Friday, October 22, 2010

Sigh....A Giveaway


The demands on a mom of preschoolers can feel so great that sometimes it's hard to face our children with joy.

Not to add to your list, but pop over here (without sighing) and read a short article about serving those we love with a good attitude.  You'll be glad you did!

After you've read the article, leave a tip in the comments below about how you keep from sighing as you stoop to serve your little ones.  One (or more) commenter will be selected at random to win a prize at our next MOPS meeting (October 27).

Giveaway ends October 26th at 10PM, so enter your comment before then.  One comment entry per mom.

13 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading that short article. And Its funny, I do one of the suggestions already. One of the most stressful things for me as a mom is getting all three of my little ones in and out of the car. Anna especially at 6 months is very reluctant to get into her carseat. She doesn't understand why I put her in there. She would much rather me hold and cuddle in her in my arms. So in protest, she oftentimes will squirm and cry hysterically when I put her in. To calm the both of us I sing or hum the hymn "Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One". It is something my mom use to sing all the time (which is special to me) and it is a reminder to me of the great blessing my children are to me. :-) My older girls love singing it now too.

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  2. I try to remember that all of this will be gone before I know it. When Ferris turned one last month I said to my husband, "We only get 17 more of these before he moves out to go to college!" That's a bit drastic, but it gave me a perspective that grounds me when I'm frustrated. Each thing that tests my patience is temporary, so I want to treasure every moment I have with him.

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  3. When I am tempted to complain or grumble about those little annoyances I remember all the years I was on my knees praying for a godly husband and children. I think "I could be single and childless." Then my joy returns to serve them with eagerness! Great reminder!

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  4. When my 3-year old asks me for one thing after another or gets mad at me, I give her a kiss on her forehead and tell her that I love her. She calms down, I calm down, and we all need to be reminded that we love each other even when times are not the best.

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  5. In my former life I was a teacher. A teachers life is very scheduled. The bell would ring every 50 minutes and I would have to move on with my day. Now that I am a mom I find most of my frustration comes from feeling the pressures of time constraints. It helps me to take a deep breath and remember that I am in control of my time schedule now, and there is no right or wrong timeframe for the day. If it takes me 2 hours to feed my daughter breakfast so be it. What a blessing it is to take my time and enjoy motherhood.

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  6. I remind myself that I only get one "today" and I try to live in the moment. For me being silly helps me to make it through those times when I want to sigh. I would much rather laugh with my boys and make light of a situation that could otherwise be frustrating.

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  7. I've actually been thinking a lot about this lately! Especially when Cayden's new favorite game is to "bowl" and knock down several toys and it always ends up with either the ball or some toys under the couch, and I have to get my pregnant belly down on the ground to retrieve his toys. I often start to get frustrated but then look at his little face all lit up with how much fun he's having and remind myself that he wants me to play with him, and it a time will probably come much too soon where he doesn't want me around as much. I try to seize that thought and focus on the bonding opportunities of that moment...and gently redirect his bowling game away from the couch. :-)

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  8. Great article! I am guilty of sighing and never realized it until my two-year old began to sigh too.I will be taking all the suggestions and applying them immediately!!! Thanks so much! I am truly blessed with such an amazing, beautiful daughter and no matter how frustrating or overwhelming parenthood can get I have to always remember how blessed I truly am!

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  9. One thing that I found out was the source of my frustration & sighing was trying to do too much at one time while trying to tend to the kids. So what I do is when I am with my 3 boys I am mommy, mommy who will be a kid and play, read, draw, dance,be silly whatever they want. I forget about the dishes, the load of laundry, the bills that I have to do and just enjoy my boys. Turns out that most of the time they want a good solid hour or more of my undivided attention and afterwards they are ok with me leaving them to go put another load, prepare lunch. So since I started doing this I see myself sighing less and just enjoying my little guys because soon this stage will be over and what would I rather have them remember my mommy & I had an awesome time together or my mommy was always grumpy because she had to keep the house clean...

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  10. This is something I am always trying to work on. Some days go better then others. I try to think how I would feel if it was said to me, before I say it. Like I said some days go better then others. I also try to laugh when I feel myself getting upset, or turn on some music. Eva and Calleigh both love music, and it always seems to lighten to mood quickly.

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  11. Ok, so I found myself sighing heavily through the whole article (only because this is how i want to be and often times find myself not). One of the comments left quoted this scripture Phil 2:14-16 “Do all things WITHOUT GRUMBLING or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.” I want so much for my boys, but mostly I want them to know the love and incredible joy I have just being with them. I don't always convey that to them when I'm tired, frustrated, or irritable. So to prevent my constant heavy sighs, I'm going to remember Phil 2:14 and really look at my kids and see them for who they are, Real gifts from God! They are on loan from heaven...when i remember that- there won't be any room for heavy tired sighs : )

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  12. I know that the years are fleeting where they are home with me all day long. School will come soon enough and I want to treasure these days when we can play and laugh and have fun. There will always be housework to finish...but they will only be little this one time.

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  13. It is easy to notice the annoyances and overlook the good. There are definitely moments that frustrate me but there are far more joyful moments. I try to point out to my daughter when she is being good and take mental note of the happy times. Saying "great job..." also lifts my spirits when I see her smile with pride.

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