Everybody talks about the changes you face as a mom. It could be the physical changes, the emotional changes and even the changes in the way you view the world. These are all very important and amazing to experience, but what about the other changes? The changes no one talked to you about before you were a mom? The ones that make you wonder, “When did I start doing that?”

These are a few of the funny little changes I like to think about sometimes.

You no longer need an alarm clock

Sure at first your alarm is a newborn crying so an alarm is almost insulting when everything is quiet for a moment.  You know those morning when those horrific screams leave your heart racing far beyond they should? Who needs an alarm through that? Once they are older, hopefully they no longer force you up with that sense of urgency. Somehow you still wake up at the right time almost as if by magic. Even on days when you can sleep in, you are still the first one awake at the exact same time wondering what to do.  If you get up, will you risk the kids hearing the floor squeak or the toilet flush before you want them to? Or if you wait until they wake, do you really want to have to rush around with no time for yourself at all?  I think most moms know that when you hear little ones stirring (before the singing or talking to their stuffed animals begins) you have a good 10-15 minutes to get your butt up. At least that’s my excuse for staying in bed an extra 5 minutes.

You forget about you, a lot.

You no longer schedule things you want to do when you want to do them but you will move mountains so you can schedule things your kids want to do. How often have you cancelled or said no to plans because it was nap time, bath time, or your kids were not feeling well? I respect you for that. I think that we owe it to our kids to make sure their schedules are kept as routine as possible and you have to make sure they feel better if they are not. Yet if your kid wants to see something really cool in the other side of town, do you cancel any plans you may have had before just so you have plenty of time to get there, enjoy and get back before nap time or bed time? Absolutely! More respect to you, mamas!

Every now and then, however, we have to schedule a little time to do what we love or we may go a bit insane. If you find a way to do what you love when they are in school or have someone else (like a fabulous hubby) to watch them…RUN (or RELAX)! Go be free, if only for half an hour.

You become one crafty lady; at least you think you do.

Even if you don’t have time to become that Pinterest-y-mom, you will find ways to brighten your kids’ day with something you made for them yourself. It’s quite rewarding. More often than not, however, the creations you work so hard for may as well end up in the Pinterest Fails blog. My fails have mysteriously disappeared from my camera files, though, so you will never know. Don’t worry. Kids still appreciate the effort…when they are little. I’m not sure what they will say when they are teenagers, my crafty-mama card may be revoked then.

Things you thought were cute before become almost annoying

• Crop shirts to go out?  Not ever!
• Low rise jeans?  Only if you want your kids, their friends and their friends parents to know what type of underwear you wear.
• Perfectly manicured nails? Disappointing to remove once you chip the first one chasing after a toddler and hitting it up against a wall. Hurts a little knowing all that time went into them and nobody even got to see them.
• Super cute hairdos? Undone by little hands as soon as you cuddle them and end up looking like you just stepped out of a wind tunnel.

You become quite fashionable…Especially if you know you aren’t leaving home that day.

Workout clothes, fluorescent fuzzy socks and slippers?  Rocking it!

I’ve never been that stylish of a girl. Jeans and t-shirts always worked for me and still do. Shorts and cute tops are even better to go out with on warm days. Every once in a while and only on special occasions you would catch me in a dress, but for some reason it just wasn’t my style. Well, at least I had a style. All that my amazing outfit is missing these days are the curlers on my hair, but that would require taking the time to actually put curlers in my hair. I admit that if I know I have nowhere to go, then dressing in comfort is the name of the game in my house. It’s so much easier to chase those climbing monkeys around when I am dressed comfortably. The plus is that my husband says my mismatched attire is cute, but sometimes I wonder…

You become the “because I said so” mom

It’s exhausting coming up with reasons to the never ending “why?”  Sometimes (after trying for 5 minutes straight to reason with a 4 year old) you just have to give in and use that old standby no matter how much you swore you never would.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that my kids are so curious. I think it shows they want to learn. It’s just so difficult to come up to different answers to the same question if they don’t agree with the first three or ten reasons you gave them already. How do you deal with that?

You can sing like an angel

This one may just be in my imagination. When I sing our goodnight songs to my kids in their rooms, I think I sound awesome. And the fact that they request encores makes my ego just a bit bigger. I mean, aren’t the acoustics so much better in their rooms? But you won’t catch me busting out a tune in public. I’m pretty sure I would probably get some funny looks and maybe some disturbing the peace complaints. Wait, does that just happen to me?

You suffer from incurable memory loss

You can recite all the words to “Goodnight Moon”, “On the Night You Were Born”, and even “No Sleep for the Sheep” but can’t remember for the life of you what you ran upstairs for the third time in a row. That is until you leave your house after you give up and drive away only to remember what it was you needed to take with you half way there.

You lose all polite conversation skills

This is the moment you realize that you just walked away from another mother, or worse, a friend without kids in the middle of a conversation because your “mommy radar” took over and you were suddenly stopping a kid from jumping off a cliff (dramatic, I know). If they are parents too, they usually understand but not too many people will want to continue the conversation by the third time you walk away from their story.

You get some mad MacGyver skills

• Torn stuffed animal?
  • Easy, get the needle and thread.
• Broken toy?
  • Get the glue gun
• Battery door for favorite battery operated car lost?
  • Get the duct tape
• Can’t quite tie a rope around a magical fort?
  • Use a hair butterfly or a chip clip
• Ball rolls under the couch?
  • Get a broom
• Can’t reach a toy that magically ended up on a very high shelf and too lazy to get the step stool?
  • Where are those barbeque tongs?
• Lose something behind an extremely heavy dresser?
  • Grab your step stool and your vacuum, push the item against the back wall with the vacuum extender for stability, and start pulling up while pushing against the wall to suck that sucker right out.  This one takes a few tries, but it’s quite a parlor trick if you can do it without jamming your vacuum cleaner.

Yes we are a savvy bunch

No matter how we are changing as we grow as moms, remember why we are changing and for who. Let’s grow with our babies and keep them happy no matter how funny we may look or feel.

What funny things have you caught yourself doing as a mom? Do you have any newly acquired skills you never thought you would have before being a mom? I’d love to hear all about them!