i attended a 2 day seminar yesterday and friday at Stanford on Stressed Out Students.  One of the important take aways was...be sure to convey to your child at least once a day an activity you enjoyed because you are an adult!  why? many teens surveyed are saying they are stressed because they don't see any enjoyment in their parents lives.  parents complain about how stressed THEY are.

So we all need to be sure we are taking time for ourselves to enjoy life and being something other than a parent.

Today my dd and i served breakfast at Glide Memorial.  Now off for a hike with our pups and then mh family is taking me out for brunch.

Life is good!  Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous MT's!

My immediate thought was "Anti-depressants make a world of difference!"but I think I learned a few things before that came to be part of my daily routine!

Since we adopted an 8 month old, the loss of sleep wasn't so intense with us, but as I am a way older mom, I am still tired. What I have learned is that I could be the mom I wanted, with some work and maturity. I feel that I don't do a "perfect" job, but my son knows he is loved and accepted and encouraged for who he is - not who we imagine him to be(namely, "like us.")I find that I think a lot about what is important in life - what skills, attitudes, etc. and I am very deliberate about supporting those. That is why last week a little girl in his second grade class went to the principal for calling my son "gay"(using it to mean silly or stupid- I explained to him what it meant, and why it was not an insult and shouldn't be used as one),why I have an eight year old who can make banana bread by himself, and why we are spending Mother's Day going to an exhibit of real human bodies at the mall.Bones, muscles, internal organs, the works. Oh, later we will have ice cream as a family, at the local dairy where we can look out at the fields and cows, sit on a porch in a rocking chair and watch the sunset.

I have learned to care deeply about public education, too - and treat his teachers like royalty!

I have also learned the feeling of being a mama bear who would walk through fire for someone who, on a bad day, tells me to pack my bag so he can find a new mom!

Happy Mother's Day, Elisa, and everyone!

empowering task we will ever take on.  If one can meet the needs of several small children, day in and day out, one feels ready to conquer the world.  In comparison, everything else pales.  It is the true test of endurance.

And it is so worth it...as my kids grow older, they offer me something else:  I will never face the prospect of being lonely.  Even when (and if) they all fly the coop, I always know that there are people out there that I RAISED!  How awesome is that?  

So good to hear from you Elisa. What a wonderful attitude you have in these sleep deprived weeks. Your are so right - it will pass.

What would I add to what you already listed? I think having children really drives home the need to live in the moment and not let the hectic pace of life prevent you from being aware of each passing moment. I've certainly never been more busy at any other point in my life, but it is a really good, fun type of busy. Sure, I treasure days (like today) when life slows down and I can tend to me, but hey, there will plenty of those days once the kids are grown and gone!

We did the family celebration last night for dinner. I am enjoying a quiet day at home alone today. My boyfriend will take me out to lunch later. This works out well for me since tomorrow is surgical biopsy day and having this day to relax before is going to help!

like I thought I could.
After having the worst case of strep throat I've ever had in my life (and I've had it a lot) 3 weeks ago only to get it again last week, I was really looking forward to getting out today and doing some yard work. I was going to start a veggie garden with the kids and then spend some time by myself gardening. Well, that all changed after breakfast when DD said her throat hurt and she had a fever. I'm freaking out of course because I don't want her to go through what I did and I have to just wait until morning before I can get her to the Doctor's.

Maybe it's nothing and I'm overreacting. She's been on the couch all morning watching movies and now she's decided she's better (movie's over) and wants to go get coffee with dad! OY! Am I getting played by a 4 year old?

So the day isn't what I had wanted it to be. I'm bummed and I feel guilty about feeling bummed. I'm a mess.

motherhood/parenthood with that diary very well. Happy Mother's Day (Peace!)!

I like the whole idea about "diminishing returns", and that's something that I'm currently fine tuning. Heck, I've been fine tuning that since my first child's birthday.

And I'm definitely political because of my kids. GeorgeCo scared the crap out of me back in 2000/2004. I regret that I didn't pay more attention sooner, before I was a mom and when I had more time to be active.

it's never been the be all and end all in my life, but having a child underscores that for me.

It's also harder than I thought and sometimes gets easier -- until ds hits the next developmental stage (like every day lol)

Hi, everyone, Happy Mother's Day! I'm late coming to the game today, having just awoken from a 3 hour nap! That was my mother's day treat.

I have learned from my kids that I have more capacity to love than I ever thought possible. And I feel really blessed to be able to be their mom.

Hi Elisa!  Glad to hear you are doing so well, even on that little sleep!

I think having kids put everything in perspective for me.  I used to be so uptight about stupid stuff and now I am much more laid-back.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I'm glad you're doing so well, Elisa.  Good advice to remember, too, as I believe I may be entering the most stressful few weeks of my life...

I agree with everything listed above, and also would add that motherhood has made me take much better care of myself.  Knowing I have these two guys depending on me has been a great incentive to attend to my health and well being.  

In fact, it was after the Kerry campaign and realizing we had four more years of Bush that I decided to really get strong.  In the back of my head was always the thought, "If I have to grab my kids and hit the road to Canada in the middle of the night, I will need to be strong and fit."  I suppose it sounds a bit crazy, but it was a very real feeling in 2005, before the rest of the country awoke from their post-9/11 coma.

from mothering a couple of times today but everything sounds trite and sappy.  It's all good.  This is a continuing source of happiness to me.  I was so afraid I would be a bad mother, and it's turned out better than I dared to imagine, and I make a zillion mistakes and am mortified again and again and yet it's still basically okay.  He's basically okay.  Amazing.

We went to a play today in West Hollyhood ("Gemini," a 70s play about a Harvard student, home for the summer in South Philly, coming out).  Incredible cast, intimate theatre, excellent audience (there were maybe 40 of us).  Fantastic experience for the 3 of us.  And then we went to Silverlake for an al fresco dinner and got to see the babies and dogs and assorted characters while slowly eating delicious food.  They goofed up 2 of the 3 orders and we were still happy.  Then we came home and walked our own mutts, and now it's time for chocolate chip ice cream, and a slow dissolve into the work week.

Happy Mother's Day everyone.  

in about 15 seconds from my mom.  As I lay in recovery after my emergency c-section 12 weeks early, I called my mom to tell her what happened.  She was crying so hard she was incoherent.  She took it way worse than the news two weeks earlier that she had breast cancer.

As I kept saying, "Mom, you have to calm down, I can't understand a word you're saying," it all hit me.  She was more upset about my situation because it was happening to her 37-year-old baby than she was about what was happening to her own health. And I knew instantly that I would feel exactly the same way about my son always. And I immediately felt a crushing guilt for every snotty thing I ever said to her.

We're all doing great now, but I have to say that I'm nothing as a mom if I didn't have my mom behind me.  I barely even thought of myself today; I kept thinking of my mom & my grandmas.  Maybe it takes another couple of Mother's Days to get used to it!

I think taking the time to reflect on the moment, and trying not to get too stressed about the little things.  A friend's mother said "The days are long, but the years go fast".  That is so true.  I can't believe my kids are 4 and 7.  It seems like yesterday that they were babies.  It does go fast, MTers... enjoy it!