Becoming the Happiest Mom: Keeping it Real

How much has your life changed since you had kids? Has it changed for the better? When you look in the mirror, can you still identify with the person that you see? Are you the type of  mommy that you thought that you would be?

The Happiest Mom reminds up that "keeping it real" means not clinging to every aspect of your pre-pregnancy self, even though there is so much pressure to do so. It is important to create balance by hanging to those aspects of your life and personality that you loved while embracing the mom that you are now. I spent the day at the office, the evening watching Kung Fu Panda 2 with the boys and I am ending the day writing. Writing is fun and therapeutic for me and it is an important part of my pre-mommy self that I am trying to hold on to.  I am also embracing my new role as a soccer mom; seeing how much fun the boys are having makes going to a game or practice 3 to 4 times per week worth the effort.

My "keeping it real" thoughts are:

• I may not be perfect but I am perfect for my kids (quote from Kelsey); that is why God blessed me with them and them with me.
• I'm not sure if motherhood has made me smarter because with every child, I lose more of my ability to remember important things, like where I put the car keys; however, it has made me much wiser.
• I have mastered "mind travel" - all the exotic place that I visit in my mind during a tantrum.
• So sorry for all the times, before becoming a mother, that I gave a mommy the "why can't you control your child" look.
• I am not the mommy that can create lovely scrapbooks or plan the perfect pirate themed party for the boys but I am good at the things that are important to them, like laughing at all their potty jokes, watching the movie Cars with them hundreds of time and always playing the "smell my stinky feet" game. 

How has motherhood changed you and what good skills has motherhood taught you?