Growing up, whenever I was asked what I wanted to be, I would always answer the same: "Miss America and a mom." Well, the Miss America ship sailed right past me. However, my dream of being a mom came true three beautiful times as I welcomed each of my sons into my life. I feel very blessed. I also feel very stressed. Being a mom is way harder than I ever imagined. I have been in such a blur of messes, appointments, dinner preparation, back-to-school nights and t-ball games, I sometimes forget how badly I wanted this life.

So I have decided it's about time I regain clarity in my motherhood. It's time to start looking past my to-do list and focusing on my get-to-do list. Motherhood is full of blessings; it's up to us moms to find them through the chaos.

Here are a few situations meant to test me; but I instead used them to remind myself how beautiful motherhood really is.

Scenario #1

I went to get my 2-year-old up from his nap. My first sign that things had gone horribly wrong during naptime was the smell that assaulted my nose as I started up the stairs. I didn't even want to open the door because I knew it meant I would be changing the little bum the smell was coming from. Well, that was the least of my worries. I opened the door to a smiling face surrounded by every single toy he had in his room, thrown all over. His kitchen set was turned on its side. His racetrack was broken into pieces. All the while, my son giggled and chirped, "Me play, me play."

Blessing

Toys. Toys were everywhere. How blessed am I to be able to provide my little ones with toys to entertain themselves with and to help encourage play and imagination? Sadly, some families don't have to pick up toy after toy.

Scenario #2

I waste so much time mopping my kitchen floor. It only takes five minutes before someone has already spilled juice, dropped crumbs, or sometimes peed on it (seriously, that happens!). Each night at dinner I have to control my anger over the amount of food that falls on my floor. I have to crawl under the table to get sticky spaghetti off the floor more often than I should admit. My family honestly eats like barnyard animals.

Blessing

I would rather scrape food off my floor than have no food at all. It is a blessing to be able to feed my children every single night. I am grateful my children don't know what it means to go hungry.

Scenario #3

"Mom, Mom, Mom, MOOOOOOM," is constantly being screamed by one of my children (and sometimes my husband) at any given time. I swear I have forgotten what silence is. Lately, I have found myself shouting back in frustration, "Whaaaat?" It's shameful really.

Blessing

Out there, right now, someone is longing for a companion. Right now, there is a couple longing for children, longing for their home to be filled with giggles and yelling alike. I am truly blessed to have a family to call my own.

I know what you are thinking. You are probably thinking that all this information is a no-brainer. But sometimes it takes a little reminding to be grateful for the small stuff and to stop and give thanks for the miracle of motherhood. Motherhood is a blessing. We are meant to be happy and our kids are to be enjoyed. In order to do so, we have to be willing to find clarity through the blur that life can sometimes be. So, the next time your kid decides to throw an all-out, foot-stomping, toy-throwing tantrum, stop and be thankful that he or she can. Perspective makes all the difference.