I remember the first drawing Mazzy made of me. It was a black and white zombie looking thing wrapped in a cocoon. The hair was sticking up and out in all directions. The eyes were crossed. My arms and legs pinned together like I was in a straight jacket being carted away to the psych ward.

“That’s you, Mommy!”

“Oh, yeah! I can see the resemblance!”

They say that moms are the most beautiful creatures in the world to their children, but their drawings of us tell a different story.

Here’s a picture that Harlow drew of me recently:

That’s me in the middle. Not only does my face look like poo floating in a toilet, I only have one foot! Yet, I say, “Thank you! It’s beautiful! I’ll hang it up at the office so I can look at it every single day!

Here’s a picture that Mazzy drew of me recently:

I look like a deer caught in headlights, with one eye twice the size of the other and severely dilated pupils. I’ve got Ben Franklin hair, botoxed lips, a zombie-like stance and I barely took the time to get myself dressed. The overall takeaway is pure exhaustion coupled with a side of “I give up.”

I’m surrounded by hearts though, so I may be helpless, but at least I’m loved.

This month, in honor of Mother’s Day, as part of Honest Tea’s #refreshinglyhonest project, I’m launching a #refreshinglyhonest drawing contest. We’re asking you to submit drawings your kids made of you, even if you have huge teeth and a bald spot or hair down to your ankles and a wonky leg. Whether you honestly think they are fridge-worthy or belong in the trash.

Post them on the Mommy Shorts facebook page or on Instagram tagging @mommyshorts and @honesttea with the hashtag #refreshinglyhonest. If you post on Instagram, you must follow both @mommyshorts and @honesttea to win.

For the next two weeks, I’ll be picking one submission a day to win a one month supply of Honest Tea and posting my favorites at the end. That’s fourteen winners in total.

You can read the full rules here.

Honest Tea was started 18 years ago with a commitment to being completely transparent in the making of their organic bottled teas and kid’s juice drinks which use only Fair Trade Certified ingredients. Their Refreshingly Honest Project encourages people to live more honest lives. Not by divulging big dark secrets but by admitting genuinely amusing truths that are often thought but rarely said out loud.

Like that you don’t really think your kid’s drawing deserves to be hung at the Met.

And that maybe those zombie eyes are more accurate than you want to admit.

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WINNER UPDATE:

And the winners are…

Cindy Nielsen, Janel Mills, Stephanie Ayres Stefanoni, Wendy J Sellers, Laura Meri Russin, Ellen Caywood, Susan Bristow-Mclean, Janice Bureta, Teresa Zetwick, Heidi Burns, Kara Miller, Natasha McCreary, DiGi Graham, Charlotte Steenbergen

CONGRATS! Please contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize

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This post was sponsored by Honest Tea but all questionable works of art belong solely to my children.