Mother’s Day is a perfect time to reflect on the hard work and love that goes into being a mom. I am lucky to not only have a selfless, strong, amazing mom, but also aunts,a grandma, and step-mom who have all been a blessing in my life. All of these women have had an impact on the kind of person I want to be and the way I want to raise my boys.

With that being said, it’s important to note that being a mom is not always a fun, easy gig. It can be gut wrenching, stressful, and all– consuming. To know that every move you make impacts the life of someone else, is quite humbling. While the love between a mom and her kids is the absolute greatest reward for all that hard work, there’s some parts to being a mom that are not always glamorous. I thought I’d take a moment to list a few of the ways being a mom has changed my life- and perhaps find the good in those “not so glamorous” moments.

1.Never will I have to worry about getting lonely while peeing. Even when the bathroom door is shut, I can count on at least one little hand creeping under it to track me down.

2. I can have all the kid food leftovers I want. In between wiping up spaghetti sauce spills and crushed Cheerios, I am totally swiping bites of grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza and Mac-n-Cheese. And let’s not forget about the free desserts that come with kids meals…

3. It is completely acceptable to bust out in a Disney song, watch The Little Mermaid, and plan Disney vacations. I play it off like it’s for the kids, but who am I kidding? I freakin’ love everything Disney!

4. My body automatically wakes up at 6:30 AM every day. Nolan is my early bird and rarely sleeps past 7. That means, whether I like it or not, I get to see the beginning of The Today Show every.single.day.

5. My days are spent cleaning up messes, reading children’s books, singing kids’ songs, tripping over crayons and Legos, hearing my name called 177 times an hour, and repeating myself until I’m blue in the face. This seems exhausting until I remind myself that before I had kids I was a first grade teacher and my days consisted of almost the exact same things! Except now I get to do it without the hassle of principal observations, complaining parents, and lesson plans. (Or a paycheck, but I digress…)

Being a mom has also made me appreciate the little things in life so much; drinking an entire cup of coffee while it’s still hot, having one too many glasses of wine and being able to sleep in the morning after, 20 minutes of quiet time to read, a solo trip to Target, an uninterrupted conversation with my husband, eating as slow as I want- using both hands, and starting a project and finishing it within the same day. Some of these things are unlikely to happen while my boys are still young, but that’s ok. I’m sure someday when I’m able to indulge in these little treasures, I’ll be longing for the days of rocking Nolan to sleep at night, getting blue Icee’s at Target to appease Brady while I shop like a madwoman, sharing chicken nuggets with the boys, wiping sticky handprints off my windows, pushing the swings “higher!”, “faster!”, “more!”, having to sneak out of the house to avoid sad faces looking out the windows if I dare go somewhere alone, and reading just “one more” book at bedtime.

I can safely say that being a mom is more challenging than I could have ever imagined, but the truth is, it’s a job that I am blessed to have and am thankful for every.single.day.