Happy Mother's Day!

I find that in times of my own parenting difficulties, I really appreciate my own mother so much more and seriously question...how did she do it? My almost 3 year old has been a "tester" since about 20 moths old. He has never really been good with change, and with multiple big changes in our life lately (moving and having a new little sister, among other things) his testing and defiance has gone up about 10 notches. I know many children go this this stage, but I marvel that my mom is still standing after raising my siblings and I. I just have one in the stubborn, tantrum throwing, mess making, his way or the highway stage. Which is why I often wonder how my mom did it. My mom had 3, that's right 3, under the age of 3 (this does not include me). And my oldest 2 siblings were nothing short of a handful when they were young. And again I think...how did she do it? There are days when I call my mom crying because I just don't know what to do to gain control of my 2 year old. She could say she had it worse (because she did) and that she doesn't feel bad for me. Instead she offers words of encouragement. So thanks mom for understanding and being the best mom ever. Happy mother's day!

And thanks to my husband. ..who really went all out this year. He took me to yummy dinner, then on a little post-pregnancy shopping spree and then to a movie. He got up in the night with our 3 week old baby girl (that was my mother's day request). Then made me waffles for breakfast and... did the dishes all day! Happy mother's day to me!