Braving Mamahood

A couple of years ago I was in a circle of friends with a mom who always seemed angry. When trying to have conversations with her, her words were pleasant but it always seemed as if I was annoying her with my friendship.  Fast forward a few years and now I understand why she was like that...she was tired. When people tell you about having kids you hear all about the sleepless nights when they are infants and you think "I can deal with that, for a little while!".  Then you have a child and get through their infant stage, their teething season, their separation anxiety weeks, their realizing they can sit up but can't sit down weeks, their learning how to crawl out of the crib weeks, .... and then one day you realize that it never really end s. And you are so so so tired. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally.  Recently my daughter has started to ask " Why ?" after EVERY -single-thing I say. By 8:00 AM I am at the breaking point...if I hear ...

I am not an expert in motherhood or in handling behaviors - but this is a set of ramblings of what I have learned being a teacher and as a new mom.  In my years of teaching I have seen many different parenting styles and the effects those styles have on the children. I have seen the the 5 year old who is still wearing a diaper and walking around with a paci in their mouth because Mom doesn't want to "hurt their feelings" and change things. I have heard SO many times "My kid only eats _____". Ugh. I made a silent vow to myself early on in motherhood that I would not be the "chicken nugget mom" . As in, we go to Thanksgiving and bring our kids chicken nuggets to eat because "they won't eat anything else".  This may seem silly to you - but it is really not about the chicken nuggets. It's about the mindset of teaching our children to acclimate to their surroundings, be brave enough to try new things, and be grateful for what is on...