Living in Lancaster County fresh food is nothing new but this was our first year picking fresh strawberries. I wan to say the girls were perfect little helpers and I loved spending time with my tiny people, but it wouldn’t be true. Truth be told this was a high stress outing.

Mistake #1: Going alone ie. 3 against 1

Mistake #2: Putting Tiny in white. I mean seriously what was I thinking!

Mistake #3: Trying to take pictures while baby-wearing. I bumped Moose in the head more than once with my Nikon. He is a tough little fella and took it all in stride but nothing effects your mood like mommy guilt.

Tiny kept sneaking berries and midway pooped through her diaper. Of course I didn’t have enough wipes, new clothes, or a bag for the diaper. Destructo was picking every berry she found be it under-ripe green or rotten. I had to refill my berry boxes every three minutes because the kids kept stepping on it. This whole experience was not the sweet family memory I envisioned.

Family memories would be much easier to make if the kids didn’t keep getting in the way. I mean seriously why couldn’t they just pick strawberries and smile when I say smiles! Where was the sweet background music and slow motion hugs? I wanted sweet, easy, relaxed, precious. Instead I had a bag full of poop and toddler that looked like a vampire.

Then Destructo did this. She grabbed my friends camera and started shooting, and shooting, and shooting. She took about 50 pictures. I haven’t seen them yet but she loved it. She told me she wanted to be like Mommy and take pictures. And yes Tiny was completely covered in strawberry but she was also having a great time. As for Moose, welp he didn’t care on bit. So I let it go. I told the girls to go and have fun. My memory of strawberry picking is wildly different from the kids memory. If you ask Destructo what she did, she would bounce around the room telling you about the “friends” she made (total stranger we picked next you) and the pictures she took. Tiny would giggle and talk about yummy food and how she ate some wheat to look like a farmer (all in Tiny talk so it really isn’t much of a story). Moose will blow raspberries, because that’s all he really does.

I guess memories are just different for Moms then for kids. I see the behind the scenes and remember the stress of it all. The kids get the fun, and isn’t that the way it is meant to be? I didn’t want the trip to be stressful but it was, by nature and by chance. I have three kids, three relatively young kids. I learned my lesson: Know your limits!

Lesson #1: Wait til the Hubs

Lesson #2: Prepare better; after three kids I should have that down.

Lesson #3: Hallmark, Disney, perfect family vacations…are myths! Stress will happen but so will fun. Don’t try to make the perfect moment happen.

Lesson #4: Enjoy the kids for who they are, the little mommy, the wild wanderer, and the tiny human strapped to my chest.