Have you ever been walking through a store or just out and about, saw a woman alone and thought..."she's a mom"...how would you know what a mom looks like?  Is it the same way that my husband describes sometimes seeing a man in a restaurant obviously out with his family and just looks miserable so we think "oh, that's a dad"?


Being a mom looks like...staying in your pajamas until nap time just so you can get a shower with enough time to wash and dry your hair just to probably go back into your closer and put on pajamas or at your dressiest yoga pants and a t-shirt/tank top and should you be lucky enough to plan to get out of the house actually putting on a tiny bit of make up to look presentable to the outside world.


 Being a mom looks like...a diaper bag full of everything your kids could possibly need.  From formula, bottles, pacifiers, squeezable food pouches, diapers, wipes, changing pad, at least 2 extra sets of clothes per kid and toys to occupy them...

Being a mom looks like...applying band-aids, administering baby Tylenol and kisses for every boo boo when they fall, those Neosporin commercials are visually perfect at lying to you, your child won't be cool, calm and collected as you try to do these things, it's often met with another type of fight from your child.  But when you ask them "is it all better" and they wimper "yeah" you know you did your job.

  
Being a mom looks like...smiles when they first see you after waking up in the morning or from naps, the light in their eyes for you is enough to melt your heart or if you are ever away for a short period, even a trip to the grocery store how you are met with the biggest of hugs and excitement when you enter through the door.


Being a mom looks like...Elmo or Baby Genius on the TV all day, every day, whether used as a tool to drown out other noise or as a calming technique to keep them calm or just to sit still for a minute.

Being a mom looks like...you have the weight of the world on your shoulders because some days you do.  Some days it's a lot of pressure, raising a family and children to become the amazing adults we hope they will be is not an easy task.  Our job as moms is not just to raise our children but be a maid, cook, nurse, diaper changer (sanitation engineer as I call it) and an all over domestic goddess.


Being a mom looks like...SUPERMOM at the small little successes you get everyday, whether it's your child learning a new sign language word so she can communicate with her grandfather who's deaf, a new tooth coming in or actually using the potty when they tell you they need to, you can't help but have your heart jump at those moments of pride where you know you've done your job properly.

I was honestly going to do this about discipline and how it works in our home but I felt that was better for a different day.  It took some thinking but these are definitely just a couple of the things I said I would never do as a mom/parent that have happened...



1. I said I wouldn’t use a pacifier. After all, pacifiers are a bad habit and can mess up children’s teeth. It’s a crutch. It’s a cop out. It’s… LIFE SAVER!!! With Hannah I didn't have to use one, she honestly had no interest in it at all but Savannah wanted/needed it since Day 1 and now that she's just turned 10 months it's still really constant.  However, I have noticed recently more and more that she can be without it, she will spit it out and just crawl around, the only time she absolutely must have it is when sleeping.  I do have intentions of taking it away around her 1st birthday or at least starting to wean her from it.

2. No junk food. I failed at this the first time that I realized french fries from McDonald's were the easiest way to keep Hannah quiet on a road trip to see the grandparents.  It's not something that she gets all the time or even close to that but on the rare occasion that we know we are going to be in the car for long periods of time we do make a pit stop for those little salty devils.

3. I wouldn't rush time. Some days I find myself thinking or saying "I can't wait until you are older so I can be done with the baby stuff" but then I'll be in tears the next moment that some new milestone has happened and my "baby" is growing up too fast.  I try not to count the months or days until the next "birthday" or "month day" as I call them but I always find myself thinking "Wow, she's going to be 26 months or 10 1/2 months" so while sometimes I want it to rush by I mostly want to hit pause and keep them just the way they are.

4. I would always have all my attention on my child and never have my nose in a phone. Then I became a stay-at-home mom and I get it. My phone is my outlet into the world.  It's my direct line to my husband who is my never ending support on rough days and it houses my mobile blogging and Twitter/Facebook accounts which are my life lines to my family and friends.  I do catch myself being overindulgent in it from time to time and have to check myself but the second I hear the girls laughing or having a good moment I put it down because being in those moments with them is the best thing ever and I'd rather have that 1 minute of joy when them than 1 minute trying to capture it on Instagram to share with the world.

What are some things you said you would never do as a parent that you've caught yourself in?