It's been a while since I've felt inspired to blog.  I'm not sure when I lost my passion for writing, but it feels good to want to get some stuff out of my head and into a blog.
I'm a mom to two wonderful little people.  They are growing and maturing and I'm so proud to be their mom.  Having kids is hard, it's honestly the hardest thing I've ever done.  Knowing I'm responsible for raising two men in today's world is a huge responsibility that I don't take lightly.  I work very hard to make sure they feel loved, they feel heard, they feel like they have a voice in their own lives, and to make sure I'm sending good people out into the world.
Sometimes I come across people who try to reduce my children to being bad or being good at any given time.  In other words, they want to label who my kids are based on their behavior on a minute to minute basis.  If my son gets frustrated and yells at his brother, he's bad.  If my son is excited for ice cream and forgets to say "thank you", he's bad. 
Adults aren't labeled as good or bad for how they react when they're frustrated, tired, hungry, upset, etc, so why do we do this to children?
It seems these same people want to put me in a box for being a fat mom.  No matter what I do or how hard I work to be the best mom I can be, I'm still just a fat mom to some people.  It's unfortunate that I sometimes let that get into my head.  I wonder sometimes if my kids are going to be ashamed of me because I don't look like the other moms.  I start letting negative ideas take over and if I'm not careful, those negative ideas get really comfortable and the voice in my head starts getting really nasty.  Why is it so easy for others (and sometimes myself) to forget about all of the things I do right?  Why is it so easy to overlook all I do to make my kids healthy, happy people because of my size?
Everything I do in life is for my children.  Even my self-care days are for the benefit of my kids (and frankly anyone who has to deal with me on a regular basis).   I do my best to be the best I can be for my kids.  I work hard to be the kind of mom I had; the kind of mom who listens, who shows up, who keeps her word, and who shows her love in millions of ways.  Every book I read, every song I sing, every game I play, every "I love you" I shout to my kids is dripping with my love for them. 
I'm a good mom.  I say it to remind myself and to help keep the voice in my head in check: I'M A GOOD MOM.