and the stellar parent of the day award goes to....

Have you ever stopped at the end of the day and wondered how your child made it through the day let alone you?  Have you ever questioned your ability to be a good parent? Have you ever coined yourself Stellar Parent of the year?

I only have a 9month old.. so I have yet to experience the hard parenting of disciplining a child - but i have friends... and I watch them to learn how to be a fair but not lenient parent.. from what I can see - its hard work!  Hair pulling, wrinkle creating, stress inducing hard work!

So at the end of the day - when you're dripping from the effort of your endeavors to raise little people - what keeps you going?  I think its the laughter - the adoring eyes - the tiny little hands wrapped around your neck saying, "Can I tell you a secret? I love you!"  It's when my nine month old says, "Mamamamamamma" and reaches out for me to pick him up.

And its the stories that we share with one another... for instance - on Father's day my 7 yr old nephew was asking my brother why there wasn't an uncle day - and where Father's day came from. As my brother is explaining my three year old nephew - who's been listening intently to all the special day's in the year being listed; Mother's Day, Grandparent's day etc... pipes up and says  'I wish there was a Zayner Day!"  :)

What makes you laugh and remember how blessed you are on those days you've had NO sleep, no time to yourself and you've spent all day dealing with ALL forms of poop?

I love snuggle time. At the end of the day, when Jude is super tired and just wants to snuggle with his Momma.... no matter how long the day has been, those moments are wonderful.  Right now, as I type Jude is crying (he has been fighting going to bed lately) I go in every few minutes and reassure him that I'm here and I love him.  But it always seems like he cries harder when I leave- I sure don't feel like a stellar parent though when I let him cry too long... it's heartbreaking.

Who really does deserve the Stellar parent award anyway?  My sister and I laugh together as we joke about one stellar parenting move after another... we tease but the bottom line is this:  you love your children, you do what you feel is best for them - you make mistakes - ABSOLUTELY! - But anyone who puts their children's needs before their own, any parent who takes a moment to ask if they're doing a good job is in my opinion the BEST parent out there!

So today I would like to offer the award for the MOST STELLAR PARENT to - YOU.
keep up the good work.