Celebrating 10 Years

As of yesterday, I have been at this parenting gig ten years.  Here is what I have learned, in no particular order.

Labor is labor.

No matter how long or short, it is hard work.

When your baby is born, it is as if a piece of your heart is now outside of your body and oh so vulnerable!

You don't know what love is until you hold your baby.

My pre-parenting self and my current self are two totally different people and I like them both!

You can not hold a baby too much.

It is okay to put your baby down and go breathe for a minute, if necessary.

Babywearing is amazing!

It is okay to do things differently than everyone else.

Toddlers are too much fun to be considered scary, so celebrate those first steps! You now have someone to help you with housework!

The 'terrible twos' are rather terrific, but watch out for the Frightening Fours!

Your children can lose teeth and you don't have to reward them for it!

Six and seven year olds know the rules better than you do and they know who is breaking them.

Six and seven year olds are not required to follow those rules, so they think.

Children can do way more than you think.

Children should contribute to the world around them and to their family's well being.

You can never have too many children.

You will not love one child the same way you love the others and that is okay.

The amazing thing about having children is that the love grows and multiplies and becomes like a web holding the whole family up.

Each child will need to be disciplined and raised differently, because each child IS different.  Treating them all the same would be truly unfair.

Lots of moms have favorites, the good ones make sure their children never know.

There is enough busyness in my house that visitors don't notice a little mess!

I know the difference between good noise and bad noise.

I can spot a hungry baby at 30 paces and it hurts when the mama won't feed the baby.

You should never yell at a mama for not feeding her baby, you don't want to make motherhood any harder for her than it already is and she probably thinks she can't feed her baby right now.

A kind word spoken to a mother blesses her and all of her children, thus brightening a handful of lives!

I would kill for my kids and part of me would die if they were seriously hurt.

I can't do this job perfectly, no matter how hard I try.

Watching my children converse intelligibly with each other was a milestone nobody told me to watch for, but it is amazing!

There are days I dread getting up, but one little smile can turn it all around.

Children are stealthy and creative, pray they don't combine these two traits.

I don't have to cook foods that everyone likes all the time, they will not starve overnight.

It is incredibly important that my children learn to obey and respect me when they are young. If they can't do it then, when will they? If they can't obey and respect the woman who gave birth to them (and is loving to them) who will they obey and respect?

Every mom truly does think her child/ren are the cutest, smartest, sweetest, etc.

Most moms are smart enough not to tell you they think their child is better than yours.

Surround yourself with the kind of mom you want to be and it will be an easier goal to acheive.

People who call their kids names when they are calm and the kids are not around are not people I want to spend time with.

Babies really do grow up far too fast, but if you study them while they sleep, you will see the baby is still there, until they are about 6.

Even ten-year-olds sometimes need their mommy to come and hold them.

When your biggest kid needs a hug or wants to cuddle DO IT, NOW, no matter what.

Hugs and cuddles expire without warning.

The days and nights are long, but the years go by quickly.

I would do anything for my kids, but sometimes the best thing I can do for them is nothing, that is hard.

Ten-year-olds smell funny, act funny, talk funny, walk funny, look funny and yet you love them.

Children convict you of your own habits and bad behaviors better than anything on this planet.

Motherhood is the hardest and most important job I will ever do.

Sadly, while many people pay lip service to the idea of motherhood being important, the
actions of society as a whole say that if a woman makes childrearing the focus of her adult life she is wasting her time, talents and energy.

Make sure you set aside every little positive comment you receive about your children, cherish and be thankful for each one. Someday, they may be difficult and you will need to remember those positive comments!

Moms can not quit on their children, not ever.

I see more beauty around me and enjoy life more, now that I have children.

Knowing what I know now, all the pain, exhaustion, hard labor, long nights, hugs, kisses, firsts and joys experienced in the past ten years, if given the chance, I would go back and do it all over again, no hesitation!

Children really are a blessing and I praise God for letting me be a mom!

Happy Birthday to my Polar Bear, Chug Bug, Big E, E-man, Little Guy, The Puker, Sir Barfs-a-Lot, First Sweet, Gangly Guy, Little Dude, hot tempered, sweet souled, on fire first born! Who knew one little baby could make so many changes?