Editor's note: This article was originally published on Tarana Khan's blog, Sand In My Toes. It has been modified and published with permission.

We may not admit it but we do it all the time. We lie to ourselves. Yes, moms, I'm talking about you! We, who spend countless hours worrying about every conceivable aspect of our kids' lives, yet barely look at ourselves in the mirror some days. Mothers are supposed to be perfect human beings, as mass media would have us believe, so we just pretend that's how it is!

Here are five lies we tell ourselves

They grow up so fast!

I know they really do grow up fast, but think back to the time you spent walking the corridors when they were colicky or teething, or just up for no reason! Those were the times when every minute of sleep deprivation sucks the spirit out of you and you secretly wish you could click the fast-forward button.

I don't miss my old life "¦

What is there not to miss about sleeping in on the weekends, shopping all day and making travel plans on the go? Of course you miss those times! There's nothing wrong with reminiscing about the past. But then, you wouldn't trade what you have now, would you?

I love bedtime stories!

You probably said that the first 50 times you read your munchkin's favorite book. Now, your eyes get droopy and it's more like you're reading a Chemistry textbook. And yes, they want you to read it to them every night.

I'm looking forward to 'me time'

The truth is that whenever you extricate yourself from the domestic chaos, your mind is so preoccupied with what could be going wrong that your precious "me time" becomes a torture. Only moms know what that feels like - it's a mixed blessing.

It's just a phase "¦

Every time your little one throws a tantrum in the mall or spits at his brother, this is all you can say to yourself (and others), knowing deep inside that only you and the Lord knows that this "phase" has been going on for too long to qualify.

I can handle it ..

Not when you have to get up from dinner (twice today) to clean the poopy diaper. Or stay up another night. Or handle another fight. Or clean another mess. You get the point. Sometimes, it can get too much to handle, and that's no hyperbole.

We probably say these things to escape the reality that is parenting. But there is one lie we often tell ourselves without knowing it. It's when we think to ourselves, I'm not doing good enough. Don't! Because as long as you're doing the best you can do, you're doing a great job.