9 Ways to Enjoy Motherhood More

Yesterday was rough, it was one of those days my daughter just couldn’t keep herself together, no matter what I tried. I played with her, fed her her favorite snacks, put her down early for her nap but none of it helped. She was having a cranky bad day complete with meltdowns and tears, there was nothing I could do about it except just deal. Do you ever have one of those? Where you want to throw in the towel and let someone else take over. One of those “I never signed up for this!” kind of days!

I don’t give up often, if ever, but yesterday I was at the end of my rope and my patience was running thin. Thank goodness my husband came home a little early that day and reminded me how blessed I am, and gave me some kid-free time while he watched our daughter. A change of scenery for all of us was much needed.

As I sat there thinking about my daughter and her horrible, no good, very bad day, I was suddenly drawn back to that moment I first found out I was a mom. I remember peeing on the test while my husband stood at the door, we then left the Clearblue pregnancy test on the bathroom counter and tried to find things to busy ourselves for 3 minutes. When we went back to check on it I saw the little + sign but neither of us knew if we could trust it, so I took a second, digital test, just to be sure… when the second test said “pregnant” as well I started screaming! I glanced over at my husband who had a huge grin on his face and jumped into his arms! I was so excited, a child from my very own body, a baby to call mine, the budding of my very own family.

That same joy I want to remember everyday in motherhood. The same sweet baby that made that “+” sign on the test is now a little toddler who gives me hugs and kisses every morning. The same one who waves bye from the window when I leave and runs at me to say hello when I get back. The same one who learned “no” as her first word and has an occasional bad day.

It’s time to enjoy motherhood more. The moments of testing and trail help form our kids into who they are. Yesterday was important because it was an opportunity for me to show her how much I love her, even on her bad days, and to show her how to manage her emotions when she was having a bad day. I want to have more patience during those days.

The best way I can think of to have a better attitude and more patience on her bad days is to have more fun on the good days.

9 ways to enjoy motherhood more

1. Start the day with music.

2. Create a routine — this way everyone knows what to expect of the day, especially if you have kids staying at home with you all day, this is a must.

3. Spend time playing/bonding first — I’ve noticed if I give my daughter attention right off the bat she then does a really good job of entertaining herself while I get a few of my own things done. This also prevents her begging me for my attention all day.

4. Take your kids on “dates” — getting out together creates a new atmosphere and you transform into the “fun mom.” You’ll see a whole new side to your sweet kids and creates an uninterrupted opportunity to really strengthen your relationship.

5. Take time for yourself each day.

6. Make an identity for yourself outside of the kids — it could be as simple one night a week (or every other week) going and hanging out with a girlfriend or two. For me it was starting this blog, it gave me something to do besides just changing poopy diapers and I noticed I was much happier mom because of it. Don’t get me wrong, parenting is amazing but having something I can accomplish for myself is really nice too. (Here’s a great post with a work at home job you can do for just 30 minutes a night.)

7. Diffuse happy essential oils — choose an oil that helps uplift and balance moods. It literally takes less than a minute to turn on and we’ve noticed a huge difference!

8. Spend 10 minutes before bed cleaning the house and work on getting your kids into the same habit, too. Starting with a clean house creates a stress-free atmosphere to start the next day in.

9. End the day with a dance party.

Happy Mother’s Day dear friend! If you have a minute to share I’d love to hear your story on when you first you found out you were pregnant. And don’t forget to take a moment to really enjoy the kids today.

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