I feel your pain

The following is an excerpt from Lisa Whelchel's book "Speaking Mom-
ese":

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any
trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by
God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

I have never known stress like I did when I was raising three
toddlers. At least a half dozen times a day, my "angels" would make me
want to scream at the top of my lungs and cry. They just wouldn't do
what I wanted them to do. They argued and were unkind to each other.
They constantly whined, "Hold me. Hold me." They threw fits.
Sometimes they even battled with me for hours - simply over cleaning
their rooms.
Of course, this makes them sound horrible, and they're not! In
general, Tucker, Haven, and Clancy are great kids. It's just that they
weren't born well-behaved. No child is. So, I often had to wage a war
to get them to submit to me and to the high calling of Jesus Christ.
There were times I felt I was spanking them all day long and it wasn't
doing any good. On those days, I couldn't spank them any more; I
couldn't encourage and praise them any more. I knew I could always
pray more, but even prayer seemed ineffective. It felt like nothing
would reduce the stress except for time. Specifically, twenty years of
time.
With all that chaos, trying to fit in anything to do for myself was
really frustrating. My goals for each day were simple: I wanted to
excercise, journal, sew a bit, take a bath, make the bed, and keep the
kitchen clean. I didn't usually attain all those goals, but I did
learn to adjust my expectations. I wrote in my journal once a week or
so. Excercised at least every other day. Sewed once a season. Made the
bed before Steve got home. Bathed if I could. And cleaned the high
chair if things started growing on it.
If I was able to accomplish these things; if the kids were all healthy
and taking their naps or playing quietly in their rooms, then life
suddenly made sense. But I don't think I ever experienced more than
two of those days, let alone two hours at a stretch. I simply did the
best I could, as I'm sure you do, too.
I share all this with you because I know what it's like to be in the
trenches. I've been a mom long enough to know that sometimes, the most
encouraging words you can hear are the ones that remind you that you
are not alone.
Whatever you're experiencing, you can bet I've been there, too. I feel
your pain!
Just hang in there - some things will get easier.


What is one of your frustrations as a mommy? Leave a comment,
I'll go first. Then go kiss your kiddos!

You're invited . . .

To our first Mommy and Me playdate on Friday, April 23 from 9 am - 11 am at

Stonefire Pizza Co.
5320 S Moorland Rd
New Berlin Wi 53151

There is a continental breakfast provided and the children can play in the Discovery Room. In the Discovery Room, there are water tables and toys, train tables, the cutest mini pizza parlor to play in, and a climbing, tubes and slides jungle gym.

I hope you can join us for all the fun! Let me know if you are coming so I can look for you.

Adult......................$5.25
Child......................$3.25
The last time I was there kids under 2 were free but I'm not sure if that has changed.

Welcome to "The Mommy Years"

I am very excited to introduce you to my new blog. I want you to feel at home here. Whether you are a seasoned mom or a newbie, we are all in this together. We all share one thing - we have the hardest, most rewarding job on earth. We are mommies!

I'm hoping this will be a place you can come to for a laugh, words of encouragement, or whatever else you may need during these trying and exciting years. I am not an expert or a perfect mommy. But I am seasoned and have been through a lot of different things with my 4 kids. I hope together we can create a beautiful place to hang out even when we can't physically be together. Sometimes being a mommy is a lonely job - especially when we have babies who don't talk yet or toddlers who sass back. I know all of you new mommies shudder to think of that day but it's coming. My 3 year old son's favorite new word is "duh". Wait, is that a word? Well, word or not, he says it and says it often. I am constantly telling him that it is not nice to say "duh" to our mommies. So now he just says it real quiet under his breath. We're working on it.

So needless to say, I need some nice, adult conversation from time to time.

I think this will be a lot of fun and hopefully we will learn a lot from each other, too.

This is all new to me so bear with me and comment often so I don't feel like this is a one sided conversation. :)

Now go kiss your kiddos!