The Big Book of Parenting Tweets Valentine's Day Giveaway

It’s February and you all know what that means. It’s flipping freezing out yes, but besides that lovely fact it’s also the month of LOVE. Valentine’s Day is next week and if you are anything like me you are planning a romance filled evening. There will be flowers and lingerie and candles. Bwahahahahahahaha What? Yeah. No. Don’t get me wrong I love some good romance just like the next gal. (Magic Mike anyone or perhaps some 50 Shades of Grey) but let’s be honest once you have kids Valentine’s Day becomes a day full of Spiderman heart cards and Princess Elsa chocolates.

So how do you keep the romance alive? Well I always said I would never be with a man who did not make me laugh and I have to say I kept my word on that one. My husband and I are constantly laughing. Let’s be honest, raising kids can be a constant comedy routine. It can also be a constant pull your hair out and bang your head against the wall kind of thing so we try to choose the comedy most days. Kids are full of funny material. They say and do funny things constantly. Half the time you might not even realize it’s funny until you and your husband are lying in bed that night laughing so hard neither of you can talk.

There are also a ton of funny parents out there. This is pretty much a direct result of all the funny kids who are making said parents bang their heads against the wall. If you don’t believe me you have to give The Big Book of Parenting Tweets a read. It’s basically all the proof you need that funny parents exist wrapped up in a beautiful little book. (Did I mention I’m in it?!)

I came up with the perfect way for you to spend Valentine’s Day this year. Put those little monsters comedians to bed, open up the cocktail of your choice, make some popcorn, find a spot on the couch with your spouse and get reading. Laughter really does bring you closer.

Here is where it gets fun: A GIVEAWAY. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Hell I get excited when I open the mailbox and find a free sample of laundry detergent. I might need to get out more but I digress. Send me your funniest kid related material in 140 characters or less and you will be entered to win a FREE copy of The Big Book of Parenting Tweets signed by yours truly. I can’t promise you my signature will be worth anything one day but are you really willing to take that chance? No of course not. 

Send your funny “tweet” to me via Twitter, by commenting on this blog post or by commenting on the Facebook thread. I will then choose the top 10 and the winner will be chosen by a top secret panel of judges (okay my fellow contributors in the book).  All submissions have to be in by February 20^th. (That gives you enough time to recoup from all the Valentine’s Day romance laughter. What are you waiting for? Get writing. 

Looking to get your copy today?  It’s available on Amazon. It would make a great gift for the one you love. 

Looking for some inspiration so you can find your funny? 

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Mom I know you’re tired (not just sleepy tired but up all night can't keep your eyes open tired) and there are days you feel like you just can’t do it, but I want you to know that to me you are amazing.

Mom I know you didn’t have time for a shower and you are still in the same shirt you wore two days ago, but I want you to know how much I love seeing you…just the way you are.

Mom I know there are times you feel overwhelmed, but I want you to know you are my hero.

Mom I know you are secretly disappointed with the dinner you threw together for us tonight, but I want you to know your food is my favorite.

Mom I know you don’t have time to exercise as much as you would like and you can’t remember the last time you got your nails done, or your hair for that matter, but I want you to know that I think you’re beautiful.

Mom I know there are days you feel like you failed, but I want you to know that at the end of the day I feel happy, safe, and loved.

Mom I know you worry about me all the time and I want you to know that I know you love me.

Mom I know there are days you feel like you got more than you signed up for and I want you to know that you take on everyday in a way that makes me always think that you’ve got this. You’ve always got this.

Mom I know there are days that you feel alone. I want to hug you.

Mom you are doing so much better than you think. You love me.  You make me laugh. You run with me and play with me. You read to me and cuddle with me. You make me feel safe and loved. I may not know much about life yet, but I know that you are doing a great job. You are my mom and I love you.

Five Things That Have Made Me A Better Mother

You have heard it all before. Motherhood is hard. Motherhood is unpredictable. You may not ever really feel like you know what you’re doing. While all of these things are true there is a lot of joy, wisdom, and knowledge that come along with being a mother.

I have to admit however that I haven’t always found the joy, wisdom or knowledge I was hoping to have.  There have been many days that have been filled with frustration and doubt. There have been days that I have wanted bedtime to arrive sooner rather than later. There have been days that I have cried on the phone to my husband while he is at work. There have been days I yelled more than I would have liked. Those have not been my proudest moments as a mother.  I finally figured out that there were some things I needed to change.

Redefining the idea of the perfect day.

I needed to realize that the days are never going to be “magazine or Pinterest perfect”. The kids are not always going to have on clothes that match or are stain free for that matter. We are not going to be able to do the perfect craft once a week to hang on our fridge for all our relatives to see. We are not always going to eat perfectly prepared organic meals and that is okay. Sometimes the perfect day is going to be spent inside in our pajamas. We are going to eat pretzels and cookies and watch way too much television. We are going to throw caution to the wind and feel a sense of freedom.

Ignoring the noise.

I spent way too much time telling my kids to quiet down. “Stop screaming.” “Why are you guys so loud today? “ I got sick of hearing my own voice telling them to quiet down. I finally realized kids are loud. Everything they do is loud. Moving from the kitchen to the living room? Loud. Talking to each other while right next to one another? Loud. Talking to each other while in separate bathrooms? Ridiculously loud.  I finally embraced the volume level around here. 

Allowing them to feel proud even if it’s not perfect.

At the end of every day we tell our kids to clean up all the toys they were playing with before bed. Often times that means they have to clean up the equivalent of a small toy store that only sells super small pieces. I have specific bins for all the toys. For some reason I expected a six year old and a three year old to always put things away in the correct bins. I found myself saying “Okay good enough” and then reorganizing everything after they were in bed. Why? Why on earth did I feel the need to do that? I realized one day that they were trying really hard. I realized that they were in fact putting away all the toys and they were proud that the floor was no longer a mine field of Legos. Instead of “good enough” I started saying “great job boys” and they started trying even harder. Lesson learned.

Allowing them to make mistakes.

It’s so hard sometimes to not intervene in every little thing my kids are doing. When our six year old was learning to ride a two wheeler for the first time I was constantly saying “Oh watch out!” “Try leaning more to your left. YOUR OTHER LEFT!” He got off his bike one day and said he was giving up. After giving him the whole when you don’t succeed at something right away that doesn’t mean you give it up speech I realized I needed to back off a little. I didn’t bring up the bike for two weeks. Then one day we were all outside and he went into the garage on his own and got out his bike. I stood on the other side of our yard biting my tongue and allowed him to lean the wrong way and ride directly into our shed one too many times. After about twenty minutes he got the hang of it and the smile on his face was worth the bite marks on my tongue.

Slowing down.

Our days are so busy. Between rushing around from one place to the next I often find myself saying “I can’t wait for this day to be over.” One day my six year old chimed in with a “Me either!” Wait just one second. A six year old should never want the day to be over before it’s even begun. I realized my stress was rubbing off on them. My constant worry about rushing off to the next place or checking off the next thing on the list of things to get done was stressing out my kids. I decided to make a constant effort to try not to feel so rushed. The email sitting in my inbox can wait. I don’t have to make it to every single PTA meeting. Target will still be open tomorrow.  I decided to slow down. I decided the extra hour of us running around outside was going to trump the homemade lasagna I was going to make. I decided grilled cheese and apple slices were going to have to do. I decided to be here instead of at the next place and I’m so happy I did.

Don’t get me wrong our days can still be chaotic and full of stress. I don’t always know what the day is going to bring, but one thing I do know is that doing these things has made me a better mother.