Motherhood

Motherhood- what comes to mind when you hear that word? Before I had kids, I would've said, love, fun, kisses, hugs, playtime... now that I'm a mom of 3 kids 2 1/2 and under...words like messy, tantrums, crying(me mostly!) exhaustion, craziness... you name it! Thankfully, though, motherhood is a great mix of all of the above. I read part of a magazine article recently (Women's Day) I say part of it because it's hard to read wtih one eye on the words and your other on your kids- saying things like "don't use your brother's head as a runway, don't wrestle on the couch". So, the magazine had some great stuff about being a mom- I'm paraphrasing because of course the magazine is destroyed by now (thanks to 30 little fingers!) It talked about some myths about motherhood- some being that all moms like being a mom all the time, all moms bond with their babies right away, and all moms are supportive of other moms. Even though it took us forever to become parents- and then not so long for our little surprise baby, I thought I would love being a mom all the time, and that I'd be really good at it! HA- imagine my surprise when I had two babies at once- I had no idea what I was doing! Now that I have 3 boys under 2 1/2 I really don't know what I'm doing! The author said parenting is not like math- there are no specific formulas, lists of what to do and when to do it. Parenting is just learn as you go, I think! As for the moms supporting other moms- I used to (before kids) when I was at Wal-mart listening to screaming kids 'why can't that mom just control her kid ?" Well, now I know why! Now I try to give a sympathentic look or smile to harried moms in the stores- it's nice to exchange knowing glances with other moms when their child( or mine) is having a meltdown on the floor of the grocery store because they can't have a balloon RIGHT NOW!!
Motherhood has its rewards- Joel yelling "yeah, Mama!" when I get home from work, an unsolicited kiss from Joshua, and a great smile from Ethan, but it is the hardest job I've ever had, yet I wouldn't trade it for anything- I could use a break every now and then, though!




A few pics:



Joshua "sharing" toys with Ethan
Our attempt at a boys only picture, Joel was not happy! (on the left)