Saturday, September 10, 2011

Skills I've Acquired as a Mom


Before I had kids, I graduated high school and went to college for two years to get my associates degree.  I worked at the public library for three years and at a college library for two more years.  Becoming a mom almost nine years ago, though, required a whole new set of skills that none of my other life-experiences had prepared me for. 

I am proud to say that I can now:
  1. Sweep the floor, vacuum, and cook dinner with one arm.
  2. Read a story for the fifteenth time without remembering a word of what I read.
  3. Determine whether my baby has a fever by kissing her forehead.
  4. Remember the specific preferences for each child's peanut butter sandwich (who likes crunchy, who likes it with jelly, who only eats half, etc.).
  5. Clean a face with my fingers and just a touch of saliva.
  6.  Carry on a semi-intelligent conversation with my husband while the boys repeat the phrase "poopy poop" on the couch beside me.
  7. Nurse the baby and tie someone's shoes at the same time.
  8. Change a diaper on my lap in a public place without anyone knowing what I'm doing. 
  9. Sing the lyrics to the Super Why television show (and a bunch of others, too).
  10. Function on less than seven hours of sleep which included a 2 am waking to get the 5-year-old a drink of water.
  11. Pack the diaper bag with my eyes closed (and have what I need when I leave the house). 
  12. Talk on the telephone while scolding the kids with my eyebrows.
What about you?  What are your skills?

    5 comments:

    1. Ha, I got a great chuckle out of this! So true - it is amazing the skills we develop as moms. Lets see, I can also now:
      - hear a child crying from another room and know who it is out of the 6 and if they're hurt, tired, or being pestered by a sibling.

      - always be counted on to have a snack in the diaper bag or purse - even if the kids aren't with me!

      - teach lessons while cooking lunch and holding the baby

      - sleep in small spurts thanks to the little ones and still wake up cheerfully

      - recognize the 'poopy face' each child makes when filling their diaper

      - have a pretty good idea of the culprit for any writing on the wall, mess in the kitchen, or other mischief based on my knowledge of each child's particular preference for troublemaking.

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    2. Hilarious! (And those are all valuable skills, by the way.) :-D

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    3. Good ones, Tristan! I think I have those skills, too, though I'm not always good about having the snacks. That's a skill I need to work on. ;-)

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    4. adventure waits when you're with super why!

      - act excited at the newest lego creation that looks like the old one but is supposedly new!

      - smell a diaper that needs changing from the living room

      - wake up from a deep sleep knowing hes getting into something he not supposed to

      - sleep through yo gabba gabba and other loud annoying shows

      - know exactly where the supposed missing toy is when the boy child says he has looked "everywhere!"

      - pan any room in 5 seconds and locate the spots he will fall in, what he will knock over and what he will touch and keep him away from it all

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