Parenting Positives: Weekly Gratitude

Let's face it, parenting is tough. I know it's the toughest thing I've ever done.
And, don't get me wrong, as a blogger I love social media. But, I do think it sets us up to be way too hard on ourselves.
There seems to be all this pressure to keep a Pinterest perfect house and dole out cookie cutter organic lunches.
Well, truth be told, I thoroughly wash our produce but organic everything busts our budget.
And with a toddler whose favorite pastime is taking things out of places and putting them back in other places, our apartment isn't exactly tidy.
But, I'm not going to let that get me down because at the end of the day, that's not what it's about.

So, I've decided to start a weekly series of affirmations for the week, things that went well and that I'm grateful for, big and small.
I did a post about the importance of gratitude and I'm a firm believer that what you think about you bring about.
So, bring on the optimism!

Here are some things that make me feel good about myself as a mom:

1. After years of teaching pre-K I either know or can make up a song about pretty much anything.
    Washing hands? Yup.
    Riding in the car? Definitely.
    Nursing? Of course we had to make up a song about nursing!
Songs are great! They make the ordinary task EXTRAordinary and can turn a bad mood around pretty quickly. And as an added bonus kids learn things more quickly and retain information better when they associate with a song.

2. I'm no doctor, but my smooches make most things all better. If that fails, see #1.
    I can handle that!

3. We read. A LOT!
You can read more about promoting language development through reading aloud in this post and tips for how to create a book nook here.

4. I'm enthusiastic and animated about pretty much everything. Even in my not-so-bubbly moments I express my emotions pretty clearly. I know this self-expression and emotional intelligence is being observed and passed along.

5. All You Need is Love! Abundant supply in our household. Even on our grumpy days, we love each other. Hugs, kisses, lots of "I love you's." Even if the rest of the day seems like a parenting fail, I know my little guy feels loved...and that counts for a lot.

I hope this inspires you to come up with some parenting self-affirmations of your own.
It's the hardest and most important job there is.
And our children have no concept of all the things we get down on ourselves about for not doing.
They love us unconditionally for the things we ARE doing and just for being there.
I think it's about time we focus on lifting ourselves and each other up.
I'm sure you rock at being a mom (or dad) way more than you think you do.