After more than nine months of being strong while parenting two kids, I finally had a breakdown last Friday night. I usually can keep it together pretty good, but truth is, I’ve just felt extremely overwhelmed lately {apparently this is what happens when you want too many things to happen all at once and not enough hours in the day}.

My reasons seem trivial in retrospect, but it was just a tough night, and a tough week. Suffice to say, by Friday, I was toast and just needed to cry it out and get it out of my system. All I wanted was to have a bottle glass of wine and a conversation with my husband that didn’t revolve around kid duties.

Thankfully, my mother-in-law babysat on Sunday so we could go on a much-needed date for a few hours, and we came back to face parenthood feeling refreshed and ready to start the week again. This past week was much better, but as always, had the daily challenges that come with having a stubborn baby and active toddler.

If there’s anything I’ve learned during this crazy journey, it’s that parenting is a constant learning process and it’s HARD.

I am thankful for grandparents, neighbors and wonderful friends who help us get through, but some days, I just want to give the toddler junk food and let her watch an episode of Dora, or go for a drive so the baby passes out, and I have five glorious minutes to organize my thoughts.

Instead of a sappy Mother’s Day post, today I’m writing out my feelings of what I really want, and that’s for us parents to stick together more on this crazy parenthood journey. I will start by sharing my end of the bargain I promise to all of you out there so you don’t get overwhelmed like I do at times.

I promise…

…to offer to help strangers load their groceries while they put their kids in car seats.

…to understand when you tell me you haven’t showered in 3 days.

…to watch your kids if you want to exercise. I know it’s so hard to squeeze in, and find the energy, but believe me — you’ll feel much more sane after.

…to not judge you if you do/don’t co-sleep, cloth diaper, breastfeed, baby wear, circumcise or whatever else us moms attack each other about. I don’t walk in your shoes, and trust you know what’s best for you and your family.

…to watch understandingly as you bribe your children with candy, or rip open a box of something you haven’t paid for yet at the grocery store to calm a temper tantrum. {Been there too many times!}

…to speak-up on your behalf if I hear someone attacking your parenting {unless you’re doing something to blatantly hurt your kids}.

…to care for your kids if you need to lock yourself in the bathroom for 5 minutes so you can have a glass of wine or piece of chocolate.

…to run an errand for you if you are in need of an extra hand…or five.

…to offer to sweep for you when I see your child has thrown all his/her food on the floor. {Remember: the best moms have sticky floors, right?}

…to encourage you to get out. Alone. With girlfriends. And with your spouse.

…to hold your hand if you need to cry out of sheer frustration over not knowing how to be a mom. Believe me, I’ve been there too!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day, and don’t forget to smile and help a fellow parents where/when you can. Small gestures can go a long way, and your offer to help — even if they don’t take advantage — could mean the world.

What small gestures would make parenthood easier for you?

We were SO lucky when we moved last year. One of our big things with moving to a new house was that we didn’t want to do a lot of work since we had a baby on the way and knew life was going to be chaotic for, well, a LONG time.

But, being the woman I am who constantly likes change, there are a few spots in our home I’ve been dying to work on.

The big one being our master bedroom and bathroom. They truly were fine the way they were. They just weren’t me, ya know? So, I set out to improve them on a limited budget.

First up: Our bathroom. We were able to cash in our credit card rewards so it didn’t even touch our monthly budget.

Here’s the cost breakdown of our $200 bathroom makeover:

• Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit {in espresso} — nabbed while on sale on Amazon for $45
• 2 large mirrors from HomeGoods – $80
• 1 can of Valspar paint/primer in one {in Ice Rink Blue} – $29
• Knobs and handles {the ones I liked most were the cheapest!} – approx $10
• New outlet and light switch plate covers – approx $20
• New toothbrush holder and canister from HomeGoods – $14

Note: We already had the rug, towels and were able to repurpose decor we had.

Want to see the change?

It’s hard to get the perfect shot since it’s a long skinny room, but here’s what we started out with:

And here’s what we’ve done to modernize it a bit:

See? You can do a room make-over on a budget. And it’s worth every penny because now I feel like I am at the spa when I shower

With that said, the cabinet kit was a TON of work. If we didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t have though twice about it, but it took me ALL weekend to do, and obviously the hubby couldn’t help since he was taking care of the girls. Next time, I will “hire” a grandma to watch the kiddos so he can help!

Now I’m working on our bedroom. It has been a step-by-step process. I sold our dressers on Craigslist and purchased some “new”  dressers. I say “new” because they are very very old, actually {early 1900′s}, but so charming. They are in horrible condition, so I have been working for days on sanding them and prepping them to paint. Hopefully it all turns out like my vision!

Stay tuned for the results…

What small, budget-friendly changes have you made in your home that have made a big difference?