I notice that when I’m stressed and have a lot going on, I take it out on Max. I get very serious and his very normal 4-year-old silly antics grate my nerves. I feel like a drill sergeant.

Stand up straight! Quit wiggling! Be quiet!

Sometimes I see myself from a distance and think, “Why am I sucking all the fun out of this room?”

I think it’s because I’m a control freak (ya think??). I know it’s not logical that I expect him to act like a grown up, but when I’m at my worst, I can’t handle him bouncing off the walls.

Do you ever feel like this? Advice??

This goes out to all the mothers. Whether your child is a baby or an adult, celebrate the beauty that is being a mother.

• If you’ve ever been pooped, peed or puked on, you’re a mother.
• If you’ve ever wanted to throw your child out the window, you’re a mother.
• If you’ve ever been overwhelmed with how much you can love someone under 3 feet tall, you’re a mother.
• If you’ve ever wanted to take your child out of school just to give him a hug, you’re a mother.
• If you’ve ever hated telling your child the truth because it meant hurting him, you’re a mother.
• If you’ve ever watched your child leave for that first day of school (every year) with a lump in your throat, you’re a mother.
• If watching your child drive a car for the first time made you pull out the baby books, you’re a mother.
• If at your child’s graduation, you wondered where the time went, you’re a mother.
• If, when your child got married, you couldn’t believe she was old enough, you’re a mother.
• If you see your child in your grandchildren’s eyes, you’re a mother.

I’ve learned a lot these last four years of motherhood (which, frankly, feels like eons). I have learned some great things from my mother, and I hope I can be as good a mother as she was and is to me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s happening again. I’m getting short with Max. I get onto him for no good reason. Sigh. I’m a little stressed, what with our plans to move. And this single-parenting-while-husband-works-in-a-hellhole is getting a leetle bit old. Therefore I take it out on a helpless 4-year-old.

At least I recognize it. It’s funny, I started this blog to deal with my impatience with him. Then things got a lot better. Now we’re there again.

I try to ask myself before I say “no,” What’s a good reason for saying no? Do I have one? If not, maybe you shouldn’t say it. But just like with my mom, I find myself being fickle just because I can.

Any advice?