Day 4 Confessions and One Mommy one too

We were away for lunch so we did our little exercise at dinnertime.

Olivia: I love the bread.
Maia: I love the rolls.
Betcha can't tell that I made bread for the first time in about 2 weeks today, can ya? Yep, they have been bread deprived for about a week since my freezer stock ran out.
Mika: I love that Mommy and Daddy change my diapers.
Tisha: I love it when my kids eat dinner w/o my having to remind them to keep eating.
Sam: Well Sam was as cub scouts so Maia and I just extrapolated what he loves. I'll let you guess who said what. I love that I have learned how to cope (which means to cut the diagonal corners of crown moulding). I also love the bathroom. *giggle*

I have a Mommy confession for you all in addition to my love one. I am just going to say it. Loudly and proudly. I am a good mom. Today was one of those full, normal days. We got up early to go to my checkup with my midwife, then Maia had preschool, then we had homeschool playdates, then naps, then we had a Spelling Test, then I made dinner and bread/rolls for the week.

The girls were girls. There were moments of helpfulness, sharing, crying, whining, ingratitude, happiness, entertainment, smiles, giggles, timeouts and tired outs. Sam came home early from work but had his plate full with finishing home projects and prepping for his Cub Scout meeting. I was mostly on my own.

The girls got into bed an hour and half late, which means we ate late and come 7pm--we are all tired and hungry. At the end of the day, when I was feeling so tired and very ready to have my girlypies in bed, there came a moment when I congratulated myself on being a good mom. I had held it together.

I remember an incident 4 years ago while trying to get Olivia and Maia ready and out the door to get Olivia to preschool on time. She was fussy, I was cranky and I just LOST.IT. Out came the mommy breathing dragon and in came a bit of shame for not having acted more appropriately. But it is all a learning experience. We become better and better bit by bit.

In all the craziness of prepping for baby, I found myself wondering if I was really going to be able to do it. Would I make it? In that moment between centering myself to send the girls to bed on a happy, unrushed note, I realized that in the seven years of being a Mom that I have become a good one. Bit by bit. I realized that I had grown and "become" in ways that I only hoped and prayed I would on that preschool day 4 years ago.

I know it seems taboo at times to admit this but why don't we do that more as mothers? I remember when I used to think I was a bad mom because of my kid's shamefully disturbing behavior in the grocery store or when they'd be less than impressive in front of my parents. Meh. That just made her 3 and me learning a whole lot.

Of course, since I have made this declaration tonight I know tomorrow may be a bear. Someone's hair might be found shorter on one side, Michaela might pour honey all over her body and then roll in a box of Multi-Grain Cheerios, someone might be a gargantuan pain in the patoot all through Math and someone else might wake up with an impossibly sassy attitude but would that make me less of a good mother? Heck to the no.

It just makes what I experience day in and day out as a stay at home mom real. As real as blessed normality gets. I also think it will have made me just a bit more equal to take it on too. Bring on the 4th kid. I'm as ready as I can get.

Now, here is my challenge to all of you reading mothers. Go and declare that you are a good Mom on your blog this week too. Because you are. I am constantly inspired and strengthened by my friends and family who are INCREDIBLE mothers. Why do you think I keep hanging out with you, huh? If you surround yourself with the best things, they are bound to rub off. And, you, my fabulous friends (AND MOM!) are definitively the best things.