Someday, my daughters won’t pronounce “spoon” as “foon” anymore. Someday, they might not want to sing loudly for an hour. Someday, my son will be running through the house on his way to wrestling practice (yes, my husband made me choose that specific sport) rather than trying to play in the toilet.

There were so many instances growing up when I just didn’t get it. My mom would ramble on, and it just went over my head. But now that I’m a mom, I’m starting to get it. There are those feelings, reactions, and thoughts that only come with being a mom. All of these expressions my mom used to say and things she used to do keep coming on like tiny light bulbs above my head — NOW I get it. For example…

One of the ways that you might consider me “old-fashioned” is regarding thank-yous and showing gratitude. I am a HUGE proponent of thank-yous, but especially written thank-you cards. You might disagree. Some of my close friends do.

“I can’t believe you’re being so MEAN!” our 11-year-old daughter told my husband and me. “You guys are the Fun-Killers!” Yep. That’s us. Mr. & Mrs. Fun-Killer.

It’s been six months since I worked outside the home. In many ways, it feels like just yesterday that I was pulling into work. In other ways, it feels as though I haven’t worked for years. I am, by no means, an expert at being a stay-at-home mom.

If you were to ask me in college, where my kids were going to go to school, homeschooling would have been my last option. I had so many preconceived notions about what homeschooling was and the families that chose to participate in it.

It is the 5 (10 on a good day) minutes of the day where I can stop, think, and not be “on”. Don’t get me wrong. I have a job that I love. But being a teacher, I am “on” all day long. It’s an honor and a blessing, but it’s also exhausting.

A few years back, I had one of my most memorable “mean mom” moments. We have a rule that each morning, the boys are to clean their room. For a few months, they started pushing back and playing with toys instead of cleaning up.

That’s why I have been using Hyland’s since my children were babies. Hyland’s brand has been serving all ages and ailments for over a century, and they do it without all of the chemicals and additives of their leading competitors.

No one is perfect. No mom or child is kind 100% of the time. But I feel like if I can keep these 3 things in mind, my kids will be kind most of the time. And when they’re not, they’ll hear my voice in their head tell them, “That wasn’t a kind way to behave. Can you try again, please?”