. Let me know your total and your prize just may be me sending my kids to clean your kitchen. They clearly need the practice. #itslikelivinginafrathouse #noonesavedmecheesefriesjusttheplate #iloveyoubutyourekillingme #summerfun #keepingitreal #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

#truthbomb #summerfun #bestmomever #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee #writersofinstagram #wisconsinblogger #todayparents

Here’s to the fun dads of the world. I pretty much feel like I’m vacation now that this man is home. 17 years into parenting and still mom is often where it’s at in a very real way... nothing much has changed. When dad is home I can finally take a breath. Just like when we had our first baby and I found myself home all day on my own with this squirmy needy bundle of human. He would walk in the door and I finally could breathe. Even for a minute. Or when we had 3 littles 3 and under. Oh my word the physical exhaustion was like nothing I had known. He would walk in and take someone, anyone, off my hands. Or when I was pregnant with baby #5 and so sick even the smell of my kids made me nauseous. He would come home and I ran for cover, hiding in our room away from it all so he could feed and bathe and put them to bed while I tried to sleep those days away. Or when I’ve been trying to help with homework and make dinner and mediate all the things during the after school hours. He’ll get home from work, eat and take over the dishes and bedtime. He’ll bring some freshness and adult conversation just when I might lose my mind. All the ways this man has rescued me make him an absolute hero. And, yes, they are his kids too, so of course he should raise them, he’s not babysitting for the love. I know he’s a parent. I know he’s only doing his job. But he does that job with joy and love. Without complaining. He treats it like the honor it is. And for that I am grateful. He rescues me from myself. He reminds me it’s a joy. He reminds me how lucky I am. And he does it without ever saying a word. That my friends is a gift beyond measure. So here’s to the fun dads, taking over for tired moms so we can sit in a quiet house and find our joy and our sanity and maybe get a few things done. And for the moms who do this for dads when the roles are reversed. And thank you to all of them for leading by example...we’d be too tired to hear their words anyway. #dadsofinstagram #findingjoy #finallysittingdown #poollife #lovemyhusband #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

Sleeping single in a double bed... (Pretty sure this is a song right?) Anyway this week I am doing just that. Not only is my husband home during this leg of our vacation but my tried and true buddy the 7 year old has abandoned me for the allure of the cousins.He’s been sleeping in the den all week for the first time in his life. It’s a dream come true right? By all accounts I should just spread right out, lay crosswise across the bed and wrap up in all the covers and joyfully snooze away. But nope. All the nopes. I’m solidly on “my side” of the bed with a big blank spot next me. Dare I say I miss my people? I know it’s crazy but it’s true. I miss my little heater pressed up against my legs and I miss the sweet sounds of my husband’s snoring. It’s funny, but that thing you think you’ll never miss? You just might miss it. This week I totally have. Does this mean I will gleefully sleep on a small sliver of bed unable to actually sleep because I’m sweaty and it’s loud because of the snoring when we’re all back together next week? Also nope. Because that’s just life. But I will be able to remind myself I missed them in this moment. So I’ll gently push over the boy and roll the man onto his side and kiss them on their foreheads and drift back to sleep feeling so lucky that it’s sweaty and loud because at least we’re together. This week has given me the gift of perspective, the gift of appreciating even the little things we think drive us crazy. Because sometimes love is found in the crazy my friends. And we can miss it if we forget to look.#cantsleep #missingmypeople #sleepingsingleinadoublebed #mustbeacountrysong #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

Summer is a dance between: Camp #1: being in love with having your kids around all the time so you can soak them up. and Camp #2: figuring out how to hide from their sweet faces so there are no mouth noises. After a really fun hands on week, I’m currently in camp #2. My dear husband never knows what version he’s going to get when he checks in. Today it was this (see texts below to illustrate). Godspeed mamas who are crushing it and taking their kids to the park to make memories and also mamas who wish they would have brought up more iced tea to go with their Doritos but who are now trapped and considering drinking out of the bathroom faucet. #summerfun #livingthedream #wehavealockbutsamcanpickitwithapaperclip #hidingbehindthedoorwithdoritos #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

File this under stuff I love... So I'm totally excited to share this free offer with you. When you place your first order of $20 from Grove Collaborative using this link you'll get this free caddy filled with Mrs. Meyer's dish soap, hand soap, and lotion — plus free shipping! I love when I get the chance to share some of my favorite things with you all, it's a little perk that I get deals to pass along to you that also help keep my site up and running. Win/win. And seriously, I love this caddy. It's so cute in our bathroom filled with all the girl's hair STUFF. I actually just bought myself a second one, I'm a sucker for bins. ;-) Here is how to get yours for free along with some of my other favorites.... Sign up for Grove Collaborative using the link below. New customers will receive these freebies: Mrs. Meyer's hand soap Mrs. Meyer's hand lotion Mrs. Meyer's dish soap Grove cleaning caddy To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. If you want to fill your cart quickly order the Grove Soy Candle, it is legit my favorite. Existing customers won't miss out. You will receive a free Grove Collaborative scrubber sponge just for ordering through the link in my bio. Let me know if you have questions friends! Enjoy! Amy #grovecollaborative #freestuff #mrsmeyers #greatdeals #stuffilove #hidingintheclosetwithcoffee

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