Motherhood

Seeing as mother's day is in 2 days I've been thinking a lot about being a mom.  I think about my own mom, my mother-in-law, my grandmother, my grandmother-in-law and all the great mom friends that I have that I love and respect.  I feel like I have been very blessed throughout my life to be surrounded by good moms who are great examples to me of what a mother should be like.

I have now been a mom for over half a decade (doesn't "half a decade" sound longer and more experienced than just saying 5 years :)  And I am here to share with you all the mothering wisdom I have learned for those few years.  Some of it I've learned on my own and some of it is from the wise women around me.  

- changing diapers isn't that bad if you don't think about it.  This principle applies to cleaning up throw-up, being sprayed by your 2-year-old who hasn't learned to aim, and cleaning the moldy food out of the fridge.  Just don't think too hard about it.

- it only takes once to make up for weeks of skipped cleaning.  If you don't mop your floor for a month it only takes one time to make up for all those missed moppings.

- pregnancy stinks.  It's hard.  It ruins your body in ways you never imagined.  But it is so, so, so worth the sacrifice.

- teaching children independence is great, but it's messy, too.  My big kids are both potty trained.  Which is fabulous.  And my bathroom is always covered in towels and water from them washing their own hands.  Same goes with self-feeding, getting themselves dressed and a plethora of other tasks.  

- avoid allowing your children to adopt too many comfort objects; the more comfort objects your child has, the more stupid important stuffed animals and blankets you have to keep track of

- candy is a great motivator.  I use m&m's, skittles, and chocolate chips to keep my kids focused when they are practicing their letters.  It's amazing what they'll do for one chocolate chip.

- after dinner is the best time of the day.  I have a hard time forcing myself not to rush the kids off to baths and bed after dinner, but I've gotten much better and we have so much fun playing, reading books, and hanging out together.  It's nice to have that down time when we don't have to rush off to the next thing.

- always follow through with threats.  I try to make threats that are to my advantage, for example, taking away the privilege of having treats.  It takes stress off of me and is a good punishment.  I hate taking away things the kids like, but it only takes a couple times for them to realize that you are serious when you make a threat.

- Siblings are awesome.  From the time Jaxon was a tiny infant I knew we were going to have another baby soon.  I always thought we needed another baby for Jaxon, and maybe in the long run we did, but right now I think Colton is for Madison.  Madison adores her baby brother and Colton has helped her grow up a lot.

- Some fights are not worth fighting.  I try not to fight with my kids about things that don't matter.  Chris thinks I'm crazy for letting Jaxon wear frog boots, a super hero cape, and a sword to the grocery store.  But you know what, as long as it's not church and he won't be too cold/hot, I don't really care.

- be flexible.  I like to have a schedule.  Being a mom has taught me that having little kids and a tight schedule doesn't work.  It may seem like going to the grocery store should only take 45 minutes, but it rarely does.  You can't schedule the emergency run to the bathroom, the tantrum over which cart to use, or the 2-year-old who walks slower than a snail.  

- anything can be made into a sword-- vacuum attachments, paint sticks, drum sticks, paint brushes.  There are also Disney Princess products at EVERY store on the planet.  

- Kids can be super difficult sometimes.  But every stage has an end.  Madison whined and cried for almost 3 straight years.  I thought I was going to lose my mind.  Then she grew out of it, for the most part.  The trick is getting through those stages in one piece.