Motherhood

I don't know if it's my hormones from just having a baby or if I really am a horrible parent these days! I would probably vote on the first but my kids would say the later! It has really been weighing on my mind on how to be a more patient mom, a more loving mom, a more fun mom, and a better listening mom. I had an emotional breakdown about it and then I found these three things. The "11 Steps" I actually found on a social network and had a good laugh at how true it seems. It brightened my day and made me feel a little better! The video is from http://www.lds.org and had a profound spiritual impact on me. The article below is from http://mormon.org I know that being a mother is a divine calling from the Lord. If I have faith in Him, He'll help me in this desired journey of becoming a better mother. “No other success can compensate for failure in the home.” –David O. McKay

(Click HERE for the video)

Keys to Having a Happy Family on Earth

"Next time you want to shout at your teenage son for not emptying the garbage, ask yourself, 'What would Christ have me do?'

Happiness within your family will most likely be achieved when it’s founded on the teachings of Jesus. That means being unselfish, honest, loyal, loving and a whole host of other virtues, not to mention a lot of effort. A loving and happy family doesn’t happen by accident.

Think back on your own family. There were times that were happy and times that weren’t. What were the happiest moments? Most likely they were when you felt loved. When your dad cried because you were sick. When you saw your parents laugh and smile, and could see how much they loved each other. When your sister gave you a high five for scoring a goal, or vice versa. When you broke a window and your parents forgave you instead of yelling at you. When the car slid off the road during a blizzard and your family had to walk several miles for help. You held hands and sang to make the time go by faster. Your family pitched in to dig someone else out of the snow. Your family suffered through your high school musical even though you were just a stagehand. Maybe your family prayed, sang songs, or attended church together. You can recreate those happy times today within your own family and marriage. If your family didn’t have many of those happy moments when you were young, make a promise that you’ll make things different now."

"Think of the parts you play, or will play, in your family, and all the responsibility that goes along with each one. A parent, a spouse, a sibling—even little children have a lot to do. The effort we put into strengthening our families is the hardest and most significant work any of us will do on earth. Keeping a peaceful home and putting others' needs first has a refining effect on us, and it is no coincidence that these things can sometimes be grueling. God meant for us to be tested so we could grow and master skills we wouldn't learn any other way—skills like patience and unselfishness that will help us become more like God and prepare us to live with our families throughout eternity.

Don’t get discouraged. No matter how hard you try, your marriage and home won’t be perfect. But if you build them around Christ’s principles including faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome fun, home can be a place of refuge, peace and immense joy." (http://www.mormon.org)

11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids

by Amy Lawrence on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 8:24am

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!'