Mommy of the Year Award

I was very, very honored when Mel from Mommy to 2 princesses - does this make me a queen? nominated me for a Mommy of the Year award. First of all, I have a lot of respect for everything Mel does with her two girls and I am absolutely blown away and jealous of how organized and prepared she is to start homeschooling. I have waited for the perfect time to accept my nomination from Mel and the week after Mother's Day, I am finally ready to give its accompanying questions the time and effort they deserve. I felt the timing was perfect because it was around this time last year that I wrote a very honest and heartfelt post that included some Mother's Day Resolutions. So, here it goes:

Rules for Mom of the Year Award:Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are No Longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

This last year especially I feel incredibly guilty that I have not spent more time working with the kids on an educational level. This is especially true for Jadyn because at this age Jake had the YMCA program and now he is in preschool. Even though I kept Jadyn in plenty of activities this year, I really had planned to devote quality time at home with her every day and to a large extent that has fallen to the wayside. I know she is smart and is learning anyway, but I hate when I come up with a plan and don't follow through with it, just like how I purchased the Hooked on Phonics and never consistently worked on it with Jake.

Also, I know I am only supposed to admit to one thing but I would be remiss not to mention that I really wish I had an infinite amount of patience because I feel really guilty when I get frustrated or blow up at the kids. I know we all do it occasionally and that it is a normal part of parenting but I really wish it didn't have to be that way.

Remind yourself you are a good mom, list seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you Rock!

1) I think I am really good at getting out there and exposing my kids to various things and I can definitely see how they have benefited from it. I love to take the kids everywhere - whether it be hiking in Joshua Tree, sledding in Big Bear, boating at the river or laying on the beach. I love the traditions we have created by going to the fair every fall, the pumpkin patch every October and the zoo during Christmastime. I love having them involved in various activities like playgroup, music class and sports. Even when we are at home, I love watching the kids explore new things whether they are playing with play-doh, saving ladybugs or planting seeds that will eventually grow up to be flowers. And of course, I think I am pretty good at documenting all these adventures and explorations so they can look back at all the fond memories when they are older.

2) I absolutely LOVE the fact that the first thing both kids want to do when they wake up every morning is snuggle with Mommy.

3) I love Jadyn's imagination. There is not a single day that goes by that she does not put a smile on my face from the things she comes up with whether it is an imaginary pink puppy that is lost and needs to find its mother or a scary dinosaur lurking in her room that necessitates she run and hide.

4) I love how social Jake has become. I remember the days when everywhere we went, Jake would be clinging to my pant leg and demanding to be carried. It was painful for him to be around other people. Now when I take him to school, he can't wait for the moment when I give him a quick squeeze and tell him to join his classmates in play and when we go to the park, he is disappointed if there are not other kids to play with it. I think it is the sweetest thing when he tentatively approaches a child and says, "Hi, I'm Jake. What's your name?" It literally almost brings a tear to my eye.

5) I love Jadyn's singing. Whether she is making up a song about being a princess or singing Twinkle Twinkle for the 20th time in a row, I can never get sick of it.

6) I love Jake's ingenuity. He is incredible at making racetracks out of anything (even sugar packets at a restaurant), building complex train tracks and imaginative obstacle courses. At the age of 5, he can put together toys and trouble shoot things that are broken better than me and one of his favorite past times in the car or at the dinner table is doing math equations in his head. It blows my mind.

7) More than anything, I love how obvious it is that my kids love each other and I never have to doubt that they know exactly how much I love them.

Send this to five other Mom's of the year that deserve credit for being great moms and remind them that they are the best moms they can be!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you.

I am going to break the rules here and only nominate one very special Mom:

Kaycee at Life as a Mom at 21