I am a “Mom of Littles”.

This is an elite group. We are tired, often frustrated, and frequently covered in someone else’s food and or bodily fluids (if you’re a mom of littles you know what a I mean).

Our kids are small, they’re learning to navigate through life, and we are there to hold their hands and learn along with them.

Moms of Littles are always on their toes.

The world is just one GIANT danger zone ready to slice and dice our munchkins.

We see choking hazards in every grape, picture ourselves at the after hours pediatric urgent care for yet another X-ray as our kids climb (literally) to new heights, and praise both our kids and ourselves when we make it to the grocery store and back without any tears…even if we only get two things on the list.

Our days are ruled by naptime, bedtime, lunchtime, and snacktime. We know all the words to the Moana soundtrack. We have favorite parks. We have our go to kid snacks (admit it, sometimes you buy the Goldfish for yourself).

We know know the feeling of being incredibly busy, but looking around at the mess that is our house at the end of the day, and wondering what in the heck we did all.freaking,day.

We know what it is like to have the same conversations over and over with our friends about potty training, the “right” preschool, and how much screen time is too much. We know people without kids would find these conversations incredibly boring, but seriously these things matter!

We consider Target (heck even Walmart) a great outing. It’s good with kids, but even better alone, when all you do is walk up and down every aisle just because you can.

We have days where we want to hide under the covers and pretend not to hear the crying baby and screaming toddlers.

We hear things like “you’re gonna miss this” and “cherish every second” and we want to punch someone. We want to retort “Cherish this? I’m so tired I can’t even remember if I brushed my teeth today!” (that never happens to me).

We text our mom friends things like “How do you know when your kid has pink eye?”, and “Is it ok to feed my kid Chick-Fil-A twice in one day?”

Sometimes I look at “Big Kid Moms” with envy. I envy their freedom, I envy how well rested and clean they look, and I envy that everyone in their home can buckle their own seatbelt, feed themselves, and is fully potty trained.

but…

I love being a mom of littles. I love watching them learn and grow each day. I love seeing little things light up their world. I love that they still like me and need me. I love that they’re young enough to forgive quickly and love easily. I love that something as simple as a snuggly blanket, a good book, or a hug solves most of their problems.

Some day I will graduate from the Mom of Littles group and begin my life as a Mom of Big Kids, and then if I’m lucky a Mom of Teenagers! While I readily welcome the time when my kids stop screaming because something green touched their food, I think there is a part of me that will miss this stage. I think there will be a time that I find myself alone at the grocery store and wonder what happened to those sweet little kids and their tired mom.

Until I graduate from the club, I am going to (try) and enjoy the beautiful mess.