Confessions of a GOOD mom

Lately I have read so many blogs circulating the Facebook world on "Confessions of a mom…." 

For the most part they are meant to remind us all that we are all normal and give us some advice on motherhood. But I must say that I'm a little tired of them. Every single one of them has said, 

"I don't feed my kids organic foods, I don't make real mac and cheese…." 

All good things to notice, yes, but what about all the things we DO that are great and not so "spectacular?" So, I'm writing a list of the things that I feel that I do really well as a mom. No confession needed. I don't care about the things I DON'T do. I need to be reminded of the wonderful things I DO as a mom. Because let's face it, at the end of the day it's a whole lot easier to see the things we may have not accomplished rather than the things we did accomplish. So here's my list, and I hope to go back to it when I may be having a rough day around here.

1. I'm a stay at home mom. I choose to spend every day with my kids so they don't have to stay somewhere else. I choose to give up meeting deadlines, promotions, awards, "self satisfaction" so I can spend five years loving on my boys and showing them the world before their life gets busy and all grown up. These five years are a small window in all of my years of living.
2. I make three meals a day for 4 people, plus endless "healthy snacks." My boys eat when they are hungry because I'm willing to make it for them and willing to make sure our refrigerator is fully stocked. Sometimes meals are healthier than others, but at the end of the day, my boys are full and healthy and that's because I was willing to make them meals and feed them all day long. No one else did that but me. No one else made sure we always have 3 gallons of milk in the fridge either. (for the week!)
3. I dig in the dirt. I play airplane. I do puzzles. I swing. I climb at the park. I chase around the house. I take my boys to fun places. I sit and watch their show. (I don't always love it but I do it. And that is what they will remember.) I let them bang on the dryer because it's simply fun to do. I tickle. I read books. I sing and dance. Even when Mason tells me not to. I take a walk and talk about clouds and trees and leaves and dogs and whatever else we see.
4. I give too many hugs and kisses. The fact that Sutton can now say "too many" after being tickled and kissed too much warms my heart. My job is complete.
 5. I teach my boys about God and Jesus and doing good in the world. Mason knows to do nice things for people because "that's what God would want us to do." Whether its canned goods instead of presents for our birthday or delivering art supplies; he understands and will be a better man because of it.
6. I let the boys "do it themselves." It takes three times as long to do anything, but the independence and confidence it builds in my boys is priceless.
7. I make mommy friends. It is vital to my world to be surrounded by women who know me, love me, and love my kids and family. My boys have wonderful friends and "mommies" to run to in their time of need.
8. I don't always clean my house. Because then I wouldn't be playing. And if I'm not playing then I'm missing out on my time with my littles.
9. I support Ryon thru everything. Yes he gets up each morning, usually leaving me in bed, to go to a job that luckily he loves. But without me behind him, taking his clothes to the cleaners, providing for our boys, taking care of everything at the house, making his coffee every morning, he couldn't do that as well. I'm proud to stand behind him and help him.
10. We simply talk. Mason asks me how my day is, how I'm doing, to have a conversation with him…what more could I ever want? I don't spend my days talking to many adults, man I'm thankful because adults are boring. A three year old and 18 month old is so much better, so much more intriguing, and actually a lot more challenging to my brain!
11. I do a heck of a lot of laundry. My boys clothes may always have a stain on them somewhere because of our adventures, but they are clean. Because I stand for hours in our laundry room loading, unloading, folding, and putting away. This is no small task.

So there's a few things I'm proud of. Things I do, every.single.day. Things I don't want to forget. Things I want my boys to read someday and be proud of me.