PICKING BATTLES AND SLOWING DOWN

There are days that I FREAKING LOVE being a mom... especially Lady's mom. I am learning at a rate of speed that seams to surpass even Layla's super fly learning skills. We take turns being each other's teacher and student. But recently I feel like I'm hogging the role of the pupil. I'm learning the lifestyle changes that I need to practice in order to make life as a mother more rewarding and hopefully they will make Lady's life more enjoyable.
My natural instinct is To Control ------ A learned mother's instinct is to  Pick My Battles.
Natural instinct: Demand Compliance --- Mother's instinct: Praise the positive and accept her character
Natural instinct: Accomplish an outrageous To Do list --Mother's instinct: Slow down and learn to play

Motherhood has been a huge adjustment, more so than I had been expecting - during all my years of waiting. I thought I'd be a natural. I'm not. I used to carry huge loads of guilt and feelings of failure because of the fact that it's not natural for me. But I'm loving learning and growing into the comfort of motherhood. It's like I'm on an adventure of daily discovery and Lady is leading the tour. Yesterday was one of those days that left me feeling totally fulfilled as a mother. I had prided myself on hand mopping the floors after accomplishing a full task list. My hands were wrist deep in ground turkey and I glanced over at Lady in her high chair. Millions of tiny pieces of apple had been chewed up and spit out.

My first instinct was full blown irritation. Then I smiled, walked over to her and munched on her cheek for a moment while I spilled my guts of love for her. When she saw my original facial expression, she had a look that said, "uh oh, here come's the lecture!" We were both pleasantly surprised by my secondary reaction. It felt a LOT better to hug her and smile at her cute little apple habit - instead of being mad that she dirtied my precious floors.
After dinner was placed in the oven I looked around to see that Layla was playing at my feet with tuppo'ware and wooden spoons. I sat down and we stirred up our imaginary witches brew and took turns slurping from our bowls.... I'm learning. We all are. That's the greatness of motherhood. Thanks for being the best teacher in the world Layla. You're my favorite.