As the mother of two little girls, Mazzy, 6, and Harlow, 3, Ilana Wiles is no stranger to receiving portraits of herself, drawn in crayon and marker. With Mother's Day approaching, Wiles, who blogs at Mommy Shorts, decided to put a call out to fellow moms, asking for photo submissions of "honest portraits" of Mom, drawn by kids.
"Mazzy drew a picture of me looking like a zombie with my hair matted to my face," Wiles told TODAY Parents. "But she surrounded me with hearts, so I might be exhausted, but at least I'm loved!"
Wiles' contest is twofold. To enter, moms must submit a photo of themselves, drawn by their child, along with a description of the drawing and their honest thoughts about the way they were portrayed.
"I thought (it would be fun) to ask moms to submit drawings that their kids made of them with the opportunity to speak honestly about what the drawing depicted — tired eyes, wrinkled foreheads, extra pounds, less-than-thrilled expressions," said Wiles. "And, it takes another layer of honesty to admit the portraits are not nearly as good as we pretend they are when we receive them."
Over the next two weeks, Wiles will choose one winner per day. Wiles says she looks forward to seeing the funniest drawings, and to reading the moms' feelings about the way they were drawn by their child.
So what are Wiles' true feelings about the way her daughters have drawn their mom?
"Honestly, I think the kids are probably working extra hard to make their drawings of their moms. But most little kids can't really draw, so even their best efforts come out all wonky," said Wiles.
"Or sometimes, you've got a big nose or frizzy hair and kids just call it like they see it. They don't think it's bad. They think it's part of their mom, so it's beautiful."'