As a mother I wish for super powers on a daily basis.  The day will dictate whether I wish I was Octomom with 8 arms or Clone Mom.  With 3 children at varying ages of development I find myself constantly trying to please and meet every-one’s needs, plus my husband and my own.  This is a battle I think as mothers we all face.  If I had multiple arms I could reach and get everything everyone in the car wanted  and not have to hear yelling.  If I had clones I could be everywhere I needed to be on time without having to hire babysitters or have friends help me.

This past week has been a reality check as 3 out of 5 days I had to pay a sitter to help sit with my tween at her swim lessons while my son and daughter and I attended to important tests and doctors appointments.  I was over-scheduled with everyone else’s schedules and I’m falling behind in what I need to be doing as well.  Motherhood is very fulfilling for me and I know we are blessed with higher strength to accomplish what we do, but it does not eliminate burnout or exhaustion.  This week I realized how important friends can be for moms.  If it hadn’t have been for phone calls, emails, letters, etc and mostly from out of state friends, I wouldn’t have survived this past week.  Thank you.

Motherhood has taught me how fragile and weak I am and how I need to reach out for help more willing.  We are off on our only family vacation for the year and wishing I had some major superpowers to get everything done.  Alas, I am super weak and barely functioning, but at least I won the war and can still call myself a mom.

What would you wish for…multiple arms or a clone?

As the summer starts to draw to a close, I find my mind on the start of the school year.  I mentioned in a previous post that I chose to home school my tween last year.  It was a wonderful but very HARD experience for me.  I have been busy getting all our home-school paperwork together to get my tween registered for school.  The day I drop him off at school is not a day that I am looking forward to…it is going to be so sad for me!!

At the same time, I know it is the best choice for him and our family.  The other day I asked him how he was feeling about going back to school.  In his sweet, honest little voice, my tween said, ‘sad’.  Uggghhh – he just ripped my heart out.  He continued to tell me how much he was going to miss me, miss being outside and miss being home.  Although it made me so sad to hear him say this, I know that school will be wonderful for him.  I know he will enjoy all the social time he will have with other children his age.  I know he will love learning and growing in a classroom environment.

My home-school journey has officially come to a close and I am forever changed.  It was a very positive experience for my tween and also our relationship.  Stay tuned for my back to school post where I will describe just how painful and wonderful back to school was for my tween and his Mom!

What are some of your fears for your tween going back to school?

What does it mean to be ‘The Mom’?  This is what I have come up with:

- Life is no longer about you – your world revolves around your kiddos.

- You no longer have clothes without a smudge of dirt on them.

- You worry all the time….worry about how well your tween is doing in school, worry that they are eating healthy, worry that they have their nails trimmed, clean clothes and vitamins……the list goes on!

- You never have enough time to accomplish all the things in a day that you need to.

- Your life revolves around feeding kids, breakfast = clean-up; lunch = clean up and dinner = clean up…go to bed, start the cycle again.

- Staying on top of clothing, church pants = check, tennis shoes = check….and the list goes on!!

On the flip side of all the WORK, these are the pay-offs!!

- Smiling from ear to ear as you watch your tween do something awesome, score a goal in a soccer game, pass the swim test at the pool, tell you they love you and that perfect toothless grin.

- Tucking them in at night, kissing their sweet little cheek and hearing them tell you they  love you.

- Watching them succeed and feel pride in themselves and their accomplishments.

- Feeling like you will practically burst into a hundred little pieces because you love them so MUCH!!

My darling Moms, the work is never ending, it is tiring and hard but it is 195% worth it!!  I love being a Mom to my tween and really try and treasure every single day I have being a Mom!!

I have officially been a mom for almost eight years.  I have been busy being pregnant, birthing babies, changing diapers and raising kids.  I am not complaining…I love every minute of staying home with my kids.  But there is one truth we all share as mothers.  It is really hard to take time for ourselves.

I recently shared a conversation with a mom I admire beyond words.  She was telling me how her only time to workout was after her kids went to bed.  My jaw dropped at her dedication and work ethic.  By the end of the day I am usually pretty worthless. 

This is something I feel we all struggle with, keeping up our homes, raising happy kids, keeping up with the bills, homework assignments and oh, I almost forgot…taking time to take care of ourselves.

This is an area where I have failed.  I often feel exhausted, frustrated and unable to get the exercise and personal study time accomplished each day.  I feel like I can’t continue to put myself last.  I need to somehow make a change to get my exercise and quiet time each day. 

My children are getting older and I feel like I finally am at a point where I can join a gym.  There is a small amount of guilt I feel inside by putting my kids in the daycare area.  When I start to feel this guilt, I remind myself how important it is for me to take care of myself so that I have the energy each day to keep up with them.  I also remind myself that I want to be healthy and strong to be here for them for as long as I can.  Here is to a summer of health and excercise for mom!!

**I took this picture while I was in Utah of a girl biking…it inspired me!

How do you take time for yourself while keeping up with all the responsibilities of motherhood?

I have fought it and fought it, but I am now forced to admit it:  I am sick. I have not felt 100% for a few days now…headache, stuffy nose and a sore throat. Each passing day I wake up and tell myself to push through it and I will feel better tomorrow. Well, each morning I wake up and I feel the same. The sad thing is that each morning I also wake up and know I have too much responsibility to lay on the couch and let myself just be sick.

It is virtually impossible for any mom to be down for the count without consequences. I mean, sure, my husband happens to be home and not deployed right now, so I suppose I could lie around all day or stay in bed, but then I would have to watch the dishes pile up, the laundry pile up, the bathrooms become a wreck, the kids play video games all day…the list is endless. I can’t let something small like a head cold or upset stomach keep me down. Don’t even get me started about the days when my husband is deployed……..I could have a temperature of 105 and I would still need to be up and about running the show!

I am lucky that I am not sick very often. I also have a husband who is pretty helpful and two pretty good kids. Even with that list that sounds so positive, I did not spend 15 minutes napping or change any plans last weekend because I was under the weather. I suppose one day when I am old and the kids are moved away I can have a real “sick day” and take the time I need to get better. I suppose I’ll also miss my boys being home with me and telling me “mommy, I hope you feel better tomorrow.”

Have you been sick lately? Did you get any downtime?