LESSONS LEARNED

There are so many things I have already learned about being a mom and I have only been doing it for just over two years. I love learning more and more everyday. Most of the things I have learned are more so about me and the kind of person I am, what I need to work on, what I am good at, what I can probably never change no matter how hard I try. I have never found a role more challenging and amazing all at the same time. I remember in the beginning how perfect I wanted to be. No junk food for my kids, only home made treats, never eating out unless it is healthy, no T.V. until she is three, reading for hours and hours everyday, that my child will be put in many extra cirricular activities. Then reality hits and you realize you are not the kind of mom you wanted to become but you are being molded into the type of mother your children need you to be. I remember when I first had Macie and spending hours on pinterest trying to find all the perfect activities to do with Macie so she would learn everything at an excellerated rate, be the smartest kid her age. Then the cardboard letter shape puzzle you spent hours making for you daughter gets destroyed in two seconds cause she finds it funner to pull the velcro off then try and figure out what shape goes where. Then you spend a whole day looking on the internet to figure out how to teach your child about colors and numbers and come up with all these activities, only to have her figure out her colors in pretty much one day and not using any of the activities you found on the internet and yet still can't count to ten no matter how much time you spend with her counting. I still don't understand why myself and so many other mothers put so much pressure on ourselves. I think because I am not this amazingly crafty and creative mother my children will suffer and they won't learn the things they need to learn cause I can't create these cool activities that all these amazing pinterest moms can. I am learning more and more everyday that as long as I love them, spend quality time with them and have patience with them they are getting everything they need. I have learned that somedays you have to throw on a movie cause Wade is screaming or the house is a disaster and company is coming, or sometimes she just needs some time to sit and not think about anything just like we do as adults. I have learned that children will learn at there own pace and when they are ready and wanting to learn something they will learn it. If we push them they will only get frustrated. Some people might think my child is slow because she can barely count to ten, but she is just two and knows her colors 90% of the time. It is so pointless to be in competition with other mothers and there children, it will only add more stress to your life and your child's. I have also learned that my kids will definitely not be put in endless activities. I have done a lot of research and watched many families that have there kids in ten million things and there life is chaos, and then I have watched families that have there kids in nothing and they get so spend so much quality time together as a family. Through my research of articles I have read and observing other families I definitely like the idea of the more quality family time and we can still be super active but it is together as a family and not seperated driving the kids all over the place and doing there own individual activities as mom and dad just watch. I have learned that there are some things I have no patience for, Macie whining, Wade throwing up all day long, and not matter how much I pray for patience in these areas it might be something I can never perfect it will be a flaw I always have. I have learned that I have really good patience when it comes to accidents like cheerios being dropped all over the floor, or a glass of spilled Milk. I have learned that I will always be a working mother, at least two days a week, I sometimes wish that was different and I was one of those mothers that just loved being at home all day long with there kids but I am not, I need some grown up time and time away from my house. I have also learned though that that is OK. There are so many more lessons I have learned, this has been an amazing journey and I truly am excited for the journey ahead and how I will grow and learn so much more from being a mother. The biggest thing I have learned over these past couple of years and I think the most important is that I need to be myself, I need to stop judging myself, I need to be OK with who I am and what kind of mother I am, doesn't mean I can't work at having more patience and learning new things,  reading books at how to love my children more, but it is OK that I am not creative and can't think of cool learning activities, they will still learn it. It is OK that I go to work a couple days a week, it is OK that Macie watches a show now and then, and it is OK if she has a treat or eats french fries as McDonald's, and most importantly that it is OK that all the other mothers out there do it different then me. If we all mothered the same it would be a pretty boring world out there, with a bunch of cookie cuter kids.