- I'm a young and cool mom - Being 28, I am young, but I think I'm cool whether or not my kids think so! (But they do! My oldest always takes pride in the fact that I'm the youngest and coolest mom in the class. Woot!
- I've been through a lot and survived it all - I've had a great life so far, I'm not going to complain, but I've been through a hell of a lot. I was bullied all of my life, I lost close friends over stupid childish bullshit, I've been through a relationship that was abusive and that mentally messed me up for quite a while, I've been through abandonment by that same person when I was 6 months pregnant and have, so far, raised two beautiful children on my own. Maybe it's not as much as some other people have been through, but I was in a state of extreme depression for quite a while but I overcame it and am bettering myself for it all now. I hope that I can actually grow to love myself and my life more than I do now, I'd love to be a success story for myself and an inspiration to my girls.
- I have two beautiful girls - That in itself is a reason that I am awesome. My girls are my life and as much as I've been through, as much stress as I deal with and even though it's extremely difficult and exhausting to raise them on my own, I wouldn't change it for anything else.
- I've come to love Disney and Nick Jr shows - Disney and Nick Jr. is all that's on in my house, at any given time. As frustrating as it is, I've learned to love them! I now find myself walking around singing the Sofia the First theme song or the Jake and the Neverland Pirates theme song. There are times when I'm home alone, I turn on Austin and Ally or Good Luck Charlie...it's the mom syndrome, but I think I'm awesome for it.
- It took a while, but I'm learning to choose my own battles. I used to fly off the handle at the smallest thing my kids did. Now I'm learning that some fights aren't worth fighting. If my youngest wants to wear her Sofia the First dress to the mall, whatever, I'm cool with it! If they decide to have a powder fight in the bathroom, it only takes a broom to sweep it up. If my kids want to have a "camp out" in the living room instead of their rooms, go for it. If they don't want to clean their room, there's a door that can be closed! It feels so much better not to stress over every little thing that they do or don't do!
- I'm currently making up for lost time with my sisters. I met my two sisters in 2003, since I was adopted. From 2005-2011 we really didn't talk too much and rarely saw each other. It wasn't until after my birth mother's sudden death that we realized that life isn't promised to anyone -- we see each other at least once a week now. I love the fact that my two sisters and I have been making up for lost time. They are honestly the best big sisters anyone can ever ask for; I love them like we were never separated. :)
- I lie to my kids when needed. I used to feel so bad about doing this but as I grew up, I realized it was an important skill to master. "Mom, can we go to Toys R Us?" say my kids... "Oh I'm sorry honey, Toys R Us is closed for renovations!" I answer to them. They ask me to drive past so they can see for themselves, because they've become wise to me. So I drive past pretty fast so they don't notice the cars in the parking lot. There's also this one -- "Can I have this (insert toy here)?" They ask quite a bit at different stores. "That's not for sale, see the sign? (Reads some bogus sign to say 'Not For Sale Yet')" They then say they don't believe me and want me to ask the cashier. So when I go to check out I say to the cashier, "Right? This isn't for sale for the next few weeks, correct?" (Followed by a wink to the cashier) Usually this works out in my favor and the cashier understands what I'm trying to say. (If they're a mom! lol) This has only backfired twice.
- I'm going back to school. Despite my girls, taking care of my mom and working two jobs, I've also been back in school for almost a year to get my Bachelors of Science in Business Management. (Specialization in Internet Marketing) It's taking me longer than normal because of everything else going on in my life, but at least I'm going to eventually get my degree. It gives me a sense of pride to know that I'm showing my girls that anything is possible.
- I can entertain my kids on a budget of $20 or less. Since we've been through the horrible slump of having no money, no TV, no internet, etc... I've learned to entertain my kids on a very limited budget. If they ask for toys I tell them we can go to the dollar store and buy one or two toys each or tell them we'll go to Walmart and get something out of the change machines. If they want ice cream, McDonalds has the $1.25 cones, we take walks to the park for fun or make our own crafts from things we have around the house. Surprisingly, my mom still has a crap load of my toys from when I was a kid, we'll go up to the attic to bring a box down for them to find something new... I've gotten creative.
- I can sense when there's trouble in the house. My kids swear that I do have eyes in the back of my head or that I can hear something a mile away. Over these past 7 years of being a mom, I know when there's trouble. If it's too quiet I know something is going on, if there's too much giggling or whispering, I know it's time to check on my kids, if they leave me alone for an extended period of time, I know they're up to no good. The funny part is, they think I'm psychic.
- Showering can take less than 10 minutes. Sometimes, in order to take an uninterrupted shower, it has to be less than 10 minutes. I can set my kids up with coloring books, TV, toys, etc... but I know that in about 10 minutes they are going to be bored and want to bother me. I've mastered the 10 minute mommy shower.
- I can decipher "Olivia Language" Olivia is 5 years old (going on 6) but she has a speech delay. She was in speech therapy for quite a while and made great progress, but she still has problems sometimes and gets frustrated when what she wants to say doesn't come out the way she wants it to. I've learned to decipher her Olivia Language and can translate to anyone who doesn't understand. :)
- I can laugh at myself. If I fall in public or happen to leave my zipper open accidentally, or I do something embarrassing I've learned to laugh at myself and crack my own joke. I never used to be able to, but laughing is better than crying!
- I have my nose pierced. For some reason, I feel like that makes me a bad ass! I also have a cartilage piercing -- oooo feel the bad-ass-ness radiating from me. lol
- Despite my semi-low self confidence I can come up with 15 reasons why I'm awesome. Enough said!
