Regression

How did this happen? How did I go from being the mom who put her child in the highchair, used a bib and a strict feeding schedule, careful to adhere to the proper foods fed from the proper bowl and spoons to the mom who puts her kid on the kitchen floor, naked, with a chunk of bread and let's the baby "have at it". Or the mom who hardly even uses bibs and the high chair is optional.

When did I become the mom that realized kids really don't need a daily bath, they can wear the same thing for a couple of days, and it's OK! Or when "nap time" turns into, "whenever and wherever the kid happens to fall asleep is ok by me". I have also become the mom who lets her kids use their tennis rackets to whack at a pile of dirt and not worry about them being ruined, because, who really cares!? When are they ever going to be used properly in the first place? And who really cares if the kids are still in their pj's at lunchtime or we go to bed with the living covered in a Fisher Price people village? What have I become?

There are a few things that I will never give up on: the kids hair WILL be fixed before we go out, clean faces and clothes are a must (unless they're hard at play outside), and my house (couch, walls, floor, carpet, etc) are NOT napkins and food WILL stay in the kitchen. I will not let my kids drive my house to rack and ruin, but some things simply don't matter.

Let's just say that kids have taught me a valuable lesson in letting go.