The Little Things to Celebrate

I feel like as a stay at home mom, I need someone to give me a high five or a pat on the back from time to time. I need that little push that reminds me that I’m doing a good job no matter how crappy I feel or how crappy the house looks. Thankfully, my husband is awesome at reminding me of how great things are. I feel like I need to help celebrate with the other (stay at home) moms out there for the little things that make a huge difference in our families’ lives.

First and foremost: At the end of the day, the children are alive AND you know where they are. I don’t think we moms give ourselves enough credit for this. I think if men were in charge of the kids on a regular basis it would be totally commonplace to lose a child or two during the course of the day. There would be lost and found children departments in every major store and park in the country.

You and the kids got bathed/showered today. That’s a major accomplishment. One that deserves to be rewarded with wine or chocolate, or both. I don’t think men realize how much they appreciate this until they come home to find their wife and children all smelling like a gym locker room...then they're quite grateful on the days that you've all been bathed.

Dinner is made! Who cares if it’s just mac and cheese? It’s made, it’s on the table and you get extra bonus points if it’s still hot when you sit down to eat it.

You went to the grocery store…with the children. Big high fives all around to you, mama! That’s an exceptional task that requires more patience than we will ever, ever get credit for.

The house got vacuumed. Whoop whoop! That calls for a party! Especially when you have a teething child that was up all damn night the night before. That’s valuable time you could have used to sleep or shower but instead you chose to clean the house. That deserves a date night...or wine.

No one, including yourself, is crying when your husband walks in the door after work. This is one that I have a hard time with and I give myself a pat on the back whenever it happens. Hell, I only have one kid and I still find that challenging from time to time. Extra kudos to moms with more than one child who manage this task!

I’m not saying I want a cookie or a glass of wine every day for these things, but I feel like some days these types of things deserve some recognition. The days when your child is screaming endlessly because he’s teething or sick and you still manage to keep the house clean(ish) and cook (or go get) dinner; I think you need a high five!

Here’s to all of us moms that do it all while still keeping our shit together! Cheers!