Today on Stacy Julian's blog I saw this post about 22 Things I Learned Being a Mother which was inspired by Amy Krouse-Rosenthal who I remembered from doing an Encyclopedia of Me (A-Z) inspired scrapbook a few years ago based on the book by her, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE. So I took Stacy's challenge and wrote down my 22 before reading Stacy's or watching the video by Amy. My list was a bit different since my two boys are still toddlers, but I think it will make great journaling for a scrapbook page. So make your list of 22 Things and then read mine and Stacy's and watch Amy's movie. I am sure that we will all find little nuggets in common.
22 things I have learned as a mother
- You can’t protect them from everything
- Independence is a good thing at any age
- There really is nothing sweeter than hearing mommy 100 times in a day (one day you’ll miss it)
- When your children do something that you are really proud of you know you must have done something right
- Routines are important
- I look forward to hearing “mommy’s home” when I get home from work at the end of the day
- Watching the world through their eyes as they explore and learn is very cool
- When your child is hurt or sick or struggling you would do anything to take their pain away
- Snacks are a good thing
- Sometimes (okay most times) it is just easier to let your very picky eater have chicken fingers or hot dogs than it is to have a melt down
- When you hear “I love you mommy” for the first time your heart will immediately melt
- Children do things at their pace not yours
- They grow up too fast
- It is really cool to watch your sons bond with their daddy
- It is okay for daddy to be the main caregiver and have mommy go to work everyday
- You do not need to yell at your kids to let them know you aren’t happy with something they did
- Barney, The Wiggles and kids TV shows in general are not terrible and you are not a bad parent if you let them watch
- Getting your baby to consistently sleep through the night makes for a much happier home
- Sometimes bribery is okay to avoid a public meltdown
- Your house will never again be as neat as it once was and it won’t matter
- You won’t have all the free time you used to have and sometimes you’ll miss it
- But, when those little guys crawl in your lap and want to cuddle with you, you will forget what life was like before they were here
