Guilt

I haven't posted in over two months (though it seems like much longer) and I will admit that a lot of that has to do with guilt. Guilt because I have been using my dryer exclusively. Guilt because I haven't been turning off the water when I brush my teeth every time or always unplugging my small appliances. I also have been really, really bad about sticking to my grocery budget the last few months. I blame a large part of that on the little naked person swimming inside my belly (don't you like the way I put that?).

Yes, the Green & Thrifty household is going to grow by one (let's hope just one) in June. Because of this I was sick and super tired for a couple months and just did not feel like doing anything to be thrifty. So we ate out a lot, got take-out, and ate a lot of processed foods (thus another source of guilt). I also didn't feel like hanging my clothes to dry. We were lucky to get any clean clothes around here. I have just started to get back in the swing of things these last few weeks (and then there was Christmas...), even though I still get tired.

So you see, I couldn't possibly write posts telling you how to eat whole foods on a budget while eating my frozen pizza and Taco Bell. Plus I was just too tired to write them anyway :)

Guilt is something I struggle with a lot. I do not feel guilty because I think I am a bad person but because my actions are not good enough. Any mom (or parent for that matter) probably knows exactly what I am talking about (does the term "Mommy Wars" ring a bell?). You try your hardest to do what you think is the right thing, only to be told that it is not enough. I may feed the Kid fruits and vegetables, but he doesn't always eat enough of those or a wide variety. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) he gets crackers. Sometimes I make macaroni-and-cheese from a BOX (though it is organic...).

Sometimes I feel that no matter how hard I try to feed my family healthily, it just isn't good enough. There is always something MORE I SHOULD be doing. Then I figure that if I'm never going to be good enough, I might as well give up and start stocking my shelves with Hamburger Helper and Little Debbies.

I also read a lot of blogs on saving money by other moms and I think that I'm spending my money on the wrong things or I am not saving enough or I am just spending too much all together. Then I go back to the above mentality and I want to throw this whole budgeting thing out the window and fill my grocery cart with whatever I feel like or buy that new pair of shoes.

But it is at these times where I have to (figuratively) slap myself and say that every step in the right direction is a good one. Yeah, I could spend less. I could eat healthier. There is ALWAYS something better we can be doing, something MORE we can be doing for ourselves, our families, and the planet. But we can't do everything. Not everyone can be a Superman or Superwoman. I am doing what I can at the moment while continually learning about ways to improve - and that is all we can ask of ourselves.

photos courtesy of Getty Images