Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

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Motherhood

I Should Be Charging Admission

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A while back, I created an art wall to easily hang my kids’ artwork up when they bring it home. You have to showcase their creativity right? Well, apparently, this space wasn’t enough.

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Let kids be kids, right? But, my home is turning into a bonafide art gallery in every room. Wouldn’t want to stunt their creativity right?  Like, on my bedroom wall, with a piece of scotch tape, we have a more abstract piece that just showed up one day:

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And around the same time, this little beauty popped up in my kitchen. The one-armed, one-legged monster:

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Then there is the more Picasso-ish piece that has been sitting on my kitchen counter for at least a week created in church:

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And, last but DEFINITELY not least, was the three dimensional piece I found behind a door in my son’s bedroom. I had no idea that when he asked to borrow one of my hair elastics that this was what he would do with it:

©perfectionpending.netP1040893

At least he had the foresight to use pencil.

I think I have a future artist in the making. But, I really think you have to draw the line (no pun intended) somewhere. Like, the kitchen table, for instance. Yes, my sweet precious almost two year old. THAT is where I draw the line. Or where you did.

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Or what about the tops of the trash cans? Nice work sweetie!

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And, on top of my night stand.

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I swear, I should be charging admission for anyone who enters my house! I could hang a sign out front: “Come and enjoy the artwork! On every surface imaginable.”


12 Comments

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Comments

  1. Valerie says

    November 1, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    Haha! I love the hair tie! Very inspired. 😉

    Reply
  2. Kerry says

    November 1, 2013 at 7:57 pm

    That’s awesome 😉 I actually really like the one in your bedroom! It looks like an Asian chef who is really happy about what he made for you 😉

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      November 1, 2013 at 9:52 pm

      Nice interpretation!!

      Reply
  3. Lindsey Williams says

    November 2, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    Magic eraser , baby!

    Reply
  4. Darcy Perdu says

    November 5, 2013 at 6:53 pm

    So funny. Especially love the Hairband Happy Face!

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      November 6, 2013 at 8:54 am

      Yep. It’s pretty awesome. 🙂

      Reply
  5. The Waiting says

    March 18, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    Put our kids together and they’d be able to curate an entire art exhibition! And yeah, the rubber band smiley face is beyond epic. Way to work with multimedia.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      March 18, 2014 at 9:27 pm

      Ha! I know. He’s pretty creative. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Tempest Rose says

    October 8, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    Ah, this reminds me of the time we were dogsitting my mother’s dog. It was only for a day, so all we really had to do was feed him and let him out — we could have easily simply made two trips over there since my mom lives so close. But the dog goes through separation anxiety and there’s just something about being away from home that’s comforting, so we decided to spend several hours. Draven was 2 at the time, I believe. Adam was in the living room watching TV, and I was in the guest room on the computer. Draven would bounce between us, and we figured we had it covered. Little did we know each of the adults were getting increasingly tired. Did I mention my mom’s couch and guest bed are about the most comfortable things on the planet? Yeah.. without either of us realizing, we both fell asleep in separate areas of the house. Draven found some white-out. By the time I woke up, everything was painted. The door that had just been redone after Hurricane Sandy. An important document I had brought with me for school. An antique end-table my parents had inherited from my grandparents, who had inherited from god-knows-who, etc. The antique dining room table to match. The stereo speakers. A very nice comforter. The dog. My foot. My parents haven’t asked me to dog-sit since.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      October 8, 2015 at 8:23 pm

      Oh my gosh. That’s hilariously awful!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Life Being Lived Before My Eyes | Perfection Pending says:
    January 23, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    […] the one that makes me laugh with his silly creativity, like when I find my hair elastic in an unexpected place, or when he tells me a joke that makes no […]

    Reply
  2. Moms VS. Kids: My Voice Might Not Be Audible - Perfection Pending says:
    July 1, 2017 at 9:03 am

    […] What I say: “You are only supposed to draw on paper. NOTHING ELSE.” They hear: “Take a permanent marker and beautify every surface in the house.” […]

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

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Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
"I don't care" as I literally care about every sin "I don't care" as I literally care about every single thing.
I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mea Yes. Boundaries are healthy and good. And they mean someone loves you that much to communicate them! Love this wisdom from @wittyidiot
NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a NEW POST ----> "This is not a post about loss of a loved one. Or loss of a child. Those things are real, and they’re heart wrenching. And, this post is certainly not to compare that loss with the one I’m going to talk about.

But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣 This memory made me laugh this morning. 🤣
Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and I’m sorry are you really wearing doc martens and a dress with spaghetti straps and a Tshirt under it while you’re telling me I’m doing it wrong? 🤣 Life is wild. Teenagers are fun.
Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

#momspiration #momlife #funnymoms #memtalhealth #parentinglife #parentingquotes
"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

Do you struggle with perfectionism? Parenthood has helped me quite a bit, but It's something I've battled my whole life. I still struggle occasionally, although it's gotten better. But, let's stop trying to avoid being human and instead embrace ourselves an in turn embrace the entire human race. ❤️ I'd love to hear how you embrace being imperfect. 

#perfecționism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #imperfect #perfectpending #themotherload #thementalload
Mood. Mood.
Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
It’s true! Researchers have found that as long a It’s true! Researchers have found that as long as you’re doing the repair after mistakes the other times - then 30% is enough! Sometimes I worry I’m not doing it right but I definitely know I’m doing it right 30% of the time! 
Probably a whole lot more to be honest. I bet you are too. #momlife #encouragement #momspiration
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